All-inclusive Venues Vs. Bare Bones

Obviously if you do bare-bones you might be able to save some money but at the same time it’s a lot more work because you have to research and find all of those vendors that you need. But all inclusive is good for if you have a short amount of time need to plan everything and it’s just less stress because it’s less for you to do.

We struggled with this and ending up finding a venue that was in between the two and it was perfect for us. Our venue had a list of preferred vendors for everything. Need a dj they had 3 already picked out great reviews and discounted prices because we were at that venue and the venue referred us to them. It made picking the vendors so easy it had all the ease and no stress of all inclusive with the options to pick. We also chose the cheapest of the ones they recommended and weren’t stuck with no options. We looked at an all inclusive but were upset that it was the one photographer and caterer and we could not pick anyone else no buts! This for us was really the best of both with the ease of finding vendors and trusting them because they’ve done hundreds Of wedding at our venue! And still getting to pick the vendor with out favorite photo style and food options! Good luck

Going into wedding planning I had lots of plans for things I thought we could do ourselves to save money, but as we researched and tried to figure out timelines we knew it would be impractical and exhausting. Our venue will handle set up/tear down, decorating, catering, drinks, linens, and probably other things I’m not thinking of right now. I looked at a day of coordinator to handle some of this stuff, and in my area they wanted $1200+ for about 6 hours day of. Going through the venue/caterer their event coordinator is included in the cost and having them do decor was only an additional $250 (she sent me a bunch of options based on decor they have and let me mix and match what I liked). Ultimately, our catering package is more expensive than I would have chosen if it was all separate ($30/per person), but then I’d also be coordinating multiple vendors instead of having one contact for everything. Since we are having a sunrise wedding, we literally have no time in the morning to do anything except get ourselves ready.

In the research that I did when we were browsing venues, I found the bare bones venues to be less expensive while allowing more personalization and creative freedom. We have a vision for a fun relaxed party without various traditions and 'requirements' that are included in all inclusive venues that many refused to cut or trade for another service when we asked, since it's where they make their extra money. We found it to be easier and less expensive to find vendors outside the box who are open to straying from tradition/everything the same as the next couple. Luckily, a couple different coordinators said they would take care of organizing vendors and setup/breakdown as part of their standard services. The vendors offer alot more options of what they do provide.


It all depends on what you're looking for.

Hi! I was debating between the two as well. In my experience, the venues I had chosen the all inclusive may have went over my budget but I had a lot of flexibility in any area I may have wanted elsewhere; in comparison, the bare bones would have even went beyond that budget increase after all said and done, so the choice was easy. Also, my coordinator suffers any headaches for me. I basically only just have to show up I would definitely compare prices and stress levels of each as those are the top two factors.

So we did all-inclusive, so I'll do my best breakdown. I will say I still kept our original planner (she was going to be a full planner, but we switched her to day of/ lower fee after finding this one) -- I'm *very* glad I've done this, because I can not stand the venue coordinator. He's there to make the venue look good, not to make my day go well. My DOC is there to keep him away from me. lol
Pros:

- Not a time suck. We picked it, and they had the photographer, DJ, caterer, cake, lighting, sound, EVERYTHING in. We've spent maybe....20 hours? on planning and prep outside of that.
- I actually didn't think price was too bad - at the minimum (see cons ) 100 count, it would be about $150/ person with full bar, a 2nd photographer, and some other extras we wanted.
Cons:

- We had a minimum count of 100 (so set cost with our selections of $15,000), and because VA can *technically* have events of our original 154 guest count, that wasn't lowered. We invited 115 and ended up with 83 final count (now 60 max after drops), that was a painful hit.
- If you really like customizing and have a lot of vendors in mind, this would be a bummer. We really didn't care too much and just wanted decent food and the nice venue.

Our venue is all inclusive in that they provide food, linen, centerpieces, most decor, and a partnership with a bakery means our cake is included. Like others mentioned, this is pricey, though pretty standard for similar venues in the area. We still get to pick photographer and DJ. I'm not a DIY person so figuring out decor and centerpieces was kind of a nightmare to me, so I didn't mind giving up that creative power and going with whatever the venue provided. I wanted to focus my energy into the larger things, like outfits, photography, invitations, etc.

