Getting the most BANG for you/your guest BUCK?

Hello all, Being that most of us are having our wedding at an all inclusive resort, how are you capitalizing on this perk? Since meals are included in the stay, are you having your reception in one of the restaurants and hosting less expensive private affair with dancing on the beach with a bar? What about being set up in a semi private area in a restaurant and using the resort's club for dancing afterward? I'm simply trying to brainstorm for ideas to use the food/beverage that's already included in the stay. I dont mind coming out of pocket for various things...its just that I want to spend our money in a smart way! Any suggestions on how to capitalize on food/beverage for the wedding at an all inclusive resort?!?

Not sure how the private reservations work at most resorts, but at mine, and at a lot of others I've seen, since weddings are a separate event/function they don't let you utilize the all inclusive feature for you and your guests. You will generally wind up paying out of pocket to cover the food and beverage at the wedding, unless your package includes this for a certain amount of guests. For example my wedding package covers everything for the first 20 guests and then I have to pay for any extra that we have on top of it.

Again, not sure how it works where you're getting married and that's certainly not the rule EVERYWHERE, just sharing my experience thus far.
 

Hi Ana!

Included in the majority of wedding packages is a semi-private dinner reception. Unfortunately semi-private means that there will be other guests of the hotel in the restaurant at the time. They all do a fantastic job of separating your group from the rest of the guests but with other guests being in the restaurant, you will not be able to have speeches, dancing or music. To do this, you would need to privatize the event.

The all-inclusive package you and your guests have purchased includes the regular services offered by the hotel, meaning their restaurants and bars during their scheduled hours of operation. Anything above and beyond that does not fall within what you and your guests have paid for in the all-inclusive package.

This means that if you and your guests want to go to one of the bars all together at the same time, you absolutely can and you do not need to pay for a private function. However if you’d like a private area booked for your group, or would like service in an area of the hotel they do not normally have staff working, there are fees applied to that for setup, labor etc.

A great option is to have the semi-private dinner and then if the hotel allows it, a private dance with open bar OR head to the disco with all your guests!!

Happy Planning!

Thanks ladies for responding! I think I will shoot for the semi private dinner reception and an open bar and dance floor during a private function after.

Bumping this thread in case anyone wants to share a few things they have learned about getting the most bang for your buck!

We have decided to cut out the cocktail hour since our guest are already paying for unlimited drinks. We will use the credit toward our reception to pay for the extra guests. 

The jury is still out on the semi private reception.  It really depends on our final guest count.  I have heard of brides doing a semi private reception dinner then continuing the party on the beach, in a secluded section.

bumping again, i want to know as well.

Originally Posted by AnaSteele58 

 

Bumping this thread in case anyone wants to share a few things they have learned about getting the most bang for your buck!

 

We have decided to cut out the cocktail hour since our guest are already paying for unlimited drinks. We will use the credit toward our reception to pay for the extra guests. 

 

The jury is still out on the semi private reception.  It really depends on our final guest count.  I have heard of brides doing a semi private reception dinner then continuing the party on the beach, in a secluded section.

Great idea... I feel it is no need to pay for extra food and drink what is the use of an AI? I will have to figure out a way to have the speeches and things. Maybe rent out the disco for a couple of hours. I am not trying to spend unnecessary money!!!