How to Plan a Cost Saving Bachelor Party for Your Friend

The best man is usually tasked with arranging the bachelor party – and no-one will ever know what a burden of responsibility that is, until they have done it for themselves. This is your best friend’s last weekend or night of single freedom, and it is your job to make it memorable – without it costing too much money. How the heck do you do that?

First, make sure you get things organized months in advance. You may laugh, you may scoff. But when it gets to a week before the bachelor party and you still haven’t confirmed the accommodation or got all their money in, you’ll know exactly what I mean!

Don’t ask anyone’s opinion about anything. You are the best man. You know the groom better than anyone. So you know what he would like. What other people want is beside the point – they can get precious about bachelor parties on their own.

Get the accommodation booked early and get everyone’s money off them before the rooms need to be confirmed and paid for. Not only do you not want to be saddled with the whole bill on your credit card – trust me, once you have paid for it no-one will care, and it’ll take months before you see any of it back from them – but you will endanger the budget if you don’t keep a tight rein on that cash.

Speaking of cash – arrange a kitty figure early on. Make sure that no-one has to pay more than they can afford – so if there is a cross section of incomes coming in the do, sorry, but the kitty is out of the question. Part of the budget you need to take into account for a really successful bachelor weekend is to budget for people’s feelings. If someone has to pony up more money than he can afford, he will have a miserable time – which creates tension, which, combined with drink, equals arguments.

Find out what the groom wants to do and sort it out, then tell everyone how much they have to pay, when they have to pay by and where they need to be on the day. Send an email two weeks before making sure everyone has paid, has a passport that is valid (if needed) and knows where they need to meet you and when. Include a note in this email, telling them that if they fail to turn up on time they will be left behind – and yes, they will still be expected to pay.

Sounds like looking after an unruly class of school children doesn’t it? There’s a reason for that – it is. A huge party of men, who may not all know each other, and who will all be drinking heavily for two days, needs to be arranged well in advance.

Speaking of “in advance” – paying for everything in advance is the best way of all to budget. Obviously if you have all already paid for accommodations, for food and for activities, then you know in advance what the weekend is going to cost and the only variable left is how much you spend on drink, or the meals that aren’t included in your price.

Yes, I’m talking about package deals. Mock them if you like – but for a budget conscious bachelor weekend, they perform a very solid function. You get your accommodation, your transfers and your activities all in – often with some meals too. What could be simpler?

About the Author:

Tamara Matthews is associated with many wedding planning communities as their free lance writer and adviser. In her free time, she loves to write articles that are related to stag weekends, budget wedding, wedding planning etc.