Said It Here

Should the bride pay for bachelorette party activities?

Bridal party planners often struggle to figure out whether the bride should cover her own expenses or if costs like housing, wine tastings, and yoga classes should be split among the bridesmaids. When the bride is unsure of what she is expected to pay for, planners are left guessing how to divide per-person costs without clear etiquette.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Having a conversation with the bride to see her vision and checking the budget of all guests
  2. 2
    Splitting the bride's share of accommodations and activities among the bridal party while the bride pays her own way
  3. 3
    Having the bride pay for major travel expenses while the group covers specific meals or activities
  4. 4
    Making professional hair and makeup optional so bridesmaids can choose to do their own or pay their own way.
  5. 5
    Covering specific services like makeup as a gift while having the bridal party pay for their own hair.

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/weddingplanning2 people · September 2026

“Starting to plan my BFFs bachelorette and I’m stuck on what the bride should and shouldn’t pay for.”source ↗

“I did ask the Bride what her thoughts were and she was a bit unsure/quiet. It read almost as if she wasn’t expecting to pay for much… or maybe she was just unsure.”source ↗

“I’m researching based on her not paying for the house, but now looking at activities, like wine tasting, yoga classes… should I include her in the pp cost or not?”source ↗

ThrowRA-546 · r/weddingplanning

“I never really intended for my wedding to be super traditional. Im doing an all inclusive wedding so most of my bridesmaids / maid of honor wont have any major tasks. My MOH informed me that its traidtional for a bride to pay for their hair/makeup…”source ↗

PixieVoyager · r/weddingplanning

Where this came up

r/weddingplanningbridesmaidsbudgetingsocial etiquettewedding etiquettewedding planning

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