Short answer: charge $10 to $15 for admission, print numbered tickets with a tear-off stub, and start selling six to eight weeks out through both families and the wedding party. Give each seller a numbered block and collect stubs and cash every week. Our free template below has 100 numbered tickets with stubs, ten to a page, plus a blank sheet to photocopy.
Free printable stag and doe ticket template
The PDF has a how-to page, a blank sheet you fill in once and photocopy, and 100 numbered tickets (001 to 100), ten to a letter-size page. Each ticket has a stub for the buyer's name, their phone number and who sold it, so you always know where every ticket went.
What to put on a stag and doe ticket
- Both names. “For Sam & Jordan” is all it takes.
- The date and the door time.
- The hall's name and street address. Out-of-town guests will type it into a map.
- The price.
- What's included: games, prizes, a DJ, the late lunch.
- “19+ with ID” if there is a bar.
- A ticket number, printed on the ticket and the stub.
Short lines that fit a ticket:
- “You're invited to a Stag & Doe for Sam & Jordan”
- “Games, prizes, dancing and a late lunch”
- “Tickets at the door while they last”
What to charge
WeddingWire suggests $10 to $15 for admission, about what a bar charges at the door, with game tickets at $1 to $2 and drinks at $3 to $5. Pick a round number that makes change easy at the door. If the late lunch is included, say so on the ticket: it makes the price feel fair.
Sort out the bar before you print a price. If the hall holds its own liquor licence and runs the bar, ask how it works. If you plan to run it under an AGCO special occasion permit, the AGCO lists stag and does as private events, and under that permit a fee to get in counts as an indirect liquor sale. Read the AGCO's private event permit page first.
How many tickets to print
Print more than you expect to sell: a spare page of tickets costs pennies. But never sell more than the hall's capacity, so ask the hall for its number before tickets go out. The template's 100 numbered tickets cover most halls. For more, print the blank sheet and number by hand from 101.
How to sell stag and doe tickets
- Start six to eight weeks out. Early enough to beat other plans, close enough that people remember.
- Hand out numbered blocks. Each parent, each member of the wedding party and any keen friend gets a block, say 001 to 015. Write every block on one sign-out sheet.
- Fill in the stub at every sale. Buyer, phone and seller, then tear it off and keep it.
- Collect once a week. Stubs and cash (or e-transfers) go to one treasurer, who ticks them off the sheet.
- Sell where people already gather. Work, the family group chat, a sports team, a club. Most tickets are sold person to person.
- Plan for the door. A cash box with small bills, the list of prepaid names, and one person on the door all night.
Using ticket stubs for a draw: check first
It is tempting to drop every stub in a bucket and draw for a door prize. But a paid ticket plus a chance to win a prize fits the lottery definition Ontario's licensing offices use: a prize, a chance and a fee. The AGCO says lottery licences go to eligible charitable and religious organizations, not individuals.
So before any stub goes in a bucket, call your municipality's lottery licensing office and describe exactly what you plan. We rent photo booths; the rules are theirs to explain. Start with the AGCO's lottery licence page, then read what Ontario says about raffles and 50/50 draws and other ways to hand out prizes.
Printing tips
- Cardstock. Letter size, 65 lb or heavier, so tickets survive a wallet.
- Print at 100%. Turn off “fit to page” so the cut lines stay square.
- Use a paper cutter. Ten tickets a page goes fast. A print shop will cut them for a small fee.
- Pick a coloured stock. It makes your tickets easy to spot at the door.
Put the photo booth on the ticket
“Games, prizes and a photo booth” reads like a better night than “games and prizes”. A self-serve booth runs on its own until 11pm with free delivery anywhere from Mississauga to Fort Erie, and Snap & Print ($549) gives every guest unlimited prints with the couple's names on them. See stag and doe photo booths, plan the night with these stag and doe games, or check your date.
Quick answers
How much are stag and doe tickets?
WeddingWire suggests $10 to $15 for admission, about a bar cover, with game tickets at $1 to $2. Settle how the bar works before you print a price. See WeddingWire's stag and doe guide.
When should we start selling tickets?
Six to eight weeks before the stag and doe. Earlier and people lose track of them; later and their Saturday is already booked.
Can we use the ticket stubs for a door prize draw?
Check with your municipality first. A paid ticket plus a chance to win a prize fits the definition of a lottery, and the AGCO says lottery licences go to eligible charitable and religious organizations, not individuals. Start with the AGCO's lottery licence page.
Is the ticket template really free?
Yes. Add your name and email, and we email you the PDF and show the download link right away. Print as many copies as you need.
How do we keep track of who sold which tickets?
Give each seller a block of numbers, write it on one sign-out sheet, and have them fill in the stub (buyer, phone, seller) at every sale. Match stubs to cash once a week.
Still have a question? See the photo booth FAQ, or browse booths for birthdays, proms and parties.