Who has the best wedding and event rentals?
Your best source for rentals? Ask your planner, caterer, floral designer, lighting company, or venue manager for referrals. All of these vendors depend on the rental company to be on time and provide quality rentals so they can do their jobs and help their items look their best. Another good source is friends and family, ask around and find out who provides the best experience and does what they say.
The essential questions to ask:
- Are you licensed and insured?
- Have you done events at our ceremony/reception venue(s)? (A very important question, especially for tent rentals. If they haven’t, are they willing to do a site visit?)
- Will we be able to contact you on the day of our event? (Get the name and cell phone number of an in-charge person in case of problems and needed solutions.)
- Are you open/available on Saturdays? (….. because most weddings are on Saturdays – SEE #5)
- Are setup and delivery fees included in our order? Or are they extra?
- Do you deliver to our location? What are your delivery fees for our location?
- How do I book you / reserve the items I want?
- How much is required for deposit?
- When is deposit due? (Most companies require a non-refundable deposit, equal to one-half of the total rental package price. This amount is usually due when you book your rental items to reserve/hold the items.)
- When is final payment due?
- Which methods of payment do you accept?
- Do you charge extra for credit card payments?
- When will our rented items be delivered to the venue? Arrange for a time that allows setup without pressure, at least several hours before your event starts.
- Will delivery staff bring all rented items inside the venue and set everything up?
- When will delivery staff return to pickup all rented items after the wedding?
- What are the costs and details in case any items are broken or lost?
- What is your cancellation/refund policy?
Tables
The Essentials: Arrange guest tables in a collection of rounds, long family-style, or a mix of table shapes and sizes. You also want to consider tables needed for your food, beverage, gifts, guest books.
What's Hot: Mixing table sizes and shapes such as rounds with squares. Farm tables continue to be hot.
Helpful Hint: Diagrams and layouts are helpful and important, as they eliminate confusion and ensure that your expectations are met. If you don’t have a wedding planner or coordinator to handle this task, bring layouts of your ceremony and reception sites to your rental company, so that they can advise and give suggestions on your table choice and arrangements.
Chairs
The Essentials: Chairs for ceremony, cocktail party and reception.
What's Hot: Cross back chairs, chiavari chairs, acrylic chairs, and gun metal bistro chairs.
Helpful Hints: Don’t forget the little ones, add high chairs to help parents with little ones. Also think about adding a kids table and chairs to make the kids feel special also.
Linens
The Essentials: Generally your guest tables will need tablecloths or runners. You also want to consider adding napkins, particularly for seated dinners. Specialty linens for the cake and sweetheart tables.
What’s Hot: Textured linens, vintage lace, sequins and hemstitch linen. Go up a size on your specialty tables to give a “puddling” look. (perfect for a cake table)
Helpful Hints: On windy days outdoor events may need to sash your bistro tables.
Dishes
The Essentials: Pick your china pattern, then choose plate sizes based on the menu. Entrée plates, appetizer plates, dessert plates, and chargers are the essentials.
What’s Hot: Specialty plates for your wedding cake service. Plates that coordinate with your theme, such as farmhouse china (with farm tables and cross back chairs) or gold rimmed plates (with gold chiavaris and specialty linen) Color in plates, especially in chargers, add flair. Gold- or platinum- rimmed plates and gold or metallic chargers also lead the trends, as well as eclectic vintage collections.
Helpful Hints: Make sure you involve your catering company, they will know best what size plate to use for each item on your menu. Also keep in mind the number of plates needed will change depending on your food service (plated dinner vs. buffet).
Stem & Glassware
The Essentials: An all purpose water glass can be used for water, sweet tea, soft drinks and cocktails. Depending on your bar, you will want a pilsner glass, rocks glass, red and/or white wine glass, and martini glasses.
What’s Hot: Colored glassware and gold rimmed glassware.
Helpful Hints: Finally, don’t forget the champagne flutes for toasting. Do you have a signature cocktail? Make sure that you have the appropriate glassware available.
Flatware
The Essentials: Knives, forks and spoons for your reception dinner and dessert forks for your wedding cake.
What’s Hot: Gold flatware is new and fab! Place settings with a wow factor. (keep in mind… pictures, pictures pictures)
Helpful Hints: If you are serving food family style, don’t forget the utensils and platters.
Event furniture
The Essentials: Sofas and armchairs seating areas for guest gathering spots.
What's Hot: French country collections, outdoor patio collections, and modern white leather collections. Accent tables and pillows to bring out your event colors.
Helpful Hints: Complete the area with lamps and / or coordinating flowers from your florist.
Tents
The Essentials: Work with your rental company to determine the tent size needed for your event and ask for a diagram to ensure that everything fits and there is no wasted space (or money:).
What's Hot: Sailcloth tents, luxurious tent liners, fabric draping in tent ceiling, chandelier lighting, and high quality flooring so you can dance all night.
Helpful Hints: Check with your venue or site to be sure they allow tents. Have your tent rental company conduct a site visit to assess the space, and suggest the ideal tent size and flooring options.
Lighting
The Essentials: Lighting can really set the tone for an event. Think string lights, chandeliers, lanterns, up lights and pin spotting.
What's Hot: Chandeliers, particularly vintage and luxe.
Helpful Hints: Check with your site about their electrical capabilities. You may need a generator to help power your party.
Heating & Cooling
The Essentials: Tent fans, portable fans and gas heating units for outdoor weddings.
What's Hot: Outdoor cooling units. Outdoor fire pits with surrounding seating.
Helpful Hints: Events leading into nighttime can often be cooler than you expect. Fans are essential to keep elderly, pregnant and/or special-needs guests comfortable on a hot summer day.
Do you have some questions that we didn't cover, you can leave a comment below, or CONTACT US HERE.
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