You have your date. You have your venue. Now you need to decide the details. If you are like me, you have been taking notes nearly your entire life. Maybe you liked the colors at your cousin’s wedding or the food at your BFF’s. Perhaps you saw the details in a wedding as a child or enjoyed that the bride and groom had activities that catered to you. There are a lot of little pieces to consider that make up your big day. So how do you start to organize all of the options?
Some venues or planners have all-inclusive packages, or you can choose to do it yourself. All inclusive destination weddings have become a top trend in 2022 and 2023. These all inclusive wedding venues really can offer a bang for your buck. So how do you work through making such a big decision? What are the Pros and cons of all inclusive wedding venues, and how do you compare the All Inclusive vs DIY wedding? Right off the bat, the all-inclusive package may feel like a budget buster, but if you give it a little more thought, you may find it will be the less expensive option in the end. Even within the all-inclusive packages, there is often an opportunity to adjust the package to your needs with pre-planned or customizable a la carte options.
Cost
The package cost for your table linens is $150, but you found a vendor that will be only $100. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But as you read the fine print, there are additional delivery/pick up and cleaning charges. Now you are looking at closer to $200. Do a little research before disregarding the event packages your venue or coordinator offers. Frequently vendors and venues coordinate special pricing or perks as an appreciation for supporting each other’s businesses. And sometimes, this price break can be passed on to you. You also have the added peace of mind knowing your vendors have been vetted by the venue or your coordinator. Let’s be honest. The idea of DIY wedding decorations, including DIY wedding centerpieces for a destination wedding, sounds like a nightmare.
All-inclusive venues offer you the best bang for the buck, so why would you waste the money on creating your own decor? Remember that to DIY for a destination wedding, you have to factor in the cost of doing it yourself with the expense of transporting the item and the fee of storage. When you choose an all-inclusive package, you do not need to worry about figuring out those extra costs. Not to mention if your dream wedding is a destination wedding, those costs are only multiplied with additional considerations about transportation logistics, proper handling to prevent breakage, and who is receiving the items at the destination. It is a can of worms that is worth not even attempting to open.
Time
When thinking about the numbers, do not forget to consider the value of your time. You simply cannot underestimate this. In economics, they call it opportunity cost. In wedding circles, we call it burning time. For example, the cost of making your centerpieces may only cost $30 each, but it takes you three hours to complete. But the similar centerpieces available in the wedding package only cost $50. While this seems small, multiply that by the amount for each. Three hours times thirty centerpieces. 90 WHOLE HOURS LATER. You saved $600. But what did you lose for that? Lost time off, lost brunches, lost downtime, lost wedding planning time, lost social time, lost spouse time.
For each DIY project you do, you really need to look at what it costs in terms of money AND time. Do you need to recruit family or friends to help complete tasks? What is their time? Does your sister need to find a babysitter for your nephew if she helps you? By the time you add up everyone’s time, it will probably be more than the time needed by your wedding coordinator. You want your friends and family to enjoy your day and be present to celebrate with you, not to worry about transporting centerpieces or picking up chairs. EventRoostr will work with you to ensure that whether you do DIY or all-inclusive, you will fully understand the costs in both money and time. Their wedding consultation lets you hear from their years of experience, making hundreds of couples’ dream weddings come true.
Communication
The phone calls, emails, texts, smoke signals… There is a LOT to communicate as you plan your big day. Some may feel that your needs and desires are more limited to choosing an all inclusive package. But more options mean there are more people to keep in the loop. Add in possible time differences or language barriers. You will have tallied up hours upon hours of calls, waiting on calls, and responding to messages. This next-level coordination requires next-level organization and communication abilities. If you do not possess them, you will likely sabotage your own nuptials. This may sound ominous, but it needs to be said.
Coordinating and communicating while keeping track of who does what and what goes where is very hard. That is why there is an entire industry of wedding planners and coordinators. They possess these skills and make their livelihoods from using them. So do some self-reflection and ask yourself whether you have these skills and if you can do this task. If the answer isn’t 100%, don’t consider the time commitment involved. Initially, spending the time up front to make your choices may feel like a lot, but in the long term, it will pay off.
Help
Your friends or family have generously offered to help, but should you take it? Do you want to worry about your guests breaking down tables and chairs? This is an easy way to save money for most brides and grooms yet requires loved ones and guests to be of service to you after an evening of revelry and enjoyment. They may have eaten a little too much or imbibed a bit. They may be exhausted from dancing or wiped from a very long day. And asking them to tear down your wedding invites a new layer of planning and coordinating to an already long list. Staffing costs may feel steep, but you will look back happy that your loved ones enjoyed your big day. Most all inclusive wedding packages include an onsite employee as your wedding coordinator. This is particularly advantageous if you are planning a destination wedding. Many things happen during your ceremony or dinner, and you do not want your loved ones to be distracted or not present for your evening highlights. Take advantage of staff to tear down your wedding, or else you may have a guest that runs off with your beer keg and your wedding cake!
Food
Food… probably the most exciting thing about a wedding. It is also a huge budget item. There are many options when it comes to deciding your menu – seated or buffet service, fish or meat, what vegetarian option will be available. In addition to the food, you need the dishes and glasses. Sure, you can source a catering company for the food and a vendor for your plates and glassware, but that is now two more people you need to coordinate for deliveries, payments, and other issues. This can be further complicated by the limitations of some budget vendors. Sure they are the lowest cost for stemware and plates, but they do not offer linens. Now you need linens and a linen vendor. Your caterer is the lowest cost for food but does not provide sternos or servers. Now you need to secure both of those. Building these things into an all inclusive package means all of the logistics are now combined. It provides you absolute peace of mind.
Choosing to do a DIY wedding is not for the faint of heart. You need to be very organized. You need to be hard-working. You need to be able to stay on task and think of every element of your wedding. I should know. I planned and did most of the decorations for my own wedding. While I had a dream wedding in mind, the economy when I tied the knot was terrible. My family couldn’t support me financially as much as I had planned, and my future spouse and I were averse to spending too much for a big party when many people were hurting so much. But let me tell you, I wish I had not had to DIY my own wedding. The stress, the details, the stress – I cannot stress that part enough. It simply is not worth it if it can be avoided. With all-inclusive wedding packages like the ones offered from EventRoostr, it is really just a no-brainer to look into what options they have to take the load off of you and your spouse as you plan your special day.
