The PERFECT Venue: All-Inclusive vs. DIY Wedding Locations

[@starzzzy22]

We went all-inclusive because a) our wedding is in a different state and b) I'm a full-time student (and I work) and I didn't have the mental space to coordinate so many things. We definitely made sure to visit a few places, ask TONS of questions, and stay within our budget. (We also learned that some of these DIY venues in central TX aren't actually cheap when you start crunching numbers).

[@nikiptranquille767]

Preach it 🙌🏾

[@lesliesusana1373]

I did a venue that included chairs, tables and clean up. Everything else I had to bring! Loved it because I was able to save a lot of money!

[@danimortimore]

I'm having a wedding with a complete all inclusive package- Ceremony and reception space, catering, drinks, staff, rentals, celebrant, photographer, DJ, florals, decorations, hair and make up, wedding cake, Wedding coordinator etc. We did have multiple choices for photographer and celebrant and we worked with the vendors personally to add a few things. If it sounds like you're thing I really recommend going down this path as it has taken all the stress out of planning :)

[@eilishfitzgerald7475]

I've only been to DIY weddings. I think that they're so much fun to see the couple's personality come through. At one wedding, they had a Chicago ice cream truck come at the end of the night.

[@ItSoNess]

We’re choosing an “all-inclusive” venue because it is the most affordable for what we want! It includes 8 hours of rental time, all tables, chairs, linens, dishes and flat wear, etc. and we can get 5 apps for cocktail hour, 2 entree choices, 2 sides, salad, and rolls for $37 per person and the meal is plated! Their staff works with us to personalize decor (we can bring our own or rent some from them) and they set up and break down everything! They have bar service but we bring all of the alcohol, which will save us a lot of money. Other than that, we’ll be getting the rest of our vendors. It’s a perfect balance for us!

[@emeraldlovr]

Awesome. In Orlando?

[@gemini607]

I love that you made a video about all inclusive vs DIY. My fiancé found our all inclusive and amazing wedding venue. I’m so happy he did because it fit our budget, wedding reception needs and we love the atmosphere. We’ve officially booked it! We also love the stress free planning of it and the constant availability of help offered. Wishing all current/future couples out there the best with wedding planning. You got this y’all!

[@RachieSSays]

My fiancé and I chose to do all inclusive through Wedgewood Weddings. The whole process has been fantastic, especially where I’m planning the whole wedding. Having Wedgewood Weddings has really helped that process feel easier, and I’m blessed enough that it’s the NH location so it’s not super strict with COVID, while still upholding the states guidelines. And even though I didn’t chose my florist or my DJ or my bakery I feel as though I got to feel connected to each of the vendors. I honestly can’t say enough about the whole process (and it’s 44 days out and counting)! 🥰

[@somethinggold9151]

Loved this! We switched from an all inclusive venue to a DIY venue 4 months out. Now getting married in less than a month and I’m a little stressed with getting things in order, but I’ve only had 4 months to do it haha it also ended up being a lot more expensive, but my old venue was ridiculously cheap (and it showed.)

[@badassbetty3624]

Jamey, I have to give you a massive...MASSIVE thank you for all your advice and help. Ive been watching you for about 2 years now and you have helped me plan my wedding this whole time, which is in one week!! Omg its coming up so fast. We have an all inclusive venue, its actually our second venue as our first shut down due to covid, but its honestly kind of been a blessing in disguise, the new plave is amazing, and I have diyed all of our decor, save the dates, invited, my flowers for next week, everything, even tho I know you've said to not diy too much but hey, i almost made our wedding cake too until my lovely fiance talked me off that ledge 😂 but ive been diying my pretty little fingers off (as you say lol) especially lately. Anyways, you have helped me so so so much and to the point that im actually planning on becoming a wedding planner now! Right after my wedding I have my best friends wedding that ill be planning and her (soon to be sister-in-laws) wedding right after! I seriously cant thank you enough for all your help. 💕

[@nataliedavenport4557]

My venue is DIY. It does however include tables and chairs for the reception, and the manager there acts as the day of coordinator. I was more than happy to piece together everything, especially the caterers. It is going to be costing $15 a person vs the craziness of $40+

[@NalisaTalks]

We're doing an all inclusive wedding. Originally we were't but I was getting so overwhelmed because of work (I have a very demanding job) and the stress of 2020. It's nice to have most things taken care of. We only have to worry about a handful of things and it's helped my mental health greatlyyyyyyy.

