Crossword Genius

Wedding party so nearly having start delayed (3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hen night

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'wedding party' is the definition.
'hen night' can be an answer for 'party' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'wedding' bit.

'nearly having start delayed' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'nearly' could be 'nigh' (synonyms) and 'nigh' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'hent' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'so' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hen night that I've seen before include "Party for women only" , "Bride's celebration before wedding" , "party of girls" , "Bride-to-be's party" , "prematch party" .)

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