So you’ve set your eyes on Nashville for your bachelorette destination. You’ve looked a the venues, different things to do and even where to eat. But after totaling all of the costs up, you’re looking at the amount of money that is way out of budget for most of the bridesmaids. It can be easy to want to ball out for one of your best friends, but in reality there are easy ways to cut costs and still have an amazing time.

This blog post will walk you through how to have a bachelorette in Nashville on a budget, keeping in mind accommodations, travel, food and alcohol.

A Bachelorette in Nashville on a Budget

Before you read through this article, you need to do a couple of things. First, identify the budget PER PERSON for total deliverables, including: food, alcohol, drink, transportation, lodging, decorations and makeup or hair. Then, decide if the bride will be paying for herself, or if the group is going to cover the costs.

Next, you need to decide which parts of the bachelorette weekend are nonnegotiable. Does the bride desperately want to ride on one of the booze cruises through honky tonk row? Then keep that in. Could she care less about that, but really wants a fabulous dinner with her gals? Skip the honky tonks and go right for the nice dinner. Establishing which parts of the party are must-haves will make it much easier to budget in certain other areas.

To recap, first you must:

Find out the maximum budget per person
Establish if the bride will be paying for herself
Line out the nonnegotiable portions of the weekend

Finding Budget Accommodations for a Nashville Bachelorette Party

Choosing your accommodations will likely be the most expensive part of the trip. While you might want to stay at one of Nashville’s beautiful hotels at first, it’s likely that getting a cute rental might be more in your budget. The upside to getting a rental is that many of the Nashville house rentals are actually geared toward and decorated for bachelorettes, so you can spend less on decorations overall.

How to Get Around Nashville on a Budget

The next bachelorette cost that can rack up is travel from neighborhood to neighborhood. Unfortunately Nashville is not very walkable, so you can’t rely on that free method of transportation. Unless you drive here, you’re looking at either renting a car or getting an Uber or Lyft everywhere that you go. If you’re with a large group, the larger transportation costs will definitely add up.

One way to cut down on costs is to stick with one neighborhood per day. You can typically walk around most of the neighborhoods, just not between different areas, so can pay for only two forms of transportation per day. For example, you can spend one day in East Nashville, one day Downtown and in Germantown, etc.

Alternatively, you can rent one of the electric bicycles at one of their locations throughout Nashville. The first half hour is usually free, so this is a fun way to get from neighborhood to neighborhood with lower cost. The downside is that this is a little bit of a workout and may ruin your hair and makeup. Nashville drivers are also notoriously terrible, so please wear your helmet and practice road safety.

Easy Ways to Cut Costs for Your Nashville Bachelorette

Outside of your accommodations and travel expenses, there aren’t a lot of clear cut ways to save on costs during your bachelorette party. The following sections will take you through some easy ways to save a couple extra dollars.

Skip the Theme

Instead of choosing a fancy theme, like disco balls or barbie, pick a cute house rental and opt for something simpler. No theme, or a simple monochromatic theme, is going to save quite a lot in decoration costs. And while decorations typically make for a cute photo opportunity, Nashville has plenty of built in photo opps that no one will miss the balloon arch in the rental.

Hop from Happy Hour to Happy Hour

The fun bars and clubs throughout Nashville usually have great happy hours and two-for-ones. Find those whenever possible in order to skip out on paying $20 for a watered down cocktail.

Drink Outside of Broadway

While Broadway is a must-see, that doesn’t mean that you need to spend your night partying there. The honky tonks are usually very crowded and very overpriced for what you get. If you’re looking to save some money, we’d recommend only hitting up one or two honky tonks for a drink during the day when things are slightly cheaper.

In the evening, you can make your way to Midtown or East Nashville where things are slightly more affordable.

Consider Visiting Outside of Peak Season

Nashville is definitely most busy in the spring and summer, so why not visit in the fall? The costs of rentals will be slightly lower and the city is just as beautiful. It might be even more beautiful in some people’s opinions, since the humidity is way less strong in the late fall.

Take Advantage of the Many Free Daytime Activities

Nashville has a surprising number of free things to do in Nashville, so take advantage of those if you want to save extra money. The top of our list? Check out the views from the pedestrian bridge, visit the parthenon or complete a scavenger hunt.