[@samanthaneill3096]

“You and your honey” YAAASSS thank you Jamie, our effortlessly inclusive queen!

[@kellenjordy7855]

instablaster

[@gymnast4life517]

Finally watching your videos as an ENGAGED WOMAN!!! I've been binge watching all your videos over the last few months and I'm so excited to rewatch them now, taking notes this time! You're always so helpful! 💍🎉🤍

[@EngagedwithNora]

Great breakdown Jamie! I love "DIY" venues because you can customize so much more! It doesn't feel like the same wedding as the week before!

[@gemmaamclean]

Great video, coming at the perfect time. I’m still in the process of deciding on a budget, a date and a venue.. I really want to make it personal but also would love a less stress version 🤪

[@Aboutaprincess]

We found a DIY venue with a recommend coordinator. We hired her, told her our colors, what kind of food we liked and she planned everything down to the tiny details. We literally just showed up and it was perfect. She was also surprisingly affordable, would definitely recommend going that route as an option.

[@katiedavis6292]

I'm going with a all inclusive venue, just have to do my own flowers, pick a DJ off their list of 7 and bring in my own photographer. And we do have the use a specific bakery for our cake. The venue has a venue coordinator and a day of coordinator. The venue is perfect for us!!!

[@brittanycabrera788]

You are heaven-sent... I'm so bad at making decisions, and I couldn't make a decision about all inclusive or DIY and it was stressing me out, you put everything into perspective in a very straightforward way. I appreciate you! All-inclusive it is!

[@kimboslice6198]

You are perfect for the procrastination analyst bride that is planning over a year ahead! I have been binge watching your videos! I will NOT BE HAVING favors🙃😂. Thanks for this video because I am looking for venues now.

[@abigailpulido7305]

My venue is all inclusive and its so helpful! It includes the getting ready suites and breakdrown/setup team. It also includes a variety of different colored linens and glassware for us. We have the liberty of choosing our centerpieces, photographer, DJ, and other small details. I can just enjoy my engagement and work more hours to help pay for the venue! I also was able to get 50% off the facility because of a special promotion!

[@caitlinclaflinmongillo6021]

We’re doing DIY! Ended up being more expensive and waaaaay more work. The venue and flexibility is worth it, but sometimes I do wish we had gone the “let someone else figure it out” route 😅

[@dobbysshoes4924]

If your getting married far away from where you live, I’d recommend all inclusive. I couldnt imagine having coordinating catering, tables, chairs, linens when not living local

[@moefloooo]

All inclusive!!! But our decor is DIY so our personalities will shine through!

[@astertea5187]

Commenting on old vids again, yup :) We're going for a mostly inclusive venue. (Australia). We'll have the ceremony and reception at the same place. They do the set up of everything and clean up and serving of the food and drinks which they cater. No flowers or DJ or anything other than food, drinks, venue, table settings, and decorations. They do include an event coordinator and there is a lot of options to choose from their decor and their food by all accounts is wonderful (judging from external reviews of others who have had weddings there). It's a more unusual event space in that weddings aren't their main purpose but they are practiced at them. For us I think this works as even though I'm a creative and love to diy type person, the idea of DIYing our entire wedding flairs my anxiety and sends panic through me like no tomorrow. So thank you for mentioning mental health as a valid reason for not going the full DIY route. I feel we will have a lot of space to personalise the wedding through having chosen this more unusual venue (an inner city farm), and through the flowers and our decoration choices. Also still lots of decisions to be made around music and celebrant and all. We get to meet with the event coordinator to choose what we'd like where and how. But I do love that the basics of the day will largely be taken care of by people who know what they're doing and I get to focus on being creative in the smaller things.

