The problem, and what Kinora does about it.
Twelve people, three friendship groups, one date
University friends, work friends, a sister-in-law and an aunt. They have different calendars and no shared context, and a date poll in a chat gets buried in the conversation about it.
A date poll that closes
Offer the weekends, set the deadline, and the tally is visible to everyone. Three states — works, could work, can't — so a weekend that suits eleven beats one that four people love.
The cost is revealed in instalments
First it is "a weekend in Edinburgh". Then the house is £140, dinner £60, the activity £45, plus a share of the bride's costs. Nobody lied; the total just arrived one piece at a time, and now declining means declining publicly.
One shared budget, visible from day one
Put the whole number on the plan before anyone books. As costs land, everyone sees the running total against it — including the bride or groom's share, if the group is covering it.
Everything lands on the organiser
Decorations, the playlist, the cake, the restaurant, transfers, the photo. On most weekends one person does ten of the twelve jobs and quietly resents it by Sunday.
Jobs with names attached
Write every task down, including the small ones. Unclaimed jobs are conspicuous, people claim the ones they would never have "volunteered" for, and nothing silently lands on you.
Guests who cannot do the whole thing
Someone can only make the Saturday. Someone else cannot afford the £70 activity. Averaged across the group, both of them quietly drop out.
RSVPs and optional extras
People RSVP to the parts they can do. Optional activities are split only among the people who join them, so a weekend of ten where three skip the expensive bit beats a weekend of six.
A weekend that becomes a hundred photos in twelve camera rolls
The one weekend everyone wants the photos from is the one where they are most scattered — and the person the weekend was for sees a fraction of them.
A shared album, set up before you go
One place, established before the first drink, so photos land the same evening. Private to the group, full resolution, and the bride or groom gets all of it.
Nobody wants to install another app
Especially the aunt. And especially for one weekend.
It opens from a link
Anyone can see the plan from the invite link in a browser, no account needed. The people who want to vote or claim a job sign up; the ones who just want to know where to be on Friday do not have to.
From idea to done.
1Ask the bride or groom four questions first
Who has to be there, roughly what it should cost people, anything they would hate, and whether they want to know the plan or be surprised. Then build the plan around those answers.
2Poll the date, then publish the full cost
Three to five weekends out to the list. Once one wins, put the whole number on the plan — house, activity, the honoree's share — before anyone books, so people can decline early and privately.
3Share the link, let the jobs fill themselves
The plan goes in the chat you already have. Guests RSVP, claim decorations or the playlist, and see the running cost. You stop being the human database.
4Collect the photos on the last night
The album is already there. One message while everyone is still together, and the weekend exists somewhere other than twelve separate phones.
Straight answers.
Can I use it for both a bachelor and a bachelorette party?
Yes — the planning problems are the same: an assembled guest list, a wide budget range, and a date that has to land a few weeks clear of the wedding. Each is its own plan in Kinora with its own guest list, date poll and budget.
Does the bride or groom see the plan?
Only if you invite them. If the weekend is a surprise, keep them off the guest list and share the plan with everyone else. If they want to know the details — and a lot of people do, when asked — invite them like anyone else.
How do we handle the bride's or groom's share of the costs?
Decide it with them, then put it in the headline cost on the plan so it is visible from the first day rather than discovered as a line item at the end. Kinora tracks it as a shared cost like any other; whether the group covers it is your call, not the app's.
Do guests need an account?
Not to see the plan — the invite link opens in any browser. Signing up is what lets someone vote on the date, RSVP, claim a task or add photos, and it takes under a minute. There is no app to install.
Is it free?
Yes, while the beta runs — the date poll, the budget, the task list, RSVPs and the album are all included, and testers get notice before anything about that changes.
Read the guides first.
How to plan a bachelorette party
A realistic timeline for planning a bachelorette or hen party — guest list, budget, dates and the money conversation nobody wants to have.
How to plan a bachelor party
A realistic timeline for planning a bachelor party weekend — headcount, the budget conversation, who pays for the groom, and the logistics people forget.
How to split costs on a group trip
Who pays for what, how to divide rooms of different sizes, and how to settle up without anyone having to chase. A practical guide to group trip money.
One page instead of six threads.
Kinora is free while the beta runs. Start with a name and nothing else — the group fills in the rest.