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(Number 3, “Borrow them from someone you know who already bought them,” is maybe worth mentioning as well, but that’s a specific scenario we’re not going to cover today.) The question on your mind now is—how do you figure out whether to rent or to buy? And what kind of things are we talking about exactly? Most people have only ever rented apartments and cars before their weddings. But the truth is, lots and lots and lots of weddings involve at least one rental order. (I’m actually having a hard time thinking of a single wedding I’ve done that didn’t have rented items.) If you’re hiring full service caterers, there’s a good chance they’ll be renting things for your wedding, and if you’re self-catering or using food-service only caterers, there’s a good chance you may not have thought about it yet, but you’ll end up wanting to place a rental order at some point in the planning process. So let’s say that you’re one of the aforementioned couples who will have to rent something for your wedding.
Most of the weddings we execute involve at least the following: tables, tablecloths (called drapes in the industry), napkins, chairs, plates (often dinner, salad, and cake), forks, knives, and glasses (water, wine, beer, rocks as needed). Less universal but still relatively common items might include patio heaters, cocktail tables, table number stands, bread baskets, beverage dispensers and tubs, lounge furniture, and lighting. If you’re in a major metropolitan area, there are lots of rental companies available to you, and some differences between them. You may be surprised to know that the major difference between them for most things isn’t price, but the quality of their items. Most of the rental companies we work with have extremely similar prices on the majority of rental items, but I know from experience that some of them tend to send linens that are too short, or stained, or just generally not as high quality as those of other companies. If you don’t have a caterer, planner, or other pro to ask, it may be worth going by some showrooms to look at the quality of their items in person.
Other key differences between rental companies are delivery windows and charges; if dishes/glasses/silverware need to be returned scraped, rinsed, or washed (all of which are decidedly different amounts of labor); and willingness to work with you without having you setting up a professional account. If you’re handling your rental orders yourself, it’s probably worth calling a few different companies to ask them these questions and get a general quote started. Now, let’s talk numbers. For the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, standard rentals tend to run along the lines of: (Please note, all numbers are approximate.) Could you buy these things for the same amount? My best friend’s thirtieth birthday party was in July, and he insisted on having people drink out of real glasses (…personal quirk), so in the two days beforehand we bought all the glasses at thrift stores for an average of about 50¢ each. They didn’t match, and we had one per person, so we had people write their names on them with a Sharpie.