I have managed to stuff up every poll I have ever made on here so heres hoping this one works. I am a MOH in May and thinking about the Hens night. The beautiful bride lives in Bendigo but is from Melbourne and has many friends in Melbourne and wants to make sure no one is too put out. She really likes the idea of a winery tour but wants to make sure it stays within peoples budgets. I know it can be awkward when you are invited to a hens but can't afford the cost so how much is too much these days? Do people prefer an option where you can just pay what you can afford?
Thanks (in advance) for your help ladies (and I don't use the term loosely )
OK my poll just didn't appear!!! Please reply if you can about what you think is reasonable
The options were
<$50
$50-$100
$100-$150
$150-200
$200+

From other questions about this in the past, I suspect I may be the world's largest tightwad when it comes to hens parties, but I think under $50. Of course, a lot depends on how well you know the person, the age of the guests, whether they are 'partiers' or paying off mortgages etc etc. I'd pay a lot more for a close friend.

I prefer events which I can leave when I wish, too. Arranged tours have the disadvantage that you HAVE to stay for the entire duration... Which if you want to go home early is a problem.

Just my thoughts.

I think $50. It all depends on what you're doing and how many people will be attending though.

I organised a Hen's day recently and everyone paid $65 per head for a winery tour which included 4 tastings. They had to pay for lunch on top of this and everyone also pitched in for the brides cost.

We only had a small group of 8 close friends but no one complained about the cost. It was a fabulous day!!

My hens night 3 weeks ago cost $90 per person but that was because we went for a ride in a stretch party hummer that cost $850ph then we went and played strike bowling. There were only 13 of us so once we divided all the costs up it worked out to be $90pp. A few people that I invited couldnt come because of how much it cost but my sisters planned it all as a surprise for me so I had no say in the matter.
Im going to a friends hens next weekend and it's $45 for pizza, a tournament of poker and drinks. I think thats a really reasonable price

The last few hens nights i have been to have all been around the $50 mark (so $30 to $80 range)

I didn't mind paying a bit more as it was explained as to what the costs were.

For example one i thought was very well planned detailed the information on the invite:

To celebrate the brides impending wedding day we have booked a banquet dinner at her favourite restaurant which will be followed by other girly activities into the night.

The banquet costs $35 a head however if each person attending could please contribute a little more then the bride can eat and play for free!

All extra proceeds from booking will go towards the Bride's food and drinks as well as purchase little prizes for the games so that everyone has a little something to take home.

The bride would love to see you there so to secure your place at the table could you please contact bridesmaid on this number to arrange meal payment. Please note that donations over $50 will not be accepted in the interest of sharing costs evenly - so Max $50 per person.

(From what i hear the only person to pay less than $50 was the bride's mother the prizes were lip balm and little things like that and for the more complex games a pair of hand-cuffs and a $15 voucher to an adult store!)

Thanks for your replies so far girls. I too am always happier to pay more for a close friend. But with any party there will be closer friends coming and less close friends. I want to accomodate every one but make sure the bride has a fantastic time.

I think it really all depend on how well the person knows the bride!!

My hens night si going to be $58 per person but that it for 2 activities. Firstly we have Pole dancing and then dinner at a beautiful pizza restaurant which includes all you can eat (No tis not tacky!!! its beautiful amazing gourmet pizza) and then my mum is going to pay for all of the champers!

I asked all my girls if costing for both was ok and they got to make up their own mid as to if they wanted to come to both or one or the other!!

xoxox

I guess it depends on how many people are going and whether you are just inviting close friends. For my best mates hens, it was simply myself and the two other BM and we treated her to a dinner at Aria the night before her wedding, but I wouldn't do that for everybody.

For a big hens night with lots of people, I wouldn't like to pay any more than $100 at the most.

I think it depends on how close you are to the person and what the money covers. For example, if the money covers a meal and transport, then I would pay extra just for the convenience of not having to figure it out myself You'd expect to pay over $100 easily for a night out including dinner, cabs and drinks these days (unfortunately) - so if it's all included anyway, I wouldn't mind.

By the same token, I wouldn't put a price limit on my best friends, I would absorb the costs people couldn't to cover whatever they wanted.

I think the girls managed to do mine for $20 a head but they organised everything themselves.

I think $50 a head is ok - if it is for something that is worth more that's ok but guess it really comes down to what people can afford.

I was going to say roughly $100, depending on the activities, but then if I had to pay for drinks on top of that I probably wouldn't pay that much.

