Day 8--Rentals

yes...I know I am a day behind, sorry! Sometimes this Kindergarten teacher is tooooo tired to do anything but sleep.

Depending on your venue, you may need to rent a lot of pieces. If you have a venue where the tables, chairs, catering, and sound system are included, you may not need to worry about rentals very much. If however, you have a venue like mine...you will need to rent everything.

Here is a list of things you might need to rent. The underlined items are things that I rented for my wedding. Italicized items are things that I got it another way besides renting.

• tables
• chairs
• tents
• sound system (borrowed from church)
• microphone
• speakers
• sound board
• cords
• extension cords
• lights (borrowed from a friend)
• heaters
• beverage dispensers
•  silverware (purchased from Costco)
• dishes (purchased from Costco)
• serveware (borrowed from church and a friend)
• tablecloths (purchased from Smarty Had a Party.com)
• aisle runner
• arch/arbor (already in place at venue)
• altar (haybales)
• decorations (made myself)
• vases
• cake stand & cutting utensils (borrowed from a friend)
• outhouses and hand-washing station

Once you know your venue and approximate number of guests, you should begin researching and booking rentals as soon as possible. People reserve items for weddings many months in advance. My mom was a huge help in calling places and researching prices so we could compare. Here is a picture showing many rental items--some we did rent and some we were able to get through other means.

When you go to reserve rentals, you will most likely be asked to place a deposit. Find out how long you have until the deposit is non-refundable. Find out when you need to make another payment. You should also find out if the rental place delivers and picks up, and what is the charge?

We were really satisfied and successful with all our rentals. I think we had just the right amount of everything. The day before my wedding, the weather forecast did not look good. My dad and mom made lots of calls and figured out logistics to rent 3 extra tents at the last minute. Even though it didn't rain, I love how all the tables under the tents turned out. It was perfect!

Are there any important rental items you think I forgot? Any questions or comments about rentals?