Planning an event is always exciting, whether it’s a wedding, a milestone birthday, or a corporate celebration. The vision begins long before the first guest arrives. But one of the earliest (and most crucial) decisions you’ll make is choosing the right type of venue. Should you opt for a dry hire venue, where you have the freedom to bring in your own caterers and décor, or a full-service venue that manages everything for you?
At Oakley House, we’ve welcomed families, friends, and businesses through our doors for generations. From elegant weddings and charity balls to conferences, family parties, wakes, and religious celebrations, we’ve seen every kind of gathering come to life within our walls. As one of the leading venues for hire in Kent, Bromley, and across the South East, we know how much this choice matters.
This blog explores the difference between a dry hire venue and a full-service venue, and how each option can create an entirely different experience for your event. If you’d like to speak to our team about planning your next event, call 020 8462 9292 or email info@oakleyhouse.co.uk.
Oakley House offers both dry hire and full-service venue options, giving you the flexibility to plan your event exactly the way you want..
Understanding The Two Sides Of Venue Hire
Before committing to any venue, it’s helpful to know what you’re actually signing up for.
What Defines A Dry Hire Venue?
A dry hire venue is exactly what it sounds like. You’re hiring the space, and that’s pretty much it. No catering, no furniture packages, no built-in bar service. Think of it as renting an empty stage where you bring in all the props yourself.
This setup appeals to individuals who have a clear vision of how they want their event to look and feel. Perhaps you have a specific caterer in mind, or you’d like to work with a particular florist that your friend recommended. Dry hire gives you that freedom. You’re not locked into anyone’s preferred supplier list or house menu. You call the shots, which can be liberating if you know what you’re doing.
What Makes A Venue Full-Service?
Full-service venue hire bundles everything together. You’re not just renting a room, you’re hiring a team that handles catering, furniture, lighting, sound equipment, and often even decoration. The venue becomes your one-stop shop.
This option suits people who want a smoother planning process. Instead of managing ten different suppliers, you work with one venue coordinator who oversees the lot. It’s particularly popular with couples planning weddings or companies organising large corporate events, where the logistics can quickly spiral out of control.
Dry Hire Vs Full-Service Venues: Which Is Right For You?
When you’re comparing these two options, here’s what actually changes between them.
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What’s Included In The Price
With a dry hire venue, you typically pay for the space itself and possibly basic amenities, such as toilets and parking. Everything else, including tables, chairs, sound systems, lighting, catering, and equipment, comes out of your pocket through separate suppliers.
Full-service venues roll most of that into one package. At Oakley House, for example, our full-service option includes the banqueting hall, catering from our in-house chefs, a fully stocked bar with staff, tables and chairs, and AV equipment. You’re paying more initially, but you’re also getting significantly more.
Dry hire often appears cheaper at first glance, but once you factor in all the extras that need to be rented separately, the gap narrows. It’s worth sitting down with a spreadsheet and actually totalling up what both options cost in reality.
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Level Of Control And Flexibility
Dry hire hands you complete control. Want to bring in your aunt’s legendary home-cooked curry for the buffet? Go for it. Do you prefer your mate’s band over the venue’s recommended DJ? No problem.
Full-service venues have more structure. They’ll have approved caterers or in-house kitchens, preferred suppliers for flowers and music, and sometimes restrictions on what you can and can’t bring in. For some, that feels limiting. For others, it’s reassuring because you know the venue has vetted these suppliers and trusts them to deliver quality.
Both approaches work beautifully. The question is whether you want to be the director of your event or whether you’d rather have an experienced producer handle the details, allowing you to focus on enjoying yourself.
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Time And Effort Required
Planning an event in a dry hire space is genuinely time-consuming. You’re essentially building everything from scratch. That means researching caterers, comparing quotes, verifying insurance, coordinating delivery times, and ensuring everyone knows where to set up.
Full-service venues condense that workload dramatically. You have one central point of contact who coordinates with their in-house team. Fewer meetings, fewer phone calls, fewer things that can go wrong in translation. For weddings especially, where emotions run high and stress levels peak, this streamlined approach often makes the difference between enjoying your day and spending it putting out fires.
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Catering And Bar Services
Food and drink make or break any event. With dry hire, you’ll need to sort this entirely separately. That means finding a licensed caterer, arranging equipment hire if they don’t provide it, and potentially dealing with separate bar services or applying for temporary alcohol licences.
At venues offering full-service packages, such as Oakley House, catering is included. Our in-house chefs prepare everything from light refreshments to full silver-service banqueting. We handle dietary requirements, timing, presentation, and cleanup. The bar is staffed, stocked, and licensed. One less headache.
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Setup And Breakdown Responsibilities
Here’s something people often forget to ask about: who’s doing the heavy lifting?
In a dry hire venue, setup and breakdown usually fall on you and your suppliers. That could mean arriving hours early to arrange furniture, hang decorations, and do sound checks. After the event, you’re responsible for packing up and removing everything.
Full-service venues handle this. Their team sets up according to your plan, manages transitions during the event (like flipping the room from ceremony to reception), and clears everything away afterwards. You walk in when it’s ready and leave when you’re done celebrating.
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Vendor Coordination And Logistics
Managing multiple vendors is a skill. You need everyone to communicate effectively, arrive on time, and work together smoothly. With dry hire, that coordination responsibility sits with you.
Things can and do go wrong. The florist shows up before the furniture company. The caterer needs access to the kitchen, but the key holder isn’t there yet. These aren’t disasters, but they can be stressful when you’re trying to prepare for your own event.
Full-service venues employ coordinators whose entire job is making sure these logistics run smoothly. They’ve done it dozens or hundreds of times. They are familiar with the load-in process, timing, potential hiccups, and know how to address them quickly.
Which Option Works Best For Your Event?
Choose dry hire if:
- You have specific suppliers you want to work with
- You enjoy hands-on planning and have time to coordinate everything
- Budget is tight, and you’re willing to do more work to save money
- You want complete creative control over every detail
- You’re comfortable managing logistics and problem-solving on the fly
Choose full-service if:
- You want a simpler, more streamlined planning process
- Time is limited, and you’d rather focus on other aspects of your event
- You value having an experienced team handling logistics