Do you have any ideas on what you will be doing? The kind of activity and how good the friend is would also determine my willingness to spend more or less.

I have been to one Hen's event. I spent $100 on accommodation (that was a unit that we had for two nights), plus food, drinks, petrol, shopping etc.
All up probably spent a good $400 on the weekend. But I think it was worth it for a weekend away.

I think that it just depends who is going, where it is etc.

I really want to do a spa trip/relaxing weekend to Byron Bay. But am not sure if it will fit in with my friends budgets, so might have to re think that idea!

I think $50 is enough, but it does depend a lot on who it's for and what we're doing.

I'm planning my best friend's Hens for next weekend. It's pretty quiet and casual - dinner at the local pub, then an old school slumber party with movies and junk food and a few games. I've asked for $25 per person, plus they pay for their dinner at the pub. Everyone has agreed to this (There's only six of us including me and the bride, and one may not be able to come) The $25 will cover the bride's meal, all the junk food, soft drink, some bubbly, games, ugly fluoro veil etc. Any left over money will be divvied up and given back.

I think it depends on what your actually doing.
Personally I wouldn't have a problem in paying up to $100.
But I knew my friends would have problem in paying the $75 that it is costing for mine.

So what I did was on the invite I broke the cost up so they could see what there money was for.
Dinner = $33 Ghost tour = $40 looks alot better than $73 on an invite.

I went to a Hen's weekend 4 weeks ago and it cost me $210.
That included:
Lunch
Massage
Comedy dinner cruise
Entry to nightclub
and Hotel accommodation.

It also included a bit extra so the bride didn't have to pay. It was the most I had ever paid for a Hens but I thought it was pretty good value.

I also had the added expense of flights from Melb to Syd but I was prepared to pay that for someone I have become very close to.

I went to a hens night a few months back that cost a fair amount for what we got.

We started of a the Minus5 bar ($30 for one drink) then moved onto a club ($20 for a bottle of wine) then on a dinner cruise ($129, drinks not included). All up cost me well over $200, we all went home sober and sore (coz no one but me wanted to catch a cab back to the train station, so we all got blistered feet).

I wasn't all that keen on paying so much $$, but it was what the bride wanted, so I did. And I believe she had the night she wanted, which was what really counts.

I think $50-$100 is fair as long as people feel like they get something for their money. When i organised my SIL hens I put the price and then everything that was included. Same old story but I would be happy to pay more for people close to me

I know my hen's night which is coming up on the 15th of November is costing everyone $60.
We are having the party at my parents house, but it is including all food, drinks and entertainment.
I personally think that anything up to $100 is fair.
But if it was a close friend i would pay more. All depends on what the bride really wants to do as we all know you can't upset a bride lol

I have paid anywhere from $50 up to $200 for all the Hens I have been to. Most have included accommodation as well. I dont mind paying and you only have a Hens night once (hopefully) so I always make the effort to pay up and be there to celebrate.

i think it depends on a few things like how soon it is before the wedding etc and your family situation at the time.

there was one that i had a week before their wedding and started off with a kitchen tea (an extra gift there) and then two nights away (without drinks and dinner that was another $150 pp). The wedding was the next week and my partner wasn't working so i couldn't afford to go as we preferred to be able to give them more money towards their treasure chest.

last weekend we had a second combined he-bu night which a friend hosted and basically involved us drinking, chatting, playing play station karaoke and was one of the best nights out ive had in awhile. between my partner and myself we took a 6 pack of beer, a 1L bottle of vodka (dont worry we were sharing this with the bride and groom and other friends too) and some soft drink - about $65 and then we managed to split a cab fare home which cost us an additional $60, so it was $125 for the two of us. A simple night but loads of fun. And the reason why we had this one was because the grooms bucks night went wrong (that one was an expensive mistake) so we decided to throw them a combined one with just close friends.

we talked to our friends about ours (also combined) and asked what would be reasonable for them and what they were happy doing and suprisingly we've come up with renting a place on the coast for the weekend and taking board games and play station and everyone putting in to get some grog. As we all live in different parts of Sydney renting a place for overnight is what most of us would have to spend on a cab fare anyway.

I think I would pay $80 max. Though it depends on circumstances at the time. Last year I was invited to a hens night and I couldn't afford the extra money for all the activities so I just went to dinner.

I think between $50 and $75 is enough, but I guess it really depends on what you are planning. If it's just you and a few close friends then spending more is probably not going to bother anybody.
For my Hen's Night, I am having close friends as well as work mates. The work mates are not coming to the wedding which is interstate so this is the only chance we will have to party together, so I would hate to put them off with the price. Something to think about.

