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Tips for First Time Party Planners
Whether you're planning a back yard picnic for forty, a wedding reception for 150, or a lavish seated dinner for four thousand, you need the services of a Party Rental or Party Supply company. They have all the equipment and expertise to assist you with your rental needs. Here's a number of tips that they would love for you to know before you call them.1. If you have never ordered party supplies before admit that you have no clue and are kind of lost in the process. Most companies can turn you over to somebody that can walk you through the procedures and inventory.
2. Be ready before you call with the expected number of guests, the date, time, the theme or mood, and whether you want to go budget, moderate price, or fully elegant.
3. Talk to party supply places months before the actual event. It usually comes down to all their clients wanting a delivery at 10:00am on a given Saturday. Even if they have all the inventory needed for their clients on that weekend they have just a certain number of trucks. Let them know as soon as possible what your needs are or you may find yourself in a panic calling from company to company trying to find an opening.
4. If you are planning a wedding obviously the biggest demand for party rentals comes from May on through the summer. The slackest months are January, February, and March, depending on the area of the country.
5. If you are a bride trying to plan your wedding on a budget you can call a party rental store and explain your objective. They will be happy to assist you to cut costs. Otherwise, you might consider hiring a caterer for the food service and let them deal with the party rental or supplies. They will add this to your bill. Caterers know exactly what they need to help you present a reception with a certain ambiance or theme. However, there will be a standard price markup for this service. Weigh your anxiety and available time to deal with this stuff versus the extra cost of the convenience gained by letting your caterer take over the party supplies order.
6. Unless you are a recurring commercial client who can apply for a credit application you will be expected to hold your order with a credit card deposit.
7. Get some recommendations from hotel catering managers, company events planners, location or banquet managers regarding reliable party rentals or supplies stores.
8. Remember, with delivery of party rentals comes the need for set-up, operation, and security for the equipment until it can be picked up. You MUST know what kind of time window you have at the party location for delivery and set-up. And after the event someone HAS to be responsible for making sure people don't help themselves to equipment before the company can pick it up. This is YOUR obligation on the contract.
9. Regarding set-up, you need a crew to take care of this. It is best to ask the party supply house to arrange for this extra service. To depend upon some well-meaning volunteers to be on time, to know what they are doing, and to do it in quick organized fashion is to flirt with disaster. You should talk to the party rental place about scheduling a separate set-up crew. Likely you'll need another crew for tear down or strike. Especially if you are using pipe and drape partitions, or special lighting and A/V equipment. In other words, know what you are getting into and what each piece of equipment requires once it is delivered to your event.
10. Get EVERYTHING specifically mentioned and spelled out in a contract days before the event so that you have time to read it carefully and ask questions or to revise elements.
11. You may be offered a damage waiver that charges you an extra fee (usually 5% to 10% of your regular order). This covers small amounts of breakage up to a limit of a few hundred dollars or more. The damage waiver covers any incidental damage that can sometimes happen by accident.
12. Don't be shocked as the cost of items begins to add up quickly. The party rental company is not making a killing here, the cost is actually pretty reasonable all things considered. Just make sure if you decide to eliminate certain items from you list that you are making sense. On the day of the party you may find it was not an extravagance at all.
A PARTIAL LIST OF COMMONLY AVAILABLE PARTY RENTALS:
- heaters & lights - thermostat controlled heat for tents, infra-red or ducted
- dance floors & tent flooring
- stages & platforms for fashion shows, band stages, awards banquet, press conferences
- trade show & exhibit booth equipment - drape partitioning, area carpeting, skirted tables, sound systems, stage backdrops
- temporary power & electrical distribution - hush generators, cable & distribution panels, utility generator sets
- tables & chairs
- table skirting & linen
- coat racks
- BBQ's
- pancake griddles
- portable bars
- thermo containers
- ice tubs
- coffee urns
- fountains
- chafers
- mobile baking rack
- heat lamps
- propane ranges
GAMBLING:
- black jack layout
- craps layout & box
- roulette layout
- small roulette wheel 10"
- large roulette wheel 16"
- serving trays
- backdrops
- tradeshow table set-up 21.50
- 6’ or 8’ table, heavy white plastic
- table cover and skirt
WEDDING SPECIALITIES:
- gazebos
- arches
- wood lattice trellis
- Grecian column
- flower stands
- plant stands
- flower baskets
- wicker
- kneeling benches
- screens
- stanchions
- velvet rope
- Roman flower urn:
- Roman column
- candleholders
- glass votives
- glass candlelabra votives
- glass hurricane lamps
- aisle candlelabra
- aisle candelabra
- candles
- Silver service
- punch bowls
- wine buckets & stands
- cake server & cake knives
- tea & coffee service
- theatrical lighting
- fans
- linen
- table umbrellas
CONCESSION EQUIPMENT:
- snow cone machine
- popcorn machine
- deluxe popcorn machine
- cotton candy machine
- hot dog steamer
- fryer or corndog cooker
- raffle drum
- smoke machine
- bubble machine