[@micaylaspencer9449]

Oh you know you're getting an invitation for my wedding. 2022 in the middle of a weekday. But very far- Smoky mountain national Park. As much as I wouldn't expect you to make it, you can be sure that you would be welcome and fed! I love the PO box plan!

[@teaganbest5107]

i’m finally getting married in november of 2021 and my fiancé and i are doing a DIY wedding! we found an amazing airbnb on a lake that will allow us to his a small ceremony & reception and we’re soo excited! we’re also going to use a food truck for catering, an idea i got from you!

[@cassieescovedo6532]

This video was perfect timing, currently deciding between a diy venue and some more all inclusive venues. The diy venue is my favorite choice because it's a house with a manicured lawn and private beach overlooking the Oregon Coastline. I'm just having a hard time finding vendors within price range because it is so isolated from any major areas!

[@LaquetaHodge]

We've chosen to go with an inclusive option after budgeting everything out & realizing neither of us can pull off a DIY wedding. Our venue doesn't charge to use the place itself, we're just paying for the food/services/linens/chairs/tables/etc & they help us coordinate and plan. We can bring our own flowers, desserts, some decorations, & DJ (they don't have specific vendors to choose from which was great for us) so we can personalize it as much as possible. I just am personally not creative and don't have the time nor energy to be completely DIY lol

[@cherylsimpson3553]

We fall somewhere in between... Our venue is “all inclusive” as far as the food, bar, DJ, waitstaff, set up & break down, uplighting AND Photo booth!!! BUT We also have bathrooms to use! Lol The only thing they didn’t include was linens, decor, signage and centerpieces. We were able to hire our own Officiant, florist and photographer as well as baker 👩‍🍳

[@bmcdonald7303]

This was me too. We rented a winery that has a restaurant and because we are the venue cater our wedding, they will set up the tables, chairs, linens, rolled silverware, cafe lights, serve our apps and alcohol for cocktail hour and then serving our guests for dinner. They too will be cleaning up just like at a restaurant! They will be setting up our ceremony chairs outside on the veranda and will be taking them down to use as our dance floor as well. I think this was an awesome bonus. They are also letting us decorate their arbors they have on site for use of the ceremony AND....the price is 2600.00 for thirty guests. My dress was new with tags from a consignment shop for 250 and I am repurposing the silk florals / garlands/ bouquets from my cousins wedding. I think the most expensive thing we are paying for is 600 for photography and 350 for a bakery to make our three tier wedding cake. I’m still contemplating making my own cake just because I’m that thrifty. Oh! And our elegant invitations I found at a thrift store for 2.99!

[@annahatton924]

We just booked our venue! It's all inclusive in that setup, takedown, catering, rentals, and bar are covered by them. We're free to shop around for whatever other vendors we want, though, and that feels like a really happy medium ground to me.

[@kristenlieberman9771]

My gf sent me this , she's a follower of yours. Thats my brothers ranch you showed, were you able to meet Blue and Bud ?

[@angelicharmony]

We just found an amazing venue for such a reasonable price (less than a $1000 CDN because we're doing it on a Sunday). It includes a ceremony in the beautiful japanese garden (with white folding chairs), as well as the reception. There's a separate room for the cocktail hour with big windows overlooking the golf course/mountains/ocean and then the banquet room is very similar (lots of windows and pretty views). Both rooms have a huge deck! Tables, chairs, table cloths/napkins, glassware, plates, cutlery, bartender/staff, podium/wireless mic/projector + screen, set up/take down, etc are all included! The catering is done through them as well as all the drinks. So it's mostly all inclusive but I have a lot of creative control in terms of decorating and can choose the photographer, videographer, DJ etc. I'm very excited!