As a suggestion, if your friend likes wineries may I suggest Chateau Yering in the Yarra Valley? They do this AMAZING afternoon tea with a glass of champers and coffee in a private sitting room (would seat 12 people comfortably). It's also got a winery that do wine tastings and is in the vicinity of lots of other wineries if you wanted to do more tastings.

It depends on what sort of event the hens night is. Mine was dinner and a twilight soak at a hotspring which cost $45 per person, and then we stayed at accommodation overnight which was $50 per person. So a $95 total, not including munchies and drinkies.

HI Girls
I just came back to this post. The Hens is next weekend I have ended up doing a recipe tea in the afternoon with the oldies there too. Dinner at a thai place $40 I have said BYO drinks but I am going to supply some. Up to $50 for accommodation- depending on how many stay.
Max it will cost will be $90 that includes afternoon tea, games, prizes, drinks in the afternoon, dinner- some drinks with dinner and accommodation.
I think most people are happy with that. There is also the option to opt out of various things to reduce cost for people.

I'd think around the $100 mark + alcohol if going out.

I'm currently looking to organise a hens night, and love the idea of the girlie sleepover party! Having had one recently for no reason with a group of girlfriends, it was great fun!

It depends on the Hen's night. I've spend $80 on some and that felt like a bargin and others were I've spend $50 and felt ripped off.

As long as you can justify the cost, it is fine. If people can see why they have been asked to pay $80, they will be fine paying it. If you ask them for $80 and all the get is dinner then it might seem a bit over priced

I think it entirely depends on what you are doing and everyones personal circumstance.

When I was organising my friends Hens night/ Kitchen Tea, I asked everyone to bring a plate of food and write the recipe on an index card for the Hen to keep. This of course kept the price down and everyone thought it was a great idea.

We then had a lap dancing lesson which I think worked out to be about $15 per person then we just went out on the town afterwards.

So all up it probably did end up costing people about $100, but it was their choice, and not imposed upon them IYKWIM.

Oh I forgot to add myself and the other bridesmaid paid for all the decorations and prizes ourselves.

I think it all depends what you are doing and what you get

Mine will consist of a hotel night (2 twin queen beds per room so we can all bunk in together) This is optional about $30 to $40 pp

Late Lunch/dinner prob about $40-60 pp - this is the main part where everyone can come - including my mum and aunties etc)

Boat cruise, with all alcohol & muchies provided, entertainment (strippers etc ), and nightclub entry $75pp (optional)

Drinks at club and breaky at personal descression

For me personally it will cost about $200-$250

However if I was to stay in a hotel, have a meal, go see a show etc - it wouldn't be much different if not more.

Alot of ours is prepaid too, which will allow us break up the payments and not have to do it all in one hit, such as the hotel and boat cruise.

Allowing your girls lots of notice too helps then people are well aware and can be selective about which parts they participate in if they are limited finacially.

Hi there, just wondering which company you used for the boat cruise? Seems like a bargain! I'm in the process of researching ideas for my upcoming hens night... Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated!

it depends where the wedding is and how much the majority of guests are spending on travelling to the wedding.

eg, we're having a destination wedding and I would dearly love to have a girls' weekend away prior to this but when this is factored into the fact that they'll also be forking out for travel, accommodation and other ancillaries for the actual wedding weekend itself, it doesn't make it affordable or fair I feel.

most of the hen's I've been to I've spent about $100-$150 (including alcohol).

I'm really glad that I just stumbled across this thread, as it was exactly the thing I have been stressing about for about a week now!!

My MOH & BMs have recently been organising my Hens for this coming September. Whilst I had some input into it, my MOH wouldn't let me know too much! She ran the idea by me, which sounds PERFECT (She knows me too well! ) but then in terms of details, costs etc they didn't involve me in any of it - which suited me perfectly

What we are doing is:

She has booked 3 x 3bedroom villas at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley Vineyards. They are all equipped with bathroom, kitchen, balcony that looks out over the golf course & man-made lake - just beautiful.
In the morning we are going Wine, Cheese & Chocolate tasting.
We are then going back to the villas in the afternoon for my kitchen tea. We are going to have a homemade high tea type setup with lots of little sandwiches, quiches etc (keep the oldies happy )
We then have a few hours to swim in the pool, enjoying cocktails, sunbake, etc
After that we will all get pretty, go for dinner somewhere nearby, have lots of yummy food & wine and then make our way back to the villas for a night of some hens party fun & games.
Most ppl are staying the night, and then breakfast is included in the morning...

