How much would you/have you spent to attend a Hen do?

Liz3yy

I have attended a friends hen weekend and also this summer arranged my own. On both occasions the weekend was planned to keep costs to an absolute minimum - and all parties concerned were consulted to ensure no one would be hugely out of pocket.

My friends weekend cost me £50 (she put me up in her house to save on hotels) my my own around £100 - anymore money that would have been too much

stir_crazy

The limit for me would depend really on how close I was to the bride and how many joint interests we had. The most expensive one I went to was £200 to go an hour down the road to an exclusive golfing lodge. Biggest waste of money ever - we were promised a weekend of outdoor activities and a casino night on the saturday. The casino night ended up being a game of roulette and a couple of games of 21's before the bride got into her pjs and everyone sat and watched Twilight for the rest of the evening. And the promised outdoor activities didn't happen at all because the majority of people were too hung over from drinking on Friday.

browneyedbazzi

I was invited on a hen do once that was set to cost hundreds - the person organising it wanted everyone to travel hundreds of miles, stay in a hotel, and do various activities over a weekend.

Thankfully it wasn't what the bride wanted and she was aware that the cost would stop some of the people she most wanted to be there from coming. She talked to the person planning the do and got them to agree a change of plans. The revised weekend still cost around £150 (travel, meals, drinks, activities) but was much cheaper than the original plan.

lazer

My own hen night was either £90 or £115 depending on the chosen activity and was for 2 nights away.

It was mainly Bring your own drink and included one evenings entertainment and all meals - we went out to a local pub afterward as well but only for a few hours.

I had talked to all the people i was inviting beforehand and we had another option for about £40 but everyone preferred the £95/£115 option.

It would depend on how close of friend it is if i would go or not - the most expensive I have went on was a weekend in a Hilton Hotel in London (Flights from Belfast) - it was good fun but finished up very expensive and I probably wouldn't spend that amount of money now!

Mazzarati2000

I've spent £100 plus a (not ridiculously expensive) meal twice, but these were both for very close friends and were for 2 and 4 nights and included food and drink for all meals except the meal out. They also included materials for games/activities, and both brides checked out the budget with those that they wanted to be there before booking anything. They also gave plenty of notice (3-4 months was the shortest). Both events that I refer to represented excellent value for money (but both were privately organised), and the most important thing was that they reflected what the hens were happy to spend, so we could all really enjoy ourselves once there.

I am wary of hen/stag companies when it comes to value for money, as they wouldn't be doing it if there wasn't a profit to be made for them of course! However, I'm on MSE, and I hate paying for something I think I could do as well as, if not better myself. I do appreciate that they may represent value for money for some ( and if I were invoicing myself for my own time researching, maybe that would include me, but I don't! ;-))

It's a shame that you have been put in this position, and I think it's a tough one. Ultimately, as hard as it may be, if it's not something that you can or want to afford, it might be better to decline than to be there and worried about additional costs rather than able to enjoy it?

claire16c

My sisters hen do cost £20 for one activity & £20 for the second. Then adding on around £20 for transport. If they wanted to carry on after that to some bars, that was the cost of drinks so up to the individual.

We arranged it so people could choose to leave after whatever activity they chose, and like wise they could choose to stay over or go home because the location wasn't too far.

So I spent £60 +£50 on hotel. Then probably around £10 on taxi/tube so £110. One of her friends just did the one activity so she spent around £40.

My friend was invited to one which had the second activity on the 2nd day which she was annoyed about as it meant she had to pay for a hotel if she wanted to go to that.

tea_lover

I feel a bit left out now about all these 'activities' The hen do's I've been on have just been meals, or one to a theme park. But no activities! What do people do??

maman

I think you're getting the general trend OP.

I'd suggest that it depends how close you are to the bride. I

f you're not a close friend then just let them get on with arrangements and then decide whether you want to/can afford this mini-break. If you don't then just be up front and say sorry, I hope you have a lovely time but I just can't afford it.

If you're closer like a sister or a bridesmaid or something then I'd discuss with the bride whether she minds excluding people who can't afford to go. If she presses ahead anyway then unless it'll cause you financial problems (when I'd say the same as above) then I'd just grin and bear it.

claire16c

We went to the secret room at choccy Woccy do dah.

Others I've done are

Karaoke
Afternoon tea

Friends have done

Male strip shows
Cocktail classes
Pole dance classes
Making a perfume
Dance class to make up a dance for the wedding to do after the first dance

con1888

Whatever I/you can afford at the time.

I went on a weekend hen to Liverpool ( we live in Scotland) and it was around £120 for the accomadation/travel then just spending money for the 4 nights there, I didn't spend an awful lot, we had drinks in apartment before going out.

I've also been on one abroad where it was around £230 for 4 days all inclusive, again didn't need much spending money.

Been on hen nights where ive spent between £50-£100.