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Beginning stages of wedding planning... advice on rentals vs buying

amanakosamanakos member
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in New Hampshire
Hi everyone,

I'm a bit new to the board, although I've had a Knot account for awhile now. I am getting married Sept. 1st 2012 in Portsmouth. I've got a caterer in mind for my reception hall, but the problem here is that they do not provide any of the flatware/dishware/linens/glassware.

 I know buying glasses and such is a hassle and would be tough to store afterwards or get rid of, but what is everyone's stance on buying vs renting tablecloths and napkins? My caterer said the average running price of renting tablecloths is $20 avg. per table... which I think is crazy!! I made some general searches online for tablecloths and it looks like they're around 10 bucks per table, depending where you buy.

 I'm trying to trim some of the money off my budget. Not sure if anyone out there has done this but I'd like any feedback if possible! Any suggestions where to buy/rent would be great. My hall has recommended Exeter Rent-All for me.

-Alex
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Re: Beginning stages of wedding planning... advice on rentals vs buying

  • MOG730MOG730 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Also check Marshall's Rental - they are in Portsmouth.  They have linens, tableware etc all set up in the showroom.  At least you will have 2 prices to compare.
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  • YuMMMy721YuMMMy721 member
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    edited December 2011
    We are buying our table cloths and then selling them on e-bay after. There are lots of places online that have them as cheap as $5 at times with sales and online coupons. Definitely way cheaper then renting, and if we only sell half of them after and donate the rest to goodwill I am perfetly fine with that. :) 

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  • mrsk1112mrsk1112
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    edited December 2011
    I think it all depends on how much you want to deal with on your wedding day also. I only had mr and mrs chair sashes and I didn't iron them so they looked poorly next to my other chair sashes I rented but I didn't have time to deal with that near the end. Plus renting they set up and pick up usually so one less thing to take back home. I thought about buying them but my venue wouldn't put them out so I would've had to spend my morning doing that which wasn't my idea of fun on my wedding day lol so make sure you think about all the little details before buying :) HTH
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  • amanakosamanakos member
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    edited December 2011
    Thanks for all the replies! I'm going to ask my caterer if they'd be able to set anything up I buy. I'm contemplating getting the silverware too along with tablecloths - we'll see.
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  • mariegramariegra member
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    edited December 2011
    MrsK1112 makes a very good point...how much do you really want to deal with the aggrivation of ironing and set up on your wedding day...you'll be so busy.

    Sometimes saving a few pennies just isn't worth the trouble when it comes to linnens.
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  • amanakosamanakos member
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    edited December 2011
    My caterer said they'd set anything up that I buy, so I don't need to set up on the day of, I'd just need to bring it to them (which is a slight hassle but nothing too outlandish - they're down the road from me). And yeah I need to think about the ironing part too...

    First I need to talk to the rental company to see how much everything will actually come down to. If I could buy tablecloths at less than half the price it'd save me a couple hundred dollars at least - doesn't seem like much but when I have 13 tables it adds up. And I figured tablecloths don't weigh much compared to plates and such.
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  • karavop6karavop6
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    edited December 2011
    I've actually heard a lot of good things about Divine Linens (used to be based in Manchester, I think now it's moved but right around the area).  When we were thinking of renting we were considering using them but instead decided to go with a place that had all of that taken care of.  I don't know what they would charge for regular linens, but it might be worth looking into, esp to compare to places like Marshall and Exeter.  Good luck!!
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