Ah, weddings. We love them. The pros and cons of bridesmaiding, the ups and downs of brides, the copious food-booze, the themes, oh the themes.

But there’s no denying they can be a little wearing on the wallet – especially when you’ve got seven in a row, complete with elaborate hen dos spanning four days each.

Thus, it’s not too much of a shocker to learn that we’re dropping a lot of money before the big day – with average spend on hen and stag parties coming in at an eye-watering £507 a time.

Read more: “I was fired as a bridesmaid – now it’s time for rules”

According to one survey, for 28% of people, financial outlay on these compulsory weekend breaks is even exceeding the cost of an actual holiday (you remember them, the ones where you chose where you wanted to go and who you wanted to go with).

Which probably accounts for the quarter of folk who completely ditched their own trips in order to attend hens and stags, and the third who were expected to use their precious annual leave to do so.

Purveyor of personalised clothing, Banana Moon, conducted the research, questioning 1,000 people in the UK on their wedding spend.

Given the hen cost isn’t just the house in the country or the gig tickets or the restaurant booking or the chipping in for a hen present, it’s easy to see how costs quickly shoot up.

The average spend of £507 breaks down into seven areas, with travel proving the most expensive (taking a £109 chunk) and alcohol costing us about £75 each.

• £109 travel
• £90 accommodation
• £75 alcohol
• £63 activities
• £63 pre-wedding gifts
• £57 food
• £50 clothes

Funnily enough, four in five adults surveyed went on to say stag and hen dos are becoming too expensive and nearly half (46%) said they have felt pressured into attending a party that they couldn’t afford.

Good job we love ‘em, eh?

Images: iStock / Rex Features