Tent Rental for Weddings and Speeches

 

Not all housing is permanent. Tents can do much more than house campers in the wilderness; larger tents are very useful for acting as convenient, portable, temporary housing for large groups of people, often at outdoor weddings, speeches, and similar public gatherings. For these events and more, a party tent is the way to go, and wedding tents and more are available from rental services for any occasion. How should one determine the best party tent for an occasion?

The Gathering

Often, a tent will not be chosen based on the size of the gathering and how often people will be moving around inside the party tent. Even the tent’s style will vary, coming in two types: frame tents, and pole tents. Weddings are a popular time to use tents, and the wedding party will dictate the tent’s size and composition. In 2014, The Knot’s Real Wedding Study found that on average, a wedding will have 136 guests, and the same study showed that an average engagement length is 14 months, giving the wedding party ample time to determine details such as wedding location and party size, both of which affect the type of tent needed.

A party tent will have various square footage. For a wedding, once the guest count is set in stone, the number of square feet will be clear. The number of guests should be multiplied by 15 square feet for table seating, 6 square feet for cocktail areas, 8 square feet for the ceremony or guests who only sit at chairs, and 2-3 square feet per person for a dance area. Finally, for the head table, 25 square feet is needed per person. Whether or not there will be an aisle and speaking area also affects the square footage needed, with more being needed for those two features. And for dining tables, 12 square feet per person are needed for round tables, and 10 per person will be needed for square tables. If some guests or their chairs are particularly wide, extra square footage will be needed to accommodate them.

Find the Tent

Once the group has determined the total square footage needed, the next step is to find, contact, and compare tent rentals services for hosting an outdoor event. Different vendors will have different size tents of various types and fabrics available (polyester and vinyl, with vinyl being better for the largest tents). The customer can ask for prices and setup fees, how far the company will travel to set up the tent, and more. The customer can also request a list of former clients and contact them to get firsthand customer reviews to get a better idea of how well the company performs. Finally, the customer can narrow down his or her choices to a few tents, then visit the tent rental place in person and examine their party tent models in person. A tent’s fabric should not have rips, holes, stains, or frayed material on them, or else it is unsightly and may result in bigger rips forming during an event (something to be avoided).

The color of the tent can be another factor; a big, gray tent may work fine for a corporate meeting outdoors, but is drab for a wedding. Similarly, a festive, colorful tent may be distracting at a speech or presentation at a tent, but can fit with a colorful wedding ceremony or reception. Often, searching for “tent and party rentals” online will get a customer started, and he or she can find nearby rental companies and find out more.