Venue Provided Vs. Bring in your own...

Just a few things to consider:

By choosing your caterer, you have more options with food instead of being stuck with their preset menus. But you still have to pay for the plates, etc.

Most venues who do not require you to use their bar will require a professional bartending service. It's a liability issue- so you may or may not save much money going that route.

In an all inclusive venue- they do the table/linen/chair set-up for you. In other venues, you may have to do it yourself, including the clean up portion.

Sometimes it's cost effective, sometimes it's not...

I think it is a good idea, but be cautious. It does mean that you can customize everything, and it might be cheaper, but a lot more work in coordinating and such on your part. make sure you have a few people to help you personally pick everything and keep a list of everything that you need and everywhere they are coming from. in the long run it sounds like if you want it, you can make it happen.

Good luck

We had one reception of each type: a luncheon in the private dining room of a restaurant immediately after the ceremony, and an at-home reception in a club where we provided everything ourselves three days later. The second reception was definitely more expensive on a per person basis, even after counting in the expense of the people we got to buy the food, prepare it, serve it, and clean up after it.. However, we also spent two days setting up for the second reception, while we were able to just walk in and start eating at the first.

We actually would have spent more money bringing in everything on our own. We are only having approx. 75 guests at our wedding

By going all inclusive, we saved money and we got a ton of stuff included: free pouring wine at dinner, 1 hour open bar for free, free valet service, the wedding cake, all the tables & chairs for the reception & ceremony, the ceremony backdrop, the aisle runner, all the servers and bartender, the place settings, table linens, two bridal assistants to help with set up, a DOC and more! Plus, we can recommend items for the menu if they don't currently list something we want as an option. We did the math a few weeks ago and realized we were saving around $5k doing it that way.

I'd say shop around and compare prices. Some places you may be better off bringing your own but other places may have some great deals! :-)

I vote going the all inclusive route mainly because you need to consider the value of your time.

We are having a DW in Vermont. They have never had a wedding. I can bring in my own alcohol(and am not required to have a bartender as we are liable). However, I had to bring in everything else. Even though we hired a caterer and are renting china/glassware/flatware, we still need to rent a cargo van to haul all decor, linens, etc We will arrive on Thursday and immediately proceed into work mode.

I never imagined it would be this much work. Of course, if we didn't care about decore and our guests(in terms of favors and welcome bags), life would have been a tad easier.

By the time we add this all up, my guess is that our total is still going to be around $100 per person. Had we stayed at home and booked an all inclusive venue, we we would have also paid $100 plus per person, but we would have only had to show up and smile.

Consider the extra work (and possibly expense) of trucking all your stuff in.

Thank you all for your opinions.

The venue I am considering is VERY close to my home, so that makes it convenient for me, so far as set up and take down goes. I know I will have people to help me all throughout the process. I am in Canada and alcohol rules might be different here... From what I can see, all of the inclusive venues here are charging between $5.50 and 7.00 per drink... Ouch. As stated before, I figure we will have ~100ppl.. Everyone will be of legal drinking age, so I can assume that everyone will have at least one drink, which will be minimum $550 +tax. Another thing I have found is that mixers are NOT included in meal prices... Therefore if guest would just like a Coke or juice, it will still cost around$3.00per drink... I have yet to find a location where everything is included for a reasonable price... most plate costs are between $40 and $90 depending on whether it is buffet or served and of course food selection. Again, these plate costs do not include (contd)

Beverages. Also, most venues have stated that the only item I can bring in food/drink related would be a cake. Venues are charging anywhere between $9-$18pp for candy bars and midnight lunch platters.. please tell me that I wouldn't ever spend $1500 on making my own candy bad.. sheeesh... It's amazing how quickly it adds up!

On a different note, does anyone have any good places to look for linens? And for dishes.. is it fine to use plastic cups with exception to wine glasses??

I'm going the ultimate DIY route, my venue only provides the location and 2 long tables that seat 32 people (and those chairs). I then hired a caterer that can coordinate all the rentals but ultimately I'm working with a rental company too. So we have to bring in everything, it definetly adds up so be conscious of what you feel you are looking for on the wedding day. But with that said I agree with you, I think a lot of the extras can be done a lot cheaper than an all-inclusive venue asks for them. I agree that you should be able to DIY candy bar for under $1500 .

However like 2d bride mentioned, I'll be setting up my venue in advance b/c since nothings included it takes a lot more work to get everything set up.

There are pros and cons about it. For me, I am a picky eater so the route you are thinking about is the one for me. We have our own caterer and she has someone to take care of our decorations and putting the linens on. Also, the place only has drink packages (basically you rent the hall for x amount and have to pay a bar package for x amount). It worked out better because most venues serve things I won't eat (with the exception of one...maybe two). I like the idea of getting what my hearts desire. But yes, you will have to worry about how many plates and silverware you need, how many linens, etc. I would say pick what is best for you.

@sami b: Not that I'm trying to be a cheapo or anything.. I just HATE spending more than I Have to on ANYTHING... haha I just know that If I had someone else make the cany bar and it cost me $1500.. that's alll I would be thinking about! I totally see how it can add up.. I don't necessarily want to create more work, however, I'm a little crazy and like to have things done a certain way (I'm not bridezilla though I promise :p) sooo I think the DIY way might be better.. I just don't even know where to start looking for things like linens and dishes, etc...

If you go the provide-your-own route, weddingbee.com has a classified section where other brides are selling their used items. I've gotten my linens, plates and silverware this way and I'll be able to re-sell them all post-wedding which makes me happy =).

Couple things to decide- do you care about linens, plates, silverwear, chair covers, etc? Those add up fast. You can resell them but it's a pain in the butt. If you don't care and want to do plastic you can save a lot.

Hire a bartender if you do go that route. Takes a lot of pressure off you. Mine cost $200 for 2 bartenders, plus they get a tip jar.

For 275 people I am spending $1500 on food and booze. That's $5.45 per person. But I also had to get friends/family to do the food prep and understand that I can't get mad if they make mistakes.

If you want things done just so- hire pros.

When I decided to do plates and silverware, I decided on plastic. It looks real, but it is not. They tend to be cheaper than renting your own.

@that one chick: What kind are you using?? Plastic crossed my mind but I dont want it to look super cheesey...

As far as the plates, cups and silverware, we decided on plastic as well from Smarty Had A Party. But our silverware plastic came from Costco. It looks real but not. We also bought our linen and napkins from them as well. Really good site. I am doing the same thing but I knew I had a lot of help in the end.