Stags outspending hens on pre-wedding bashes

Gone are the days when a stag party involved 10 guys going into the local town and having a traditional booze-up. The trend now involves a much larger group heading off on a plane for a weekend, or maybe more, and taking advantage of a city's sights and sounds.

Many companies these days provide services in which they provide the party with a consultation for the weekend, or even planning and organising the whole thing themselves.

Many companies these days provide services in which they provide the party with a consultation for the weekend

One such project is that of travel blogger Lee Abbamonte, who charges $1000 for a consultation and a minimum $5000 to make the various arrangements for the pre-nuptial parties. Speaking with Bloomberg, Abbamonte described it as "a honeymoon for you and your buddies".

The individual cost per head of stag and hen parties is rising steadily. Abbamonte says it can be between "$1000 and $10000". Wall Streeters tend to be his clients and that figure can rise if the party has bagfuls of cash to spend on presidential suites etc.

The social media generation plays a role in this shift, says executive editor of wedding magazine Knot, Kristen Maxwell Cooper. "They're more interested in experiences than things. It's not just about one night out at a bar," Maxwell Cooper says.

Nowadays people are mobile in terms of where they go to work and live and, as a result, they will have friends in more far-flung places, which leads to a central meeting place for a weekend's plans.

Figures suggest men spend more on average than their female counterparts as they see it as one last hurrah before their friend commits to a life of suburban mediocrity. This attitude is not shared by women, who consider it to be less of a big deal.

Men see it as one last hurrah before their friend commits to a life of suburban mediocrity

Groomsmen spend on average $681 on their stag parties, and the best men often end up worse off, with their figure lying just short of $1000. Brides and maids of honour figures are significantly lower, $437 and $552 respectively.

"Men have a go-big-or-go-home mentality," says David Conucci of website Brobible. This mentality leads to increased spending and less concerns about what the financial repercussions may be.