We've compiled data from studies and industry experts to give you more insight about bachelor and bachelorette parties. In this article, we'll cover information about costs, attendees, locations, drinking habits, and more.
| When are most bachelorette parties? | The majority of bachelorette parties take place in the spring (43%) and summer (35%). |
| How long do bachelorette parties last? | Over 50% of bachelorette are at least two days, with 1 in 3 celebrating for three or more days. |
| How many people attend a bachelorette party? | On average, 10 people attend a bachelorette party, extending to friends and family outside of the wedding party. |
| Do most bachelorettes wear a special outfit? | Half of brides-to-be wear something special on their bachelorette party as opposed to only 19% of men on their bachelor party. |
| When are most bachelor parties? | Like bachelorette parties, the majority of bachelor parties take place in the spring (43%) and summer (42%). |
| How long do bachelor parties last? | Bachelor parties tend to be a bit longer than bachelorette parties on average, with over 60% being two or more days, and 1 in 3 celebrating for three-plus days. |
| How many people attend a bachelor party? | Bachelor parties tend to be a bit smaller than bachelorette parties with eight guests. |
| Is Las Vegas more popular for bachelor parties compared to bachelorette parties? | Bachelor parties are more than twice as likely to visit Las Vegas than bachelorette parties. |
In general, the activities that people do during bachelorette and bachelor parties are similar, but there are some key differences.
Bachelorette parties tend to go to dinner & drinks, dancing & clubbing, spa & massages, and manicure & pedicures much more frequently than bachelor parties.
While many bachelor and bachelorette parties do similar activities, bachelor parties tend to replace spa & wellness activities with sporting events, casinos, and golf.
Most (92%) American bachelor and bachelorette parties stay within the continental US, while 8% happen internationally. The most popular international destination for bachelor parties is Hawaii (2% of all bachelor parties) and for bachelorettes it's the Caribbean (3% of all bachelorette parties).
As mentioned, 86% of bachelor and bachelorette parties are overnight for at least one night, while 14% are not an overnight event and thus did not require accommodations. Of those that require overnight accommodations, Hotels and resorts are the most popular option for both bachelor and bachelorette parties. Nearly 50% of bachelor party attendees stay at a hotel or resort along with 40% of bachelorette party-goers.
The next most popular accommodations are private house and apartment rentals through platforms like AirBnB and VRBO. 19% of bachelorette parties and 14% of bachelor parties choose this option.
Other accommodations for bachelor and bachelorette parties include a house owned by an attendee (12% and 16% respectively), all-inclusive resort (5% and 6% respectively), campground (4% and 2% respectively) and a boat (3% and 1% respectively).
While the average costs associated with attending a bachelor or bachelorette party appear steep, costs vary greatly based on the mode of transportation, length of festivities, accommodations, personalized items or special outfits, gifts, group activities and more. In fact, nearly 40 percent of bachelorette partygoers spend $200 or less (along with 19 percent of bachelor party attendees).
Here is the average cost per attendee by length of party for bachelor parties (left) and bachelorette parties (right):
While the average costs associated with attending a bachelor or bachelorette party are steep, costs vary greatly depending on types of transportation, accommodations, personalized items and outfits, gifts, group activities, length of festivities, and more. While many parties are expensive, we found that 40 percent of bachelorette and 19% of bachelor parties spend a total of $200 or less per attendee.
As you may know, drinking alcohol is common at bachelor and bachelorette parties. One study by researchers at the Ohio State University of women in their 20's who had attended at least one bachelorette party in the previous year found that more than 80% reported that they drank an average of five drinks on the day of the celebration – meaning many engaged in binge drinking as defined by the CDC.
After the cost of attendance, the most reported concern of attendees is avoiding hangover symptoms due to drinking alcohol. The most reported methods of avoiding hangovers were trying to pace consumption of alcoholic drinks, staying hydrated and consuming drinks containing electrolytes, eating meals before/during/after drinking, and taking a hangover prevention remedies, and avoiding drinking all together.
