"I paid to attend a friend's hen's party, then I received an invoice from a bridesmaid."

Last Sunday I attended the hen’s party (which was really more of a ‘hen’s day’) for an old friend of mine from high school. The day itself was organised by her bridal party, consisting of six bridesmaids.

It was all very well planned. We were all invited to a Facebook group for the purpose of organisation. We were given an itinerary for the day and told how much all of these activities would cost, along with a deadline for payment.

It’s safe to say it was an action-packed day and the price tag didn’t come cheap. It began in a hotel in the city for some games, from there we went to a venue by the harbour for some drinks and entertainment, then for dinner we had a harbour cruise before a night out on the town. The entire day cost more than $400.

Listen: Hen’s days could get even more expensive. (Post continues after audio.)

While I thought this was quite an overblown amount, as she was a long time friend of mine, I bit the bullet and transferred the money to the account of the bridesmaid who was making all of the plans and arrangements for my friend Samantha’s big day.

Unexpectedly, the day itself also saw further expenses. There was transport to and from, club entry, drinks etc etc. Overall the entire day took a $550 hit to my bank account. At the end of the evening I caught a cab home, my bank account looking a little worse for wear but having had a relatively good day I didn’t think about it much further beyond that.

That was until the following morning when an email landed in my inbox. The subject line read: “Invoice for outstanding funds from Samantha’s hen’s party.”

I could feel my heart beat quickening as I cocked my head to the side and clicked on the unread message.

“Hi ladies! I hope you had a GREAT day yesterday. Unfortunately after doing some calculations we’ve come up short for the funds needed to cover Samantha’s hens party. The bridal party have decided the easiest way to sort this out is to divide the amount by all of the attendees. If you could all please transfer another $150 to my account by the end of the week that would be much appreciated. I’ve attached individual invoices for your reference. Thanks and see you all at the wedding!”

I was shocked and didn’t know how to react, my main issue being that the day’s events and how much it would all cost had already been carefully tallied and accounted for. About 15 women attended the hen’s day, not including the bridal party themselves, so how was it possible that we overspent by more than $2000?

It seemed ridiculous to me and the reasoning for it, when I pressed further, was that the dinner supplied on the cruise cost more than what was expected. And the problem is, it didn’t end there.

I vaguely remembered overhearing a conversation the night before between the bridal party, chatting about how they hadn’t expected to spend so much on alcohol and didn’t know where all the drinks had gone. Of course, this is all speculation, but it made me think perhaps they had all overspent and were trying to recoup their own costs.

I can’t exactly accuse the bridesmaid organising the event of lying but I don’t feel like I should have to pay the extra funds. I’m going to see her at the wedding though and I don’t want it to be awkward.

What should I do?

READ MORE:

• There’s a new kind of Hen’s party, and it’s got nothing to do with penis straws. 
• Women share their stories of when a hen’s night went way too far.
• How do I tell her I can’t afford her Hen’s Day?

The award-winning podcast Mamamia Out Loud is doing their first live show. There will be laughs, disagreements and you can meet the hosts afterwards! We’re also donating $5 of every ticket price to Share The Dignity so grab your friends and come along to share the love and laughs, get your tickets here.