All inclusive vs diy venue, which do you prefer?

I am already married and we got married a hotel that provided the food, drinks, uplighting, tables, chairs, lines, place settings, servers, and bartenders. We had to hire the rest of the vendors ourselves. I found it easier to use a venue that provided everything I listed especially because we lived four hours from our venue. Our venue did provide us with a list of recommended vendors, but we only hired one of the DJs they recommended. The rest of the vendors I found on my own. We didn't have an intimate wedding so I can't really give you advice for that.

Well it really depends on cost and effort. For instance yes a DIY venue might cost less but it also will take a lot more of your time to coordinate and find vendors and sometimes it might not be all that cheaper

We're doing an intimate wedding and opted for a venue that provided most of what we needed. We basically just had to find a caterer (and got them at a bargain price since the venue is also providing dinnerware/ cutlery/ glasses, etc). It made the whole planning process soooo much easier and the venue was super accommodating since it was a smaller party (30 people). My advice, go in knowing what's most important to you.

Personally I would prefer a DIY wedding because they are cheaper and you customize what you want and toss what you don't.


All inclusive tends to be be very expensive because you have astronomical food/beverage minimums you must meet. There is little to no room for customization. If you don't want something, most venues require you to have it anyway.
DIY venues already have tables/chairs/kitchen so those rentals are not needed extra. Catering/bartending options are much cheaper..you can get corporate catering from a local favorite restaurant which is often more and better food than a fancy wedding caterer who serves lackluster food but requires you to get all the bells and whistles that the wedding industry pressures you to have. You can pick your own florist, photographer, dj, etc with more options and a lower price overall.

I went with a DIY venue. They provided space, table, and chairs. We also made sure our venue allowed any vendor because recommended vendors were usually on the expensive side.
Choosing my own vendors saved money because it was cheaper person and We could choose venues that didn’t have minimums.
We did use a rental company our caterer recommended so that they could coordinate the delivery and billing of the plates.
If you can afford it I can see the appeal of an all inclusive venue. I’m sure it would reduce a lot of the stress.

The biggest advantage to an all-inclusive venue is there is significantly less to organise whereas with a dry-hire of a venue, there is extra work but you have greater flexibility with what you want. Think of it like this; with an all-inclusive venue, you will *generally* pay more but it is of greater convenience in that it is really just a matter of picking what you want. If you’re after a better deal or have a very specific vision in mind, hiring each vendor individually is a great option but it requires much more organisation.

My venue is the middle ground; they provide linens, tables, electrical set up and catering, and all the things I have specific ideas for (music, flowers, cake etc) I am dealing with individually with different vendors.

I’m getting married at an apple orchard/barn that does food/cake/alcohol I have to only hire Photography, DJ (which we aren’t having) and florist. Just feels more convenient to go all inclusive. But if you don’t go that route, most vendors have preferred lists of vendors they’ve worked with and trust.

Our venue has an all inclusive package that we signed up for. I don’t agree with Michelle on what she said about the options. We had sooo many options for every facet of our wedding! Sometimes it was overwhelming! We’re 2.5 hrs away from our venue & needed the all inclusive option. It includes caterer, DJ, photographer, flowers, cake, table settings, centerpieces, tables, chairs (chair covers), glasses, even invitations! We’re bringing the alcohol & coffee- they provide sodas, tea & water. For a guest list of 90 our estimated cost is $14k.

I prefer all inclusive! I didn't want to have to look into several vendors and compare for things like table/chair rentals, china/table wear, bar/catering services. My venue has the majority of that stuff, I just have to figure out some of the other vendors I want.

I did also look into some that literally had everything included such as photographer, cake, florist, officiant. But if you are picky, you might not like the quality of everything offered with those type of all inclusive deals.

The thing about all-inclusive vs. DIY is ... it depends on where you ARE.

Where I am, all-inclusive is not only "standard", it's priced to compete. Piecemeal venues often more expensive, when you do the math, because you have to bring in all these separate companies with all their own overheads.

On the flip side, many couples in other areas have the opposite - it could really be Big City vs. Smaller Town.

Unfortunately, unless someone near you has already done a price-out of the options... it's math time.

Definitely an all inclusive venue. It'll save you both time and money most likely

When I was looking at DIY it was going to be so much more expensive - chairs, linens, flatware, dishes alone were going to be very expensive, plus each vendor’s service fees, taxes, delivery, set up.
We chose a country club and the price was really competitive, and there is still a lot of variety in food, linens, and they have a store room of decor to use if we want.
I can’t even imagine the stress I would be in thinking about returning linens, for example!

I definitely prefer all inclusive. Less stress for you and you still get to make it YOUR wedding.

I prefer all inclusive. Don't have enough patience to do DIY

If I had the money, I would totally do all-inclusive. We can't afford that and that's why we are getting married at the church for free and are doing pretty much everything DIY (reception will be outside at the church and it will be beautiful - like a giant backyard :-) ). I am super organized and have lots of free time but I am still very stressed by organising everything. There are so many details and decisions. And I got decision-fatigue very fast. On the flipside in some ways it will be more personal and unique. So, it's up to you what is important to you. And then it depends on your budget and how much time you have. How demanding is your job, friendships, family, etc. Do you think you would enjoy finding vendors, talking to them, making decisions, ...?