The School Friend
A popular choice for many, after all, the old school friend represents a care-free, fun version of you. Sure to offer a thorough and insightful speech, the school friend may be a risky choice, and don't forget, you may be a very different person than you were when you were 16. 

The New Friend
The new "BFF"; it might be hilarious Dave from marketing or "Crazy Dave" who you play 5-a-side with on a Tuesday. The new friend is a popular choice for those who've moved away from their childhood town, as well as those with a few skeletons in their closet that they don't want slipping out in the speech! But it spoils the fun for everyone else if their are no old stories, and the pressures of such an important job can put strain on a new friendship.

The Brother
This option obviously depends on your relationship with your brother, but is good choice for those wanting a loyal best man and a relatively uncontroversial speech. It's a way to eliminate the task of choosing between friends but then again, not everyone has a brother, especially not one up to the task!

The Professional
For when no compromises are acceptable, the professional best man is the last option. No need to worry about "that time behind Subway" making its way into the speech or your best man being anything other than charming to your new bride's mother. Hiring the professional allows all of your friends and family to be free to enjoy the day without the stress of the big job.

If you're interested in getting more information on using a professional best man contact us today! The UK's only best man for hire service, as featured in Esquire, The Sun & The Telegraph.

Is the never ending choice on the internet twisting your melon, and blurring your stag do plans into a smog of confusion? We asked our friendly stag planning expert, Mike Wood from Freedom, for his words of wisdom on where’s trending right now.

For butt-clenching, adrenaline filled activities that will tweak the nipples of fate, you stags have 10 things to do before you’re all married off:

1. Escape the Room in London
2. Olympic Bob Sleigh in Riga
3. 1000cc Rages Buggies in Newcastle
4. Kidnap the Stag in Budapest
5. Military Guns in Krakow
6. Female Mud Wrestling in Bratislava
7. Power Boat Thriller in Portsmouth
8. Stock Car Racing in Birmingham
9. White Water Rafting in Cardiff
10. Zorbing in Bournemouth
    
    
    

Heroes were born, saluted and made in Leicester. Raise the stakes of stag do originality, with hidden gems giving more bang for your buck. Take Brno for example, little-bro to Prague, has the same Czech lager, more fierce activities like tank driving and less stags on a bender. For the longest go karting track in the UK, then Milton Keynes is god, or for the trio of Beer Keg Racing, Sumo Wrestling and Motorised Bath Tubs then Reading has to be in with a shout.

Don’t wander aimlessly through the website wasteland of waffle. The Freedom Stag Weekend team are on hand to give advice, tell them your wish list and they’ll be on it jack flash.

Newcastle-Based Stag and Hen Giant, Last Night of Freedom, Creates Virtual Office Tour with Google Business View

 

Newcastle-based stag and hen giant, Last Night of Freedom, has opened the doors of its plush quayside offices to the public via the innovative Google Business View.

The feature enables the public to take internal tours of business premises with 360 degree panoramic scenes, and Last Night of Freedom is the first company in the stag and hen market, as well as one of the first in the entire North East, to have developed the pioneering tour for their company.

Set up in 1999 by Matt Mavir, LNOF has continued to expand and has seen significant growth in the last year. Its staff numbers have doubled since 2013 and LNOF now has over 50 employees, and it was this increase that drove their move from Northumberland to the Newcastle quayside.

“It’s not just the bustling location that drew us here,” said MD, Matt. “We’ve converted a huge industrial building and the vast space we’ve created has meant that we’ve finally got all areas of the company under one roof. Our warehouse is now on-site and we’ve built a personalised T-shirt printing workshop and photography and film studios. We’ve come a long way since 1999, but this is just the beginning for LNOF.”

Each year LNOF sends away over 3,000 stag and hen groups all over the world and sells over 30,000 costumes and accessories, and the company is looking at an annual turnover of £6.5m for 2015.

