Guide to Renting a Tent for Your Wedding

Living here in California we often joke about how the weather is and we don’t know from one day to the next if it is going to be rainy, sunny or windy.

While many couples dream of having a wedding outside with a scenic backdrop in the California foothills or in the wine country area of Sonoma, sometimes your wedding venue will require you to have a backup plan in the event of inclement weather.

We have done a lot of outdoor weddings and know that heat, wind, cold and rain are not our best friends and we always like to have a back-up plan like tenting.

Way before you sign on the dotted line for your dream wedding venue, you should factor in the cost of a tent if you are planning on getting married outdoors. If you are not careful, an unexpected cost of tenting can blow the budget of your dream wedding venue over the top.

We are sure you are wondering how much do tents cost and where do you start?  Well, tents are broken down into two different types of tents: pole tents and frame tents.  Pole tents go on the grass since the stakes have to be in the grass and there is a center pole inside that helps hold the tent up.

You have more flexibility with a frame tent because it can go on multiple surfaces whether it is grass, asphalt, concrete, a courtyard or dirt.  There are not any poles inside the tent to hold it up and because of this you will have more room inside the tent.

Winery Wedding

Photo Credit: Celebrations Party Rentals

When planning to rent a tent, you must consider what will work best for your venue.  Talk to your wedding planner, party rental specialist or venue manager regarding what might be needed to suit your event needs.  Tent frames work best in narrow spaces, whereas pole tents work well in spaces that are much larger.

Don’t know how much tent you will need? A good place to start is to ask your wedding planner or venue manager to give you the dimensions of the area in question.  They will most likely have that information or if you are planning on having the tent at a venue that repeatedly uses a party rental company for tents, it might be helpful to talk to the rental company regarding dimensions and costs.

Another part of your tenting needs is to decide whether you want flooring, side walls, draping, lighting, heaters or fans/AC.  Let’s not forget that if the venue does not offer a kitchen for prep work or a full-service kitchen, the caterer might need a smaller tent to work out of.  Some caterers bring their own tents and others don’t.

What is the bottom line for tenting?  This following will give you a general idea of tent rental costs. Pricing may vary between rentals companies and the area that your venue is:

Basic tent: Anywhere from $500 – $10,000

Flooring: This can be from $300-$2,000.  Think of tent flooring like you are purchasing new flooring for your home.  The more expensive flooring like bamboo is going to cost more per square foot versus traditional oak or laminate flooring.

Generator: Runs $250-$2,000

Generator: $500-$1,250

Side walls: These are charged by linear square foot, which costs could around $300 and above and is based on the size of the tent.  The bigger the tent, the more side wall costs will increase.

Tent heaters: $95 and up

Delivery fee:  Varies

Once you start adding up the costs of a tent rental and if it is not within your budget to have one, you might consider looking at another venue.  All the pricing that we have listed above are averages.  Each venue is different and therefore pricing will be different based on your needs.  If you have questions, ask a wedding professional to help you out.

Are you going to use a tent on your wedding day?

 

How to Hire the Right Wedding Professional

We are back from the annual Association of Bridal Consultants conference which was held in Dallas this year and we are so inspired by all the things that we learned!  So many topics and so little time to catch up on all of it.  It made us think about when couples are looking to hire wedding professionals for their big day, how on earth do they choose the right one?  There are so many on the internet, where does one start and what questions does one ask?

You want to make sure that you hire the right person and the process can be quite stressful.  How do you find the right person for you?  Who do you trust?  Where do you go for advice?

It is not like you plan a wedding each and every day. Remember to breath, be patient and trust your instincts.  It is about chemistry.

When hiring a wedding professional, you should look at the following:

  • Do Your Homework – Make sure you do a little bit of background homework before talking on the phone or meeting with a wedding professional.  Make sure you have all your ideas collected in one spot, whether it is a binder or a Pinterest page.
  • Go through the internet, attend wedding shows or talk to friends or family that have recently been married.  Look into what wedding professionals are charging for your area.  Sometimes when a wedding professional is charging an amount that is too good to be true, it might not be true.  You get what you pay for.  Write down what you like and what you don’t like.
  • Always meet with the person you are thinking about hiring – We all have busy lives and there are times when it is isn’t convenient to meet with a wedding professional.  It’s great to talk to someone on the phone or email, but an in person meeting, Skype or Google Hangout is the best way to interview a potential wedding professional.  This gives you the chance to fully experience who they are as professionals.
  • Ask a lot of questions! Just don’t ask what the price is.  There is more to your wedding than the price.  Give the wedding professional the chance to explain what they charge and why they charge what they charge.  There is no such thing as a stupid question.  Get clear and concise answers to your questions.  If you don’t understand something, speak up!
  • Make sure there is a contract – there have been many times in which we have seen wedding professionals NOT have a contract.  Do you really want to work with someone who doesn’t take their business seriously? If a wedding professional has a problem you asking questions, you need to find someone else.  You want someone to be professional, patient and understanding.
  • Listen to what the wedding professional says and does – Look at body language.  Are they confident and comfortable?  Or they too cocky?  Do they appear nervous or their eyes dart around? If your gut tells you something is amiss, thank the wedding professional and move on.  There are too many out there for you to settle with one you won’t be happy with.
  • It’s great to get questions off the internet to ask the wedding professional, but don’t let those questions be the deciding factor.  Those questions are a benchmark to help you but don’t let them be the end all be all.  The person you hiring you have to actually like and you develop a relationship over time.
  • Don’t price shop too much – We all love a great deal, but are you going to hire someone because they are a whole lot cheaper?  Cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean better.  Just because one professional might charge more than another professional doesn’t mean one is better than the other.