They also apparently have some "little suprises" in there which I'm not allowed to know about

She has put a price on it of $140. That includes the tasting, high tea in the villas, alcohol in the villas, 1 night accommodation & breakfast the next morning. Dinner will be an additional cost (i think?) Those that don't want to stay the night are being charged $40.

When she first told me the price, I nearly died! But after reading some of the responses in here, I'm thinking that maybe that's ok... I mean, out of the 30 ppl we invited, 18ppl are staying overnight & about 6 ppl are coming for the day only & then heading home after dinner. So I assume they must be ok about the cost.. Whenever I tell ppl that Im stressing over the cost, they all just say.."if someone can't afford it, they will just pay the $40 and not stay the night"...it makes sense, but I just feel bad & don't want ppl to feel obliged to "have" to pay to stay IYKWIM?

My own hens night was: an adults party at my place which i think everyone paid $5 for, then dinner which was a 3 course meal which was $45 per head and then we went out afterwards, so it was just drinks. Everyone stayed at my place, so i think all together everyone would have spent around $60 - $90 dollars.

I went on a girlfriends hen to the hunter valley a few weeks ago. That cost me $300. It included 2 night accommodation, wine tour, breakfast both mornings and dinner cooked on site by their chefs. So it really wasnt too bad for everything that we got!

I would have no problem whatsoever paying $140 for what you have detailed - I think that is an awesome hens do and $140 is reasonable in my opinion. In fact - can I come along???

I generally have never had an issue paying what I have been asked - I think it just depends on whether you think what you will be doing is worth it - but at the end of the day I would never want to miss a girlfriend's hens night purely cause I didn't want to pay.

A girlfriend of mine is getting married in September in Townsville - I live in Sydney as do the majority of her friends. A group of us are flying up there a few days early to have a hens night with her 3 days before the wedding. This will mean extra $$$$ for hubby, DS and I due to extra nights accommodation, and I am on maternity leave at the moment, but just don't want to miss out on celebrating with her.

I'm going on a hen's tomorrow and will probably spend about $200- dinner (if I make it in time, I'm not heading in until after the kids have gone to bed), and drinks afterwards. But $100 of that is my taxi fare home.

$100 dollars for a taxi ride? That's unbelievable!!!!

I am currently organising my sister's Hen's and I am amazed by what some of you have achieved for around the $140 - 150 mark - accommodation, breakfasts etc etc. We are looking at doing a four hour boat cruise with food and alcohol included for 35 ppl and it will be at least $90 a head and that's before we factor in any games / surprises etc for the bride. Clearly I am looking in the wrong places for hen's night ideas!!!

Hmmmmmmm. Lots to think about!!

For what it's worth I usually pay around $40 - 60 for the hen's activity, plus more for drinks and transport. So usually a hen's would cost me $80 - $100 minimum and some of them I have been on have been a total and utter RIP OFF. I consider it a rip off when nothing really happens and you end up standing around eating over priced finger food and getting two cocktails over four hours.

IMO it's not about the amount spent, it's what you get for that money. If it is going to be a high cost, but worth the money, as long as it is organized in advance giving guests time to save if they need to!

I live in the Sydney suburbs and if I had to catch a taxi home from the city would be looking at $140-$160.



I agree with the above. I love a good night out so the cost doesn't bother me provided I know in advance so can budget for it. My hen's night cost my guests $70 or $80 plus $$$ for their own drinks.

My girls have been very busy in planning my hens weekend. The cost of it is $300, but that includes:
3 nights accommodation in Lakes Entrance
Friday dinner
Saturday lunch
Sunday lunch wine cruise
Sunday BBQ dinner
Games & prizes
a pressie for moi! (A massage at the day spa! )
plus all nibblies for predinner
and my weekend. (Although I'm not happy about this bit and they don't know it yet, but I WILL be contributing!)

I think it's a pretty good deal considering I have paid over $200 for a one night do, including accommodation, massage & dinner

The hens weekend isn't til February but we wanted to give people plenty of notice to save up for it. I am lucky to have a fabulous bunch of bridesmaids who have worked really hard already. Love 'em heaps!

Porthos - Where are you doing the hen's? I'll see if my girls can suggest anything they have found in their research.

I am such a bridezilla I've practically taken over my hens night in regards to planning, hotel and restaurants.