[@mariahgeiger-williams9230]

Since most of the venues that had our capacity and things like bathrooms had (ridiculously expensive) preferred caterers (almost none were truly DIY), we went for a family-owned all inclusive place (tables, chairs, linens, semi generic decor they have collected over the years, food, waitstaff, bar, DJ all in house). We get to pick our own flowers, other decor if wanted, photo, video, etc. It has been perfect with the pandemic to have everything SET (and to only have to talk to two vendors if a change needs to be made). Since the booking fees and food costs are pretty in line with the other venues we were looking at, the price is really great for what we get, too. (No food and beverage minimum, even!) I feel super lucky and we definitely made the right choice for us right now.

[@TheDancerella7]

I’m from New York (NYC/Long Island area) and I have only ever been to “all inclusive” weddings and never a DIY one. My fiancé and I are getting married July 2021 and we are having our ceremony in a church in Queens, NY and the reception in Long Island,NY. Typical all inclusive for this area (and what we are having) includes the food, alcohol, rentals, staff workers and even the cake. Depending on the reception hall you go to will depend on the price per person and there is usually a minimum you need to meet in order to secure a date (For example, 200 person minimum for a Saturday night event or 150 person minimum for a Friday/Sunday night event). Also, the more “extras” you add on like additional stations at cocktail hour, upgraded dinner meal, Viennese hour for dessert, exit station can up the price. From what I experienced, the typical price for a wedding in my area would be $150-200 per person.

[@Alexa-qn6ke]

My wedding in November is at a venue that is all-inclusive optional? Lol you can book the venue and the man who runs it also works with multiple other wedding companies (a catering company, various rentals, etc.) so he offers all the various things and you choose what you want! He even offered to write an itemized list based on what we wanted of what everything would cost so we could cost compare and decide what we wanted to do through the venue! It was super amazing. I think if we didn’t have that option we would do diy because of cost.

[@Rinesim]

We opted for an all-inclusive location; I was living in the UK until March and we were supposed to get married in NOLA in April. Then our wedding got postponed because of Covid...now I'm kinda sad that I don't get to do all the fun diy planning bits, especially with all this time on my hands!

[@craftymarre]

Love love love ❤️ that reaction

[@patriciamoreno9196]

Love the hairstyle Jamie. Great content as always.

[@hayliehomemaker]

I found a venue that includes tables, chairs, linens and tear down/set up of said items, 4 nice bathrooms, a dance floor, full access to the kitchen, and an onsite bar tender but allows us to provide alcohol, catering, etc. it’s the perfect balance between full service and a DIY. It’s also on a beautiful ranch and is essentially my Pinterest dream. We’re touring it tomorrow. Fingers crossed it’s not too good to be true lol

[@tashadennings]

YES we are doing an all inclusive wedding and its the best thing i could have done!!!! and it was cheap well under our budget. eveything was included. food, DJ, wine for the meal, officiant, table chairs, bar, cake, I only had to find a photographer .

[@mathewbacsik8681]

We’ve chosen a remote property on the edge of the Daintree Rainforest in Australia and just a piece of advice from a couple of massive vegan foodies: Remote locations have less choices of vendors! This seems obvious but if you’ve got a unique dinner concept like we do (all fully plant based, no mock meats, lots of veggies and bright colours on the plates) then REALLY look carefully at the catering options before booking any remote holiday house. In the end we found one guy (literally one guy) who offers what we’re looking for. Seriously if he wasn’t in business we would’ve had to change our whole wedding. So, if you have very specific requirements research all your options before booking a remote luxury holiday house!!!

