Partially Inclusive Wedding Venues — Will they work for you?

Back for more? This is part 2 of 4 about wedding venue basics. In our previous blog, we discussed we’ll be covering all-inclusive wedding venues, partially inclusive wedding venues, open vendor, and questions to ask at your wedding venue tours.

Today we’re talking partially inclusive wedding venues.

You’ll definitely want to stick around for the rest of the wedding venue series, and as we’re halfway through, I’ve created a little something to sort out local Nashville venues below! (Keep reading!)

Since we’ve already covered the “all-inclusive” spaces and their advantages, it’s time to talk about the wedding venues that might get you muddled in the middle. Partially inclusive wedding venues are extremely common, but due to their nature, they can range widely in what they offer.

Quickly, let’s chat 3 reasons why partially inclusive wedding venues can be a great advantage for your day!

1. Save you time and money— with some vendors already in house, you won’t have to hunt down those extra details.
2. Quality control— the venue trusts those specific teams to really make the day go smoothly. By trusting their experience, you can be sure your day will have high quality of service!
3. You still get to have variety— because their venues don’t provide each aspect or require their choices for each item, you are able to have full control of the level of spend, design, and priority each has in your event.

There are three main ways that partially inclusive wedding venues operate.

1. Limited Vendor List

Some partially inclusive wedding venues may not have any rentals, planners, or catering in-house, but they may work off of a limited vendor list. This can either be on option per category or very few choices.

Venues choosing to work with limited vendors in their area still encourage creativity and style. It simply ensures they can provide high quality events. The long list of events they have seen in their space builds trust for both the venue operators and for you.

Loyalty and trust is a great thing between the vendors– you can use it to your advantage and stress less!

Exclusive vendor lists can be the choice to lean into when you are looking for a mixture of personal style but no hiccups. For a lot of couples, sourcing all of the vendors by themselves with so many options can be an intimidating task.

While each vendor has their own list of preferred vendors, knowing your venue has their tried and true picks can be a big relief.

2. Rentals Included

Rentals at a venue are not a given. We’ll talk more about that in our Open Vendor blog!

But it’s important to note that there’s a good portion of venues that don’t include these pieces. If you are looking for a venue that absolutely does, partially inclusive wedding venues might be perfect for you!

For better or for worse, spaces that include furniture can be a big cost savings! (If you’re trying to compare between venues with different offerings, my free Wedding Cost Estimator is the perfect resource!)

There are venues that include tables and chairs only, yet others can go as far to include flatware and linens. Depending on your style, this can not only be a big money saver but a big time saver too.

Debating on whether to have plastics or rent dishes? A rentals included venue will manage all of that for you!

With the items already in-house, there is zero worry about whether a rental company will show up on time to collect. In most cases, you also won’t have to manage recruiting family and friends to haul big items back into storage.

The venue will do all the heavy lifting (literally) for you!

3. Catering, Bar, and Planning In-House

There is so much variety that comes with picking a venue that is not all-inclusive! They come in all shapes and sizes. Often, venues that include some but not all will include at least one of three categories– catering, bar, or planning in-house.

One thing that remains consistent for partially inclusive wedding venues is a minimum spend from their in-house providers. Base packages or minimum spend amounts are common. All-in-all, it is how they remain in business.

The most familiar you might be with this concept is hotel weddings! The contracts you will see with 99% of hotels will be ensuring your food and beverage services are routed through them.

Many other venues run on this same concept. But similarly to how many of us view food purchased in an airport… there might be a markup. You’re only able to get it from one source, so you have to accept that price.

(It’s not much of a surprise that BYO catering or bar will always save you money. That’s why it’s important to look at all the costs between different types of venues. Money savings isn’t the only type of savings you can experience– your time and mental clarity are extremely valuable!)

Because event catering and planning do run similar courses, venues may also include planning services or offer them at a discounted rate. The big elements are already being planning and provided by the venue, and it does not take much extra work on their end.

Keep in mind, however, that a planner from the partially inclusive wedding venue is primarily working for the venue… not you and your full experience! As someone who has seen weddings from many angles, it can be frustrating to some couples when their venue planner only recites contract clauses.

Are you trying to map out the different between each of the types of venues in your area? The Knot and Zola are great options to do an initial venue hunt. (Or vendors in general– you’ll even find me on there!)

In Nashville?? I’ve created a list of venues in each category– sign up for my newsletter and I’ll send it straight to your inbox!

Next up we’re going to talk Open Vendor venues! A bit scary trying to figure that all out?? It’ll be easier than you think. I promise.

All my best,

McKayla with Philocalist Designs