Venue regret.

Hi name twin! Your wedding is still a little bit away. Can you forfeit your deposit on your venue and book the all inclusive one you like?

Does the all inclusive have food/beverage minimums you must meet? Those are typically tacked on to the very low rental fee and you don’t find that out till later.

Get an itemized quote for each with *all* costs and compare to decide.

All inclusive venues tend to be cheaper in the grand scheme of things. Is there any chance you could cancel your current venue and book the original one you wanted? If not, just make the best of what you have. In the end, you will still be married.

We've been putting off putting a deposit on a venue because we were in a similar situation but opposite. We fell in love with a venue that was was a blank canvas industrial feel which is very us but we held off because we realized we would have to put so much money into décor and flowers. While holding off we found an all inclusive venue, that I didn't totally love but we could make it work. So far we are very happy with the decision we made. Hopefully you can get at least part of your deposit back and go with the all inclusive we could it to be well worth it!

As others have said, would you be willing to forfeit your deposit?


Also, did you get a full on proposal from the previous venue that you loved? Sometimes they don’t add on things like tax or administrative fees which can increase the price anywhere from 5 to 10 grand plus. Throughout this entire wedding process, I found that the most expensive thing is the decor! Of course the food and alcohol is always expensive, but it’s actually worth it. When venues want you to pay 5k to hang 2 rows of string lights, it gets a little ridiculous at that point. Does your all inclusive venue include the decor as well?

Get a more detailed breakdown from the all-inclusive before being bummed. It isn't always cheaper.

Many all-inclusives find other ways to recoup their money - upgrades, fees, minimum spends, using cheap vendors, etc. On the surface it may look cheaper, but it isn't always.

Without the all-inclusive, it's also much easier for you to cut costs to make it cheaper. Look carefully at your expenditures. Cutting costs doesn't have to mean sacrifice, either, necessarily. Just compromise.

What is it about your current venue that makes you feel like you are settling? And what kind of deposit did you have to put down for it? You don't have to disclose a number. I mean is it a few hundred dollars, or is it 50% of the entire venue fee? Also double-check your contract to see if there is any flexibility on canceling. Many venues have a lot of flexibility due to COVID right now that extends to anyone who books, because they realize how swiftly things can change.

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This 100%. All inclusive venues are rarely cheaper contrary to popular belief. People think they are getting a great deal because the rental fee is low and then are shocked at the 6 figure required catering/bar minimum, etc.

All inclusive is not necessarily cheaper. We went the all inclusive route, and the wedding ended up costing double what the all inclusive rate was. “Everything” was included for $40,000, but we ended up spending over $80,000 total.

Thank you everyone for your response! You all gave me so much to think about in a good way. I’ve decided to make it work & will be discussing my concerns with my wedding planner to hopefully find solutions! Wedding planning is so hard & I appreciate you all building community with me!