• Allison Odhner is a professional bachelorette-party planner.
• She told Insider spending a lot of money on decor and favors isn't always a good idea.
• She recommends investing in unique experiences instead, especially activities on boats.

Like many aspects of modern weddings, bachelorette parties are continuing to get more extravagant. 

It's become popular for people to take trips for their bachelorettes, turning what was once a night out at a bar into a three-day vacation that can cost thousands of dollars. 

And although investing in that trip will offer brides and their bridal parties lifelong memories, it can be stressful to know how to best spend your money when it comes to a bachelorette party.

Insider spoke to Allison Odhner, the founder of Bach to Basic, a bachelor and bachelorette-party planning company, about what to spend your budget on. 

Although decor and favors are fun, they might not actually be worth the money

Elaborate decorations, like balloon arches or oversized banners, are popular at many bachelorette parties today, as are adult bags full of themed party favors.

Although those items are fun, they can quickly become expensive, and they don't always make a huge difference in the experience of the trip for people, according to Odhner.

Odhner, who works with her team to create fully custom events and relieve the stress of planning from brides and bridal party members, told Insider that many people hyper-focus on decorations and party favors when planning bachelor or bachelorette parties in the hopes of creating an Instagram-worthy moment, which doesn't always take into account the actual fun attendees will have on the trip.

"They don't really take the time to focus on the rest of the weekend," she added, saying it's important to "have things be seamless and planned out and well-executed so that everybody is enjoying themselves throughout the entire weekend and not rushing places or sitting at home, doing nothing."

Because those experiences will be more memorable than any decorations or souvenirs, Odhner recommends using less of them if you need to be budget-conscious.

"I think if you don't have the budget for that, it's OK to do without or keep it more minimal so that you can actually enjoy the experience and where you've traveled to for all of this money and actually enjoy the place you're in with the people you're with," she said. 

It's best to invest your money in unique experiences

In Odhner's experience, people have the most fun on bachelorette trips when they are experience-focused.

"You're traveling all this way to a destination that you may have never been to before and having a unique experience with your favorite people in that destination is what makes a weekend super memorable," she said.

Odhner recommends planning activities that cater to the brides' interests, whether that means going to a nice restaurant, spending a day at a spa, or doing a brewery tour. 

Although decor and goody bags are fun and can make for cute photos, Odhner told Insider her clients who have the most fun often don't even spend that much time taking pictures.

"While we love a good setup, we focus much more on the experiences and the weekend as a whole," she said of Bach to Basic. "It's great when groups or the person in charge is like, 'I hardly took any photos.'"

And when in doubt, book a boat

There's no shortage of places you can go for a destination bachelor or bachelorette trip. Currently, Odhner loves Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; the 30A area in Florida; and Chicago, Illinois, for fun trips that won't be like every other bachelorette you see on Instagram.

But no matter where you end up, Odhner recommends booking a boat.

She told Insider that the majority of her clients who are looking for a unique experience end up on a boat of some kind — and almost always love it. 

"There's zero negative feedback about it," she said. "Everyone enjoys their time, no matter if they're on a yacht or a pontoon boat or a little Tiki raft situation."

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