'My friend's bridesmaids are making her hen do cost a fortune – I feel awful for her'

A woman has hit out at her pals after they organised a hen do with a "limitless budget".

Hen and stag dos used to be a simple one night of fun before a wedding - but nowadays it's common for people to plan holidays abroad.

While everyone wants to send off the bride-to-be in style, the reality is that once the organising begins it can add up to be a costly affair. And one woman has been left raging by the "awful" planning of her friend's hen do, which appears to be heading in that direction.

The woman ranted on Reddit recently, saying: "I've never experienced such a disregard for budget and feel awful for the bride, who will have a poor turnout."

She claims the four bridesmaids left the organising till last minute, with the wedding in August of this year. They started planning the trip and the suggestion "was clear" that it was going to be abroad.

The bridesmaids started looking into Ibiza and said the trip would cost around £500 each. The annoyed friend added: "They later message to say it will be £500+ on reflection, but no indication as to what that means - is that £600 or £1000? One further girl drops out in this time due to worry of costs. One or two people chipping in to let the bridesmaids know that we may do better elsewhere in Europe. This suggestion was brushed off and they assured us they will let us know details.

"Ibiza is known for being incredibly pricy. Someone asks if we could see an itinerary for a rough budget as while £350 is okay for flights and accommodation, it is the cost of being out there that is a concern and there's no pricing budget. I message a similar line in agreement."

After taking into account the concerns of those invited, the bridesmaid said they would do further research and came back with a price of "£700 maximum". The concerned friend added: "This in itself is a lot but more importantly, I think they're massively underestimating how much activities and clubs will cost out there."

The bridesmaid later clarified that it is "not possible to find anywhere" for accommodation for £500. The exasperated friend added: "Have people lost their minds?" Now the friend is anxious about the trip, and how the bride will feel, as the group has dropped from 12 girls to six.

People were quick to weigh in on the situation, expressing disbelief at both the exorbitant cost and the apparent disregard for more affordable options. One person remarked: "There's absolutely tons of places you can go in Europe for less than £500. I would be very honest with your friend that due to the bridesmaids lack of cost transparency and poor planning, you will not be attending."

"I wouldn't go because I do not trust that I wouldn't be asked to pay a lot more for stuff once I got there," another chimed in.

Someone else said: "I've found that people sometimes have a difficult time wrapping their heads around the fact other people are in a different financial position than them both in terms of how much extra income they have to spend and, more importantly, how much credit card debt they're willing to take on."