Choosing a wedding venue is one of the most parts of planning your wedding, but it can also quickly become one of the most stressful if not correctly planned and managed.

So, what's the best option? Read below for our breakdown of the pros and cons of choosing a Dry-Hire Venue, vs an All-Inclusive Venue.

What is a Dry-Hire venue?‍

Dry-Hire is a term often used to refer to venues or equipment that come as is. In the case of a wedding venue this means all of the room preparation, catering, drinks, bartenders / servers and entertainment. For many people the additional hassle of organising everything can be a bit too overwhelming alongside all of the other wedding planning that needs to be done. However for some it’s a great way to style their venue exactly how they want it to look. Dry-Hire venues tend to come at a lower cost as they don’t include anything other than the venue itself.

What’s an All-Inclusive venue?

An all-inclusive venue is one that includes more than just the venue itself. Often you’ll find catering, tables, chairs, general room preparation and drinks are all covered with venue staff to help the day run smoothly. For many this is a preferred option as it takes away some of the stresses of wedding planning and allows you to focus on the rest of your planning with the confidence that the venue and catering will be handled for you by the experts. Often All-Inclusive venues will have local vendors that they’ve worked with before and recommend so you don’t have to spend time searching through different vendors.

Which one should you go for?

It really comes down to your own priorities for your wedding. While on the surface it may seem like Dry-Hire is a cheaper option, once you start to consider all the extra things you’ll need to complete the venue you’ll quickly realise that the cost might even exceed your budget. As an example, for a dry-hire venue you might need to also hire (bear with us here): Cutlery, Catering, Glassware, Tables, Chairs, Tablecloths, Sound system, Microphone, additional lighting, and then also buy enough beer, wine, spirits, Room decorations and more. Arranging all of this will take some time, but the benefit of this is that you’re creating the venue from scratch - which means complete flexibility in terms of how to create your day. It’s all up to you! For something to take the stress out of the big day, look at choosing an All-Inclusive venue. You can leave all of the venue and catering arrangements to your venue’s wedding planner who’ll help you design the perfect wedding venue. You’ll get your perfect day, without the extra hassle.