Venues

Yes I felt the same way or wanted you to rent everything from table liens to dance floor use there caterers and bakers. Now what they aren't up to snuff then you are stuck with them if you book with there venue. But I found a venue where I am able to do just that but it comes with a DJ.

The only thing we HAD to do was pick a caterer from their list. But everything else we got to hire whoever we wanted

Money. They all have partnerships where they get a % for referrals.

Venues fall into 2 categories: all inclusive and blank slate. All inclusive venues are the ones that require you use their services. It’s because they have contracts with the most expensive vendors and the bottom line is money. There is also bait and switch advertising with them where they lead you to believe you only have to pay a very small rental fee but you are required to spend a 5-6 figure food/beverage minimum in addition to paying for the other required services, so it’s not a budget friendly option. A blank slate venue will allow you to pick all your own vendors and often are cheaper because they don’t have minimums and if you want to hire your favorite local restaurant to cater or get flowers wholesale, then they don’t mind at all.



Take a look at eventective.com or Instagram and browse for venues that allow outside catering.

When the bride's caterer delivers the food COLD or when they deliver the food late. Perhaps they don't deliver the contracted amount and food runs out before all the guests have been served. They forget to bring condiments or maybe they don't show up at all...that's when the venue says, ENOUGH! They have somewhat of a relationship with you at this point and they are vested in you and your event. They don't want these types of vendors providing services at their venue which reflects negatively on the venue and your event. It's not always about money and actually, very few profit from using a preferred vendor method as this is easily trackable and is frowned upon in the wedding industry as a whole. Just remember that your event reflects on their venue. They ultimately want you to make the best choices to make your day the best experience ever!

My venue only allows certain caterers because of quality control. They've worked with the caterers before and know that they'll deliver quality food and service, and that they can navigate serving at the venue.

Our venue has their own in-house catering and I thought that was kind of a bummer at first, but it has definitely taken the stress off coordinating with an outside company! Their food is awesome too.