“We’re proud of our North East offices,” says Matt, “but this is about more than just showing off the premises. This is an inherently fun industry to be in; LNOF HQ is bustling with activity and packed with passionate people. We’re not just another faceless company, we’re a personable organisation and we want our customers to feel like they’re a part of every aspect of the experience of booking a stag and hen weekend with Last Night of Freedom.”

You can view the Google Business tour of Last Night of Freedom at www.lastnightoffreedom.co.uk/about-us/office-tour/

We are pleased to announce that we are now partnered with LastNightOfFreedom.co.uk who will be organising all of our stag dos. The boys and girls at LNOF have over 15 years experience organising some of the greatest stag dos ever so it's safe to say you're in good hands. For more information take a look at our Stag Do page and send them an enquiry.

We're heading straight towards wedding season, so what better time to debunk some of those unshakeable marriage myths.

1.   Divorce is on the Rise
No need to keep that ring receipt; according to a study by The University of Michegan, divorce rates have actually been steadily falling for the last 30 years, with the percentage of couples still being together after 15 years now being at a 30 year high of 70%.

2.   Marriage Ruins Your Sex Life
Another popular scare story, but according to a large scale American study, married couples not only have more sex than their non-married counterparts, but also enjoy it more. Just another reason to drop to the knee.

3.   Marriage Requires Selflesness
Sorry, no fancy study for this one, just a wealth of experience; for a marriage to succeed you need to love yourself as much as you love your partner, spend time alone, as you do together, and have your own unique likes. Yea it's nice if parts overlap...but marriage is between 2 people, not one, big...blended..you get the idea.

4.   Your Wedding Day is the Best Day of your Life
OK, this actually is true, just had to throw a curve ball. It may be stressful, and it may have cost a small fortune, but boy is it going to be the best day of your life.

If you want help on your big day get in touch today to see how we can help.

Esquire caught up with HABM founder EJ to talk Stag dos, what makes a good best man and a certain film release. Pick up your copy of the March 2015 edition of Esquire in any good newsagent.

We've all heard the old adage of picturing an audience in their underwear, but when it comes to delivering a confident speech there are some techniques that really do help to beat the nerves. Whether delivering the speech as Groom, Father of the Bride or the Best Man, follow these 3 rules to ensure a smooth, confident and enjoyable speech;

1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
I know this advice isn't as fun as envisioning a room full of nearly naked wedding guests, but the truth is that nothing has a more direct effect on confidence than preparation. Remember whether it's you or someone you care a lot about, this is going to be the most important day in somebody's life, so isn't it worth that bit of time beforehand? I'll save in depth speech writing advice for another day but I will share some basic preparation advice that will stand you in good stead; List, Draft, Test, Re-draft. List some important points to mentions, potential anecdotes, thank yous etc, then formulate them into a draft, test this draft for time and flow with a confidant and finally restructure a re-draft based on findings and feedback. And don't forget to learn it, finding your place on a screwed up piece of paper after a long day and some Dutch courage can really knock you out of kilter.

2. Get your head in the game
You're standing in front of a crowd of expectant faces and in your mind you, to them, are just another obstacle in the way of a slice of cake. If you don't deliver a speech worthy of a presidential inauguration you will ruin the whole day...This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when standing to give your speech. The faces staring at you are most likely your nearest and dearest and you know what, they want you to succeed. If you remember one thing make sure it is that. I've witnessed some pretty awful speeches but have never seen a best man disowned or berated off the back of a shaky, monotone speech. They will most likely laugh at mundane jokes, "aww" at predictable sentiments and applaud you afterwards, because you got up there and did it, it's more than they did.

3. Have a Drink at Hand
Umm, err... yup, they're the most popular non-words for many nervous speakers, but there's an easy way to avoid them, and this goes for interviews too. It's always good to have a drink handy anyway, in case of that dreaded coughing fit or sudden dry mouth, but a sip of water is a great delaying tactic. The reason we umm and err is to fill what we are seeing as an uncomfortable pause. But next time you want to buy yourself some thinking seconds, just take a sip, compose yourself, and continue.

There you go, follow these tips and your next speech should go a lot smoother, and you might even enjoy it! If you want help writing a speech contact us for a quote today.