News | June 17, 2026

The Rise of the Sten Party: Why Combined Stag and Hen Dos Are Growing in 2026

Ed Maughan

What a Sten Party Is, Why More UK Couples Are Choosing One, and Why a Group Accommodation Venue Makes the Ideal Setting

For decades, the stag do and the hen party did their own thing. The lads went one way, the lasses went another, and the two groups compared hangovers at the wedding a few weeks later. That model still has plenty of life in it, but a growing number of couples are quietly rewriting the rulebook and rolling both celebrations into one. The result has a name that has worked its way from a niche bit of wedding slang into genuine mainstream use: the sten party.

At GroupAccommodation.com, we spend a lot of time looking at how groups actually celebrate, and the joint stag and hen do is one of the clearest shifts we have seen in pre-wedding plans over the past few years. Here is what a sten party is, why so many couples are choosing one, the UK data that backs up the trend, and why a large group house is often the best setting for it.

What Is a Sten Party? The Combined Stag and Hen Do Explained

A sten party is a combined stag and hen do, where the bride and groom celebrate together with one shared group rather than splitting off into separate events. The word itself is a simple mash-up of stag and hen, and you will see it written as a sten do, a sten weekend, or a sten night, depending on the format.

The core idea is straightforward. Instead of organising two separate trips, two sets of dates, two sets of accommodation and two rounds of invitations, everyone is invited to a single celebration. The bride and her friends, the groom and his mates, and the many people who are friends with both come together under one roof.

Sten, Hag or Joint Hen and Stag: Clearing Up the Terms

The terminology can get a little tangled, so it is worth untangling it.

Sten do or sten party: the most widely used term for a combined stag and hen celebration.
Hag do: the same thing, simply combining the words in the opposite order. It means a joint stag and hen do too, though “sten” tends to win on popularity.
Joint hen and stag do: the plain-English description, often used by couples who have not yet come across the slang.

There is also a related but slightly different format worth knowing about: two friends who are both getting married, share a friendship group, and decide to hold one joint celebration rather than two near-identical weekends. It is not strictly a couple’s sten, but it follows the same logic of pooling people, budgets and effort into a single, bigger event.

Kirkstone Lodge - luxury lounge seating and wall mounted TV

Why Sten and Hag Parties Are Growing in Popularity Across the UK

The sten party is not a gimmick. It reflects some genuine changes in how couples view weddings, friendships and money. Four factors are doing most of the work.

Money is the single biggest driver, and the figures explain why. Pre-wedding celebrations have become a significant expense, and not just for the bride and groom. Research by the insurer Aviva found that the average guest faces a bill of around £779 to attend a UK stag or hen do, rising to roughly £1,208 when the celebration is held abroad. Tellingly, about a third of people said they had turned down an invitation at some point, and in four out of five of those cases, the reason was simply the cost.

Combining two events into one is one of the most effective ways to bring that number down. A shared celebration means a single trip rather than two, shared accommodation, shared transport, and the kind of group discounts that only become available once you book at scale. For couples conscious of asking their friends to fund two separate weekends, the sten do is an easy decision.

2. Mixed Friendship Groups and Modern Relationships

Plenty of couples simply have overlapping friendship circles. When half the guest list would be invited to both the stag and the hen anyway, holding two separate events starts to feel artificial. A sten party lets everyone celebrate together rather than forcing friends to pick a side or attend both.

It also suits the way couples increasingly want to mark the occasion. For some, the appeal of spending that milestone weekend apart has faded, and celebrating the relationship itself, with all of their favourite people in one place, feels more fitting than a traditional send-off.

3. A More Inclusive, Gender-Neutral Celebration

The classic stag and hen split assumes a neat division into “the lads” and “the girls” that no longer reflects how a lot of people live. Same-sex couples, couples with close friends of every gender, and anyone who finds the single-sex format a little dated all benefit from a celebration that does not sort guests by gender at the door. A sten party is inclusive by design, which is a large part of why younger couples in particular have taken to it.

