New Orleans is a top bachelorette party destination, but it ain't Nashville

Bachelorettes. You’ve seen them on ghost tours, and you’ve seen them reaching their phones over each other to snag photos of plates at Birdy’s Behind the Bower. You’ve seen them teetering down cobblestone streets and piling into Ubers.

• And New Orleans has more than most cities.

Why it matters: New Orleans ranks No. 7 most popular city for bachelorettes, according to data compiled by the app and website The Bach.

• By January, nearly 2,500 bachelorette trips were already planned for 2023, Bach data shows.

The competition: Nashville takes the top of the wedding cake, with more than 11,000 parties planned for 2023.

• Scottsdale, Arizona, and Las Vegas are at No. 2 and No. 3, each with just more than 5,000 parties planned.

Zoom out: Like weddings, sleepovers and even toddlers’ birthdays, partying is a bigger business than ever in the U.S., and bachelorette parties are following suit.

• Bach data reports that the average bachelorette trip lasts nearly three days and involves nine people, with each person spending an estimated $1,200.
• "Everything 'wedding' in our society is getting bigger and better and crazier," Corie Wagner, an industry analyst at Savings.com, tells Axios’ Jennifer Kingson.

Meanwhile: The boys aren’t exactly getting left behind.

• A Savings.com survey found that bachelor party attendees spent about 70% more than their bachelorette counterparts.
• That’s in large part because bachelor parties tend to opt for expensive golf trips and professional sporting events, while the bachelorettes prefer club-hopping and brunching.

Yes, but: No one actually seems to like spending all this money.

• A LendingTree survey found that half of wedding guests took on debt to be a part of a bridal party, with 56% feeling like they were pressured to take on more expenses than they could really afford.
• Nearly 40% of bridal parties regretted the spend, and about 1 in 10 aren’t even friends with the bride or groom anymore.