All Inclusive Venue vs. Everything Separate

All inclusive venues often end up being cheaper, by the time you add everything up, not to mention they are 1000 times easier. I loved not having to think about cutlery, glassware, plates, linens, tables, chairs, how much alcohol to buy, and all the other things that pop up.

I would love to know the answer. I picked all inclusive because I didn't think I could handle the stress of a everthing separate venue.

I am doing an all inclusive venue. I found that its not mich different in price. The venue is typically cheaper but the food typically costs more...in the end ot equals about the same. The other plus is, you do not have to worry about the foos showing up late. To ke it was the best choice.

I think it really depends on your overall vision. I picked a very non-traditional, NOT all inclusive venue and wanted to pick all vendors myself to save money. I'm allowed to bring in my own alcohol but hiring a bartender to serve. My caterer was very affordable and helped save money because I'm using disposables rather than dishware. No DJ, instead FH friend will be in charge of music and has done so for many other parties. For me it was the best choice and I wanted the flexibility to hire who I wanted. That being said, it is a lot of work.

I rented a house and did everything separate and it's a lot of work but I am a type-a person and was mentally up for the challenge. Just be prepared for higher costs and more planning and arranging. It was worth it for me because I didn't want to just use a pre-packaged place or plan. I spent more to create my own vision that no one else can say they've done at that location.
Another driver was the time constraints of all-inclusive, I got deterred on spending 15k+ to only have the venue for 8 hours. Instead, I got the house for a week and can have an after party into the late hours if I wanted without being told when I can arrive and when I have to leave.
For 70 guests it cost me 20k to do it all on my own.

I found a venue that allows both options. I can everything outside of what to do, or they can do nearly everything (excluding the dj and officiant etc)

The price difference wasn’t that much. They did center pieces for $8 to $12 each. I honestly liked the idea of spending maybe a couple dollars here and there to make things convenient.

i don’t have to worry as much as bringing things, set up etc. For me, that was worth the additional money. (Maybe an extra $500 in all)

less as I have to worry about makes me happy. But it is preference. I don’t have a lot of options when it comes to decor but I’m not picky about it either. It is what you want and what you prefer.

I didn't want the typical cookie cutter all inclusive venue - I wanted to be able to get creative and give my guests a different type of wedding experience. I am doing 125 people for 20K in PA, this would have cost me at least 30K to do it in my home state of NJ. I get the venue for 2 days instead of like @ Boinken said an 8 hour frame. I don't think there is anything wrong with all inclusive and it can be so much easier, it just wasn't the experience we were looking for.

My venue included some things like the tables but not the catering. One of my friends is getting married this year and went with a venue that did include catering and I can tell you she's spending a LOT less than I am and we have approximately the same number of guests. I wouldn't change my venue for anything, even to save a few thousand so it really depends on your priorities! I'd say set a budget, do some research online, and find a few venues that are all inclusive in your price range and some that are less expensive but not all inclusive to account for having to pay for separate catering and just go look at them. Trust me, when you walk into your venue for the first time, you'll know. If that one happens to be inclusive, great! If not, it really isn't difficult to find a caterer and then your options are open to what type of food, style of serving it, number of entrees and sides. I found there are a lot more options when going through a separate catering company.

We went with an all inclusive venue and I'm not really sure price wise because these were the only venues we looked at. We're in NJ so typically things are way more expensive here, but our venue includes caterer, alcohol, centerpieces, all linens, chairs, tables, glassware. One of the reasons we chose this place is the amount of food we get, it is unreal. I have never heard of another venue serving as much food as they do. We are paying about 28,000 though! But it has been so easy planning, but a DOC is included so she had been helping with keeping us on track!!

I feel like this depends on your area.
In my location, most venues are not all inclusive. The all inclusive venues are the huge, fancy casinos which end up being more expensive. I'm sure all inclusive is easier though.

I chose a mostly all inclusive so I didn’t have to deal with the headache of using a bunch of different companies to get the job done. Mine includes all tables, linens, chairs, arch, and alcohol, and all dinnerware ( plates, glasses, silverware, bowls, etc). They will also do my catering which lessens the chance of a late dinner, and since the kitchen is on site, food will be hot! I’ve heard some horror stories of cold food showing up, I’m glad I won’t have to deal with that lol.

