Before a lady gets married, she invites her female friends to a bachelorette party. This is the last party that the bride-to-be spends in the status of a single woman. Girls drink cocktails, eat cakes and gossip freely, knowing that men won’t hear them.
Also, they can travel to other cities or even countries with spa hotels and luxurious celebrations.
But the question is how to cover the expenses on all pre-wedding fun. Is it a bride-to-be who pays for everything or a maid of honor maybe?
Let’s find out who pays for the bachelorette party in the article below.
Who Should Pay For The Bachelorette Party?
Let’s be honest, there is no strict bachelorette party etiquette that would regulate this aspect. If the bride wants, she can cover all the expenses. If she can’t afford it or the maids want to take this pleasant responsibility, they have a right to do so.
Below, let’s have a look at the typical distribution of bachelorette party expenses.
The maid of honor is the person who throws the bachelorette party. Yet it doesn’t mean that she needs to pay for everything out of her pocket! According to modern bachelorette etiquette, all parties involved can (and should!) openly discuss their financial opportunities.
- The bride-to-be has a right to ask whether her friends can afford such expenses.
- If the bachelorette party budget seems exorbitant, both the bride-to-be and her friends can try to offer more budget-friendly alternatives.
- If the costs seem affordable for everyone except 1-2 people, these people should contribute as much as they can. Also, they might help the maid of honor with some organizational duties.
However, there is one thing that a maid should avoid doing. She should never say something like “I can’t afford to pay a lot but I want to have a posh party! I don’t want cheap alternatives! Maybe, someone could pay for me?”. That would go against the rules of etiquette for a bachelorette party.
To plan the program and the budget of the party, the maid of honor should conduct a poll. All the maids should express their opinions on the following aspects of the upcoming event.
- Dates
- Duration
- Itinerary
- Budget
- Types of entertainment
First, it makes sense to put down all the ideas. Then, the maid of honor should narrow down the search. She should cross out those ideas that cost too much, aren’t available at the moment and that not everyone seems to like.
Then, she should estimate the costs:
- Visit the websites of the organizations that provide the services required for the party
- Check the official prices of these venues and providers
- Get in touch with these venues and providers and ask whether they could offer her a discount
- Put down all the information in an Excel sheet or some other well-structured document
- Discuss the options with the bride-to-be and the other maids
The maid of honor might ask the other maids to help her. For instance, one lady can check the prices for hotel rooms, the other one for hairdresser services and so on. But this might lead to a mess.
Usually, the maid of honor should be in charge of all the aspects alone. This would be the most efficient way of organizing things. Plus, it would be more convenient for the bride-to-be to stay in touch with the maid of honor and discuss everything with her alone.
Which part of the bachelorette party cost is covered by bridesmaids?
The maids cover the most bachelorette party expenses: meals, drinks, shows, decoration, the work of all the staff and so on. The very idea of this event is genuinely simple. The maids are very happy for the bride-to-be — but they don’t want to let her go! They will miss her and they want to express their gratitude for her.
Recommended reading: 10 Tips About Wedding Food Tasting You Need to Know
The bride-to-be should save the best memories of the times when she was single. Later on, when she thinks of her bachelorette, she might want to call her friends and arrange a meeting once again. She will not completely forget them simply because she has a family now. This is the concept behind the bachelorette party — and the reason why the maids normally pay for everything.
Here are some insightful statistics of a bachelorette party budget for a 3-day weekend by city. Your expenses might differ depending on your location.
- Flight — $350
- Accommodation (if two people share one room) — $415
- Meals — $330
- Show ticket — $90
- Cocktails — $200
- Beers — $120
On average, one person would consume 5 cocktails and 5 beers during the party. In total, you should be ready to spend around $1,300. If you aim to cut down the budget, you should be able to throw a decent party for approximately $550.
These are the types of entertainment that the maids typically book for the event:
- Karaoke
- Spa party
- Boozy brunch
- Tea party
- Wine tasting
- Pole dance classes
- Art classes
- Sailing
Also, there should be gifts. According to the bachelorette party etiquette, the bride-to-be has a right to ask for a particular gift. If it is expensive enough, the maids can share the expenses. But they would need to purchase gifts for the wedding ceremony too. Probably, it would make sense to leave the largest gifts until the wedding, right?
For the wedding, maids can buy useful and long-lasting gifts — such as kitchen alliances or small furniture. But for a bachelorette, they should choose more emotional items, such as books, teddy bears, framed photos and so on.
These items should remind the bride-to-be about the gorgeous times that she spent together with her friends when she was still not married. Such things cost very little — so probably, each maid will be able to pay for them out of her pocket. Handmade gifts would be an ideal choice.
What is paid by the bride-to-be?
As usual, the bride-to-be hardly needs to pay for anything. However, she might want to cover some extra expenses for her friends who attend her bachelorette party. These are a few examples.
- The maids booked a 1-hour pole dance class. But suddenly, the bride-to-be wants to prolong it and books the second hour.
- The bride can organize safe transportation for all her guests. Someone might want to leave earlier than expected or the party might last longer than it was planned initially.
- Tips for waiters, bartenders and all the other staff.
The bride-to-be should have cash in her purse just in case someone doesn’t accept bank cards.
Plus, the bride-to-be might ask her guests to put down all the extra costs that they had to cover from their own pockets. Once the party is over, they should send their lists to the bride-to-be and she would pay for their expenses. Alternatively, the maid of honor can do the same.
Destination bachelorette party etiquette: who pays for travel?
If the party takes place outside the bride’s-to-be hometown, she is expected to pay for her transportation and accommodation herself. But once she arrives, she doesn’t need to pay for anything.
If the bride-to-be stays in a hotel, she pays for the room but not the other services that she might use there, such as:
- Spa
- Hairdresser
- Make-up artist
All the maids cover their travel expenses themselves. By the way, they don’t need to stay in the same hotel. If the choice of rooms is limited or some maids would like to cut down costs, they can rely on Airbnb.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article came in handy and now you know that it can be bride-to-be, maid of honor or bridesmaids who pay for the bachelorette party. When planning yours, make sure to discuss the upcoming expenses with your friends in every detail. If you decide to share the costs, fix your agreements in written form. And if your friends decide to take all the expenses, just let them do it and enjoy!