Renting vs. purchasing linens. Oof. I have a very love-hate relationship with this topic.
More often than not, the venue will include either white, ivory, or black table linens. Awesome! Someone else gets to deal with soiled linen clean up, laundering them, pressing them, and storing them for the next wedding.
If your venue does not supply linens, you don’t like their color options or you’d like a specific fabric, you’re tasked with deciding between renting and purchasing. I love me a bulleted list- away we go!
RENTING:
- Pro- SHOULD come already pressed
- Pro- Huge variety to pick from in terms of both color and fabric, depending on vendor
- Pro- Can toss them in a bag at the end of the night and return without laundering
- Con- Can be VERY costly
- Con- Will be charged additionally for damaged linens
- Con- Paying for delivery/pick up or having to designate someone to do so
PURCHASING:
- Pro- Can purchase fairly cheap online OR second hand
- Pro- Can resell & recoup some of the cost of original purchase
- Con- Cheap linens tend to be see-through (purchase one to test, before buying bulk)
- Con- You have to press before the wedding*
- Con- You have to launder after the wedding
- Con- You have to store or facilitate selling
You’ll find the solution that works best for you. But please, for the love of cheese and rice, IRON OUT THE CREASES. I don’t want to say that wrinkled linens will ruin your wedding reception photos, but once you see the wrinkles in the pics you paid so much money for, it’s ALL you will see.
Helping YOU say ‘I-DO’,
Your WedUcator