There’s a lot that goes into planning a bachelorette party and a lot that goes into managing the opinions of the bride, the bridesmaids and any friends invited. Everyone wants the ultimate bachelorette party but few want to pay that much for the experience. Whether you want to plan a budget bachelorette or save money on the ultimate bachelorette there are plenty of ways to save money planning a bachelorette without breaking the bank.

How much should you spend on a bachelorette party?

There is no set amount for how much you should spend on a bachelorette party. It depends on what the bride wants and what the bridemaids and attendees are willing to spend. The average amount spent at a bachelorette party is $537 per person but according to the Weddingwire 40% who flew to a destination bachelorette party reported spending $1,000 or more and 1 in 10 reported spending over $4,000!

The cost of bachelorettes vary widely, which is why it’s so important to set an estimated budget for each person before anything is booked. Some friends may not be able to afford attending a destination bachelorette so if the people are the most important part of the bachelorette to the bride look to do something local.

There is no set amount for how much money to spend throwing a bachelorette party. But, there is guidance on how to set the right budget for the bachelorette you’re throwing. First, understand who is paying for what on the bachelorette. And, understand what people are willing to spend. It’s best to ask each bridesmaid and bride individually so that no one is embarrassed if they cannot afford a lot. Even if a destination location is decided there are plenty of ways to travel hack your way to cheaper hotels, transportation and flights.

See Also: 5 Ways to Save Money on Travel

Who Pays for the Bachelorette Party?

Who pays for the bachelorette party also varies by groups of friends. In some cases the bridesmaids split it evenly. In other cases the maid of honor pays for more. Sometimes, the bridesmaids pay for part and then charge each guest a certain amount. Usually, everyone who attends pays for their travel to the event and their housing if it’s an overnight bachelorette. The bridesmaids tend to pay more and pay for decorations and food and drink around the house.

If it’s a destination bachelorette party, the bride often pays for her flight. Sometimes the bridesmaids pay for her housing, other times the bride will pay for their housing. Often, the bridesmaids and other attendees pay for the brides food, drinks and any entertainment.

Splitting the Cost of the Bachelorette Party

As bridesmaids buy items for the bachelorette track expenses in excel or Splitwise. This will help split the cost of the bachelorette and keep track of who owes who money. Then, to collect payment for the bachelorette party each person can transfer the money on Venmo or another payment app. To best identify who should pay for what at the bachelorette you’re throwing ask these questions:

Additional Guests Invited To the Bachelorette Party

If the bride has decided to invite people that aren’t bridesmaids it’s fine to expect that they will help pay for their part of the bachelorette. The bridesmaids should cover more of the bachelorette (for example decorations, perhaps group food and drinks) but they should not be expected to pay for the guests dinner, bar drinks and hotel / transportation.

Will it be a destination bachelorette party or local?

Often, when the bachelorette is local the bride won’t pay for anything. When the bachelorette is a destination the bride will usually pay for her flight and hotel. At destination bachelorette parties it varies what the bride pays for at the actual location. Sometimes the guests insist on paying for everything. Other times the bride will pay for some of the activities. It really depends on the dynamics of the group.

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer as to who pays for what. The most important thing is to set the expectations up front as to who will pay for what before anything is booked so that there are no surprises. You don’t want to arrive at the bachelorette party and have the bride upset she has to pay for things or the guests upset they have to pay for a bunch of activities and everything for the bride.

See Also: How to Plan a Bridal Shower on a Budget

Start Planning The Bachelorette Party Early

One way to save money on a bachelorette party is to start the planning early. You’ll be able to get better deals on airfare and the hotel / Airbnb. You’ll also get better deals on any decorations you buy and activities you decide to do as you’ll have the runway to shop around for better deals.

There will be more selection on hotels and Airbnb if you’re staying overnight. Especially if you need a large house, there is only so much inventory that will accommodate a large bachelorette party. Work with the bride to understand when and how she wants to reach out – if she would like you to reach out or if she would like to reach out. Sometimes the early planning may happen before the guests even receive save the dates! So, it’s important to coordinate with the bride.

