How much does average hen night cost?

consultant31

If, as you say, she's pushing for confirmation now, surely it would be easy to get out of by saying that you're sorry but will have to decline as you really cannot confirm at this early stage.

I concur with everyone else and think inviting you was just a way to bump up the numbers - sorry

FreddieFrugal

Piggywiggy wrote: »

When you add it all up as a female guest, you have hen party + gift + outfit, possible overnight stay somewhere and having to take time off work it makes weddings very expensive, men have it slightly easier in that they generally already have a suit but we're talking hundreds of pounds just to go to someone's wedding.

But if men already have a suit, surely women must already have at least one dress? I know my wife does. I don't think you 'need' to buy a new outfit, people just 'like' to. Really the gift is your presence. We didn't expect any gifts at our wedding. As it turned out though people were very generous. In fact the value of gifts in cash was half the cost of the wedding!

Why does a hen night have to be so expensive?
http://onefabday.com/uk/8-cheap-cheerful-hen-party-ideas/

Personally, if I was a bride to be (:rotfl:) id either want to just have a nice meal with friends, or go to like a favourite beach or place in the country for a picnic and games, walk.

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

We don't have it that easy tbh, We are required to do the stag do and the last one I went to didn't leave me any change out of £1500.00, presents, day itself so all in told cost me around £2000.00 plus the other half's outfit that I think was around £300.00 on top.

:eek: our whole bloomin' wedding cost that!

dirty_magic

I'd just be honest and say you've thought about it and you can't afford the hotel and travel on top. Why lie, if she's only an acquaintance it's not going to matter if she does fall out with you over it.

You probably won't enjoy it anyway if you don't really know anyone. Personally I think smaller hen dos with just a few close friends are better than ones with 30 people who end up splitting into groups.

FreddieFrugal

According to a survey conducted by the Stag Company and Hen Heaven (found on daily mail and telegraph online) the average cost of a hen do in 2013 was £157pp, stag do £153pp.

Surveys are suspect at the best of times though, and that's only surveying users of those two companies, not the population at large, so I wouldn't take that as an actual average...obviously the Daily Mail has no question of the reliability of that data, but that's not really surprising is it!

minerva_windsong

My hen do cost £65 each for a crafting session and afternoon tea, and then we went out for drinks afterwards where everyone paid for themselves. However, pretty much everyone coming lived in London so didn't have to pay for hotel or transport (the exception being my mum and sisters who got the train down from the Midlands and paid about £30 each). I was very insistent that the hen be in London as we weren't getting married there, so felt it was unreasonable to ask people who were paying to travel to the wedding and stay over to fork out for the hen as well, especially as quite a few of my friends aren't earning megabucks.


OP, I would say don't go - the fact she's not a close friend and you're not invited to the wedding would swing it for me. Use the work excuse if you feel she wouldn't accept the truth.

lulu_92 wrote: »

I'm currently planning my sister's hen party. At the moment I've found a deal in Blackpool for £120 per person which included hotel, breakfast, evening meal, private booth with some free drinks and queue jump to all clubs and bars. Although I know if I plan it myself it would be cheaper, plus I want to take her to Funny Girls (unless any of you have been and said it's rubbish?)

I've been to Funny Girls for my sister's hen do and thought it was quite good; you will probably get a joke made about you by the MC but it's funny rather than mean, and the show is well put-together and very entertaining. That was about seven years ago now though so I can't say if it's changed since...

Rambosmum

I've been to several hen do's recently and money up front is the norm, especially if you have a pre-booked activity/ meal deposit.

My OH has been to lots of stag dos where this is also the norm for the same reason.

A hen do I organised included an outdoor activity day, transport and meal- there was a £5 deposit for the meal, £60 for the activity and £7.50 for the transport. People had to bring their own packed lunch and then spend what ever on drinks and food, but the restaurant was chosen as it had a range of prices, we then went on to a club and people had to pay for themselves, so the up front cost was around £75.

Another hen do was a spa day which was £35 up front cost plus meal and drinks later, no hotel as I stayed at home.

One of my friends went away for the weekend, the upfront cost was £130 for a pottery class, two nights in a hotel, meal deposit and club entrance fee. We had to pay for food, drink and travel. So that was close to £250 for the whole weekend, she is a close friend though so it was worth it.

Of the others most were in the region of £100 - £150 including travel, food and drink but I live in a big city so it's rare we go away for them.

I have turned down hen dos before where I haven't know the bride well due to the cost.

onlyroz

WolfSong2000 wrote: »

No, not invited to wedding - excellent point. Beginning to dawn on me I was probably asked to bump up numbers. Will have to find a way to politely decline...maybe suggest taking friend out for a meal/drink locally instead.

If you're not invited to the wedding and you don't know the person that well then I think you know what the correct thing to do here. (It begins with "bog" and ends with "off").

gingercordial

Just tell her you can't afford that. There's no shame in it. It is the fault of the bridesmaids/bride if they aren't choosing something which is accessible to all the people she wants to be there.

For my own hen party, I had no idea what was being planned but had one of my bridesmaids contact me, upset and saying that she wanted to drop out of being a bridesmaid because she couldn't afford the hen do and felt that it would be wrong for a bridesmaid to not come. First of all I told her not to be so silly and that I would still want her to have the role even if she didn't come to the hen party. Then I contacted the other bridesmaids and told them that whatever was being planned, it was too much and please could they come up with something else that was affordable.

In the end I was taken out in the morning for a dress fitting and had to hand over the keys to my house, I came back to the place decorated with photos and we had a vintage hair and makeup lesson there (they all chipped in to cover the tutor), dinner in the local Italian and then visited a bar and club where we had tables reserved. People could come to any or all of it and most of their cost would be their own food and drink which was under their own control. Some did have to travel into London for it but they at least slept over at my place or with other London-based attendees so no hotel costs.

I still to this day have no clue what the expensive version was going to be, but I can't imagine it would have been better than what I had!

Whenever I've organised one, I've been careful to make it something that could be attended in parts and mainly in cafes or bars so people could attend and spend what they wanted. It must work as I've been asked to organise several hen dos despite never having been a bridesmaid!

SingleSue

Blimey they have moved on from when I got married....mine was a cheap meal in a local restaurant and then to a local pub for those of us who wanted to carry on with the night.

Equivalent amounts now would be about £25 and we all paid for our own (including me). This amount was helped by the fact the restaurant, on finding out the reason for the meal, gifted us a couple of bottles of wine on the night.

Mine wasn't out of the ordinary either, it seemed to be what everyone else did...no planned 'events' or anything like that.

Last hen I went to was 4 years ago, we had drinks round the hen's house, bring a bottle style and much fun was had by all.

jackieblack

A hen do (and stag do, for that matter) used to be just a few drinks and/or a meal out with your close circle of friends.
It's just another aspect of modern weddings that has grown completely OTT in an industry that's more about £££ than ❤️❤️❤️