so I e-mailed the events coordinator for our reception Venue, Inquiring about Chair covers- I refuse to spend $4 per chair to rent used ones, when I could BUY Brand stinkin' new ones for half the cost, and then clean and sell them later (does anyone think thats crazy?) So I e-mailed her today and asked about bringing our own in- her response was that we HAVE to rent theres, because they had people bring in their own in the past and they looked awful, so its a Policy they started a year ago- I read and re-read over my contract 10 times, and nowhere does it state that I must use their linens.
anyone else run into a problem with this?? I just can't understand the reasoning.
Re: Does this seem odd to anyone?
I think if you go with a venue that offers everything, you have less flexibility than if you went with a venue that just offers the space and you need to hire individual vendors to supply everything for your reception. They wouldn't let you bring in your own food if you found a cheaper caterer. You can't bring in your own alcohol. I've heard of some venues that require you to use their baker for your cake or you can't even bring that in unless it's made by a licensed baker.
I somewhat understand their reasoning. People who attend a wedding there, or come to check out the place while it's all set up for a wedding, are not going to know that you provided the linens. So they're trying to promote their space for future events, but if things aren't up to their standards, the space isn't going to look as good as they want it to. I have seen some pretty ugly looking chair covers before. I knew my cousin had purchased them because it was for her ceremony in a public space, but had they been at an actual venue of some type, I may have questioned where they came from.
As I said in my previous post about chair covers, I'm guessing that part of the $4 fee has to do with the amount of time it takes to set them up.
Covers at my venue were $5 each. I refused to pay that much for chair covers. I was really debating on how to go about that when I was talking to a friend who had been married about 6 months before. She asked me if they had chair covers at their wedding and I couldn't remember. She made me realize that your guests won't remember. In fact, the only wedding I remember there being seat covers was because the cover didn't fit well and kept getting stuck under my chair all night and drove me crazy! I understand the venue may look a little nicer with the covers, but that's really only when it's empty (which it won't be since your guests will be there!)
For us, the chair covers and the table overlays were a last minute decision when we realized we had a little extra money to play with since we had close to 25 people not attend. The money we planned on spending on their meal went to the extras. While I thoroughly enjoyed having the chairs match my dress, my day would have been just as terrific without them.
Is there anything specific that you're also concerned about with the contract?
Oh my $4 a chair. I understand the cost like the rest of the posts but still wow! I would put it as a "if we have some extra change" thing like hcorrigan said. Other wise I would not worry about it. I have been to weddings before at the seasons some had chair covers and others didnt but I had just as much fun at the ones that did as the ones that didnt. I vote save your money.