There are two main answers you need early on in the planning process: who the bride wants to attend, and what location the bride wants.

Who Does The Bride Want to Attend the Bachelorette Party?

If the bride wants to have only the bridesmaids attend the bachelorette party most locations can be discussed. But, if the bride wants to invite a ton of people the location should be local. The attendee list will really gear the conversations around location and price. If it’s just the bridesmaids, they have all agreed to stand by the bride on her special day and accepted knowing that they will pay money for all of these events. Friends that aren’t bridemaids will be reluctant to spend a ton of money on the bachelorette and cost will be a high factor in their decision as to whether or not they will attend. The cheaper and more convenient the bachelorette is, the more people that will be interested in attending.

Throwing a bachelorette party within driving distance will maximize the amount of people that will be able to come. On the opposite side, if the bachelorette requires a flight people are less likely to say yes to attending.

Having more people attend a bachelorette party doesn’t necessarily mean the price per person will get cheaper. It’s great to have more people to split costs with. However, if it’s a large group you’ll find only certain restaurants will be able to accommodate your group size and that restaurant may not be the cheapest. If it’s a destination bachelorette party, you’ll have to get more hotel rooms or a larger house.

Does the Bride Want A Destination Bachelorette Party or Local?

The bachelorette location is the biggest driver of cost. The cheapest location for a bachelorette is whatever location is local. You don’t have to spend money on a hotel or transportation and it will likely be only one night. Limiting the number of days for the bachelorette will always help save money. On the flip side, the most expensive bachelorette is a destination bachelorette. Destination bachelorettes are usually at least two nights, if not longer, and require spending money on a flight and lodging as well as money on food and activities.

Save Money on Bachelorette Party Housing

As the person planning the bachelorette, housing is the biggest opportunity you have drive costs down for the rest of the group, second to the location. You’ll be the person deciding where everyone is staying for the bachelorette.

Consider a few things: will an Airbnb or hotel be cheaper? What area is best to stay in? Don’t forget to ask all attendees if they have a connection to save money here. If someone works at a hotel chain for example they may get an employee or a friends and family discount as part of their employee perks. And, sometimes the cheaper housing option mean spending more on transportation to and from bars and restaurants so that is something to factor in.

If you know there are a few people that may be struggling to afford the bachelorette but really want to come there are a few ways for you to help them save more money on the lodging. It’ll be much more expensive if everyone wants their own room or own bed. If anyone wants that, ask them to pay more. Those that are OK sharing a bed and/or sharing a bedroom or sleeping on a couch can pay less. Splitting a hotel room four ways will be much cheaper than each person getting their own hotel room. The same is true for splitting bedrooms and having people sleep on an air mattress or couch in an AirBnB. Most people are reasonable and are ok paying more if they’ll have the better accommodation.

Save Money On Bachelorette Party Transportation

The cheapest way to save money on transportation at a bachelorette party is to go somewhere that is in driving distance and carpool. But if you have a destination bachelorette look for opportunities to carpool with the other girls. If you don’t live in the same city, can you take public transportation to get to the airport or have another friend or family member drive you?

Once you get to the bachelorette destination, does anyone land around the same time as you? As the person planning the bachelorette, it’s always helpful to collect all the flight information as people book their flights so the rest of the ladies can coordinate. Also, identify if there are public transportation options available at the destination. Any way to share an Uber or Lyft or jointly rent a car will help reduce ground transportation expenses.

Know how much transportation will cost where you are going – and, does it make sense to spend a little more on housing so that you can spend less on ubers or renting a car? Understand how often you’ll use the car and do the math to determine if it’s worth renting a car.

See Also: How to Save Money as a Wedding Guest

Save Money on Bachelorette Party Food

There are a few ways to decrease the food costs at a bachelorette. The biggest ways to save money is to limit the alcohol consumption and not go out to eat. Alcohol is expensive and it adds up quickly on a bachelorette. If you don’t want to sacrifice alcohol or quality, better plan how much you’ll need. It’s easy to overbuy and then have leftover alcohol you can’t bring back with you.

