Working on the rental side of the event’s industry, we get unique requests and questions every day. We also get some of the same inquiries quite a bit too, however. We’ve gathered a list of 11 things that you may not necessarily be thinking about but you should consider for your big day.

1. When booking your venue, ask about vendor load in and load out times. Sometimes venues will only allow vendors to come in on the day of the event at 2pm and must be out that evening at midnight. If that is the case, vendors will likely impose after hours fees for the late-night pick up and/or the short load in time.Getting this information up front from your venue can help you decide if it is in your budget or not.
2. Start with your dream quote. When going by the showroom or building a quote online, start out with the items you really want, if money were no object. If you get sticker shock from it, go down your list and see what you can change. Seeing the “worst case scenario” up front (cost-wise) will help you decide on what is important to you and worth spending the extra money.
3. When you are building your quote, start with as many people as you have invited. If there are 175 people that received an invitation, plan as if all 175 people RSVP’d “yes.” The chances of this happening are incredibly slim, but doing so will help you see your “worst case” costs up front. You can always reduce the items as the event gets closer. Adding items on gets a little trickier because they may not be available.
4. Know the sizes of your tables when you are looking for linens. If your venue has tables that they provide you with, get the counts and sizes of each ahead of time. The table sizes will determine your linen sizes and costs. If you need to rent tables, have an idea of how many people you are wanting to seat at each table.
5. If you are planning on using chargers on any of your tables, keep in mind that these take up space. For instance, a 60″ round table normally fits 8-9 people comfortably and 10 people tightly. If you are trying to sit 10 people to a 60″ round table, while using chargers, your guests are going to be cramped. Also, if you are doing food family style, you will need to account for space for that on the table as well.
6. Have a back up, rain plan from the get-go. If you do not want to have to worry about tenting for your back up plan, book a venue that has something built in. If your venue does not have a built in rain plan and you need a tent, do not wait to book it! Chances are, if there is rain in the forecast, every other event holder knows that as well and will also be scrambling to book a tent. Tents and manpower go quickly if it looks like rain. If you are worried about the investment for tenting, you are not alone. Booking ahead of time, however, will save you a lot of worry later on. If you cancel within specific parameters you can even receive a full refund, so there is no harm in booking early.
7. Think about how you are serving your food (i.e. plated, buffet or family style) when deciding on the counts for you china and flatware. If you are doing family style, you will likely have the place setting at the table already, meaning you will only need one dinner plate per person. If you are doing buffet, are you leaving the china and flatware at the buffet station? Or are you setting them on the table for the guests to take with them? If you are leaving everything at the buffet station, you will need extras. People will grab a fresh plate when they go back for round two (or three, or four…).
8. If you are planning on doing any draping for your event, there are a few things your rental consultant will need to know before providing you with a quote. For instance, if you are draping a room: how tall are the ceilings? What are the dimensions of the room? Are there any doors or windows that should not be covered by draping? Having answers to these questions will help the rental consultant to get your the most accurate pricing possible.
9. Who will be setting up for you for the event? Is set up included in your coordination package? Will your caterer do it? Bridesmaids or groomsmen? Would you rather have your rental company do it? Keep this in mind when booking your rentals – you will have a million other things to worry about come your big day!
10. When you are calculating your guest counts for glassware, flatware and china, do not forget about your vendors who are on site helping with your ceremony and reception! A short list could include (but is not limited to) your DJ or band, your photographer and videographer, your coordinator and any assistants.
11. Dare to be different. It is your wedding and your special day, no one else’s. Don’t forget to treat it as such! It does not matter that other people are doing something one way and you are doing it another. Don’t worry about what other people are doing for their wedding. Your wedding should fit you and your soon to be’s style and budget.

Featured image taken by Lisa Hause Photography on the night of Premiere Events’ 15th anniversary party at Barton Creek Country Club.