Stag and doe

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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[edit]


In Canada, a similar event is popular in Ontario and Manitoba under various names. In Southern Ontario it may be called a stag and doe, or buck and doe,[1] and in Northwestern Ontario it is called a shag. In Manitoba, this is often called a social or wedding social.

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. A popular stag and doe tradition is a Toonie toss, which has guests toss toonies ($2.00 CAD coins) at a Texas mickey (3L) bottle of liquor. The toss runs for some time until the Toonie closest to the bottle without making contact wins the bottle.

In Manitoba, in addition to purchasing entrance tickets, guests bid on silent auction prizes, participate in a 50-50 draw, and purchase liquor.[2] Typical food at a Manitoba wedding social includes KUB bread, cold cuts, cheese cubes, and Timbits.[3][4] Often the bridal or wedding shower is held the afternoon before the social. Other times, it is used as a fundraiser for the wedding itself and will be held a few weeks before the day of the wedding.

United Kingdom[edit]

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 and karaoke. 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 pot out on their hen night which people would put cash into[citation needed].

United States[edit]

In the United States, Stag and drag is held before the wedding of a couple as a big party so that they can collect money for wedding or honeymoon. Guests typically have to purchase a ticket. Unlike wedding reception or engagement, a stag and drag is not expected to be attended only by invited guest list. Anyone can attend - the more guests, the better. Stag and drag could be conducted from many months before the wedding, to a couple of weeks before. The stag and drag party could include food, drink, games, music, dancing, bonfire and other fun activities. Guests could be offered memorabilia such as an engraved cup with the couple's details.


  1. ^ "Let's Party". Retrieved 2007-05-09. 
  2. ^ "What is a Manitoba Social?". Retrieved 3 August 2012. 
  3. ^ Schwegel, Courtney (25 March 2009). "Tacky, or just good old fashioned fun?". The Uniter. Retrieved 26 October 2012. 
  4. ^ Cherniack, Lawrie, and Cy Fien. "Common Law Marriages in Manitoba." Man. LJ 6 (1974): 85.