I wanted a pamper day and most of the girls wanted to go drinking and partying afterwards so what we've organised is:
- Spa and massage, hair and beauty for daytime at 5 star hotel in Sydney
- Cocktails and pre-dinner drinks at the hotel
- Dinner at a spanish tapas restaurant (not too fancy, just needs the hens atmosphere)
- Drinks and partying at various clubs in the city.

So I've organised the first three and the girls have organised the last as I wouldn't know how to get free club entry. I've paid for the hotel room because I don't expect the girls to pay for a suite in a 5 star hotel, if I've got expensive taste then I shouldn't expect anyone else to pay for it.

The cost per girl ends up being $70 for the daytime activities, estimated $30 dinner, drinks per what each girl wants to drink and free entry to various clubs that night.

I think $300 for that amount of activity / food / accom is pretty amazing. I would be happy to pay that for a whole weekend of fun. I have been on a boat cruise to a winery from Lakes Entrance and it was fantastic - I wonder if it is the same one?! I also like that you have given everyone heaps of notice to save up etc - I too support this idea, I am happy to pay if I have the time to budget and save.

My sister's hen's is in Melb, we're hoping to cruise from Docklands, but very, very open to suggestions, any help / tips greatly appreciated!!!

Thank god for this thread! I just got invited to a hens day that is costing me $80 for drinks and nibbles...that is it! Is that a total rip off.? Then we are expected to pay for dinner on top of that!

The hen's night I organised for my bestie last year cost me all up $400 as I bought all the decos, prizes, food etc and all the guests had to do was spend $15 on a pressie for the bride. We did finger food and provided softdrink - if you wanted alcohol you had to bring it yourself. Since most of the guests aren't huge drinkers, this worked out really well.

Porthos, not sure what cruise you're looking at, but I've just organized my best friends hens night in Melbourne with 'Girls Night Afloat'. It is a cruise from docklands beginning at 8pm, includes nibbles, drinks (beer, wine, spirits and soft drink), DJ, male dancers, topless waiters and lots more! It's $80pp which I figured with ALL alcohol and entertainment was pretty good value. Just google girls night afloat. Lots of info on their website

Reported...

Huh? Honestly, these assholes are really getting annoying!

I've only been on two hens things and both of those have been a very small number (3-4) of us sorting something out for our bestiest - weekend in Singapore and long weekend in Prague (when I lived in the UK). It cost quite a lot because we paid for the bride too, it being a surprise. It depends largely on how many people bride wants and how close to her they are to her.

I think it's a bit odd when people feel funny about asking people to spend on a hen night but the same people who are complaining would often not blink at spending twice that on your average Friday night. Ask the bride if there's anyone with genuine money woes and try to sort something out for them. Otherwise there's a danger of twisting yourself into a mess and still pleasing no-one.

I've just planned my sister's hens night and the cost is $59 per person wich covers a cocktail making class, burlesque dance class and a life drawing class. I think it is good value and apparently no one bauked at the price however I am still chasing people to pay.'
We originally wanted to go to the Hunter Valley and we had to can that idea because it was too costly.

Chelley that is an awesome night out for $59!!! I went to a cocktail making class Hen's Night in 2009 and it cost $60...just for the class!!!

To update you guys (has been nearly a year though ) we ended up booking a cruise around Docklands that allowed us to do our own food and drink. We charged $100 per head for pre-cruise drinks/nibbles and then a four hour cruise with BBQ food, nibbles (big platters of Turkish breads and dips) and sweets plus beer, wine and bubbles. We ended up with some money left over...about $200 I think. The cost per head also covered security, 'games', prizes, the bride's costume and personalised sailors hat's for each guest. We made up a playlist on an i-pod and hooked that into the boat's speaker system and the dance floor did not stop. We had the boat to ourselves which made it a girls' only night and everyone just let loose.

The night went OFF Was one of my biggest ever, same for the bride. Heard nothing but rave reviews from the girls who joined in with many asking if we could do it again.

It was a LOT of hard work and organisation with a fair bit of 'behind the scenes' running around on the day and night of, but it was worth it. It was great being able to do our own food and drink as we chose what we wanted and picked fairly good quality wine and beer to avoid crappy hangovers. I was lucky that my aunt and uncle offered to help with food and drink transport...especially when we got off the boat as we all needed the help . We had heaps of grog left over and yet pretty much everyone was "very merry" .

We gave people ten weeks notice to save up etc which helped....a few people commented to me that they appreciated lots of notice. EVERYBODY paid before the night which was a huge relief.