[@lexythompson9131]

Great video! Our venue is more on all inclusive style where we just pay per head that come to the wedding. It includes food, drink, the site for ceremony and reception, food for cocktail hour, and dessert table. We’re doing a cake, decorations, photographer and DJ on our own (we chose). Saved so much time and ending up being cheaper than the more DIY options. When we were looking at venues we made a spreadsheet to make it an apples to apples comparison to see what would actually end up being cheaper vs what seemed to be cheaper.

[@reneeirena]

This is the video I needed. I've been going insane choosing between the two. I fell in love with a venue that does an all-inclusive package (food, alcohol, cake, florals, decor, staff, venue coordinator) but it came with a pretty shocking price tag. Did some research for a more DIY location and figured I would save a little, but I'm not sure whether I want to sacrifice my sanity and time with this option. My dad is paying for most of the wedding so I'm feeling really guilty for spending his money...

[@play4alley]

I love how genuine you are ❤

[@bethtoledo9488]

We went all inclusive, because I'm in medical school and do not have time to be planning a wedding lol. They are taking care of all rentals, florals, dj, catering/desserts, photography, bar/alcohol, planning/coordinating, paper items (invites, menus, etc) basically everything except dress, tuxes, any extras I want (like favors) and hair/makeup! I definitely think it is more expensive, as our 80 person wedding is going to be around $20,000 all in. I do think we could've done it cheaper. But then again my wedding dress was $1500, and that does include the rehearsal dinner, and a $2000 videographer which was not included with the venue. To me it is so worth it to have everything done for us!!

[@123sylvia]

Ours is kinda in the middle - our venue has accomodation and includes drinks and a venue coordinator. They also have 6 caterers they regularly work with to choose from and they offer a huge range of options from feast style, to buffet, to food trucks! But flowers, dj, everything else we have to find. It’s been great knowing who they’ve worked with before but also great having the freedom to select our own. Favourite thing is that they have a cleaning/take down fee to get rid of everything at the end which will make our lives so much easier! They also have a lot of decor pieces you can hire from them like a champagne wall and vases, etc which is so handy! Would rather hire from them than have to organise my own - but great to have the option regardless

[@treasure6883]

Originally we were doing a all DIY route for Nov. 2021. It was supposed to be all indoors with~130 guests We paid venue deposits for both ceremony and reception locations and haven’t heard back from either since Feb 10th 😞 We are now looking to do all outside with ~14 guests. We are touring a spot this weekend that is all inclusive barring music and photography. It is much fancier but affordable with such a small guest count. Hopping it all works up especially now we are preparing to move the date up to April 2021 😱 I didn’t expect the wedding planning to get so messy (I know it is a tough job I just thought I had a smooth process going) but I’m starting to find joy in it again by switching to a better customer service place.

[@crikeysteverules]

Not wedding related but your eye makeups lookin really good!!

[@kathyfvallejos]

Definitely doing the DIY route. Our venue was very inexpensive and we love it! 😊

[@alexandracasas5433]

Thank you so much for this video!!! I have my wedding booked at the Bellagio in Vegas for May 29th. I'm definitely the type of person who wanted a really nice wedding while not having to make too many decisions.

[@jordanbarry6927]

I'm doing an all-inclusive venue. It's called Pine Hill in Julian, CA. They do the table, linens, flatware, glassware, and catering. They do the set up, the break down, and they have a lot of the base decorating stuff included. Stuff I probably would have picked out myself anyway. We also get the venue to ourselves for the entire day (literally like 10-11 hours). They have a list of 4 DJs we have to choose from, but the other venders we can pick and choose who we want. The DJ we picked is super nice and he's discounted because of the deal he has with the venue. The biggest reason we picked them is that they allow "amplified instruments" every night of the week. My fiancé is a professional tuba player and the only thing he desperately wanted was a live brass quintet to play during the ceremony... But horns can be loud and not surprisingly a lot of venues (both DIY and All-Inclusive) were like "Horns? A Tuba? Trumpets? Hahahahahahahaha yeah right. There's no way." Some of the venues we did find that were cool with it only allowed brass on Saturdays. We're getting married on a Thursday (St. Patrick's Day actually) so those venues obviously didn't work for us either. The parts we want to customize, the venue is cool with (brass quintet, unlimited churros and ice cream instead of cake, and so on).

