BACH ON A BUDGET

HOW TO HOST AN AFFORDABLE BACH WEEKEND

Who said you have to spend your whole savings to throw an awesome party?! Hear me out – weddings get expensive. In my experience, wedding parties are often made up of fresh college graduates with almost no budget. Once you factor in the cost of bridal party attire, presents for the newlyweds, travel and so forth, people are maxed out. A week-long getaway to Vegas, Miami or the Bahamas sounds dreamy, but it’s not attainable for most. I’m so excited to share a roundup of the budget-friendly joint bachelor/bachelorette party we threw for some of our very best friends!

KEEP THIS IN MIND: 

• We were SUPER fortunate one of the groomsmen had a lake house! That saved us hundreds. Ask around the group and see if this is an option before booking a pricey hotel.
• Each of the members in our group gave $50 to cover food and supplies for the weekend. This included meals, snacks, drinks, decor and supplies for our obstacle course. Talk with the group to establish a price point that works for everyone before you start planning to ensure you’re all on the same page.
• Some of our friends had to leave Sunday morning, so we didn’t include the cost of the boat in the $50 cost for the weekend. Anyone that stayed split that evenly and it ended up costing around $25 each!
• Everyone was responsible for their own alcohol. Highly recommend this because everyone has their own taste, limits and budget when it comes to drinks.
• Know your crowd. Not everyone is looking to have a rager! While the bride (and groom!) should be the focus, also keep in mind the interests of the group. If 9/10 people attending prefer board games over flip cup, use that info. Don’t waste time, energy and resources planning something that no one actually wants to do.
• If you haven’t met everyone prior to the trip (I had never met most of the group we were with), suggest everyone bring their favorite card or board game. Bring an ice breaker game or something along those lines to really get everyone talking!

STEP ONE: ESTABLISH AN AGENDA FOR THE WEEKEND

The main reason to start here is it gives everyone some sense of direction. I created the agenda and shared it in our group chat before making any big moves to ensure everyone was on board. From this point, you can nix ideas that are unanimously unpopular, establish outfits, build your grocery list, etc. It’ll also allow you to decide if the budget you set for the group is feasible. Below is a copy of what I put together for our weekend! I wanted to give an overview that allowed for changes but also shared some sense of direction. Clearly outlining what is provided and what isn’t also cuts back on any confusion or awkwardness.

STEP TWO – GET YOUR SUPPLIES AND DECOR

I’m a firm believer that you can look like a million bucks on a budget. The Dollar Tree is my BFF and truly saved my booty when it came time to stock up for the weekend. Over 90% of the decor you see came from there! Something to keep in mind – this is just for the weekend. Quantity over quality with these pieces. Bachelorette parties are notoriously known for being over the top and tacky, so “less is more” does not apply.  Grab tons of rolls of streamers, balloons, confetti, the whole nine yards. If you have a specific theme in mind, those items can be added after the base of streamers and whatnot. Fill your space so there’s lots of fun photo ops and colors.

Make sure you have a plan in place to arrive at least 3+ hours before the rest of the party. I know that sounds like a lot, but you don’t want the bride to walk in mid-streamer taping. Once you’ve unloaded your car, packed everything into the fridge and started organizing what decor goes where, you’re already at least an hour into the day. Streamers, balloons and banners are awesome because they take up tons of space for a few bucks, but it’s time consuming. I spent the car ride there fluffing pom poms to save us time once we arrived!

STEP TWO CONTINUED – FOOD AND MEALS

Planning meals and snacks has to be somewhat strategic. $50 per person sounds like a decent amount, but everything adds up super fast. My friends always love my baked spaghetti, so I knew it would be perfect for this trip! I was able to get everything (aside from garlic bread) at the Dollar Tree for this as well. I spent about $20 total (including the cost of disposable baking pans with lids) and we had more than enough spaghetti for the whole weekend.

