Bachelor Party Expenses: What You Need to Know and Who Should Foot the Bill

Who Pays For the Bachelor Party Expenses?

A bachelor party is seen as the groom's last wild party before they get hitched. Granted,( with any luck), the groom will still come out with the boys, so it's not their last party but their last ever before they bid their single life goodbye. And that's a huge deal. As such, the pressure is on his closest friends to plan and execute one for the books. But planning is one thing: footing the expenses is a whole other ball game.

Bachelor Party Planning: Who Pays for the Bachelor Party?

Before we get there, let's begin by who plans one. Firstly, the groom is too busy with the wedding to plan his own bachelor party. Similarly, the groom is not supposed to pay for the party. So traditionally, it's the best man and close friends that take on the honor. Likewise, the best man should pay for the bachelor party.

But… Depending on the nature of the bachelor party, it can be too burdensome for the best man to cover the entire bachelor party bill.

For example, a best man might comfortably cater for food for a house party, where everyone brings their own drinks. That's an easy one.

However, the costs can be astronomical if you have a group of guys going abroad for the weekend or across the state for a couple of days. In such cases, and you are the best man, it's never fun to be ditched with the entire bachelor party bill.

What Then?

If you are planning something abroad, a road trip, and so on, it's fair to share the costs among the bachelor party participants. Again, the groom should not pay for anything.

This means that before the fun can begin, the guys need to figure out how to settle all costs and that the group pays for the groom's expenses.

Bachelor Party Planning: What Costs Are We Looking At, and Who Pays Them?

Before we get into who pays, let's look at some of the expenses involved in planning a stag party weekend.

Transportation

Travel arrangements can be as simple as going a few kilometers away or as complex as visiting multiple destinations abroad. If you are having a party close to home, you can simply request everyone to drive themselves to the venue. You can also all meet at a central place and go together to the venue.

If you go this route, then everyone can fuel their own car. You can also carpool and have the car owner fuel, or everyone can chip in. Just remember to put the groom in one of the vehicles.

Easy does it.

The logistics and the budget are slightly different for destination bachelor parties.

In this case, the main concern is flights. Once everything has been decided on, everyone can be responsible for booking and paying their own expenses. The best man can then book for the groom. All the dudes can chip in to pay for the groom’s airfare. The same applies if you choose to travel by train.

Once at the destination, you might need a car rental or, even better, a limousine service with a designated driver. The most convenient way to deal with these is to get a quotation or rough estimate and share the costs among the party goers, minus the groom to be.

Accommodations

Who pays for accommodation? Accommodation can be for the night of the stag party, for road trips to far-flung destinations, or abroad; you might need to plan a couple of nights' accommodation.

Accommodation is easier to plan for than transportation because the costs are fixed. First off, the group needs to agree on where to stay. If you opt for hotel rooms, they give you a fixed rate for the required dates. After making reservations, everyone can pay for their own hotel room in advance. People also have the flexibility to pick the type of room to stay in since they are paying for it.

Then, pick a room for the groom, book it, and split the costs.

The other trendy option is to go the Airbnb way. One of the upsides to an Airbnb is that you can get an entire house for the stag party. You also have the freedom to bring in caterers or be out and about looking for exciting places to dine.

Similarly, you will get the total cost of the house for the duration of your stay. This makes budgeting easier.

Bachelor Party Weekend Activities

While you don't need to do much if you go clubbing in your hometown, road trips, destination parties, and house parties require more planned activities.

Some parties are set around a golfing weekend, meaning there is the whole golfing aspect to think of. Other parties are designed around skiing, paintballing, mountain climbing, and so on.

Who pays for this?

Once again, the best man is charged with laying out all the plans and picking activities. Once he has a solid list, he can share this with all the bachelor party attendees to vote for the best ones or suggest others.

Once the final list is in place, it's time to get the costs and split them among attendees. If there are game resources to be bought, say a Scrabble board, the best man might choose to make the purchases themselves if they don't cost much. However, if it's something more intricate like a golfing weekend, everyone must bring their gear and pay the club fees and other associated expenses.

Party favors are a nice gesture but not mandatory, but the group can opt to have them and split the total costs. Individual and group gifts to the groom are also welcome.

Meals & Drinks

A party is not much fun without food and overflowing drinks. So these must make the budget.

Who pays for the food and drinks depends on the circumstances.