[@DiscoverTheMonkey]

I'm not even getting married, I just like to listen to you talk 😂 love the salt analogy

[@user-emilyyyy]

I would really enjoy a behind the scenes video where we get to see you film one of your sit downs and include all of the bloopers and unedited footage and then watch you during the editing process. Maybe I’m just a nerd but I think that sounds fun

[@abayrd1]

We opted to go with a more all inclusive venue for our Aug 2021 wedding but we still get to pick our own flowers, DJ, photographer and video so it’s a good medium for us!

[@smpiggee]

Thank you so much for breaking this down. Everything that you mentioned helped me to determine which venue I picked as well as my vendors.

[@ambercaly4368]

Your hair looks so beautiful like that!

[@RaeleyBarchers]

Going the DIY route! I am seriously soooo STRESSED out about it. 😅😂😂 I'll narrow something down to 3 options for my FH and he hates all of them. Hahaha. Then I get mad and make him find the thing and then he gets stressed out. 😂😂 But, we don't have the money for an all inclusive venue, otherwise that would have been the BEST thing for us!

[@hannahbarteck2602]

We have a semi inclusive venue. They offer a bar, the tables and chairs, linens, and a crew to set up and tear down. This allowed us to have our wedding catered by our favorite restaurant!

[@nikiptranquille767]

Greatttttt video. I wish i watched this video a year ago. Your points are so accurate. Everything you listed is what I went thru when I was deciding to do diy or all inclusive.

[@LovelyLoveAly]

Your videos have been so helpful! 😭😭 now that I started planning my wedding the magical feeling of being engaged is starting to turn into stress 😣

[@kjc4779]

We are going with an "all inclusive". So worth it. But just because its an all inclusive, it doesn't mean that there is no more work involved. At least in our case. We didn't hire a wedding coordinator, there's a day of coordinator that comes with the package, but everything else is us as far as details here and there. But so worth is with an all inclusive venue.

[@andia.kperegrine3567]

My sister just had her wedding at Blue Hill Ranch this past month!! It was absolutely beautiful!

[@paulina228]

Not sure if you've done this yet or not (just started watching your videos), can you do one on destination weddings like mexico? Like what are the dos and don'ts, or basically how to even go about doing it.

[@novalinnhe]

Hey Jamie! This was a really informative video, thank you 😄 I loved your hair and makeup by the way, you look radiant here!

[@TheJinnieL]

Getting married in may in germany and we have an inbetween Location 😊 catering, cake, decor, photobooth, drinks, florals inklusive. DJ, photographer, videographer and stationary booked seperately 😊👍

[@graysongreen9853]

Hey its Grayson! It was super exciting to be there for this! Cant wait to work with you in the future :)

[@AvaElizabeth]

Super timely video for me! Just started the planning process and when doing a cost estimate comparison between a DIY tented summer wedding vs. an all-inclusive winter wedding, winter comes out cheaper in my area! Winter wedding it is! 😂 Saving money AND time 🙌🏼

[@ashleyeliza0608]

I DIY’s my invites & have been wanting to show them to you. I am excited to send it to your PO Box! Thank you!

[@Marie_Garwood]

SUPER helpful information!! Thank you so much for all of this clarification!

