Event hire is the invisible half of a wedding budget. Nobody plans a wedding around chairs, and then a marquee wedding discovers it needs tables, chairs, linen, crockery, glassware, cutlery, a bar, lighting, heating, generators and toilets, every one of them hired by the day. The good news is that this trade prices in countable units, so it is possible to get quotes that genuinely compare.
How hire is charged
Almost everything is priced per item per hire period, and the hire period is the part people get wrong. It runs from delivery to collection, not from the first guest to the last, so a Saturday wedding with a Thursday delivery and a Monday collection is charged as several days. Delivery, collection, out-of-hours labour and any on-site setup are separate lines and should be visible in the quote. Ask for them itemised, because two hire companies quoting the same total can differ entirely in what they will do when they arrive, and the difference lands on whoever is left carrying tables at midnight.
What a marquee wedding actually needs
Start from the structure and work inwards. Flooring, then tables and chairs, then linen, then everything that goes on the table, then the bar and its glassware, then lighting and heating, then power to run all of it, then toilets. Caterers frequently supply crockery, cutlery and glassware inside their quote or hire it on your behalf, so ask before double-hiring: it is one of the commonest overlaps and it is expensive. The marquee prices published in this record are for the structure alone, which is exactly the point: a marquee quote is the beginning of the hire budget rather than the end of it.
Damages, shortages and the things that appear afterwards
Hire contracts carry a damages and shortage clause, and at a wedding something always breaks. Ask what the per-item replacement charges are, whether there is a damage waiver and what it covers, and whether the count happens at your site or back at the depot. A quote that looks cheap and a shortage schedule that charges heavily for a broken glass is not cheap. Ask who is responsible for stacking and packing at the end of the night as well, since some companies collect exactly what they delivered and others expect it boxed, and finding out at eleven o'clock is too late.
Questions people ask about event rentals
How long is a hire period?
From delivery to collection, which for a Saturday wedding is usually several days rather than one. Ask for the dates in the quote and confirm what a weekend collection costs.
Does the caterer supply crockery?
Frequently, either inside their quote or hired on your behalf. Ask before hiring it yourself, because paying twice for the same plates is one of the easiest mistakes to make.
What about breakages?
Expect some, and read the shortage schedule before signing. Ask whether a damage waiver is offered and what it actually covers, since the two vary a great deal between companies.
Do we need to pack everything up?
Sometimes, and it is worth knowing in advance. Ask what condition items must be in for collection, and if the answer is boxed and stacked, decide now who is doing it.