If you’re going away for a weekend, buy coffee and stuff for breakfast so you don’t have to go out for every meal. You can also buy groceries to make other meals at the place if you get an Airbnb.

Lastly, plan ahead where you’ll eat. Decide to have one “fancy” meal, and even then find a restaurant that will meet your price point.

Bachelorette Party Decorations That are Fun and Affordable

If you’re staying local, bachelorette decorations will make the night feel more special. If you’re going away for the bachelorette, decorations aren’t needed to make the weekend feel special. Plus, you’ve spent more money on getting to the bachelorette so it’s ok to go easy on the decor. The bachelorette is always more about the time spent with each other. If you do buy bachelorette decorations there are ways to save money.

Create One Decoration That’s Great for Photographs

Instead of trying to make the entire bachelorette location Instagram worthy, is there one decoration you can do really well for pictures? Perhaps it’s the table display during the pregame or a DIY photo backdrop. You can also look at images of selfie frame cutouts and DIY instead of spending ~$40 ordering one online.

Buy Bachelorette Decorations Well In Advance

If you’re buying decorations for the bachelorette with less than a week to go your options will be limited. You’ll have less time to shop around for the best price. More importantly, you’ll need to either shop local or shop somewhere where the decorations will get to you in time. You may even have to pay for rush shipping to get everything in time.

Matching Shirts / Accessories For The Bride and Guests

Many times you’ll see bachelorettes where everyone has a matching shirt and the bride has a bride shirt. For the party shirts you’ll wear once will cost anywhere from $12-$30 each. You can drive down these costs by buying a generic bachelorette shirt on Etsy. If you want a custom design you’ll have to pay for the design fee plus the shirts.

Alternatively, you can get matching cozies, matching hats or matching sunglasses. You can find many bride and bridesmaid sunglasses for sale for $6 each on Etsy, which is cheaper than a t-shirt. You can also make DIY flower crowns and spent even less!

For the bride, a bride sash to wear out and a bride t-shirt are more than enough. Let the group know what you are buying for the bride though otherwise someone else may bring the same thing not knowing this was already purchased.

Who pays for bachelorette party shirts? That depends. It’s perfectly reasonable to ask each person (besides the bride!) to pay for their bachelorette party shirt. Sometimes the maid of honor or the bridesmaids will buy all of the bachelorette party shirts as a gift for everyone but this is not expected.

Affordable Bachelorette Activity Ideas

Another way to save money on the bachelorette you’re planning is to plan affordable activities. Share these with the group prior to booking so you can make sure everyone is willing to spend money on this. Separately, ask the bride if she wants everyone to do the activities or if she’s ok if some people don’t participate. The more people attending the harder it is to please everyone.

Bachelorette Activities

If you are planning a destination bachelorette usually a few activities are planned in advance. The activities available will depend on the location. Wherever you are going, google free activities in “x” location. If you have a pool where you’re staying that will always be cheaper than paying to go to another pool or renting a boat.

When you find a paid activity you’d like to do, call the company and try to negotiate. Sometimes you can get discounted rates with enough people. Also, check Groupon and other deal sites. There may be deals going on that you can take advantage of.

If you want to do a bar crawl, plan the bar crawl yourself instead of going through a company. Pick a spot with a bunch of bars in the same area so you can walk to each. Don’t be afraid to negotiate with the bars either! Call ahead and see if they’re willing to do any drink specials or if they have any specials to be aware of.

Free Bachelorette Games

If you’re on a budget skip buying bachelorette games. Often these seem like a good idea but they only last for a few minutes during the bachelorette anyways. Plus there are plenty of printable bachelorette party games online, for free!! Check out these 25 bachelorette party games that are free, including 16 free printout games from The Spruce.

Bachelorette Party Slide Show For The Bride

Create a slide show of the couple or bride and show it during the bachelorette. It takes some time, but it’s free and a wonderful gift for the bride. Watching the bachelorette party slide show while getting ready for the night is also a great activity and sure to be appreciated by the bride and everyone there!

