Going to a hen party this weekend, it's 2 nights in a cottage with a finger food buffet, breakfast both days and a treasure hunt tomorrow - and we had to pay £150 up front! Best of it is tomorrow night we're going into town for dinner and drinks, and none of this is included in the upfront 150 - is it just me who thinks this is extortionate? I'm going because I'm friends with the bride, but I think it's the MOH who I've never met who's organised this fiasco - we were also sent a quetionnaire which we had to fill out about ourselves for a quiz, and were warned that if the MOH didn't think our answers were good enough she would request we try again until she was happy! So sent in my answers, she tried to re-buff but I justified them, then she went all 'ooh, I'm really looking forward to meeting you at the party!' - how patronising is that! Will have to hold back if I feel the urge... ooh and I have to drive 1.5 hrs in Friday night rush hour traffic to get there for the stupid 7.30pm start time - and surprise, the MOH only lives 20 mins away from the venue! Give me strength!

I think you may need a few drinks to survive the MOH, good luck hun. Hope it turns out to be worth the . . . yes rather extortionate . . . cost xx

i wud wait til u get there u never knwo wat the 150 includes it prob includes drinsk while ure doin this treasure hunt??

zowie u havin treatments at the spa? for that price u best b lol

the brides not payin at all??? awww no thats wrong hun! i wud never do that!!! i even got £50 off my place on my hen do but am usin that to buy the girls stuff!! i think it is down rite cheeky!! treasure hunt in town? sounds liek a kiddie party lol

ure MOH doesnt have to prganise ure hen nite, ave organised the package we r havin and leavin moh to games fun bags etc

Exactly and I'm going to have to be nice to everyone throughout! Went to another hen party a few months ago, the accomodation in a farm house with a full on tea party and drinks was only £35 up front then we went into town where we put £20 into a kitty that sorted taxi, club entry and drinks all night - that's more like it! There were 11 of us on that one! Food as well! This one is easily going to cost 220-250 in all (the night out is in Leamington Spa, only one of the most expensive towns in the country!) and with the new dress for the wedding and staying over on the day, it's nearing 450-500 - am seriously only doing this for my friend but tbh I only know her cos we lived together for 6 months a few years ago! That's it!

No way I think I could ever ask this kind of money for my own hen do, am considering not having one!

it wudnt be alot of money if u actually got sumthing wiv it lets break it down

2 nite stay wiv breakfast wud be £70ish

treasure hunt thing i bets £30 pp ( is it wiv acompnay?)

finger buffet food £10 if bought from m & s and not cheap place

ure all payin for the bride so thats £15 each ish

so then theres 15 over??

my hen do is £115 like i said but u get about 6 drinks at cocktail makin wiv pizza n wedges and includes a party bus to take us round at nite then nite club entry!

Not quite, looked up the place we're staying and it's 175 a night, so 35 each for 2 night's accomodation inc breakfast. I really doubt a group of girls running around a town centre would cost 30 each, if so that's ridiculous - however, I've paid the money now so have come to accept it and I'll do my best to enjoy myself - just slightly gutted that now I'm planning my own wedding I appreciate what a few hundred could get me - that could be shoes, veil and even tiara! Arghh!!

did you know how much it was before you agreed to go? I gave my mates a link to a hen party website and told them i fancied York and they should choose their favourite idea. They all chose the most expensive and the least expensive as their 2 choices so we are paying £130 quid each for 2 night stay in york with spa day on sat and murder mystery on Sat night. There will be a night out on Friday and it doesn't clude food apart from a two course meal on the sat.

My point of view is no it's not excessive, i know people that have apid a lot more for hen dos. I/f you knew how much it was before agreeing then you shouldnt have agreed to go. If you didn't you could have pulled out when you found out the price as you said yourself its not like she is one of your best mates.

Sounds like you're going into this with the attitude that you're going to hate it and the MOH without giving it a chance.

Maybe you should have asked for a breakdown of cost when first told with a view to reducing the cost for all by shopping around. Or offered help and or advice to find things cheaper.

One of the hardest things I had to do was be MOH for a friend and organise a hen do to do what the bride wanted, within as small a budget as possible, for people I didn't know and have never met. I had some people complaining about everything when all I was trying to do was what the bride had set out in her 'hen do brief' and the sums of money involved were less than £50.

Although it was agreed up front that Bride wouldn't be paying for anything that night when it came to paying for the meal one girl decided that she wasn't paying 1/10th of the meal (as agreed) she was paying for what she had and wouldn't even pay the service charge!

Some of the girls (brides closest friends) spent the whole night, in earshot of the bride, complaining that the night was sh1t and one of them even said that she wished she'd made up being ill.
Not one of her so called best friends even offered her a drink!

The night was exactly what the bride wanted but not to the tastes of these girls (who knew in advance exactly what the night entailed). The bride was very happy when her closest friends, including 2 bridesmaids, made their excuses and left at about 10pm. She told me that she wished she hadn't invited them and was so upset with them for being sullen and rude the whole night that she wished that they weren't bridesmaids.

Maybe you could bear this in mind when you go on the hen do. Yes it is a lot of money but you could have said no. If you approach it like you don't want to be there then people other than you may also wish that you weren't!

maybe she has used some of the money to get you all hen party bags, sashes, blow up w1llies etc etc? you never know. I think its a pretty decent price. My girls are all paying £139 for 2 nights, and none of that includes food or alcohol.

On a positive note I lived in Leamington for 5 years (dads side of the family from there) and it is a top night out! :0)

Hope you have a great time.xx

P.S I don't feel so bad asking my hens for £55 each now for our night out!

Well, I'm back - wasn't too bad, MOH was apologetic as soon as it started as apparently the other girls had given her stick already about her demands by email! Slightly cringeworthy moments as it was blatantly the MOH vying for brownie points but had a laugh regardless - and there was over 300 left in the funds which went towards the taxi and meal, so it was only an extra 15 to pay! Plus the treasure hunt was fun, we won! If you're ever looking for something in the Stratford area then look up wildgoose events...