We went with a Semi-Inclusive venue and didn't find it to be cookie cutter at all, plus it was less expensive and 1000X easier than trying to coordinator with a million different rentals and spending a buttload more money trying to find the right linens and such. The biggest factor for us was set up and clean up. We DID NOT want to stress or think about cleaning up or setting up - we loved that with inclusive venues we did not have to hire someone or worry about it. It's built right into the price.

For our venue we have exclusive use of the venue for an entire day - we specifically picked one where they only handle one wedding a day. We can drop off all our materials for decoration the day before and the coordinator and staff will handle all of it. We also felt like we were getting the most bang for our buck for a single price per head we were offered the following

-Single use of the venue for the entire day with a huge bridal suite and getting ready suite for the groom

-Ceremony space with a back up inside ceremony location

-Wedding coordinator who will oversee the entire event, handle all set up, clean up and onsite coordination with other vendors

- a five hour reception package that includes a four course sit down meal (we elimintated the app course to save money though) full cocktail hour with plenty of food, complete 5 hours of mid shelf open bar, all linens, tableware, chairs, ETC.

- Ability to move the party to the restaurants onsite bar at the end of the night for a no cost to us after party and we can stay onsite until the bar closes at 2am.

We also had the ability to choose all our own vendors for other services such as the baker, photographer, DJ, and Florist for no additional charge.

So we saved our selves some money and a TON of hassle while still having a wedding that is completely unique to us and what we wanted.

I think it just depends on your area and your venues. When I was looking at venues around my area the all inclusive ones were ALOT more expensive. For example the venue itself was around $6000 and then you had to use their food and it was about $30 a plate. Then they had a minimum for alcohol. And then gratuity and bartenders and such. Their cheapest price for like 100 guests was around $12,000. Whereas I found a beautiful venue that costs $4500 for TWO days and this venue comes with all the tables, chairs, table cloths, napkins, an arbor for the outside ceremony, free wood for a late night fire, the bar and bartender, and some other things. Then I found a caterer and were doing a burger bar for 10.99 an adult and 6.99 a child which came out to save alot of money. But like I said, I think it all depends on your area. I'm in Minnesota so my venue options might be alot different from yours. Just shop around and know that prices may go up depending on what year your getting married. They usually go up each year. Like I booked my venue toward the end of 2017, so they gave me the current 2018 price even though I'm getting married in 2019. The 2019 price is now $500 more dollars. And my caterer said that the menu might go up a dollar for 2019 prices.

For me, it was much cheaper to not pick an all-inclusive venue and hand-pick all my vendors. I'm having in multicultural wedding so picking my own vendors specific to my vision was important to me. It was a lot more work but MUCH cheaper. For instance, my venue is BYOB; and only had to spend $2200 on beer, liquor, and wine for 150 adults. I didn't want fresh flowers and wanted non-floral centerpieces. I wanted three types of entertainment. I wanted two different caterers; a Vietnamese cater just the appetizers at the Cocktail Hour, etc. For comparison, FH's step-brother had an all-inclusive venue in Annapolis (ours is in DC, 30 mins away) for 120 guests (ours 150) for ~$75K.

^ Ours, 35K.

A lot of venues use the term "all inclusive" read the inclusions carefully when you're comparing prices!! I saw venues that were inclusive as-in you tell where to send the limo and they pick you up in a dress and that's all you have to handle. My venue billed themselves as all inclusive but they handle DOC, food, alcohol, wedding cake, centerpieces and use of the space. I had to get a photographer, videographer, dj, wedding party flowers and other decor items. I also started pricing out a backyard wedding where I would have to rent a tent, tables, chairs linen, glasses, flatware, etc. I gave up before long because it added up to be too much. More inclusive venues seemed cheaper to me and they are definitely more convenient. I also feel like things are more seamless at an all-inclusive venue since the staff all works together.

I'm also getting married in NJ, by the way.

Yoomie makes a valid point though.

If there are certain must-have's you may not like all-inclusive because they are less flexible.

The venue I chose gave an option to do an all-inclusive package or not.
When I compared the numbers opting against the all-inclusive package it would have been $2000-$3000k more at the same venue!

My venue is all inclusive and I am SO happy I don't have to worry about plates, silverware, alcohol, catering, chairs, tables, etc. All that is included in the price and taken care of for me.

I'm glad you asked this queation. I have a venue picked out, but was looking at another one online last night and now I'm not so sure.