DIY vs. All inclusive

Well it really depends on the venues you have to choose from. Mine is all-inclusive but their food and cakes have great reviews. It's definitely more economical than if we had brought in everything ourselves.

ETA and obviously having ONE vendor to keep track of is a lot less stressful in the long run!

I'm copying and pasting my response I Just wrote on another thread about the same topic lol I don't want to write the same thing again:

All inclusive venues will have WILDLY different pricing depending on the venue as well as location. Bringing everything in can vary as well depending on who you choose to cater.

I did the option of booking a venue, and bringing in everything myself. Hired my own caterer, rented tables/chairs/etc, hired DJ, furnished our own bar and hired a bartender. There was a lot to do, but I will tell you it was not as bad or overwhelming as you think before you start. It is definitely do-able. Chair & table rentals are not that expensive. If you want to rent a tent... that is where it gets expensive. My venue was only $500, so even though I brought everything in, it was a really affordable wedding. The fact that we could furnish our own bar to prove top shelf open bar was great!!!!

Do you have the time? Are you a patient person? Are you normally an organized person? If you are doing all of that yourself it will take alot more energy and organization then you probably realize and with your wedding less than 7 month away I would say go with all inclusive. Unless you really have a lot of time to devote to making your wedding perfect.

I had a mostly all inclusive package (because I didn't have the venue's 125 guest minimum). I provided my DJ, photographer and "personal" florals (meaning the venue included centerpieces, I DIY'ed bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres). For me, a lot of the decision came down to the fact that I just didn't have the space to store everything I would need in order to DIY everything. Plus as Holly said, it was great only having a few vendors to work with rather than many vendors.

Really depends on how much time you have to invest. My sister got married at a local place two years ago and had a lot of vendors to coordinate. It went quiet smoothly though! I am doing a much more "all inclusive" place because I'm planning from afar (getting married in my hometown which is six hours away). I can't invest that much time, and travel time, to meet and coordinate with vendors.

We have an all inclusive venue. They are a catering company and their menu is very extensive which I loved. We had so any options to chose from. I couldn't handle all the DIY. It was too much to worry about

Just reading this it sounds like you want to go the DIY route, so that is what i would go with. as you listed there are benefits to each, but you sound more excited about the first option. you said the all inclusive is uninteresting and i don't think you want to describe your wedding that way.

From my experience when we were looking for venues (here in NY) we found all inclusive to be more than 50% cheaper. I think it was closer to 60% cheaper but I don't have that spreadsheet (one I made to keep venues organized) anymore. We ended up with the DYI route still since it met all our wishes best.

Here's why we wen't with DYI:

1. We fell in LOVE with our venue.

2. Our venue is the first of it's kind (outdoor and barn) among our friends who all went with the all inclusive, ballroom weddings.

3. More freedom to be creative. While all inclusive will still allow you to bring your own decor and cake, for us, we would have still have to pay to have those included in our all inclusive. Meaning that our price if we went with all inclusive would include linens and a cake that they wouldn't remove from the bill even if we bought in our own decor and cakes.

It sounds like you prefer the DIY option, so I would say this. If you feel you have the patience to book all the separates, go for it. You might be able to say yourself money that you couldn't in the all inclusive package. If you don't feel you have the time or energy to put in the work for the DIY option, if it's in the budget, you could have hire a coordinator. They could save you time while you still get what you want out of the space.

One thing to keep in mind with DIY is a lot of the 'doing' will likely fall on your closest family and friends. Chances are you and your FH will not be the ones setting up, tearing down, decorating tables, etc-- you'll be busy, so your bridal party or close family will have to step in and handle it, which is quite a burden to place on them. I speak from experience-- I flew across the country for my younger brother's wedding and spent a day making pies, the next day setting up and tearing down for his rehearsal dinner (thank goodness it was catered!) and was pretty peeved about the amount of effort I had to put in. My aunt and uncle had to spend several hours picking up speakers-- the list just goes on, and as far as I know, *no one* got a thank you note for the effort or the gifts. That's a separate issue, though.

I would keep looking if I were you. It sounds like you're really not happy with the all-inclusive option you've found.

I wasn't happy with the first few rounds of venues we found/visited either, even the all-inclusives that are very popular in our area (same problem, the in-house caterer was mediocre at best). I had looked at over 40 venues when I finally found an all-inclusive with great space and great food.

I would go with the all-inclusive if I could afford it.

All inclusive if it's within my budget

I'm in the exact situation! We found a venue not the prettiest but decent but I know I can make it beautiful. I love the thought of having control in decor, food, alcohol, etc but I also know it can be more or less the same price of the all inclusive venues as well! A few of the hotels I visited wanted a (non-refundable) deposit before even trying the food. Which doesn't sit well with me. But the venue is super gorgeous.. I'm also a casual food eater not really into baked chicken and asparagus lol idk idk

We chose inclusive and are adding some touches that are us. A happy medium.

Thanks all. It's so hard to anticipate how much work and stress will actually be iolved with the a DIY! The food at the all inclusive has pretty good reviews (though I think many reviews are for their a la carter food options rather than the same venue's inclusive deal), just not crazy excited about beef and chicken. But, I appreciate the ease of an all inclusive and suspect that'll be easier in the end! Also hard to pass up $8k for 100 people!

8k for 100 people is a great deal! Especially if it is a really nice venue. My wedding cost around 8k and I did everything myself as mentioned above. I only paid $500 for my venue! So 7,500k was the rest.... I would take that all-inclusive deal!

Just make sure you find out EXACTLY what it includes and if there are any hidden fees, additional charges, etc.