The bachelorette party—nearly Shakespearean in its implied drama and delight—has grown so profoundly popular as to seem a mandated prerequisite to marriage itself (did you even wed if you didn’t fly to Miami beforehand to inhale espresso martinis with your nearest and dearest?!). For those of you who fall into the everybody’s-getting-married age bracket, the bachelorette party is indisputably at the heart and soul of your annual travel plans—affairs you budget the time and money to attend, alongside all the inevitable weddings.
Now, there is something sincerely euphoric (and downright fun) about ushering in a new phase of life in a new location with your closest friends. In the best of ways, it’s both juvenile and grown-up—a return to the youthful rapport of girlhood, as well as a totem of ceremonial passage into a certain genre of adulthood. But with the rise of destination weddings, wildly expensive wedding block hotels, sometimes egregious attire demands, gifts, and pre-matrimonial events, asking your inner circle to drain their annual travel budgets and their PTO reserves for your wedding and a voyage beforehand can feel a bit…much.
According to Allison Cullman, VP of brand marketing at Zola, the average bachelorette party spend per head in 2024 was $624 (out of 1,500 brides polled). “More than 100 couples said their guests spent under $175 each [on bachelor or bachelorette parties], while another 100+ couples reported guest spending between $1,000 and $2,000,” says Cullman.
The upshot, however, is that folks are indeed seeking out simpler options. “In 2024, our data showed that 10% of bach parties took place in the same location where most attendees lived, while 38% were local enough for an easy drive,” says Cullman. “Another 44% took place in a domestic destination within the US that required a flight for many, and 8% were full-on international getaways.”
While yes, that means 52% of 2024’s brides required that their closest pals purchase a plane ticket to attend their bachelorette parties, the other near-half opted to stay close to home. And given the numbers, it’s no wonder that more and more women are dialing it back to a good ol’ night out in their own cities.
Hear us out: A hometown bachelorette can still be every bit the unforgettable raucous soiree you’re picturing—just in different environs. Or rather, more familiar ones. Think of it as a welcome opportunity for a touch of local tourism: Perhaps a hotel sleepover, dinner at a spot that feels too splurgy otherwise, a beach day, a novelty afternoon at Dave & Busters. “I got married in Brooklyn, and most of my friends live in New York, so it felt only right to keep the bachelorette festivities local,” says Hannah Staab, a Brooklyn-based wine writer who got married at Bushwick’s Roberta's Pizza last year. “Our schedules are already so complicated…and it seemed like it just made more sense to unite everyone for one single glorious day than a week-long thing.”
As Staab explains it, the event began in her apartment with a bagel-and-lox spread and Champagne (she and her sister had decorated the place the night before with all the obligatory accoutrements, including giant balloons and a comically large print-out of her fiancés head). Next, they headed to Parcelle, a Lower Manhattan wine bar, for a private Italian wine tasting, followed by dinner and a rented room at nearby bar La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, where a handful more friends joined the original seven. “I just love the bars and restaurants in New York—it felt like a unique opportunity to go all in with a big group at my favorite places,” says Staab.
Of course, your hometown bachelorette options are not merely confined to dining and drinking venues—or to your seven closest friends. “The last bachelorette party I attended was certainly not a quaint affair—there were 23 of us in attendance,” says Tess Gilmore, referencing a friend’s recent fete in London, where both she and the bride in question are based. “The event even included friends who weren’t invited to the wedding, but are part of the overall friend group, which was great for this bride in particular—who’s extremely social, keeps a wide group of friends, and had limited slots for the wedding.”
This is not a unique phenomenon. Depending on budget, cultural and familial demands, location, and many other factors, every beloved member of a bride’s broader universe does not inherently earn a seat at the wedding. And a local bachelorette is an opportunity to include friends in your nuptials who won't be attending the main event. “The bride was so happy to have an evening that was inclusive of everyone without any financial strain,” says Gilmore.
The day began with a boat ride along the Regents Canal, complete with a five-course lunch, followed by a visit to a nearby rooftop bar—all before the headliner event: A party housed in an open-top red double decker bus, touring around the city…with girl pop blasting all the while. “It was super fun, but it still felt low pressure as an attendee,” says Gilmore. “I often get social anxiety—especially at the thought of going away for a weekend with a group of girls I might not know super well. But the one-day event saved me from that fear—and I only had one outfit to plan.”
That apprehension—while not so often publicly addressed—is just as valid as financial concern. Staying in an obligatory shared Airbnb with a large group of friends (or, as is often the case, mere acquaintances) is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. The agency that comes with hosting in a place where folks have access to their own beds at the end of the night—and the capacity to move about at will—can be wildly soothing.
What’s more, a hometown bachelorette is a welcome occasion for a surprise (needless to say, it’s tough to pull off an out-of-town surprise). “Before my friend Jade’s wedding, her sister threw her a surprise bachelorette in Los Angeles, where she lives,” says New York-based recruiter Emma Holland. “Only a few people had to fly in to attend.”
While the evening started with a catered dinner amongst close friends, it progressed with a limo and a large private party at a local bar—helmed by a bartender featured on Vanderpump Rules (the bride’s premiere television obsession). “It felt very Los Angeles in such a good way,” says Holland. “ In my experience with bachelorette parties, it often feels like one person has to wrangle, like, 12 other people, and all the 12 people resent that person, and that person resents everybody else. But without the whole travel component, we were absolved of all that.”
Weddings are often dual parts ecstatic and overwhelming—and when within reach, it’s often worth boarding a plane for one. But, in truth, all adjacent momentous occasions need not require overseas and cross-country travel to feel momentous. “I think there's something really unique about having such special memories—and such a novel day within your own city,” says Gilmore. “Not quite playing tourist for a day, but a similar sense of wonder with regard to experiencing your city in a different way.” She’s right: If the very intention behind the impulse to travel is to suffuse everyday life with something far shinier, what better way to do so than ogling the place you live?
There’s something to be said for building a web of memories tethered to places within reach (rather than devoting your time to curating a three-day Nashville itinerary tailored to everyone’s dietary restrictions). Much like friendship, much like marriage, there’s some marvel to be had in celebrating your context—the people and the place.