Ask Friends Who Have Been To The Location Before For Saving Money Tips

Are you planning a destination bachelorette party? It’s always easier to plan a bachelorette on a budget when someone you know has been to that location before. They’ll know what’s worth the money and what is worth skipping. They’ll have good food suggestions, know the best places to stay, if you should rent a car, etc. Don’t have a friend that’s been to that destination before? Check Trip Advisor and Google for more tips about the destination. There is a lot of information available online, sometimes you just have to spend a little time searching for it!

What are ways you’ve saved money when planning a bachelorette party on a budget?

Want to throw an Instagram worthy bridal shower? Bridal showers are an important pre-wedding celebration for the bride-to-be, but they can also be a significant expense. The cost of a bridal shower can vary greatly depending on several factors such as the number of guests, location, bridal shower invitations, food and drinks, bridal shower decorations, and activities. Whether you’re the maid of honor or a close friend, understanding the cost of a bridal shower is crucial to ensure that the celebration is both memorable and within budget. In this article, we’ll break down the typical expenses associated with bridal showers, so you can have a better idea of how much you should expect to spend on a bridal shower. We’ll also provide ideas for inexpensive bridal shower invitations, inexpensive bridal shower favors and more to reduce the cost of a bridal shower.

How Much To Spend On A Bridal Shower?

The cost of a bridal shower can add up, so it’s important you set what you’re willing to spend ahead of time so that you don’t overspend. There is no set amount for how much to spend on a bridal shower. But, there is guidance on how to set the right budget for your bridal shower. First, understand who is paying for the bridal shower. Are the bridesmaids splitting the shower equally or is the maid of honor chipping in more? Is the family helping throw the bridal shower?

Once you identify who is responsible for paying for the bridal shower is, and how much those people are willing to spend, you now have your budget. With the list the bride has given of who should be invited you can calculate about how much you can spend per person. Right here, you should already be able to tell if certain locations are already too expensive.

How much does a bridal shower cost? For the first few bridal showers we planned we invited 75 people and expected 50 people to attend. We estimated the bridal shower cost to be $2,000 total for 50 people or $40/ person attending. For us, $40 per person attending seemed like a good estimate for how much to spend on a bridal shower. We’re not sure if this is the average cost to host a bridal shower but it gave us a good starting point. We ended up spending less money hosting bridal showers after the first using the tricks below. We learned a few tricks to and were able bring the cost per person down!

See Also: How to Save Money Throwing a Bachelorette

Buy Inexpensive Bridal Shower Invitations

Save money hosting a bridal shower by buying inexpensive bridal shower invitations. If you choose to go the traditional route of mailed invitations the average cost of bridal shower invitations is $1.50 to $2 per invite. Postage today ranges from $0.55 to $0.70 per letter depending on the shape of the envelope. You can design invites on Shutterfly, which cost about $1 / invite. Shutterfly does tend to have a lot of sales so check online first to see if they have a current discount code before purchasing. Sending invites the traditional way can cost about $200 for 75 people invited. If you absolutely want to send bridal shower invitations by mail, the most inexpensive bridal shower invitation is an invitation that is already designed. The second most inexpensive bridal shower invitation that you mail is one you design yourself on a site like Shutterfly.

When you’re hosting a bridal shower on a budget, the most inexpensive bridal shower invitations are to send invitations via email. This will save you money on design, postage and the invitations themselves. If you choose to email the invitations, you can use free designs on Evite, or elect to design your own invitation which can cost anywhere from $13 to $50 depending on the event size. Emailing bridal shower invitations that is a free design is the most affordable bridal shower invitation you’ll find.

Bridal Shower Location

Hosting the bridal shower at a home is usually cheapest. If you can accommodate everyone at a house, you won’t have to pay for a location. However, this isn’t always true. How many people are attending – can the house fit this? If you have to rent a tent, table and/or chairs this can add up quickly and it may be cheapest to go to a restaurant or other location. Location, food and beverage are the biggest ways to save money on a bridal shower.

Bridal Shower Food On A Budget

If you’re having it at a restaurant, know your budget and look for the venue that fits that.

