WE love it when a pal gets wed but it can be a nightmare forking out for over-the-top stag and hen dos.

Karen Rogers, 47, from Barnstaple in Devon, wants to know if it is OK to drop out — or suggest doing something else — as she can’t afford £300-plus for a mate’s hen party in Amsterdam.

Our panel offer their advice and share tips on how to get the most for your party money…

• Instagrammer Hester Grainger, of mums’ networking group Mumala Club, says: “Why don’t you suggest a pampering afternoon for the bride instead? Buy three-for-two Superdrug face masks (99p each), do her nails and even attempt her wedding make-up. Pop some tunes on and at the end you could give her a goodie bag with all the products you used.”
• Lifestyle Editor Annabelle Lee says: “Games are the best part of a hen do, so stock up on supermarket drink deals and invite people over to play DIY games. Or turn to wowcher.co.uk and groupon.co.uk for event tickets and use a Tastecard (£1 for a 60-day trial) to get half off at restaurants.”
• Camilla Smith of designmynight.com says: “Always pre-book an area for the best offers and don’t be scared to outright ask for a deal.
  “Head down for the happy hour and download the bar’s app in advance to see if they offer a free drink.”
• Reader Terri Bennett, from Notts, says: “You can tell your friend you can’t afford to go. Take her out for after-noon tea when she returns instead.
  Lastminute.com does an afternoon tea for two at a Patisserie Valerie cafe for £25.”
• Fern Godfrey of rockmywedding.co.uk says: “Have a mini-festival at home.
  “Set up a sound system, cook some party food and get the cider on ice.
  “For minimum cost, you get maximum fun.”
• Don’t miss Saturday’s Sun for the launch of our awesome WIN YOUR WEDDING competition.

John Legend talks to Dan Wootton about the Royal wedding of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry

Designer double

UNLEASH your inner rock-chick with these studded ankle boots from Deichmann instead of Chloe’s pricier designer version.
SAVE: £815.01

Reader's saving tip

KARINA MEDLOCK, of Tipton, West Midlands, says: “When buying fruit and vegetables from the supermarket l keep the clear plastic bags and use them for my bathroom bin, saving me money on bin bags.”

• Upload hints at sunsavers.co.uk/tips and get 28 codes, worth £5, if we print yours. Please include your name and town.

Deal of the day

LET your little one travel in style with the Ferrari I-Max SP Luxe Group child car seat from dunelm.com. It has a built-in alarm in case your kid decides to do a runner. Was £74.99, now £52.49.
SAVE: £22.50

Save a fiver

BLEND, grind and juice with this all-in-one stainless steel VonShef 4-In-1 Blender from domu.co.uk. Was £32.99, now £27.99. Offer expires on Monday.

My Sun Savers fiver

SAMANTHA Hammond, from Darlington, says: “I’m getting married, so I’m putting my fivers towards my wedding deposit.”

• Upload your Savers fiver tales to sunsavers.co.uk/fivers and you will get 28 codes worth £5 if yours is used. Please include your name and town.

Cheap treat

ENJOY four for £3 on chilled dairy product Kvarg at Asda. Choose from raspberry, vanilla and peach & passion fruit. Usually 95p each.
SAVE: 80p

Shop & save

FLAVOURED vodka is the comeback kid of the cocktail cabinet. You can choose from two, Absolut Apple or Absolut Strawberry, for £13 from Tesco this month. Was £16.
SAVE: £3

Win £15,000 off your mortgage

WE’VE teamed up with free online mortgage broker Habito to offer one lucky reader £15,000 towards their mortgage.

To be in with a chance of winning our great cash giveaway, collect TEN of the Sun Savers codes printed daily until September 25. Today’s code is on Page 20.

Then go to the Sun Savers app or sunsavers.co.uk and enter your TEN Sun Savers codes. Lastly, go to the “Win A Year’s Mortgage with Habito” page in “Offers” and click “Enter” by midnight on Monday, October 8.

A recent study by Habito found 58 per cent of British homeowners could save on average £294 a month (that’s £3,528 per year) by switching to a better mortgage. To find out more, visit Habito.com.

Not a Sun Savers member? Go to sunsavers.co.uk or download the Sun Savers app to get involved.

• Terms and conditions: 18+ UK residents only (excludes IoM, Channel Islands). Code collect Sep 8 to 25, 2018. Entry closes Oct 8, 2018. Winner selected at random. T&Cs apply. For full T&Cs see sunsavers.co.uk.

Play now to win £15,000 on the Sun Savers Raffle

JOIN thousands of readers taking part in the new Sun Savers Raffle.

Every Sun Savers code you enter will earn you a ticket for our £15k monthly Raffle. And for every ten tickets you collect in a calendar month, you get a GOLDEN TICKET for our £80k Raffle, which takes place every three months, with the first one at the end of June.

There is no limit to how many tickets you can collect. So the more you enter, the better your chances.

To take part go to sunsavers.co.uk or open the Sun Savers app. Then opt in to each month’s Raffle by clicking “Yes!” when prompted and start collecting the Sun Savers codes printed daily in the paper.

Today’s code is on Page 20. Every time you scan or enter a code into Sun Savers, you get a Raffle ticket in the £15k Raffle.

Not yet a Sun Savers member? Just go to sunsavers.co.uk or find “Sun Savers” in the app store to get started.

• T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs at sunsavers.co.uk/faqs.

Fancy a free fiver?

YOU can get FREE cash with super Sun Savers just for buying your favourite paper.

Our brilliant new rewards club will pay back our most loyal readers.

Just pick up the paper each day to collect your Sun Savers codes and we will GIVE YOU £5 when you have ­collected 28.

This isn’t a one-off and there is no limit to how much cash you can save.

For every 28 codes you enter, we will give you a fiver. So over the course of a year, that could add up to £65.

We are keeping it super-simple. You don’t have to enter codes from consecutive days, so don’t worry if you forget a day or two.

Download our easy Sun Savers app and quickly scan your code using your smartphone. Or go online and enter your code at sunsavers.co.uk.

most read in money

To get you on your way, join today and we will put a bonus £1 in your Sun Savers wallet tomorrow. And the good news doesn’t stop with free cash.

With Sun Savers, we give you the best hacks, deals and tips to save money every single day.

TO JOIN: Don’t worry, folks — joining takes just 30 seconds, in three steps.

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