Venue Business Models

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It may not sound romantic, but key to managing your budget and your style.

Planning a wedding should be fun.  Ask your married friends, and they will probably tell you the money surprises often created much of the stress.  

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There are two predominant "business models" in the wedding industry, "captive" and "open".   And often, you will find a hybrid model.

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1. Captive - this covers most venues, which includes terms such as "all inclusive", venues with preferred vendors, country clubs, etc.  These venues provide the venue, the catering, and the bar, tables, chairs.  They may include the ceremony and often some basic decor.  They generally provide "package" pricing with add-ons.  Some will require food and drink minimums.  Most charge a >20% service charge.  Note that this is not necessarily a gratuity, but rather to pay for the labor.  Gratuity is additional.

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Captive venues at first glance can appear less expensive because most packages do not have all the options that the couple wants.  Often this discovery happens after the couple has made a commitment, and discovers the cost of upgrading the food, decor, bar, etc. to their style is not a nominal add on.   Many places charge to turn on string lights.  

As the word "captive" indicates, there is no option to seek outside services, as the contract prohibits this.  (For most, even Grandma's cake is not allowed, as they want to sell you one.)  When choosing a captive venue, it is important to know your style and needs up-front, so you can make sure that it is all included.  

All that said, this approach can be great for those that will be satisfied with the "standard" package.  Standard package is priced competitively and if you don't upgrade, you may find a great deal.

 

2. Open - this approach provides the venue (and sometimes some other features).  You have the opportunity to create what you want with wedding professionals.   The amount of support you receive varies. 

Note that there are very few venues that provide a truly open approach with one price.

(Shameless BRIX plug: With regard to a fully open approach, including one price, full support from booking to last song, and no requirements for clean up, we know of only one.)

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3. Hybrid - these generally appear to be "open" business models, and are advertised as such, but there are numerous restrictions, including that the bar service is priced by the venue or a company owned by the venue.  Bar Service can be very expensive and the "starting price" is often not close to the ending price.  Just like the captive models, when upgrading the bar (cocktails, additional hours, premium alcohol, etc.), the actual costs go up significantly.  Without looking at the full picture (see comparing price,) these options often transition quickly to more of a captive model.

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Why donuts on this page?  Every one should be able to bring in donuts to Grandma's wedding cake.  That's an open business model. 

If you hear that that "xyz" government organization does not allow it, that's a story to extract more money from you in dessert fees, not a government restriction.