If you’re having it at home, will you make the food yourself or will you hire a caterer? Create the menu, estimate how many people will attend and then calculate how much it will cost to make yourself. You may find hiring a caterer or picking up food from a restaurant ends up being cheaper.

One of the biggest costs of the food and beverage is actually the alcohol. Have a signature cocktail instead of an open bar to reduce costs or offer one mimosa per person if doing it at a restaurant. If you’re hosting the bridal shower at home, limiting the amount of drinks (ex sticking to just mimosas or offering only a few options) will reduce the amount of liquors and ingredients you have to buy. Some liquor stores allow you to return any alcohol that was unopened as well.

Bridal Shower Decorations On A Budget

I was in a sorority, and every year there are multiple bridal showers to attend. The con – it definitely gets expensive. The pro- you can use the bridal shower decorations over and over again! We used to assume we’d spend $200 on decorations but we’ve been able to reduce this cost by following the tricks below! Some of these decorations we’ve used for other wedding events as well.

For one bridal shower, we bought vases and trays from the dollar store. It was an upfront expense for the first, but since then we’ve been able to use them at multiple bridals (and now baby showers!) since. This is an easy inexpensive bridal shower decoration because vases can go with any theme. If you buy white trays, those trays can be used for multiple bridal shower themes and wedding events as well.

For the bridal shower centerpieces, we brought our vases to Whole Foods and they fill each vase with a pretty floral arrangement for $10. Limiting the number of tables will reduce this cost.

We also bought picture frames for the signs for the gift table and the favor table. Picture frames are relatively inexpensive at TJ Maxx and Homegoods. You can also buy wooden picture frames from A.C. Moore that you paint and they may even have some at the Dollar Store. The signs we designed ourselves and printed them and put them in these frames. Then, we reused both these picture frames and signs over and over again for other bridal showers and now baby showers.

Free Bridal Shower Games

A great way to throw a bridal shower on a budget is to use free bridal shower games instead of buying them. There are a ton of free bridal shower games that are available online for download. Your only cost is printing making these very inexpensive bridal shower games. For prizes, we picked up a few things at the dollar store or low cost items like nail polish, etc and wrapped it nicely.

We originally assumed we’d have to spend $150 on games, but by doing this we ended up spending less than $50!

Inexpensive Bridal Shower Favors

At many bridal showers I’ve been to, the bridal shower favor gift is cute but never used. There are many inexpensive bridal shower favors but depending on the size of the bridal shower party, this expense can add up quickly. Instead of a bridal shower favor you can do a donation to the brides favorite charity. I’ve also been to bridal showers which have used the desserts as the favor which is the most inexpensive bridal shower favor I’ve seen so far. They set up a cute dessert bar with different types of candy nicely displayed in different glass vases and you make yourself a candy bag to take home.

In the past, we’ve assumed $3.50 / person for bridal shower favors. For 50 people attending this adds up to $175! By having a candy bar act as favors you can save this cost entirely since you’re already paying for food.

Identify The Hidden Talents Of The Group- And Use Them To Throw A Bridal Shower On A Budget

It’s always easier to plan a bridal shower on a budget when a few of the planners are crafty and talented. One friend is amazing at making the pull apart cupcake cakes. Instead of spending a ton of money on desserts, she makes the cupcake cake and we pay her for all of the supplies and usually give her some money for her labor. We used to assume we’d have to spend $100 on the cake, but this has been a fraction of the cost!

A few friends are also very crafty. They are the people that are assigned to the DIY decor helping us reduce the amount of money spent on decorations.

In conclusion, the cost of a bridal shower can vary greatly, and the expenses can add up quickly. However, with proper planning and budgeting, you can still throw an unforgettable celebration for the bride-to-be without breaking the bank. Consider cutting back on non-essential expenses and opting for budget-friendly alternatives to help keep the costs down. The most important thing is to focus on creating a special and meaningful experience for the bride and her guests. Remember, the true purpose of a bridal shower is to celebrate the upcoming wedding and the love between the bride and groom, and not to break the bank.

See Also: How to Save Money As A Wedding Guest