- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
I know that a number of my very eco-conscious guests would have had panic attacks and run screaming from my venue if I'd used plastic utensils, plates, and cups. I also don't think it would look very good. I'd definitely try to find a caterer who will provide dishes-- much greener and more attractive.
Yeah, I'm just worried about how it will look. No, I don't want to help kill the earth, but renting all that stuff if the caterer doesn't provide it will be way too much. Sometimes I think if a caterer provides the stuff they charge way more than they should....trying to save me money basically is what I'm doing :)
Have you considered buying some mismatched china from the Salvation Army? You can find real bargains on beautiful dishes there, so it would probably be much cheaper than renting. Mismatched china has a very shabby chic appeal, and it's reusable.
I'm in the same boat as you. We are trying to save money and were planning on linens with some kind of disposable tableware.
I did some looking around at some other posts and someone recommended http://www.mypapershop.com/ which has linen-like tablecloths and runners, and they also have paper cups in a lot of different colors. They are pretty inexpensive and the linen-like "linens" might save enough money to spend a bit more on other items.
Jessie_s_Dress_1.jpg (3.3 KB, 31 downloads) 1 year old 
I decided against renting or buying china, but wanted to stay away from plastic as much as possible. We're renting tablecloths. I told my caterer I wanted paper plates and asked him if he'd consider Ecoware wooden cutlery for us. He agreed and is providing it at no extra charge!
What a good idea! Too bad they don't come in smaller cases than 1000 each.
I don't think plastic is the way to go... Since your wedding is a year and 4 months away I would definitely just start searching for caterers who include linens and dishes in their price. I actually disagree with the statement that the caterers hike up the price. I took the price of our meal and added the price of the linens and specialty rentals from a local party place & it didn't save us anything at all!
Our venue is charging us $2 extra per person for the rentals. Just for the basics we get: 100 linen napkins ($52.5 rental), all table linens ($130 rental), all the extra tables ($65 rental) we need & stemless ridel glassware ($200 rental). It would have cost us an extra $310 dollars + delivery fee had we gone through the rental company for those basics alone. Our venue provides dinnerware though...
If you do your research you will find that it is *usually* cheaper to go through your caterer than to rent everything separately! Luckily time is on your side :)
Personally plastic forks & regular plastic plates isn't my thing, AND I didn't want the costs of renting. So I did research, you can actually buy silverware from Sams for about .15 per fork and .25 per knife. Also look into WNA's Masterpeice plastic plates, they are heavy duty and look like China, so they don't feel like regular plastic plates. They are about .70 per plate. So you can just throw away the plates and then donate the silverware after the wedding.
I def would of went this route if we didn't find an affordable caterer :)
Okay wow. How expensive are rentals in your different locations!?
.70 for a disposable plate seems kind of high to purchase. The majority of the rental places in Vancouver rent plates for for .30-.50 each! The average cost of silverware is between .18-.25
It would have cost us $1 per plate and $0.50 each per knife/fork/glass to rent in western Colorado (up and over the mountains from Curlysue.) I'm not sure what the going rate in Denver is.
We're going the thrift store mis-matched china route. Our settings (plate, fork and butter knife) averaged $0.75 each. We were able to collect 200 settings with very little difficulty.
Also ended up buying linens because it would have cost the same to rent them. I'm starting to think I should start my own rental company for the Denver area! :-)
If you still want the convenience of plastic, my venue gives us the option of using these: http://www.barebysolo.com/products.html
Apparently everything is either compostable or recycleable.
limited_front.JPG (65 KB, 118 downloads) 1 year old limited_bodice.JPG (72.3 KB, 82 downloads) 1 year old 
I think you might not like the look of plastic, especially with cloth linens, but I will say that the eco-consciousness argument against them is murky. The detergent, electricity, and water used to wash flatware all take an environmental toll. And more oil is burned to transport heavier metal cutlery than it is to transport light plasticware. It's extremely difficult to do a comparative life cycle analysis of their environmental impacts, in the end it will likely completely depend on where these items are being made and shipped from.
There are also eco-friendly disposable options which also look pretty cool:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/biodegradable_d_2.php
In the end, table settings contribute a lot to the mood of your reception. I would base your decision on the look you want to achieve. There are some great ideas above for how to get non-disposable stuff cheaply.
If you want to use disposable I would consider using the bamboo as opposed to plastic. Especially if you really want linens. Plastic will just cheapen the look of everything IMO. The disposable bamboo costs more than plastic, but its eco-friendly and cool looking! (And probably still costs less than renting)You could probably get a discount for ordering in bulk too. Shop around.
You might want to check out differing rental companies as well. I'm renting all of my place settings for $2.50 pp. That includes a dinner plate, wine glass, water goblet, fork, knife, and spoon- and the cleaning fee.
