Semi-inclusive, all-inclusive, or nothing included wedding venue???

My venue is $3000 and includes nothing except an allowance for rentals. I’ve been hiring vendors individually and it’s a pain but I think it’s cheaper in the long run. The other venues I looked at that were inclusive were priced much higher. And I still would have had to hire certain vendors.

Check out a Wedgewood (all-inclusive) venue near you! I’m getting married in Fallbrook (near San Diego) and for 40-50 guests (I can adjust things if more or less come) it will be around $7k for everything! And I mean everything! They’ve been great and offer different package levels😊

I had my 18th birthday (equivalent to a quince or a mini wedding) in a hotel for about $10k for 200 guests. My sister also had hers with better decor/food for $10k for 100 guests. However, keep in mind that these are for *birthday* party prices about 10 years ago.

With your budget, it's possible if you don't mind a cookie cutter wedding. Try looking into hotels; some will provide tables, chairs, and the room and all you need to do is pay for the food. You can also look into Wedgewood weddings which are very cookie cutter but on the cheaper side of weddings. If you're not into a cookie cutter wedding, you may have to adjust your budget and/or re-evaluate what's important to keep in the wedding

View Quoted Comment

What Peggy says here makes sense. It may be cheaper to get a venue and book the other things on your own, since you can shop around for deals and find the vendors that fit into your budget.

View Quoted Comment

We're Wedgewood too!

When we line-itemized everything we wanted it was going to be around the same between paying for the all-inclusive vs doing it ourselves. Our venue, with our package, is around 15K for 100 people and includes everything: ceremony site, day-off coordination, catering, cake, desserts, open bar, floral centerpieces, DJ, invitations... I'm sure I'm forgetting something else

What Realynn and Peggy say is true, when you go all-inclusive you are giving up a level of control over the details. For us it just made sense, the unique elements we wanted we can still do but we didn't have to worry about finding/coordinating lots of different vendors.

Personally it was important to me that our venue was an all inclusive. I didn’t want to be bothered with a whole bunch of different vendors.

Where are you in So Cal? Los Angeles or San Diego? That might help us (you don’t want guests driving too far). What about a brunch wedding? Or cutting guests back to 85?

It is generally cheaper to do all-inclusive unless you have unlimited time to do every detail yourself. We are paying 115/person after taxes and fees and tip for my wedding. That includes literally everything except photographer. We priced out renting a venue, and then having to get chairs, tables, linens, silverware, plates, and then food, bar, barware, alcohol, bartender, servers, flowers, etc and it would have been 114/person and I would have had to spend ALL OF THE TIME organizing everything. This doesn't count the day of coordinator and two bridal attendants I get just by going through my venue that I wouldn't have if I did it all myself.

It’s definitely always worth doing the research and homework

i will say that wedding budgets really grow so if you can spend 15 total maybe budget 10-12 max...

check out everywhere that can remotely fit because you may be surprised

we ended up 30 minutes away from original area but got awesome huge (250 with dancing) venue with linens and a ton of decor included and separate spaces for reception, food service, and cocktails to flip ceremony area for venue if you are large enough crowd not to preset for both or just don’t want to

it is only 1200... I was originally looking at 1000 for nothing included for ceremony and another 1500 for a non inclusive venue thst also would not let anything be brought in( must use “their” vendors for everything)

this venue also lets us hire whichever vendor we choose or work with theirs, has a doc coordinator, we won’t have to rent chairs and tents for ceremony or pa equipment (built in system) and other stuff too that isn’t coming to mind

keep your head up, price shop, budget like a madman, and have your perfect wedding!!!

I hate to say it but the minute the hear wedding the price skyrockets

i always say event

do not lie if directly asked but I choose not to volunteer and it made a huge difference in many quotes



just saw venue pics didnt load

We are getting married in our backyard. However, when we started planning, we looked at different venues. The ones that were all inclusive definitely came out to be more than if you were booking all vendors yourself. So I guess it really just depends on what you are willing to spend.

My friend spent 10,000 total on her wedding and only rented out a barn. Everything else was done separately. But we are over in PA, so cost of living I am sure is less than Cali. She also only had mostly babysbreath as her flowers, was able to buy her own alcohol, hired caterers/bartenders, had fancy plasticware. It all depends on your preference. I would definitely shoot lower if you want to max out at 15,000. It is possible to go cheap by just renting a space and doing your own legwork on vendors, but sometimes a venue with all linens, silverware/plates, food and bar will be easier and more affordable. I suggest looking at golf clubs! they have affordable packages!

I think obviously doing your research is good to see what is in your area and makes the most sense for you. For us we're semi-inclusive & that worked best for us. We have venue, tables/chairs/linens, transportation, DJ, & bartenders included. We get to BYOB and we had to find our own caterer, photographer, florist, etc. I honestly think that is the way to go. It lets the annoying stuff that includes logistics planning be included (like tables & chairs) but you can price out your own expensive vendors to see what works best for you. We looked at another venue that was also semi inclusive but their had their bar included and it was going to be at least $20/pp just for bar that didn't include the liquors we even wanted, since we get to BYOB, we estimate it to be less than $10/pp for the bar with what we want.

View Quoted Comment

I am seeing 3 of their venues this weekend. I hope it's within our budget

View Quoted Comment

I live in orange county (so cal). I was open to having a wedding in orange county, los angeles, and even san diego; I've been searching within a 50 mile radius

View Quoted Comment

Got it! (Me too.) For our local reception, we chose Monte De Oro in Temecula. Not only is it gorgeous, great wines, they're prices were the most affordable in Temecula (a lot of them had silly site fees or high F&B minimums).

Monte De Oro

If you chose Temecula, keep in mind rates are most expensive June-Sept because that's when the vineyards are in bloom (July/Aug would probably be best). But local hotels will SELL OUT 6 months in advance and hotels are expensive in the summer.

It *may* be worth exploring a Thursday night wedding. Your wedding and hotel costs for guests would be cheaper.

Queen Mary would also make an awesome venue (outdoor & indoor options) and guests could spend the night on the ship in one of their hotel rooms. I don't know their wedding costs.

If you stay local, you could consider a Sunday brunch wedding or early Sunday evening (3-9 pm), which would save you a bundle and guests could go and not miss any work or pay for a hotel. Have you found venues in the OC you like and can ask about their Sunday rates?

What about the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach??? What a totally fun & unique venue!!! Their site fee is totally reasonable and includes tables, chairs, flatware, etc. But before you book, find out if they have a required catering company list and get pricing before you book the venue to make sure the food is affordable.

View Quoted Comment Awesome! Fingers crossed! 😊