If you do your homework, you will find the right person to do the job.  It takes time, thought and patience just like finding the correct mate!

 

Most Effective Ways to Repurpose Mason Jars

We are sure have seen a lot of mason jars at weddings over the past couple of years and wonder what on earth do people do with the mason jars after an event? The latest trend is to repurpose mason jars into such items as lighting or salad containers.

Whether you love or hate mason jars, they are here to stay! Here is some inspiration to get you started on repurposing your mason jars.

Bohemian Inspired Outdoor Lighting

Photo Credit: LITDecor on Etsy

Photo Credit: LITDecor on Etsy

Salad in a Jar

Photo Credit: The Kitchn

Photo Credit: The Kitchn

Mason Jar Herb Garden

Photo Credit: Free People Blog

Photo Credit: Free People Blog

Wagon Wheel Chandelier

Photo Credit: HGTV

Photo Credit: HGTV

What No One Tells You About Flowers

In part five of our series “When a Wedding Planner Gets Engaged”, I want to talk about what no one tells you about flowers. A lot of couples I work with love flowers, but really don’t know what goes into the cost of flowers and find out that they are pretty expensive! This can potentially blow your budget wide open!

While planning my own wedding, it was clear that I really wanted to have nice centerpieces and an awesome bouquet because I LOVE flowers and they are so much part of what I do as a planner/designer. Even though I am in the industry, I was still amazed at how much flowers could cost even with flowers are in season.

Photo Credit: Dee and Kris Photography

Photo Credit: Dee and Kris Photography

We all love flowers but no one really likes to talk about how much they cost. I am sure you got sticker shock when you met with the florist and then they gave you a breakdown of how much it will cost to make the wedding look beautiful. The following breakdown is based on averages. The actual costs can fluctuate depending on where you live, what time of year and what type of flowers you are having.

CEREMONY

$300 – One Bride’s Bouquet
$20 – Groom’s Boutonniere
$750 – Bridesmaid bouquets (six at $125 each)
$25 – Fresh flowers for bridesmaid hairstyles
$80 – Groomsmen boutonnieres (four at $20 each)
$40 – Father and grandfather boutonnieres (two at $20 each)
$90 – Mother and grandmother corsages (two at $45 each)
$50 – Ring bearer’s basket
$40 – Flower girl’s basket of petals
$300 – Ceremony arrangements (two displays at the altar)

COCKTAIL HOUR

$275 – Escort-card table arrangements

RECEPTION

$1,500 – Dinner table arrangements (ten at $150 each)

$220 – Floating candle arrangements (fifty-five at $4 each)

DESIGN

$600 – Floral design fee

THE GRAND TOTAL: $4,265

(excludes setup, breakdown fees and taxes)

As you can see the grand total is over $4,000! Why are flowers so much? Flowers are tied to the market rate. It is very similar to when you go to a restaurant and see lobster on the menu and it says “Market Rate”. Flowers are based on petroleum prices; so when petroleum goes up, so does the price of flowers because farm tractors, farm equipment, greenhouses and the transportation and delivery of the flowers to market all involve petroleum. Florists are not trying to gouge you with the design fee. The design fee is a fee in which you pay for the florist’s expertise and experience. It’s not a good idea to try and “haggle” or “negotiate” this fee because the person who is designing your flowers brings a great deal of experience to the plate in order for your wedding to look beautiful. As I said, this is an average cost. Prices differ based on many variables.

The last thing I would like to cover is that make sure that you are clear on what type of design you would like. If you are wanting a rustic theme, let your florist know. Have open communication and if there is something that you don’t like or not sure about, ask! The florist is there to help you and wants to do everything humanly possible to make you happy with their work. There is no such thing as a stupid question!!!

Repurpose Recyle Reuse

In our off time, the team at Inspirations by Gina love to go to eclectic consignment stores and thrift shops to see what we can find for our clients. One of our favorite places to go is Urban Ore in Berkeley, CA. You never know what you might find there. Since repurposing and recycling is so cool and hip and at the same time helps out our beautiful planet and the fragile eco system, we thought you might like how various wagons are used.

Green Weddings

It might be the fall in many parts of the country, but here in Northern California, we are having our usual Indian summer and the garden is still producing a bumper crop. Do you know that 90% of wedding favors are thrown out after the wedding? Why not be “green” and have favors for your guests that they can reuse? We love the idea of using herbs or succulents as favors. It adds a touch of greenery to the guest tables, make a great conversation piece and guests can take them home and plant them.

 Place Cards on Grass

Courtesy of Hot Ref Blog

Courtesy of Hot Ref Blog

 Centerpieces and Table Numbers

Courtesy of  Pinterest

Courtesy of Pinterest

 Herbs in a Pot as Favors

Courtesy of Brides.com

Courtesy of Brides.com

Inspiration by Gina