We're using WNA Comet Ivory Masterpiece plates with gold accent bands. They are theoretically disposable, but look like china and can be washed and reused. However, the plates are much lighter and easier to transport than china. You can see a picture and details on where we got it at this link.
I think it depends on what kind of reception you're having. If you're having a plated dinner, then plastic might look a little strange. In our case, we're having either stations or a buffet, so I don't think the clear plastic plates will look bad at all. I would rather spend more of my budget on inviting more of my friends and family than on china. I've checked out some of the links on this page, and they are good ideas, but tend to be a lot more expensive (except for the one that you can only order 1000 pieces at a time!) I agree with fizicsGirl, by the time you consider all of the aspects of plastic vs china, its about the same impact on the environment. Of course, using old family china or mixed pieces from a thrift store could be cool. I'm using plastic and I feel just fine about it. For anyone worried about the impact plastic might have on the environment, you can always find a way to offset the carbon footprint of your wedding! I think some places even let you register for this, I swear I think I read it in a Brides magazine or something!
We're doing compostable for the rehearsal dinner and then china for the wedding buffet. No matter how we sliced it, we just couldn't get disposable to look as good as china.
Here's a thought: if rentals are too expensive, think about buying your own dinner ware from somewhere cheap like Ikea, or even buying mismatched stuff from Goodwill if you're going for an eclectic look.
din.JPG (12.7 KB, 39 downloads) 1 year old dinner.jpg (20.1 KB, 39 downloads) 1 year old
I did a buffet dinner. Clear plastic plates on the buffet. cloth table clothes, cloth napkins, and a real knife and fork at the seats. If you can swing it, that's what I would do. I eat about 150-200 catered meals at my job and real silver ware makes a big difference.The eco/plastic silverware doesn't always cut it. We had ceramic coffee mugs with stirrers on the buffet. cupcakes and bar desserts, so no dessert forks.
the bar served mostly out of plastic cups but we had some glass wineglasses.
coffee mugs .45 each
wine glass .60 each
dinner fork .45
dinner knife .45
napkins .75
barn venue on an orchard
wedding in columbia county, upstate ny. 
JA265.jpg (99 KB, 46 downloads) 2 years old 
I think that would be fine. =) If you're concerned about the environmental impact, check out http://2000dollarwedding.com -- they used biodegradable dishes at their wedding.
I'm planning on using plastic-ware of some sort. I'm sorry, but paying ten bucks a pop for plates is wayyyyy too much.
CIMG1837.JPG (1839.1 KB, 38 downloads) 1 year old 
I hate plastic forks,knives ... I will not eat with them ever. Everything else doesn't bother me. 
I know and I don't want to sound cheap!!! Thank you so much for all the tips and advice. I need to first figure out if the caterer will provide this stuff of course. It was just a thought. I see the point that it would be awkward for a sit down dinner and they can be hard to eat with if you have something other than just easy foods---cutting into meat sucks with plastic.
I hope you all don't think I'm a cheap-o! HAHA
We are having a fairly casual wedding at a state park so with no real way to have regular tablewear.
So I think we are going to try worldcentric.org
Everything is sustainable! YAY! AND cheap!
I don't think YOU'RE cheap because I love to save a buck whereever I can. If anything, saving money is considered "hip" in these current economical times. However, the look of your tables will look cheap. Plastic utensils are mostly used for backyard bbq's & picnic tables!
I am buying my silverware at volunteers of america and other thrift stores for about $.10 a piece and if I can't find enough the rest will come from KaTom.com for about $.15 a piece. I bought linens from Linentablecloth.com during a sale for less than renting!
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Rojocameo | 16 |
| Rivendeler | 15 |
| kat2014 | 12 |
| lionskitty | 9 |
| Suikerbossie | 9 |
| ellisrobertson | 9 |
| dysia_79 | 8 |
| bookworm88 | 8 |
| Future Mrs K | 8 |
| ladyrosetexas | 8 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| VanillaNut | 1 |
| kimm99 | 1 |
| strawbs | 1 |
| DeeVine1217 | 1 |
| Rock86 | 1 |
Is it wrong to think about using linens (instead of plastic tablecloths) but not rent china, silverware, glasses and instead use clear plastic cups, clear plastic forks/knives and some sturdy plastic plates--without design on them? FI and I are just trying to consider our options when it comes to renting our stuff. Our facility is all DIY for vendors and we love that we can bring in whomever we like. No, we haven't looked into catering just yet and if they will provide the stuff, but it was just a thought. The wedding is held in a pretty lodge community center place, so not ballroom or anything, but it's also not a picnic wedding either.