Budgeting and Expensing a Bachelorette Party Made Easy
Remember the old days of planning a party or weekend excursion with your besties? It was always so difficult to get everyone organized. Thankfully, we’re older and wiser now, and therefore planning a bachelorette party is totally in our wheelhouse.
Budgeting, on the other hand, can always make things a little more complicated. Bachelorette parties are often full weekend destination trips that can easily rack up a couple of thousand dollars in expenses. So who pays for what?
Ok girls, let’s make this as easy as possible. Whether you’re the bride, the MOH, or part of the bridal party, these 7 tips for managing bachelorette expenses can help you get a better understanding of budgeting and delegating bachelorette party expenses.
Figure Out Who’s in Charge
The best way to keep things streamlined is to figure out who the head b*tch in charge (HBIC) will be. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the maid of honor. This person should be organized, responsible, and financially stable so that they can throw down their card to secure reservations and keep track of all budgets and expenses.
Establish a Budget
Before anyone starts planning the juicy details of the weekend, the HBIC should talk openly with the entire bride tribe to discuss expenses. Keep in mind, if the bride’s ideal destination is an expensive one to travel to, this may lower the budget for other fun and exciting activities.
If the budget is too bougie for some potential attendees, oftentimes the bride will need to make some decisions. She can help chip in here and there, change some of her initial ideas, or be at peace with some of her girlies being unable to attend.
If you’re the bestie in charge, keep an excel spreadsheet of all purchases and let the bridal party know that you will bill them once everything is confirmed.
Establish & Confirm Ideas, Vibe, Etc.
Once the budget is finalized and the whole crew is happy with the numbers, the chosen girl boss can start tackling the next set of hurdles: picking a date that works for everyone, locking in the location, and establishing the overall vibe.
We have some advice for this step listed HERE.
Book The Accommodations
Everyone in the bridal party should book their own travel and the entire crew will split the cost of the accommodations. If it works with everyone’s budget, oftentimes the bridal party will book the bride-to-be’s travel and accommodations in full.
Plan The Excursions and Experiences
Luckily, the budget for excursions and experiences has already been set. So now all that’s left for the HBIC to do is get inspired and start booking activities.
Boozy brunch? Party bus? Spa day? Yes, queeeeen!
Buy Decorations, Party Favors and Gifts
Commonly, the bestie in charge will add the costs for all of the bachelorette party supplies, decor, bachelorette swag, funny dick straws, and gifts for the bride into the budget ahead of time. If the MOH is different from the party planner, let her decide which items to buy. The MOH usually spends some of her own money on party favors and gifts for the attendees as well.
Keep Finances Organized
Once everything is finalized, the HBIC can send out a finalized bill to the girlies. This, however, usually won’t cover bars, restaurants, Uber, and more.
For these details, we suggest downloading cost-sharing apps that can easily divide up expenses throughout the weekend. Another option is assigning a friend or two to each activity, (ie Becky and Ashley put down cards at bars and Tara and Clare cover restaurants). Then those costs are split up at the end of the trip.
We hope this helps tackle the exciting (but overwhelming) task of budgeting a bachelorette party! Happy planning, cuties!
