How To Budget For A Hen Party
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When it comes to budgeting for a hen, do you want to make sure you pick an amount suitable for everyone?
That shouldn’t mean that you and the girls still can’t arrange an amazing celebration for the bride-to-be! Whether it’s your first time planning & organising a hen party as a complete beginner, or maybe you’ve had the pleasure of arranging one before… there’s always a high chance of running into a problem or two when money is concerned. We’re here to offer tips and tricks to help you save a penny or two!
Hen Do Budgeting Timeline
Let's go...
1. Accommodation
If your celebration is going on for over 2 days, then a night stay is needed. First, you need to decide how many people will be sharing rooms. Once you know this, you can start looking at prices. The more people sharing a room, will lower the cost.
Estimated Cost Per Room Per Night in a Hotel
£80-£100
2. Activities
Hen do activities are another essential to add to the celebrations, but there are ways to make them cost-effective! You can often get deals with event planners like ourselves that will give you more for your money.
3. Food
You usually have 3 meals a day, so you want to budget for at least 2 meals a day depending on what fits in with your activities. Sometimes breakfast is included in your hotel's room price, so if that is the case, all you need to budget for is lunch and dinner.
Estimated Lunch Price Per Person
£15
Estimated Dinner Price Per Person
£20-£35
4. Transport
Will you need transport to and from your chosen destination, then taxis, etc., when you are there?
Estimated Transport Cost Per Person over the whole hen party
£30-50
5. Drink
Your drinks are probably an easy way to make things cheaper if that's what you want. So picking based on the prices is a good idea if you don't want to spend £100+ on the night out.
Cocktail Price
£9
Wine Price
£6-£8
Soft Drink Price
£3-£4
6. Theme
It's a popular addition to the celebration, but if you are going to have one, you need to think about the cost of putting your costume together.
Estimated Price Per Person
£30
7. Nightlife Fees
No night out is finished until you make it to a club, right? So you want to consider any fees for going into nightclubs when you are out.
Estimated Nightclub Entry Fees
£10-£15
8. Party Bags
Some groups add these to give out to each guest, but make sure you know numbers before you decide on your hen party bags.
9. Presents for the Bride
There are so many presents that you could get for the bride, if you are wanting to make it budget friendly then it would be a great idea to all chip in together and get her something special.
10. Decorations
Decorations are a great addition especially if you are having a hen party at home! We have a hen party table decorations guide that can provide you with everything you need to decorate your home or hotel room for the bride to be.
11. Covering Cost of the Bride
Some groups want to cover the cost of the bride so that she doesn't have to pay. If that is the case you want to make sure you include this at the start of the planning so everyone knows.
Estimated Cost Per Person to Cover Bride
£20-30
What Are the Essentials of Hen Party Budgeting?
Before you book, organise or even brainstorm any hen party ideas, there’s a number of crucial things you’ll need to keep in mind before taking any of these steps. No matter if you’re staying in your hometown, partying in another city in the UK or jetting off for a hen party in Europe, we highly recommend taking these points into consideration. Again, depending on what you’re hoping to plan, not all of these points will apply to you… but are still worth checking out just in-case:
Choosing Your Activities
Probably the most obvious yet most important item on this list is the hen do activities you’re planning on booking for you and the girls. Activities are the bread and butter of any celebrations, and depending on what your bride-to-be likes to do, the cost of this part of the party can vary significantly. For example, she might want to keep it as simple as possible and stick to a hen party at home, but on the flipside, she might be a total adrenaline junkie looking for something unique and exciting to do!
Whatever the case may be, budgeting for the activities should be one of the first things you think about! Once you’ve got a rough idea as to how the pre-wedding celebrations are going to go, we recommend taking a look at party activities as soon as possible… as the earlier you book them, the more chance you have of securing a date and time that you were hoping for! Some budget friendly things are bubble mayhen and life drawing for hen parties.
Hen Party Accommodation
If you’re staying in your home town with the rest of the girls, then this won’t be an issue you need to give any thought, so feel free to skip over this part! However, if you’re heading to one of the UK’s party cities or across the channel to the continent (check out our hen party locations for inspiration if you’re still undecided!), you’re going to need somewhere to sleep, right? With so much choice out there these days when it comes to group accommodation, it can be difficult to decide what to go for.
However, there’s no need to panic! If you and the ladies don’t plan on spending much time indoors and are looking to be out and about celebrating, then budget accommodation such as a hotel or an Airbnb is a great option. Alternatively, if you’re looking for style and luxury with facilities to enjoy, you might want to consider taking a look at more expensive accommodation like party houses or fancy hotels. Just like with activities, getting your accommodation booked as soon as possible gives you more of a chance of a guaranteed date and time that suits you, and you’ll definitely save some pennies if you book far enough in advance!
Nightlife
Of course, one of the biggest (and potentially one of the most expensive!) areas you’ll need to consider when budgeting for the last night of freedom is the night out. Luckily for you, everybody is expected to pay their own drinks as you would on a standard night out. However, traditionally, the organiser often pools together some money so that the bride-to-be doesn’t have to pay for her own drinks for the evening.
If you’re not confident that you could cover both your own and the bride-to-be’s alcohol budget on the last night of freedom, then don’t panic! One brilliant way that groups all over the country tackle this hen party budget problem is by organising a “kitty”, where each member of the group contributes an equal amount of money each to a pot. This can then be used to pay for the bride-to-be’s drinks for the rest of the evening, and as everybody will have contributed, nobody’s going to be left severely out of pocket!
What Are the Additional Hen Party Costs?
Now that we’ve covered what you as the lead organiser need to consider, there’s a few more things to bare in mind when it comes to budgeting on the hen do. Thankfully, these are things that each of the girls will need to cover for themselves!
1. Travel
Depending on where you decide to go for your celebrations, the cost of travel can vary massively (check out what hen party locations we can offer you if you’re still unsure). If you’re looking to go for a party in Europe, then you’re going to need to consider things flight/train/ferry tickets, spends, car hire and updated passports if need be, for example.
2. Food
Although this may seem like a bit of a no-brainer, making sure that you have enough money to keep yourselves fed during the celebrations is essential. Especially if you have loads of exciting activities packed into your itinerary, you girls are bound to work up an appetite! Make sure to set some time apart throughout the day so that everybody can get a decent bite to eat.
3. Travel Protection
This is a step that some people don’t consider as much as they should or skip over entirely. Arranging travel insurance is crucial if you’re travelling to the continent for the party. From our side, you can guarantee that your money is safe with us and your booking is secure, as we are proud to be a fully ABTA bonded tour operator.
4. Extras
Whether you’ve got a theme in mind and you need to set some money aside for props, games and accessories or you’re just preparing for small & unexpected costs, having a little bit of money set aside just in case is a great idea.
Hopefully we’ve helped you out with these tips and tricks on how to budget and save a few pennies! See our hen party handbook for more tips or start booking your hen weekend here.
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