If you have a small group of five people and the groom is hosting, they might decide to provide food and have an open bar. Alternatively, they can provide food and request everyone to bring their drink.

House parties also have the provision for everyone to bring their food, dessert, and drink.

An alternative to these options is to have a house party catered. Here, you give your chosen caterer your food suggestions, and they prepare a quotation. The amount can be split among the group. The same can be done at an Airbnb.

If you stay at a hotel with an all-inclusive package, you might not have to worry much about meals, as they are included in the package. Everyone can then cater for their bar tab. However, the dynamics are slightly different if the group decides to go clubbing or to a formal dinner. The first option would be for everyone to order meals and pay their bills. The other is to order, get a joint bill, and split it. The third is ordering several meals for the entire table and then dividing the bill at the end.

Whichever the case, discuss how to go about food and drinks beforehand to find a method that will work for the entire group.

How to Go About Splitting Bills

You have noticed that executing a bachelor party has a lot of split bills. This can be dicey to do more if you have a large friend group.

Luckily, there are bill splitting Apps that make this much more straightforward to do.

Venmo

Venmo allows you to split a purchase or payment by charging everyone attending the bachelor party attendees.

Here is a step-by-step guide to how Venmo works:

1. Set up your Venmo account on your computer or the mobile App, which is much easier. Follow the prompts to enter your email address, name, and phone number. Once the account is active, you can personalize it with a user name and profile picture. You also need to link it to a bank account before being able to send cash. So ensure everyone on the bachelor party list has done this before the bills trickle in.

2. Open the ''pay or request' tab to request or make a payment.

3. Identify the person (s) you want to pay. You do this by searching the person's user name, email, or phone number. You can also scan their Venmo QR code. Ensure you have the correct friends before proceeding with the next step.

4. Choose an amount to request from everyone. The App also allows you to include a narration for the request.

5. Check privacy levels by limiting who can see the transactions, then confirm whether you are making a payment or making one. Venmo then emails you, confirming the payment or the request has been sent.

You can also change the amounts charged to each attendee such that the bill is not evenly shared among the group. So, if someone had individually bought several rounds of drinks, you could charge them less for dinner and dessert to compensate for their earlier payment.

Once you get on the App and split a purchase, all the blokes get a charge request. They then accept this request to complete the payment.

Other things you can do is cancel a payment from the App and even remind the guys of a pending payment.

Splitwise

With Splitwise, you and the blokes can add friends and different bills during the stag party or trip. Similarly, it can help the ground identify who owes who what so that it becomes easier for people to settle with each other.

Here is an overview of how Splitwise works:

1. Follow the prompts to create an account Once the App is on a laptop, iPhone, or Android.

2. Create a bachelor party attendee group. Once you add your friends, you will be asked for their contact information. Adding the contact information allows the other guys to view group activity and add their own expenses during the planned bachelor party event.

3. Your account is ready to add bills for splitting. Go to the group and tap the 'add bill' button. Once you do, the App requests details like the total cost, who settled the bill, and how much each individual owes. You can include additional notes and pictures and even change the dates during the bachelor party.

4. Save the entry so the App updates the amount of money each person owes.

Bachelor Party Etiquette

Planning a bachelor party can have multiple moving bits, as can a bachelorette party. However, employing bachelor planning expenses etiquette can ensure everyone is on the same page and that all attendees have a grand time. Here are some rules to abide by:

• Create a budget as early as possible and share it with the entire team. This gives everyone time to raise their concerns and begin saving up
• Even as the best man, you need majority buy-in. So be diplomatic, get people’s views, opinions and try to incorporate as many ideas as possible into the final plan
• Communicate room arrangements as early as possible, especially if people share rooms. ideally, let people choose who they share rooms with: comfort is key
• Clear the guest list with the groom before sending out invites or discussing any bachelor party plans with third parties
• Provide a precise RSVP date, with details on how to confirm attendance
• Discuss how bills will be split throughout the bachelor weekend, and request members to download a common bill splitting App

Have a Ball!

The good thing about proper planning is that it allows everyone to sit back, relax, and have the time of their lives, especially the groom.

A key aspect of bachelor party planning is knowing who pays for what. Having these discussions beforehand and having a convenient cash-splitting App will be half the battle won. With other details in place, all that's left is to have a ball and nudge the groom closer to marital bliss.