Planning For Wedding Rentals – The Best Way To Spend Your Rental Budget

Seating for Everyone

Yep, that’s right; you simply need a seat for everyone. As obvious as this may be, many first-time planners neglect to give careful thought to their seating arrangements and requirements. Here, choosing a less expensive folding chair for the ceremony and a more comfortable stacking-style chair for the reception can result in significant cost-savings. Considering a simple cocktail hour? Ideally, you should have a place for your guests to relax and get off their feet. Nowadays, a lounge area is preferred. When it comes to the reception space, will you need tables? You can determine how many tables and their sizes by taking a look at both the venue layout and your guest count. However, there are several styles and sizes of tables from which to choose, so working with a rental coordinator can really save the day.

Completing the Tabletops

Here you will make decisions related to your vision in terms of wedding theme, design, and colors. The tabletop is the largest surface area in which to pull together the overall look of your inspiration. So working from the bottom up, you would start by choosing table linens or table runners and napkins to dress the tables. From there, it’s about style, form, and function for china, flatware, and glassware. With so many styles, colors, and metals to choose from, you are sure to find the perfect options to complement your wedding design. Taking the time to look at them in person and placing different selections together is very helpful. Keep in mind you do not have to provide a formal 12-piece place setting for each of your guests unless, of course, your wedding is ultra-formal, but rather select the applicable utensils and china based on your menu, and that will suffice.

The Bar

Unless you have opted to serve only wine on the tables, you will be looking to outfit a bar. There is a simple formula for calculating barware (drink glasses), so you can pretty much estimate in advance. A general rule of thumb is that a guest will use one glass per hour. So, in doing the math,  a 5-hour event with 100 guests will command 500 glasses. But will you be serving just beer and wine, or will you offer a full bar? The latter will require more variety in size and style of glasses. How about the bar area? Do you have space from which to serve? Many can get by with tall linen-covered tables, however, we highly recommend upgrading to a spacious portable bar with a back bar that looks and functions like a bar should – your bartenders will thank you.

Other Vendors’ Needs

Often the bride and groom overlook the needs of their various other vendors. For example, the DJ may need a table or two, or musicians may require staging. The cake, of course, requires a table, but will you need a cake stand? And when it comes to catering items, numerous other things might come into play. Some caterers may be looking for serving platters or utensils, food warmers, and even portable ovens. A rental coordinator can address each of these areas to be sure you have considered everyone. It’s always best if we make a site visit to your venue with the other vendors. You might be surprised by what comes up! In our experience, this process gains real efficiencies in terms of what’s needed and covers all the bases.

As you can see, there are several essential items you will need to keep in mind when planning for wedding rentals. From there, budget allowing, you can take your wedding to the next level with many other enhancements. You might find sheer draping, backdrops, or arches are the perfect complement for your ceremony or head table. Perhaps you are looking for dramatic lighting or chandeliers. Whatever the case may be, AAYS expertise can help you make the right selections to fit your budget and create the wedding you always dreamt of having!