All-inclusive weddings versus venue-only: which offer generates more revenue

I rent out the hall for 50,000. Or I take 30% from catering, 15% from music and 10% from photography, and then that wedding costs 800,000?

The second option sounds better, but which one will actually earn you more?

Answer: it depends on how many weddings you have per year and what your overhead time is.

Scenario 1: Venue hire only

Price: 50,000 for the venue Your team’s time: 6 hours (viewing, contract, wedding day) Margin: 50,000 (100 %)

Over a year with 25 weddings: 1.25 million. Time: 150 hours. If you work alone, that is almost a month in gross time.

Scenario 2: Turnkey Wedding

Act as both the salesperson and coordinator. Couples source everything from you:

• Catering (in-house kitchen or proxy): 30% of the price (a 200k wedding = 60k margin for you)
• DJ/music: 15% (= 30k)
• Photographer: 10% (= 20k)
• Venue hire: 50k (your own space)
• Decor/florist: 20% (= 40k)

Total: 200 thousand margin on a single wedding priced at 800 thousand.

Time: 80 hours (onboarding, meetings with suppliers, coordination, wedding day).

Over one year, 25 weddings: 5 million margin. Time: 2000 hours (approx. 1 FTE).

Wow, the “turnkey wedding” model earns you 4 times more.

Just a moment - there is a hidden cost: you must secure suppliers. You cannot buy just part of the package; you must purchase the full bundle, otherwise couples will lose trust in you.

Reality: The Hybrid Model

Almost no “turnkey wedding” providers sell 100% turnkey weddings. They offer a hybrid:

• 30% of weddings: Venue only (couples bring their own suppliers, so there is no additional purchase from you).
• 50% of weddings: Venue + catering (the most popular option).
• 20% of weddings: Venue + catering + DJ + photographer (full package).

Hybrid model mathematics (realistic):

• 8 venue-only weddings per year: 8 × 50k = 400k
• 12 venue + catering weddings per year: 12 × (50k venue + 60k catering) = 1.32M
• 5 full-package weddings per year: 5 × (50k venue + 60k catering + 30k DJ + 20k photography + 40k décor) = 1M

Total annual revenue: 2.72 million from 25 weddings.

Time required: approximately 1.2 FTE (one person plus seasonal support).

This is where it makes sense: you earn 2.17 times more money for less time than if you did everything yourself.

Here’s the catch: Responsibility

When you sell only the venue, you are certain: couples are responsible for everything; you simply provide the space.

When you sell “venue + catering”, you are responsible for ensuring the catering arrives on time. If the photographer is late, you have a problem (couples will blame you, not the photographer).

This means:

• You must hire reliable suppliers (not just the first DJ you find on Facebook).
• You must check quality (taste the food, test the sound system).
• In case of failure, you must secure a backup.

This takes time and some money. For example:

• Meetings with caterers: 2 hours/month
• Menu tasting: 3 hours/month
• Check the day before: 2 hours/month
• Problem-solving (DJ cannot come): 20 hours/year

Total: 60 extra hours per year (about 3-4 days).

You earn an extra 1.47 million for this. So it is worth it.

When to choose what

Venue hire only, when:

• You have fewer than 10 weddings a year (too few to cover overheads).
• You want a small team (just yourself).
• You want low risk (couples handle everything themselves).
• The venue rents easily without extra services.

Hybrid/full service, when:

• You have 15+ weddings a year.
• You have at least one person on the team for coordination.
• You want higher profits and are willing to take responsibility.
• Couples in your region expect full service (e.g. Prague, Brno).

You can see it immediately in Svatbio

Because Svatbio tracks how many weddings you have and what your mix is (hall only vs. hall plus catering vs. full service), you can see where you are generating revenue. Then you simply decide: “Next year we want 40 per cent of our weddings to be full-service” and you know where to focus.

If you have 15 weddings a year and 80 per cent are just venue hire, you are theoretically missing out on 600 thousand Kč, just by couples booking catering elsewhere instead of with you.

That is a concrete figure. Now you can find caterers, taste the menus and see if it works.

This is not fantasy. It is a business decision backed by data.

← Back to all articles