Be sure to get a plethora of chips, dips and snacks for the group. I stocked up on boxed snacks and cookies at Dollar Tree but waited and got store-brand chips the day we left for the lake. Reason 1: Dollar Tree didn’t have a good selection. Reason 2: Chip bags take up a good amount of space but they’re light. It was easiest to get them once the car was all loaded to leave because we could just stack them on top of everything without storing them for a few days.

FOOD PLANNING:

• Friday Night: Baked Spaghetti
• Saturday Morning: Packaged breakfast items – muffins, donuts, granola bars, etc
• Saturday Brunch: Breakfast bake and charcuterie boards
• Saturday Night: Ordered tons of pizzas!
• Sunday: All leftover snacks/chips and drinks

SNACK PLANNING:

• 12 bags of store-brand chips (grocery store!)
• 10 jars of various dips (jalapeno cheddar, salsa, french onion….)
• 10 family-size boxes of store-brand cookies from Dollar Tree
• 10+ boxes of snacks, donuts and granola bars from Dollar Tree

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STEP THREE: PERSONAL TOUCHES

Saturday morning the guys took the groom out for a round of golf while the girls celebrated our bride. Brooke is a wine lover through and through. Her ideal day would be spent winery hopping and sampling all the flavors they have to offer. We were in the middle of nowhere, so wineries weren’t an option. Luckily, our idea was super affordable and permitted for the bridal party to really get to know each other!

Each of the bridesmaids brought their favorite bottle of wine and we had our own DIY winery experience. We set up on the patio overlooking the lake and everyone dressed up in a cute brunch outfit to make it feel a little more formal. I put together charcuterie boards and we went around the table testing the variety of flavors each gal brought. It was honestly so much nicer than going to a winery! I loved hearing why people picked the flavor they brought, snacking on bottomless cheeses and not being out $100+ for wine I didn’t really love. We’re an eclectic group that hadn’t officially met until this trip, so it permitted time for everyone to really get to know each other.

STEP THREE CONTINUED: GROUP ACTIVITIES 

Finding common ground for a group of 15 guys and girls isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t want to spend a couple hundred bucks. Again, this comes back to knowing your crew and planning around that. Our group was up for whatever, making it easy to plan an outdoors obstacle course for our competitive bride and groom! I was able to put everything together for under $50 and it was seriously a blast. Below is a breakdown of the supplies and prices case you’re wanting to do the same!

• Plastic for Slip ‘n Slide – $30 and can be cut to size. Make sure you bring pins/nails to hold this in place! Nail them completely flat into the ground so no one hits them.
• Hula Hoops – $1 each at Dollar Tree!
• Hurdles – We used $1 pool noodles and taped them to painters buckets. The pool noodles are nice because they’re inexpensive and won’t hurt someone if they trip!

ENDING THE NIGHT

Saturday was our pizza party night with lots of photos, laughs and catching up on the day. We turned up our favorite music, busted out the drinking games and had a blast until the early morning hours. It was a great way to end a busy day and I loved not spending time in the kitchen! My advice is pick one meal for ordering in and aim for it to be the last one at the house. It’ll permit for less dishes and cleaning the next morning!

STEP FOUR – SETTING SAIL ON SUNDAY 

Sunday called for a slow start to the day after a packed weekend, so hitting the lake was a must. We rented a pontoon-style boat and ended the weekend relaxing on the water. The leftover snacks from the weekend came in handy here and were a must if you’ll be out for more than an hour or two. We pulled up to a sandy beach, turned up the music and had a blast laughing about everything we had done over the weekend!

Wow, what a weekend! I hope I’ve given y’all a bit of hope if you’re planning a bachelorette trip, group get together or party on a budget. Keep in mind that the point of the trip is to celebrate together, regardless of where you end up. Five star resorts are great, but it’s not worth putting your wedding party in a tough spot financially. Put together fun decor, pack the snacks and personalize the weekend to your bride and groom. You can’t go wrong with delicious eats and a group of their BFF’s!