Stag and doe

A stag and doe party, stag and drag party, hen and stag party, buck and doe party, or a jack and jill party is a party and fundraiser for an engaged couple.

By country

Canada

In Canada, a stag and doe, or buck and doe, is a wedding tradition popular in Southern Ontario. The event is usually organized by the bridal party, but in some circumstances may also be held by the bride and groom before they are married, similar to a 'Jack & Jill.' It acts as a fundraiser for the wedding. Guests purchase entrance tickets and are entertained by draws, food and drink, music and fun and games. It is not a combined bachelor party and bachelorette party, or engagement party, as the primary focus is to raise money for the engaged couple, so their new life together is not started in debt. The intent of a stag and doe party is specifically to make a profit. Often, people who may not be close enough to the engaged couple to warrant an invitation to the wedding or reception (especially in the case of a small wedding), will attend the stag and doe so as to be part of the overall wedding celebration. Hosting a stag and doe party does not preclude the couple from participating in other wedding-related parties, such as a bridal shower, bachelor party, bachelorette party, and so on. In Manitoba, this is often called a "wedding social". In addition to purchasing entrance tickets, guests bid on silent auction prizes, participated in a 50-50 draw, and purchase liquor. Often the bridal or wedding shower is held the afternoon before the social.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, stag and hen (not doe) nights are held separately as parties where the future bride and groom have one last night of partying as single people before the upcoming wedding, in a similar way to bachelor and bachelorette parties in the United States. Popular UK stag and hen activities include meals out, pub crawls, visits to strip clubs, forfeits, party boats, karaoke and falling over in the street. It is traditional to dress up: the bride in a veil and L-plates and the groom and his friends in matching T shirts usually with the groom's name and a rude slogan on. There is no tradition of wedding fundraising nights out in the UK although traditionally brides-to-be would take a potty out on their hen night which people would put cash into.