Expert Advice: Wedding Rental Guide
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.
Here are a few additional blog posts you may be interested in:
Event Rentals
Event Rentals in Point Clear, Alabama
Wine Country Cross Back Chairs at Julep Point in Point Clear, Al
Marriott's Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Al (aka The Grand Hotel) is one of the most beautiful pieces of land in the entire country. The property comes to a point on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay south of Fairhope, Al. A short drive from Mobile or Pensacola, at SOHO, we are fortunate to call this place home.
The client for this particular event hired SOHO for design services and event rentals. This client had been coming to The Grand Hotel for 20 consecutive years, but had never hosted an event outdoors and was looking for a partner that they could trust to execute and help them pull off their vision. After a few meetings, the vision began coming together - Find the pictures below.
We'd love to hear your feedback in our comments section below - Thanks Ya'll!
Rentals by SOHO Events and Rentals (Rentals featured in this post include: cross back chairs, specialty linen, lounge furniture, fire pits, faux havana napkins)
Venue: Marriott Grand Hotel
Flowers by Millies Flowers
Sailcloth Tent Rental
Sailcloth Tent Rental
Sailcloth Tent Glowing in the Evening
Most tents are designed with a primary focus of shelter. They help block out the sun, keep rain out and can be heated or cooled. Then there is the Sailcloth Tent.
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
Traditional vinyl tent tops, which are made with white vinyl and have a blackout material in the middle of the fabric to "blockout" the sun and not allow light to pass inside or outside. Sailcloth tents on the other hand are made from a lighter (10 oz vs. 16oz) translucent sail cloth fabric. These tent tops do not have the blackout material in the middle of the fabric, which allows for some amazing light displays for your wedding or special event.
Traditional Frame Tent
Sailcloth Tent
Sailcloth tents are designed to have a hint of nautical flare with sculpted peaks and eaves, which create beautiful well lit space like nothing you have experienced before. During the day the translucent sailcloth tent fabric has a warm, natural light and then at night you the tent dramatically glows for evening weddings and events.
Sailcloth tent rentals are especially popular on the Gulf Coast from Mobile, Al to Destin, Fl and have transformed backyards from Pensacola, Fl to Montgomery, Al. The inside of the tent has graceful lines from the sailcloth fabric, which is both waterproof and strong to protect your event from the elements. We also have specialty flooring, lighting and custom decor so that all the elements of your event come together.
When you're ready for your next tent rental in Mobile, Al, call SOHO Events and Rentals and ask for our sailcloth tent. We are based in Fairhope, Al, serving everywhere - with an emphasis on Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
Tent Rental Terms
Tent Rental Glossary of Commonly Used Terms
Frame Tent with Drapery Liner
Anchor - Is the method used to secure a tent, canopy, or structure to the ground. Some examples include stakes, concrete dead weight, or water barrels.
Area - This is the covered surface under the perimeter of the tent - plan on additional space around the tent for anchors and guy lines.
Class - This refers to the type of structure or frame work that actually supports the fabric. There are 6 standard categories:
Cross Cable Tent: Aluminum or steel perimeter that uses steel cables to support a center pole. Also known as a frame and cable tent.
Frame Tent: Freestanding framework supports the tent fabric, therefore there are no center poles.
Pole Tent: These tent fabrics are supported by center poles and side poles. They also require stakes and/or anchors around the perimeter to tension. Sailcloth tents, single pole tents and double pole tents are all examples of pole tents.
Pop Up Tent: Accordion style internal framework supporting the fabric.
Structure - Channeled beams with sliding fabric (also know as keder tents).
Truss Arch - Rigid internal arch - shaped truss framework that supports the shelter fabric.
Eave - The perimeter of the tent, on a frame tent this is where the valence meets the tent fabric roof.
Eave Height - This is the vertical height of the perimeter of the tent and determines the clearance available for people or equipment to pass under.
Expandable Tent - The ability of a tent or shelter system to be lengthened or shortened by adding or removing fabric sections and hardware components. Expandable tent or shelter systems can be built to any desirable length. Fabric sections are joined together using methods such as grommet & lace lines or Keder track.
Frame Tent - A tent with an assembled framework made of aluminum or steel tubing that supports the fabric roof and defines the shape of the structure.
Guy Line - Rope or ratchet buckle assembly that is attached to the fabric or frame system on one end and attached to a ground anchor system on the opposite end. Guy lines and anchors are set out from the perimeter of the tent, canopy, structure, or shelter, adding to the footprint.
Marquee Tent - A long and narrow tent without sides used for sheltering walkways or defining an entry to a tent, building, or house.
Occupancy / Seating Capacity - The number of people who can occupy or be seated in or under a tent, canopy, structure, or shelter. The seating capacity will vary by seating arrangement, such as buffet dinner, sit down dinner, or cathedral / row seating. Click Here to view Occupancy / Seating Capacity Chart.
Overall Height - The overall height is the distance between the base and the highest exterior point of a fully installed tent. For pole tents, the pole pin is included in the Overall Height measurement.
Pole Tent / Push Pole Tent - A tent with a set of individual poles arranged beneath the fabric roof to support and define the shape of the structure. The fabric roof is tensioned over the poles and attached to ropes and/or webbing at designated locations around the fabric's edge. The ropes and/or webbing are tensioned to the ground using stakes, anchors, or augers around the perimeter of the tent.
Sidewall - A removable sheet of fabric material designed to hang from the eave around the perimeter of the tent, used to block the interior of the tent from the outdoor elements. Sidewalls are available in various types and may not be interchangeable between tent classes. Also known as a tent wall or side curtain, sidewalls can be connected together with side release buckles, zippers, or hook & loop to fully enclose the tent.
Tent - A temporary structure composed of a covering made of a pliable membrane or fabric and supported by mechanical means such as poles, metal frames, beams, columns, arches, ropes and/or cables. Tents are also commonly referred to as a marquee, canopy, or pavilion.
The SOHO Blog
Our intent with the SOHO blog is to have fun, be informative, and hopefully shed a little light on party rentals in mobile, pensacola, and the gulf coast.