A friend has been left gobsmacked by the ‘awful’ organisation of a bride’s hen do and cannot believe the ‘disregard for budget’ – now she doesn’t know what to do as people keep dropping out
A woman says a group of friends have “lost their minds” while planning a hen do which is costing a fortune.
Back in the day hen and stag dos were one night of fun before a wedding day. But nowadays it’s common for people to plan a holiday abroad, staycation, full day and night in a different city, spa days, and more. While everyone wants to celebrate the special bride-to-be, the reality is that once the organising begins it can add up to be a costly affair.
One woman has been left furious by the “awful” planning of her friends hen do which appears to have a “limitless budget”. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, ranted on Reddit recently and said: “I’ve never experienced such a disregard for budget and feel awful for the bride, who will have a poor turnout.”
She claims that the four bridesmaids left the organising till last minute, with the wedding is in August of this year. They started planning the trip and the suggestion “was clear” that it was going to be abroad. The bridesmaids reportedly started looking into Ibiza and said the trip would cost around £500 each.
The annoyed friend said: “They later message to say it will be £500+ on reflection, but no indication as to what that means – is that £600 or £1000? One further girl drops out in this time due to worry of costs. One or two people chipping in to let the bridesmaids know that we may do better elsewhere in Europe. This suggestion was brushed off and they assured us they will let us know details.”
She continued: “Ibiza is known for being incredibly pricy. Someone asks if we could see an itinerary for a rough budget as while £350 is okay for flights and accommodation, it is the cost of being out there that is a concern and there’s no pricing budget. I message a similar line in agreement.”
After considering what people invited were concerned about, the bridesmaid said they would do further research and came back with a price of “£700 maximum”. The worried friend added: “This in itself is a lot but more importantly, I think they’re massively underestimating how much activities and clubs will cost out there.”
The bridesmaid later clarified that it is “not possible to find anywhere” for accommodation for £500. The frustrated friend added: “Have people lost their minds?
“A girl drops out. It’s now down to six girls altogether. I expected them to seriously reconsider and regroup, but no. I’m now waiting to see if they do send an itinerary.”
Now the friend is worried about the trip, and how the bride will feel, as the group has dropped from 12 girls to six – with more expected to drop out if a price and itinerary are not properly established.
People rushed to comment on the dilemma and can’t believe the price or lack of consideration for other locations. One individual said: “There’s absolutely tons of places you can go in Europe for less than £500. I would be very honest with your friend that due to the bridesmaids lack of cost transparency and poor planning, you will not be attending.”
“I wouldn’t go because I do not trust that I wouldn’t be asked to pay a lot more for stuff once I got there,” said another.
Another individual pointed out: “I’ve found that people sometimes have a difficult time wrapping their heads around the fact other people are in a different financial position than them both in terms of how much extra income they have to spend and, more importantly, how much credit card debt they’re willing to take on.”
One hen do organiser added: “That’s insane. I’m currently planning a hen weekend for my best friend and one of her stipulations was that she didn’t want it to be crazy expensive, so I told the group we would keep it below £300pp all in (accommodation, food, activities etc.) and it’s actually come in at under £200pp.”
One other wrote: “Last year I dropped out of a hen do because I was told the price would be £300 all in, and then when it was all booked it came to around £800 per person. I have a good job and could afford to go but refused on principle.”
One other said: “This is nonsense. Wedding culture has gotten entirely out of hand, and the whole ‘special day’ thing has become ‘special year, I want what I want and the impact on everyone else be damned’.”
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