4. Less Planning, Less Stress, One Event to Organise

Organising a stag or hen do is a real job, and organising two doubles the work. A sten party halves the logistics. One date to agree, one venue to book, one itinerary to build, one group chat to wrangle. For the best men and maids of honour who would otherwise be coordinating two separate trips in parallel, the appeal is obvious.

Sten Party Statistics: The Numbers Behind the Trend

Search behaviour was one of the earliest signals that something was shifting. According to Google Trends data reported by jeweller Steven Stone alongside wedding platform Hitched, searches for “sten do” roughly doubled between January 2022 and January 2023, and interest has kept climbing since. Wedding and party planners now routinely list joint hen and sten dos among the standout trends for 2026.

The wider stag and hen market gives that growth its context. A few UK data points worth knowing:

The volume of celebrations is substantial. Office for National Statistics figures recorded 224,402 marriages in England and Wales in 2023, easing back from the post-pandemic peak of 2022 but still representing hundreds of thousands of couples planning the run of events that surrounds a wedding.
Weddings themselves are stretching budgets. The Hitched National Wedding Survey, published in January 2026, put the average UK wedding at £21,990, with couples increasingly inviting fewer guests but spending more on each one. The same research found that 56% of couples went over their original budget, and 61% relied on financial help from family.
Guest numbers are the single biggest lever on cost. Bridebook’s UK Wedding Report 2026, based on a survey of around 7,000 couples, found weddings of 50 guests or fewer averaged roughly £12,006, against £37,431 for those of 150 or more. The lesson that fewer events and shared costs keep spending in check applies just as neatly to the pre-wedding calendar.
Group bookings are getting bigger. Our own booking data shows the average group stay on GroupAccommodation.com now sits at around 17 people, a figure explored in detail in our look at the rise of the holiday ‘mega-group’.

That final point is the one worth dwelling on. A sten party pulls together both sides of a couple’s friendships, so where a single hen or stag group might number a dozen or so, a combined celebration comfortably reaches 20, 30 or more once everyone is in the room. That immediately rules out a standard holiday cottage and points squarely towards properties built for large numbers.

Why Group Accommodation Is the Perfect Sten Party Venue

This is where a combined celebration and a large group house fit together almost too neatly. The very things that make a sten party appealing, more people, shared costs, one location, also make a dedicated party house the obvious choice over a string of hotel rooms or a city-centre bar crawl.

One Venue, Both Friendship Groups, No Bar-Crawl Logistics

A large mixed group is difficult to manage across a series of bars and clubs. Door policies, table minimums and the simple challenge of keeping 25 people moving in the same direction can turn a night out into an exercise in crowd control. A single exclusive-use venue removes all of that. Everyone is in one place, the space belongs to your group for the weekend, and the celebration runs on your terms rather than a venue’s last orders.

It also solves the awkwardness that a joint celebration can otherwise create. Rather than two groups eyeing each other across a pub, a shared house gives both sides of the party room to mingle naturally, with communal kitchens, big living areas, hot tubs and games rooms doing the social heavy lifting.

The Per-Person Cost of a Sten Party House

The economics are compelling once a group reaches sten-party size. When you split a high-quality property across 20 or more people, the per-person, per-night cost drops dramatically. Our own booking data shows large group stays regularly working out at around £60 per person or less when the group is big enough, which is detailed in our look at the rise of the holiday ‘mega-group’. Set that against average UK stag or hen guest costs running into the hundreds, and a shared house starts to look like the sensible option rather than the indulgent one.

Kirkstone Pass - great use of colour in the kitchen diner

Space to Split Up and Come Back Together

One of the smartest features of a sten party is that it does not force everyone to do everything together. A large property gives you the flexibility to build a weekend with both shared and separate moments. The two groups can head off for different daytime activities, a spa session for some and clay pigeon shooting for others, then reconvene at the house for a big group dinner, a games night or a few hours in the hot tub. You get the togetherness of a joint celebration without losing the parts of a traditional stag or hen do that people enjoy.

