Buying vs Renting Tablecloths

nahoklas

We are having a destination wedding in the Smoky Mountains. We will be driving to the wedding, which is roughly a 10 hour drive. We are trying to decide between renting or purchasing tablecloths. The rental cost will be about $500 and the purchase cost will be about $200-300. My question is - is it worth it considering we would have to iron 30 tablecloths and then transport them in a car for 10 hours? I'm wondering if we can iron them before we leave and then just store them as nicely as possible and hope we don't have to iron them when we reach our destination? 

ILoveBeachMusic

I'd rent them. 30 table cloths also would take up a lot of room to transport. I hate ironing tablecloths - you would in most likelihood need to touch them up at the very least when you arrive at your destination.

MesmrEwe

(ETA) Rent them!!!  It is money well spent!!!

You wouldn't be able to iron them until you got on-site which is also when you have a MILLION other details to be attending to plus those things take time even in the best of conditions to iron because to get that many linens that cheap means the quality of the fabric isn't going to be "Wrinkle Release"!  30 tablecloths also takes up A LOT more space than you think they will and traveling 10 hours by car, things like your luggage, shoes, wedding-day attire, steamer for the wedding day attire, etc. will take up the space in anything short of a box truck or mini bus on its own.  Also, what are you planning to do with 30 tablecloths that are going to need to be washed/cleaned after your wedding?  The reason the rental is what it is, is because of the time it'll take for delivery/setup, but to steam them out on-site and wash/clean/store them after your wedding which is no small nor cheap task for that many! 

maine7mob

Team rent here, for all of the reasons stated. Do you really want to own that many tablecloths?

justknowimtay

For a 10 hour car ride, I'd lean toward renting the tablecloths just to avoid the hassle and stress of transporting/ironing 30 of them yourself. Even if you pre-iron, bouncing around in the car for that long could result in some needing touch-ups. $500 does seem steep to rent, though. Could you look into renting a smaller number, maybe just for the head tables, and purchasing cheaper cloths for the rest to save overall? Or see if any rental company nearby your destination could deliver/pickup directly there. The peace of mind may be worth it for your special day! Best of luck and congratulations.