If you follow us on our Instagram story, then you may have noticed over that past couple months our showroom has been full of meetings. Couples getting married, wedding planners, soon-to-be high school graduates, and more come into our office and choose details for their upcoming events. We love meeting with you to discuss your event. It is certainly more fun than sitting behind our desks!
While we don’t mind spending some time to work through the details, we know that you are busy and have many other things to check off your event to-do list. Many people who walk in the door ask what information they should have prepared. What decisions should be made before choosing rentals? You certainly don’t need to have a bullet list of the exact items you need (though we welcome them if that makes you happy), but understanding a few of the following topics will help to maximize your time with your rental company:
Understand your Site
While we have had an odd winter, to say the least, it has been perfect for site checks! The lack of snow has allowed our crew to go out and survey many different properties to make recommendations for style and size of a tent. This is especially helpful if you have never had a tent on your property before. Having someone come out and measure the space and tell you what can fit based on dimensions, tree height, levelness of the land, etc. is one of the most useful things you can do before finalizing your rental order. Knowing what is going to work on the property helps to make sure you don’t fall in love with a certain layout or certain style of the tent if it isn’t going to work for the space.
Similarly, if you are working with a venue, ask questions about the size of tables and length of that wall you want to cover. You can always ask theses questions after a meeting with us, but having some of these answers will expedite the quoting process for you! Do they require a midnight pick up? Do they have accessible outlets for your lighting? Understanding some of the unique qualities of your venue will help you to have everything covered when you figure out your rentals.
Understand your Guest Count
We want your big, “if everyone shows up” number. Not the guest count you are hoping for, or the one that will happen if you can convince you in-laws to not invite certain cousins. When you plan for the high guest count you are certain that you have created an event that will be fun and comfortable no matter what. Then when the numbers come in closer to what you were hoping for, you can reduce your budget and free up some space in your layout. If you plan for your hopeful count, then when more than you wanted show up, you can be left scrambling to find favors, linens, and chairs to match your perfectly designed event.
Understand your Food
Solidifying what style of food you are going to offer will allow you to understand your rental needs much better. Offering a family style meal? You need serving platters, bowls, and perhaps some larger tables. Prefer a buffet? Make sure you have the space under your tent designated for those tables. Here at The Rental Company, we are happy to modify your order if you make some menu changes. Need to switch from bowls to platters because you decided to switch one of your side dishes? You can make that change, as long as the pieces are available. The benefit in having at least a general idea of what kind of food you are offering is that you will have a more accurate quote for your rentals as you start to budget.
The other piece of the puzzle is to ask your caterer and bar service what they provide. Some caterers provide china, flatware, and glasses. Others offer linens for all of the guest tables. A few set your tables for you and even place your linens. Finding out what they provide informs what we can help you with!
Understand your Budget
Wedding budgets can be really overwhelming. How are you supposed to create an entire budget if you have no idea how much a bouquet costs? Multiplying forks at 35 cents times 225 guests is more than my brain can handle. We understand. This is why we are happy to give you itemized quotes so you can make item based decisions.
Even if you don’t have all the dollars in an Excel spreadsheet for your wedding, you can decide what your priorities are. We talked about that in this blog post. Pick your wow moment and allocate your budget accordingly. Understanding your goals for the event will help you to feel less overwhelmed and make informed decisions about your budget.
Phew! We covered a lot of material in that blog post. Is your head spinning a little bit? Stop into The Rental Company, we would love to talk through all of these questions with you. As we mentioned before, you don’t need to have it all figured out before meeting with us. These are just some things to consider regarding your rentals. Planning events can be stressful because often this is the first or only time you will do it. Lean on our experience and knowledge to help you navigate the waters of the events world! We can’t wait to chat. Or perhaps you nodded along during this blog because you’ve already asked these questions, created your list, and are ready to move forward with your rentals. Great! Give us a call.
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