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For most weddings, graduation parties, anniversary celebrations, and other one-time events, renting the equipment makes more sense than buying it.
Buying can make sense for a school, business, nonprofit, venue, or family that hosts events regularly. The important thing is to compare more than the purchase price. You also need somewhere to store everything, a way to transport it, people to set it up, time to clean it, and a plan for maintaining it between events.
Factors to consider before renting or buying event equipment
How large is your event?
Buying a few tables and chairs for family gatherings is one thing. Buying enough matching equipment for 50, 100, or 200 guests is a completely different project.
As the guest count increases, so does the amount of equipment you need to purchase, move, set up, clean, and store. You may need more than guest tables and chairs too. Weddings commonly need additional tables for the couple, wedding party, food, desserts, gifts, cards, vendors, and other parts of the reception.
Renting lets you choose the quantities you actually need from our current selection of tables, chairs, tents, and event equipment without owning everything after the event is over.
How often will you use it?
If you are planning one wedding or graduation party, you probably do not need to become the permanent owner of 100 chairs afterward.
Buying may make sense if you host the same type of event several times each year and consistently need the same equipment. Even then, look at how much of it you will actually use each time.
A business may benefit from owning a few tables for regular meetings while renting additional tables and chairs for its annual company event. A nonprofit may keep a small amount of equipment for committee functions and rent the larger quantities needed for a fundraiser.
It does not have to be completely one or the other. You can own the equipment you use constantly and rent the rest when the size or style of the event changes.
Where will you store everything?
This is the part people tend to overlook.
Folding tables and chairs still take up a lot of space when you have enough for an entire event. Tents, poles, stakes, sidewalls, linens, lighting, dance floors, and setup equipment require even more room.
Storage also needs to keep the equipment protected, organized, and accessible. Putting everything in a basement may mean carrying it up and down stairs. Using a shed or storage container still requires enough room to move around, count items, and load them safely.
When you rent, the equipment goes back to us after the event. You do not have to give up your garage, basement, or shed for something you may not need again.
How will you transport it?
A vehicle may have enough room for a few chairs, but a complete event order can require a truck, trailer, or multiple trips.
Our 60-inch round tables, for example, are approximately five feet across and weigh around 42 pounds each. Once you start adding several tables, dozens of chairs, linens, and other rentals, transportation becomes part of the decision.
Before buying equipment, make sure you know how it will be loaded, secured, transported, unloaded, and brought back home. You will have to do that for every event where you use it.
Who will handle the setup and cleanup?
Never underestimate how much time it takes to place more than 100 chairs, move tables across a property, and get an entire event ready before the guests arrive.
Then you have to do it all again in reverse.
Chairs need to be folded and stacked. Tables need to be cleared, cleaned, folded, and carried out. Linens must be gathered. Everything has to be counted before it is loaded and returned to storage.
Buying the equipment does not make the work around it disappear.
If you are relying on family, friends, employees, or volunteers, decide who is responsible before the day of the event. People are usually happy to help, but they need to know what they are doing and when they are expected to be there.
Event Rent ME offers delivery and setup options for our tables and chairs, depending on what is included in the reservation.
Are you considering buying a tent?
Large event tents deserve their own consideration.
A tent is not just the top you see in the product photo. Depending on the style, it may include poles, a frame, cables, stakes, ropes, sidewalls, ratchets, and other parts that must be stored and transported together.
Installation may also require stake drivers, stake pullers, frame jacks, dollies, and other equipment. More importantly, the people setting up the tent need to know how the entire system works.
I would not recommend buying a large party tent for one event simply because the online price looks good. Before making that decision, compare the complete cost and make sure you have the equipment, help, transportation, storage, and experience to handle it properly.
You can compare our current pole tents, high peak frame tents, and pop-up tents before deciding which setup fits your event.
What does buying actually cost?
The purchase price is only the first number.
Depending on what you buy, the complete cost may also include:
- Freight or delivery
- Storage
- A truck or trailer
- Setup tools
- Cleaning supplies
- Replacement parts
- Repairs and maintenance
- Labor for loading and setup
- Time spent counting and organizing everything
Buying may still be the right decision if you will use the equipment regularly and already have the space, transportation, and help. Just make sure you are comparing the complete cost of ownership against the cost of renting.
When does renting make the most sense?
Renting is usually the better fit when you are planning a one-time event, need a large quantity, want matching equipment, have limited storage, or do not want to manage transportation and setup yourself.
It also gives you more flexibility. You can choose the equipment that fits this event instead of designing every future event around something you already own.
A wedding may need padded resin chairs and round tables. A company gathering may work better with banquet tables and standard white folding chairs. A graduation party may need a tent, extra seating, trash cans, and a few tables for food. Renting allows each event to have the setup that works best for it.
If you already know your guest count, take a look through our event rental inventory and add the equipment you need to your reservation. If you are not sure what will fit, send me your event date, address, guest count, and what you are planning. I can help you work through it.