That balance is far easier to strike when you have a whole property to play with, complete with enough bedrooms, bathrooms and living space for everyone to have their own corner when they want it.

Choosing a Sten Party Location

Where you base yourselves matters, and the UK is full of strong options for a group of this size. Wales offers dramatic scenery and excellent value, with large houses set among the kind of landscapes that suit walking, water sports and a relaxed pace. England covers everything from the Cotswolds and the Peak District to coastal boltholes, while Scotland brings castles, lochs and Highland estates into play for groups wanting something with a real sense of occasion. If you would rather browse by area first, our full list of locations is the place to start.

For couples weighing up the right setting, our guide on how to choose the perfect hen do destination applies just as neatly to a joint celebration, since the same considerations around access, activities and atmosphere all carry over.

Key Takeaways for Planning a Sten Party in 2026

If you are weighing up a combined stag and hen do, here is the short version.

A sten party combines the stag and hen do into one shared celebration. It suits couples with overlapping friendship groups and anyone who finds the single-sex format dated.
Cost is the biggest driver. With UK guests spending an average of around £779 per stag or hen do according to Aviva’s research, merging two events into one is a genuine saving for everyone involved.
The trend is real and growing. Search interest in sten dos has climbed steadily since 2022, and planners now rank joint celebrations among the leading wedding trends for 2026.
Combined groups are large. With a single hen party already averaging around 13 people, a sten can easily reach 20 to 30 guests, which calls for accommodation built for numbers.
A group house is the natural home for it. One venue, a low per-person cost, and the space to mix joint and separate activities make a large property the ideal sten party setting.

Ready to Plan Your Sten Party?

If a joint stag and hen do sounds like your kind of celebration, the venue is the part worth getting right first. Browse our full collection of party houses, or take a look at our dedicated guides to the best hen party houses and stag party houses for inspiration that works just as well for a combined do. Every booking enquiry goes directly to the property owner, so you deal with the people who know the house best.

Find your perfect sten party venue at GroupAccommodation.com and give both sides of the celebration a weekend to remember.

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Sten Party FAQs

What Is a Sten Party?

A sten party is a combined stag and hen do, where the bride and groom celebrate together with one shared group rather than holding separate single-sex events. The name is simply a blend of “stag” and “hen”, and you may also hear it called a sten do, a sten weekend, or a hag do.

Are Sten Parties Cheaper Than Separate Stag and Hen Dos?

In most cases, yes. Running one celebration instead of two means a single set of accommodation, travel and activity costs, all shared across a larger group. With the average UK guest spending around £779 on a single stag or hen do, according to Aviva’s research, pooling everything into one event is one of the most effective ways to keep the bill down for the couple and their friends alike.

Do You Have to Invite Your Partner to Your Sten Party?

Not necessarily. Some couples celebrate together as one big group, while others have a sten do simply because their own friendship circle is mixed, inviting friends of every gender without the bride and groom attending each other’s celebration. The format is flexible, so it can be a true joint party or just a gender-neutral version of a traditional do.

What Are Good Sten Party Activities?

The trick is choosing things that work for a mixed group rather than leaning on traditional single-sex clichés. Popular options include cocktail or pizza making, escape rooms, murder mystery dinners, spa sessions, outdoor pursuits like axe throwing or zorbing, and friendly “stags versus hens” games such as a quiz or mini-Olympics. Basing yourselves in a large property also lets you run separate daytime activities and reconvene for a big group dinner in the evening.

Data referenced in this article is drawn from Aviva’s 2023 research into stag and hen do costs, the Hitched National Wedding Survey (January 2026), Bridebook’s UK Wedding Report 2026, Office for National Statistics marriage figures for England and Wales (2023), Google Trends search data reported by Steven Stone and Hitched, and GroupAccommodation.com’s own booking data. All figures have been summarised and paraphrased, with full details available via the linked sources.

Travel Guides| February 2, 2017