Reasonable amount to spend on Bachelor Party?

[Deleted]

I have my bachelor party coming up in May and I'm helping my best man come up with ideas/general plans. With my group of friends, bachelor parties usually end up being party buses or general bar hopping type things.

These usually have a relatively small fixed cost, and then whatever each person decides to spend on boozing. Well, I don't really want to do the party bus / bar hopping scene. We've been kicking around some ideas for whitewater rafting, getting a cabin on a lake or other outdoorsy type things for a weekend. Likely something action oriented outdoors during the day and then probably kick back and drink at night.

Anyhow, what do you think is a reasonable amount to expect to spend to attend a friends bachelor party? Trying to find something in a reasonable price range, but not the same old type of thing. For what it's worth, it'll be somewhere in the Midwest and probably about 12-15 guys ages 25-30.

[cronewitch]

I would guess $100 each at a top end unless you are all professionals. A wedding shouldn't cost friends and family a fortune to celebrate your special day. They need to dress for the wedding, travel to the wedding and will want to buy you a gift. Those in the wedding might need to rent a tux and hire babysitters for the kids. I would try to pick something they might have done if you weren't getting married like hiking when they already own hiking boots and packs.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...near a ballpark?

[8 Bit WWBG]

I've heard of various places where you pay a fee and get to test drive ultra-high end cars (aston martins, lamborghinis, bentleys...) I've heard ranges from anywhere from $100-$500/person though.

A party I went to recently was the usual strip club hopping. I'm not a fan, so I got off totally free (drank water, and sat out most of the shows, preferring to chat with the groom or others while they went out to smoke).

Its YOUR party though, so figure out what YOU want to do, then ask for help on getting it as cheaply as possible.

[cytoglycerine]

Hubby & I have friends who just got married last weekend, so we just went through the whole bachelor/bachelorette party deal. Hubby attended the bachelor party, and they went paintballing. It was pretty inexpensive (not sure exactly how much) and all the boys had a lot of fun doing it. After that, they went to a nice restaurant for dinner, then went back to the groom's place to play poker. The boys each spent about $100 for the evening depending on what they ordered for dinner at the restaurant.


ETA - I did the bachelorette party, and I went the route of collecting money from each girl, then paying all the bills myself...BIG MISTAKE!!! Only about half as many people came as we thought would, and I was left holding the bag! So my biggest piece of advice would be to make each person pay his own way, rather than doing a collection.

[Cookies Galore]

BF has been to a few bachelor parties. His best friend's party started at Dave and Buster's and then they went to a Phillies game. The groom's Dad helped them get amazing field box seats (I was so jealous when BF showed me! I was at home watching the game!), and then they went to a bar afterward. Another bachelor party was dinner and then drinks at a cigar club. His most recent bachelor party was for my best friend and the guys did a night in DC. That was expensive, but they all enjoyed themselves. A few of the guys did the whole weekend and got down early Saturday to do the museums, but BF and another groomsman got down in time for the night out.
That same weekend I went to the bachelorette party. We went to Atlantic City for the night, but we managed to do it on the super cheap. One of the bridesmaid's parent's have a condo in Brigantine, so our accommodations were free, we had dinner at a BYOB, we had a lot of luck with the cocktail waitresses coming around with our free drinks, and I managed to leave the casinos with $5 more than when I walked in.
If you say you aren't bar hop and look at the girls kind of guy, then taking in a ball game or the outdoorsy thing sounds like a great time. Sometimes all you need is a spot on a lake and a case of beer.

[queenofcorona]

I have a friend whose husband's bach party included some kind of golf tournament. Not a public tourney, just some kind of scramble they organized themselves & now hold annually as an opportunity to get together. The golfing part might be kind of spendy (relative to the course you choose) but they end the day grilling out and playing poker or watching a game & drinking at one of their homes. Not bar-hopping lends to a more expensive daytime activity if you're trying to keep expense down.
My brother's included a MLB game and dinner. About half the guys weren't drinkers so it suited everyone attending (added benefit having DD's in the group). In his case, many of his friends had flown from the midwest to CA for the wedding, so the bach party was on the Thursday before the wedding and everyone already had hotel rooms as part of the trip for the wedding. He picked up the cost of game tix since the wedding was already on the expensive side for many people due to travel involved.

[Deleted]

$50 for lodging, getting there, activities. Food and Drinks extra.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Why don't you get some imput from the rest of the people who will be attending this event? While $100 pp may be cheap for one person, it could put another over the edge.

[thatgirl]

DH went to a bachelor party that required a flight and 4 night stay at a rented beach house. The trip cost $600+. Then, 2 months later, DH and I had the pleasure of spending another $1,500+ to attend the actual wedding...which was a destination wedding that required yet another flight and 4 nights of lodging!

We are all in the 25-30 age bracket and many of the groom's friends couldn't attend both/either event due to the cost. My advice is to keep the per person cost in line with the majority of your friends' incomes.

[jkapp]

I wouldn't spend more than $9.99 - that movies been out for years.

Oh, an actual bachelor party! $100 in dollar bills and whatever the cover charge is for the local nudee bar...maybe have everyone chip in to give the groom a free lapdance.

[fuel100]

My best friend didn't want the bar/club type party either. We race mountain bikes so I rented two cabins in the state park where we ride for 8 of us to sleep in, mostly the wedding party. It cost me $120 (I was best man). Everyone else could show up, pitch a tent or just hang out as long as they wanted and go home (the park is 30 minutes from the city). It was the best bachelor party EVER!!! So much fun. No girls, no driving. If you want to drink, bring what you want.

We did have some casualties though. We went for a night ride without light and the groom crashed 6 times. I crashed 3 times and broke a finger. Damn that was fun.

[Wisconsin Beth]

DH had a poker night at his brother's house. I don't know what they spent on booze and cigars but DH was loaded when I went to pick him up. No strippers.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think it would be best to ask what people think they can afford before deciding.

Or choose a price range of activities and let them vote on what they'd like to do and think they can afford.

You can price out action oriented outdoorsy things and a range of bars in your area.

Then your best man can make an internary based on what everyone wants to do.


Then you still get to do what you want to do, but you don't have to worry about deciding for everyone else what is "affordable".

[Deleted]

Okay, the original plan was to go white water rafting, which would have been about a 5-6 hour drive away, and get a big cabin for weekend. I was pretty pumped about this idea, but after further considering proximity and price, it didn't sound quite as good. Instead, I think we're going to stay close by and get a cabin near a state park, and kinda play it by ear from there. Probably be $70-80 per person for weekend lodging and we'll bring in our own booze, food, etc.