An all inclusive wedding vs not so inclusive

I also went the non inclusive route and I wish I had gotten a venue with at least the chairs and tables! I got some amazing deals with food, cake, DJ, and flowers though so I shouldn't complain. I live in Nashville so the other venues I liked were thousands more for all inclusive. The way I got amazing deals is by using thumbtack.com and craigslist. I'm also using a florist that just started and is trying to expand. The DJ is FH friend so we got a great deal. It's a lot of research but I think it was worth it. I'm also a Planner for a living so this comes naturally to me.

I went partially inclusive (venue w/catering, tables/chairs/linens, cake) because the one stop shopping makes it easier in the long run, and we loved the fact that we could bring our own alcohol (and they also provide the bar service). A completely all inclusive would be great, but I would make sure (by reviews and recommendations) that all their services would go well for you. My venue suggested I use their florist, but she didn't have great reviews and I'm glad I wasn't forced to use her.

Ours is basically in the middle. Our venue includes food, drink, tables, chairs, linens, etc. We booked our own photog, florist, bakery, and DJ.

To me all-inclusive means space, rentals, food, and alcohol. That is what we wanted. Our venue includes a cake as well. We weren't too picky about the cake, so this was ok with us. I would definitely want to pick our photographer, and my FH wanted to pick our DJ.

I'd vote not 100% because it's WAY cheaper and you actually get to interview your vendors and make sure they're right for you

However.

Your wedding is coming up pretty soon so definitely take that into consideration. How many days of the week do you and FH have off together? My FH and I only have one so several months turns into just a handful of Saturdays. If you're in that kind of situation, it might be best to go inclusive and take a lot off your plate so you can focus on any details you want.

I just noticed your wedding date is 11/28 of this year. If that is right, you should go with the all inclusive. 5 months isn't a lot of time to find all of your vendors, especially for a holiday week.

My venue is non-inclusive. I definitely think that's the way to go as you can choose your whole vendor team without being stuck with vendor(s) who may not be the best. However, going non-inclusive doesn't necessarily save you money - all the rentals, linens, catering, etc really add up!! We looked at all-inclusive venues and thought for sure we would save money going a different direction, but our budget just keeps going up and up.

We're doing the all inclusive... we have to provide the DJ, Photographer but the food, cake, open bar,etc comes included and because I have a large party of 155-170 ppl Its better for me but whatever suits you the best go for it!!!

We did a partially inclusive venue because it was food we trusted and the catering companies were just as much when you added in plates and silverware. The venue included tables, chairs, linens, food, and cake.

I still had enough places to cut cost with decor, flowers, ect. Plus, I didn't have to worry about anything of that stuff.

We're bringing in our own officiant, DJ, florist and coordinator. The rest is included. Ceremony and reception in one place, bridal attendant, on-site prep areas for bride and groom, food and bar service, etc. The cake is outsourced to an amazing baker. The food is reviewed decently. We didn't want to have to go to a thousand different venues to put this together, which can add up in the city.

I would go the 2nd route. To me, that is not DIY at all lol. Our venue includes catering, the bar, ceremony chairs, dinner tables and chairs, and tables for the cocktail hour, gifts, guestbook, and cake. It includes all the table settings and linens, including specialty linens for the sweetheart, cake and cocktail tables. Also, the venue staff will set up our decorations and act as DOC at the ceremony and reception and provide a bridal attendant. I could NOT imagine renting or buying every.single.thing. for my wedding!!

That being said, I would NOT want a venue that was a one-stop-shop. Something like my photography, that is SO important to me, I would not want to be forced to use one photographer just because they work with a venue.

So, we hired our photographer, videographer, officiant, DJ, florist, and baker. It really was not stressful to do that and I was able to shop around to get the best service for the best price. I definitely think that's the smarter way to go!

ETA: P.S. I am a teacher too!! You are brave for getting married during the school year!! haha

@annakay511 - I will be getting married during Thanksgiving break, so I still have a week off lol. That def helps

Okay so after I wrote this post, we went to look at the non-inclusive place once again and I fell in love with it the second time! We decided to get it which is why I changed my wedding date to November this year (5 months, yikes!). The venue comes with food, DJ, candy table, drinks, alcohol, decorations, linens, tables, chairs, floral arrangements. I just need the photography and cake which is not bad. I still do have a lot to do in such a short time so I need to hurry. Thanks y'all for your feedback!

I went with an all-inclusive venue because I didn't want to have to worry about finding someone for food, decor, linens, etc. It was worth every penny for the time and effort and stress it saved me. Go for the all-inclusive venue.