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Real Bride Diary: My Hen Do in Mallorca

Claudia Judd July 17, 2026 5 Min Read

My Hen Do had been a surprise up until the week before, when I asked my sister to let me in on it early, purely because I had started stressing about what to pack. Here is how it unfolded.

Thursday: touchdown in Mallorca

We were on a six am flight, which felt brutal at the time and completely worth it the moment we landed. My three Bridesmaids had planned the entire weekend between them, and it showed within hours of landing. We checked into the hotel and walked straight down the hill, a five minute stroll, to the most gorgeous beach cove, where the first cocktails of the trip appeared almost immediately.

We spent the whole day there. That was the beauty of it: we just held one spot on the sand, and different friends arrived throughout the day as flights landed. Two of my Bridesmaids peeled off shortly after we arrived at the beach and doubled back to the hotel instead, blowing up balloons and putting together a hangover kit for every single one of us, electrolytes, under eye masks, plasters, a disposable camera, and our personalised sarongs.

No rigid schedule for the rest of us, just good company arriving in waves. Once the sun started to dip, we headed back up to the hotel to get ready for dinner and found everything laid out and waiting but in the rush they set the whole thing up in the wrong room, which we still find hilarious. By that point there were eight of us, and it was the loveliest, most relaxed way to begin.

Friday: Pilates, pool days and a boat full of best friends

Friday started with Pilates at Lobster Club at nine thirty am, and I will say, it was not the gentle warm up class I was expecting. It was properly hard work. But it was the perfect way to shake off the flight and get us all energised for the day ahead.

From there we had pool beds booked from eleven, and just settled in: wine, food, sunshine, no rush at all. Then at two pm, a boat was waiting for us, drinks loaded on board, and by this point our group had grown to ten.

This was when the merch came out, and it might have been my favourite part of the whole weekend. We had matching sarongs: mine was white and read Wifey, my three Bridesmaids had blue ones that said Bridesmaid across the back, and the rest of the girls had sarongs embroidered with 'In Essence'. A phrase I say constantly, apparently, though I had genuinely never clocked it as my catchphrase until that exact moment.

On the water we had paddleboards and the ring/donut, the perfect mix of proper activity and chilling.

Dinner was booked for eight and the girls had planned a western theme. I wore a full sleeve lace dress with the Gigi & Olive cowgirl hat, finished with a diamante Mrs and diamante fringing, which is exactly the kind of detail I would put on a real Bride if I were styling someone else's Hen Do. Dinner and drinks that night did not disappoint.

Saturday: beach mornings and Beso Beach Club

Saturday morning was slower. We went back down to the beach and just sat with it for a while before the day properly began. Then at two pm we arrived at Beso Beach Club and settled in for lunch, after which we played Mr & Mrs, complete with a video John had recorded especially for all the girls to watch. From there it turned into a proper night, dancing on the tables, doing the conga, and losing track of time in the best way.

The highlights

If I had to choose, it is a toss up between the boat and Beso Beach, though really it is the same answer twice: having all your girls in one place, with nowhere else to be, is genuinely unbeatable.

The outfits made it, too. I wore Mrs Edmunds embroidered jeans over a 'Mrs Edmunds to be' tank top, and I had a different fan for every single outfit. I also wore a gorgeous swim piece from our Away That Day collaboration, the kind of piece I know I will reach for again and again, and always associate with this exact weekend. Having matching merch for a proper photo opp is so much fun, too. Looking back at those photos now, they just make me smile, and honestly, they sum up the whole weekend perfectly.

Some trips you remember. This one I get to rewear.

My tip for any Bride

If I could pass on one piece of advice, it would be this: build in proper chill time. My girls did this so well. There was never a moment where we were rushing from one thing to the next just to get through a list. We could actually be present in each part of the weekend, which is what made it feel like a holiday with your favourite people rather than an itinerary to survive.