[@SchattiSchnatti]

We somewhere in between. Venue is a hotel and food, drinks, rent for Venue, china, staff, chairs, tables, tablecloths, electricity and cleaning is included. We're taking care of organising a photographer (but she will not join the party, she's just part of our ceremony, couple shoot and reception after the ceremony with champagne and wedding cake), DJ, flowers, decoration. We still have time until July next year, but the amount of work for us seems to be ok. I don't feel stressed thinking about things we still have to do. We're planning for 100 people and our budget is 15.000€ and probably we will need 12k

[@ABanRocks]

Our wedding budget is $45k for the wedding and even then it is hard to keep it under that. The biggest surprise was open car. Two bar man and alcohol we budgeted for however the cost of glasses was unexpected. The amount of money they change for glasses is crazy.

[@katelynbrown6956]

My venue is DIY all the way. The only thing they offer is a table and chairs package but I opted to source those myself to save some money! I have definitely had days of being completely overwhelmed with decision making but I’ve had almost 2 years of planning so it hasn’t been horrible 🤣🤪

[@RebeccaS750]

Going all inclusive at a beautiful place and they have a vendor bundle for their recommended vendors that comes out to saving $2000 for basic packages. Totally worth the extra brain space and I can focus on the fun stuff

[@rachelrak4502]

Hi there! We booked a venue that is on the DIY side. A beautiful rustic venue in the hills of Wisconsin (with toilets!) that is indoor-outdoor and provides tables, chairs, a bar area, kitchen area, and a cart for those who need the accessibility :) they have a recommended vendor list but we can bring in whoever we want (outside of DJ). We are really excited for our wedding next October

[@caitlinfoster9508]

I think we have something in between. Our venue includes the bar, tables/chairs, venue coordinator, and honeymoon/bridal suite. Everything else we need to hire, but we have the venue's Preferred Vendors list and it has been supremely helpful.

[@MsKosty]

I think it would be nice too to see others invitations and ideas. Removing last names and addresses of course and asking permission but that would be so fun. And I think a neat video.

[@christinarichard9507]

My fiance and I are really deciding on if we would like DIY or ALL Inclusive Venues .. we like DIY because you get to make it personal and then we like all Inclusive because it's less planning ..so we will let you know what we decide on

[@Vc3_]

Needed this 100%! If it’s a destination wedding, would you recommend all inclusive if we could only afford partial wedding planning?

[@lisajohnson5719]

Video request: everything you need to know for your engagement party (especially catering). Thank you Jamie ❤️

[@lisajohnson5719]

Wow, just realised that type of video was already made and I'd already watched it without even realising. Lol

[@leticiapena5972]

Jamie, do you have a video of top recommended venues in California?!

[@aprkn2]

Our engagement is two years out but I think we’re heading toward an all inclusive. I definitely want to pick my own DJ, photographer and videographer though. And I have a specific vision for how I want my venue to be decorated. However, I would love to have the food bar tables chairs and everything else handled by the venue!

[@stephanielfagan]

We're getting married in Jan 2022. We have done a few catering tastings so far. I know this won't be true for all caterers, but in my experience, the ones that are "exclusive" or part of a "preferred list" tend to be so-so in quality and taste compared to those that are not. In my town (Orlando, FL), there are 3-4 big catering companies that kind of have a hold on most of the venues, whether with exclusive partnerships, or the venues have a preferred list that only contains the same 3-4 big companies. My theory is that because their business is basically guaranteed, they don't really care as much. That's why we chose a venue that had no vendor restrictions what so ever, because in my fiance's words, "why don't we go with a caterer that actually has to be good to stay in business?"

[@jasrogue]

Completely unrelated to the video but your bedroom decor is gorgeous! I love that window in your background 😍 I would also like to ask, as someone who worked in the So Cal wedding industry, ha e you ever worked at the South Park Center in DTLA? I'm strongly considering them but they are a complete DIY/blank canvas venue.

[@annagarnet1232]

Read the contract/ what the venue offers very carefully as well as the pricing. Choosing a venue that does weddings all the time rather than boutique style venues (restaurants, old homes, historic sites) seems to lower the cost and they do way more planning for you (much less work than ever expected wedding planning to be)!

