What “all-inclusive” actually means at Maravela’s.

“All-inclusive” gets used loosely in the wedding-venue business. At Maravela’s it means specific things. Here’s what to ask any venue that calls itself that.

We’ve watched couples book a venue thinking everything was covered, then open their final invoice and find line items for staff time, linen rental, china upgrades, setup fees, and a coordinator who only showed up on the day of. That’s not all-inclusive. That’s a hall rental with extras stacked on top.

Forty-four years of running this business has taught us that the word means different things to different operators. So before you sign anywhere — including with us — ask the venue to define their version of it. The list below is what we mean when we say it.

What we actually include

Our per-person rate covers the following, without an asterisk:

• Hall rental for six to seven hours (six for weddings, seven for quinceañeras), including setup time before guests arrive and breakdown after the last guest leaves.
• The food, prepared in our own kitchen — appetizers, plated or buffet dinner, sides, salad, bread. No outside caterer, no warming-tray hand-off.
• Bar service with our professional bartenders. The bartenders are staff, not a separate line item.
• Table and chair setup. Round tables, banquet tables, the head table, the cake table, the gift table — set the way you want them.
• Real linens and real china. Not plastic, not disposable, not an upcharge.
• Full breakdown after the event ends. We pack out the room. You don’t need to bring a cleanup crew.
• A single point of coordination from the first phone call through the last dance. The person you tour with is the person who runs your day.
• Ceremony space is optional, available either in your reception room or in a separate room. Ask for the add-on rates when you book.

That’s the package. There’s no hall rental fee on top when the minimum is met, and there are no surprise add-ons on the final invoice. Friday and Sunday evenings receive a ten-percent discount.

One contract. One team. One price you can plan around.

What “all-inclusive” often means elsewhere

We’re not saying every venue is dishonest about it. Most are using the word the way their industry uses it — which is loosely. The variations we see most often:

• The hall and the food are included, but bartending staff is billed hourly on top of the bar package. Five hours of bartending for a hundred guests is not a small line item.
• The food is included, but china is a “premium upgrade” — meaning the base package ships disposables, and china costs extra per place setting.
• The coordinator is included, but only for the day of. The months of planning leading up to it are on you, or on a wedding planner you hire separately.
• There’s a setup or breakdown fee that lives somewhere in the contract — sometimes labeled as a “service charge” or “facility fee” — that adds up to several hundred dollars on the final bill.

None of these are necessarily deal-breakers. They just need to be in the contract before you sign, not on the invoice after the wedding.

Three questions to ask any venue saying “all-inclusive”

If you remember nothing else from a tour, write these down and ask them in this order:

1. Is bartending staff time included, or billed separately? The liquor cost is one thing. The people pouring the liquor are another. Get a clear answer.
2. Are linens and china included, or an upgrade? If the answer involves the word “premium,” ask what the base package ships with, and what the upgrade costs per guest.
3. Who coordinates the day, and do they handle the months leading up to it? A great day-of coordinator is not the same as a venue contact who answers your emails for nine months. Make sure you know who does which.

The answers tell you a lot. Sometimes they tell you the venue is exactly right for your budget. Sometimes they tell you to keep looking.

If you’d like to see what all-inclusive looks like in practice, read how we describe our wedding packages or tour the hall. We’d rather over-explain it on the front end than have you wondering on the back end.