I had both. Pre-pandemic, I had a nontraditional and beautiful venue that was bare bones. Plus side, we could do pretty much whatever we wanted. Down side, we had to put together anything we wanted. Had to reschedule and am now at a mostly all-inclusive vendor. Plus side, everything is there. Down side, stuck with a couple of things that aren't my taste (super minor to anyone else).


Having both, I'd go all inclusive, hands down. I didn't realize how stressed I was about everthing coming together -- and this is with a wedding planner! We are actually saving money, too. The bare bones place ended up having more hidden costs than we realized, and we would've ended up over budget. My new venue does allow us to bring in some of our own vendors, so we are still saving on a DJ and a couple other things. If you decide to go bare bones, set aside 10% of your budget for unexpected expenses (eg, DIY do overs, buying more ice for drinks, tips for the extra help you needed to unload).

Our venue includes food and all rentals. They have one alcohol provider that we have to use, but aside from that, they gave us a list of vendors they recommend, but we were free to choose anyone we wanted as long as they have some specific insurance.
Fortunately, I like our venue coordinator and he will actually coordinate with the other vendors on the day of, so it's not all about the venue in this case this, although I've gathered that's usually how it works. We chose a DJ from the list and found a photographer and florist separately. COVID happened/is happening, so the venue is just for our reception now. We had a miniwedding at my parents house, so that venue obviously didn't include anything. We didn't need a DJ this time, we used the florist we had hired during our pre-covid plan, and my friend was the photographer, but otherwise we would've had to hire each of those. We also found our own caterer and rentals. My immediate family set up the tables chairs and all of our parents took the trash and silverware and glasses (we didn't have plates) off the tables, but that was it for set up and breakdown because the vendors did the rest. It was still A LOT more work even though we invited 10% of our original guest list. If you can afford a venue that includes even some other venues, I'd definitely recommend going that route.

So, our venue is all inclusive and (weirdly, somehow) was one of the cheaper venues we considered! In my adventure since picking and signing a contract, here's some things to think about and some pros/cons-


Things to consider:Is it set in stone or more of a "choice of 3" type things? Ex: my venue works with several DJs and photographers, I didn't actually choose any of mine but I'm sure if I wanted to they'd let me.
If something you want isn't available, what are your options? Review what's included carefully. My photographer is booked for the same amount of hours I have at the venue (and there isn't really any substantial "getting ready" time, they recommend arriving with hair/make up done.) This is important if I want professional getting ready photos! You need to ask questions like if it's possible to get extra time at the venue, how much is that, what if the photographer meets us at a hotel instead for the photos, what is her extra time and travel charge?
If a service you want isn't offered, are they open to outside vendors?
Pros:Way less overwhelming imo! No need to research tons of caterers, DJs, etc.
Major timesaver!! Along wth the research mentioned above, you don't have to go on a million preliminary meetings. No researching linen companies, comparing prices, etc.
Your vendors know your venue VERY WELL- which, personally, is a huge relief! Those "call anyone but the bride" lists are usually for vendors incase of emergencies like: getting lost, not knowing where something goes/gets set up, where to park, etc. Your vendors know the location, the staff, and the other vendors very well.
Cons:If you dislike a vendor, you're pretty much stuck (unless they have several options and allow you to switch.)
Your money is not as flexible- for example, I can't decide to skip flowers to spend more on food because it's a package deal.
If you have your heart set on a specific vendor, but they have their preferred/offered vendor, they aren't likely to allow changes like that

This is one where you might need to price it out.

Where I am, all-inclusive is not only the norm, but works out to much cheaper. Because bare-bones means you have to pay for the caterer, the servers, the tables, the linen, the licenses, the insurance, the settings, the glassware, the alcohol, the bartenders, the dance floor, the set up, the clean up..... and on and on and so many things you don't even think of... Or, if you *don't* pay for those things, you have to DIY it, which is time and/or money.

Our region is very expensive, on average, but with an all-inclusive venue, we spent roughly HALF of the average wedding around here? If we'd gone DIY, it probably would have increased our budget by thousands.

So, sounds like spreadsheet time. (Or ask newlyweds in your area who did one or the other for a rough budget break down.)