[@anamazing2297]

I'm booking a park by the beach in the mountains for my venue. I'm very much type A. 😂

[@yaritzay.604]

We went with a more inclusive venue. However, they did give us a list of preferred vendors in the area for other things like photography, DJ...etc. They're charging us for the space, food, bar, linens and what they will and will not do the day of and day before. It works with us because my fiancé and I work a ton.

[@courtneymartinak5277]

We are doing DIY decor and chose a location that offers food and bar services. We will have to set up our own decorations but no having to clean up everyone’s food and beverages at the end of the night.

[@Julyfilotti]

I´m from Argentina and I´ll get married next year. In our country the all inclusive is used more. Our location offers us food, drinks in the table and open bar, dessert, desserts table, DJ and decoration. On our side we hire photography, cake, entertainment, and any additional decoration that we want.

[@ruthvansandt9713]

DIY 100% Hoping to book at a basic heated barn or a church with gym 😁

[@emibee3707]

a new series!!! #JamieCrashMyWedding!!

[@kayseacamp]

Luckily my venue offered 3 different tiers to book. Nothing included, setup/tear down included, and day of coordination, setup/tear down, and all rentals (including decor). I’m going with the later since I’m getting married in KY but live in AZ. I wish I could DIY more things like the florals to save money but due to distance I’ll have to book a florist for it. But we did make the all inclusive more affordable for us by picking a Sunday wedding date which is half priced.

[@kristin4241]

I am going the DIY route...though we are having toilets and power ;) But indeed its quite a few things to think about...especially we gotta have a good and bad weather options...as we are renting a villa and wanted preferably if the weather allows it to do an outside garden ceremony and reception ;) Who would have thought that renting chairs could be so expensive ;)

[@Hvipsen]

I would love a DIY wedding (thinking festival-style tipi wedding!), but I find it really difficult to know how much it would cost me considering few vendors put their prices online. Do others struggle getting a sense of what the budget for these diy wedding could/should be without having to actually commit to it first and getting quotes? I just dont want to book a venue to then figure out that getting the looks/things I want would just be way too expensive.

[@kristin4241]

What I would do is, just get a few quotes of the all inclusive places that interest you...then make an overview what would you need for your DIY wedding, eg. chairs, tables, catering, plates, glassware, power, toilets permits etc and then get some quotes of vendors for that...after you can compare them :)

[@sarahzorn7846]

Omg i want to do pizza for my wedding because my brother is autistic and often doesnt feel included at events like weddings and he loves pizza ive never heard of anyone else doing that

[@therealmellyb]

So im weird bc im typically horrible at decision making but with wedding planning I know exactly what i want and i want to be able to CHOOSE every vendor. I didn’t want to get stuck with whatever vendors they gave me. Destination wedding bride.

[@MHSMagicLuver]

Engaged since dec 2018, planning yo get married hopefully spring 2023. Subscribe by to watch all of your videos :) also I definitely want a wedding planner. Funny thing is when I was in high school I thought I wanted to be a wedding planner. Y’all do a lot more than I thought back then 😂 definitely helpful to brides I have a venue I feel like I want. They have caterers but I’m wondering if I’ll be able to switch up the meals or maybe bring in my own caterers. Something to find out. Not sure if it’s actually all inclusive or if it’s just available. It’s at a hotel.

[@WildBunchMediaInc]

I’m doing a DIY event in North GA Nov 14

[@TheErikaandhannah]

I think I’m a little bit of both, venue provides catering and like bartenders but we have to provide DJ, florals, dessert, etc. I’m having fun with it but I’m a little less than 9 months away now and starting to feel the stress😂😂

[@kamrynburke4116]

Awesome video, but that’s nothing new!!😉 Also, I MUST KNOW WHERE YOUR SHIRT IS FROM!!!!!!! 😍

[@lilyobrien3264]

My boyfriend made it very clear from the first time he saw my Pinterest bored. That when we got married it will be in his grandparents back yard.