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what do the chairs at your reception venue look like or do you have to rent chairs period? If they have chairs, chair covers might be a more affordable option. If you have to rent chairs, so if there's a wedding the day before or after yours to split the cost of chairs. Other bees have talked about doing this. As long as your chairs aren't completely hideous, I don't think many people will notice. We used plain white chair covers and it added a lot to the space, so look that direction too!
Sigh...I am sorry I can't talk you out of them because those are the chairs I insisted on having also....
so sorry!
May I ask how much the chairs are in your area? Its crazy how prices can vary so much from Canada to the US
Don't do it! Rent the cheaper wooden ones or use your venue's chairs and then don't look back. Chivari chairs are $8.50/piece here, and the white wooden padded ones were only $1.50. I am soooo glad we went with the cheaper ones, because honestly, very few of our pictures even have chairs in them. You'll be surprised by how little you can actually see the chairs in your pictures once they're filled with people. :)
IMG_4019.JPG (2143.4 KB, 139 downloads) 1 year old
ONLY $8.50 where your from mrs.spring?! Yikes were paying $11.50 - I know were retarded!
sigh - I wish I could take your advice mrs.spring but I dont like chair covers or other chairs, I am very picky! even finding chairs for my ceremony was super hard and they were $6 a peice!
We are having an outdoor wedding & reception at my parents' home so we have to rent everything anyway. We were already planning on getting the white wooden garden chairs with light padding for the ceremony, but I really wanted Chivaris for the reception to have an elegant garden feel. I know this can be achieved with the white folding chairs but I keep seeing Chivaris and thinking about how much of a visual impact those gorgeous chairs would have! :(
Someone tell me they are really uncomfortable, quick!
120_round_poly_white_tablecloth_1_1.jpg (14.8 KB, 119 downloads) 1 year old
$11.50?!!!! That's nuts! Wow, chantellamus, you are dedicated girl. I took one look at a $7.00 difference in price and said, "No way!"
Edit: I just wanted to add that the money spent on chivari shairs could be spent somewhere else that would have a bigger impact and be more memorable for your guests. Lets say chivari chairs are an extra $10/piece (in between my quote and chantellamus's quote) and you have 100 guests. That's an extra $1,000! That's huge! you could put the money towards something bigger and more dramatic (like fireworks, a live sushi chef for cocktail hour, a juggling bear, whatever). Guests don't remember chairs; have you remembered chairs from any of the weddings you've ever been to? My advice is to take that money and invest in something big that will really impress your guests and take your mind off the fact that the chairs aren't dramatic enough.
That being said, if this is something you'll always look back on and regret, just go for it. It would be dumb to still feel disappointed about your chairs years from now if you have the money to change it.
Holy smokes! I didn't have to research chairs, because our venue provides chivari chairs in our package. We are paying ~$125/person for 3-course meal, open bar, all linens, chairs, silverware, glassware, and wedding cake. I am so busy that I don't have enough time to research everything... our package was almost all-inclusive that we couldn't say no (not to mention the fiance and I fell in love with the venue)!
@daniellemybelle, have you set your venue yet? Maybe you could find one that has packages that include chairs? Otherwise, I think chair covers with sashes look nice too! Honestly, I don't think anyone will really notice (only the bride and brides-to-be among your guests)! :)
IMG_1952_2.JPG (3343.4 KB, 60 downloads) 1 year old
I don't think they're that comfortable. We sit in them at every meeting with the wedding planner, and sometimes these meetings last a long time. We would have been totally cool with the less expensive chair, but we got a free upgrade to these. They're still costing close to $14 a chair because of the outrageously insane delivery costs.
Our venue comes with white garden chairs which we're using for the outdoor ceremony. I longed for chiavari chairs for the reception, they look so elegant in every bridal magazine spread.
But at $10/chair plus delivery fee, it would've been a $1200 expense that is completely unnecessary. I can use the money towards a photobooth, or a whole extra action station (food) at the reception. The guests will remember that more than the chiavari chairs.
@mrs.Spring - damn, why do you have to be so sensible?! I know I really should put the money to better use.
So now I have a question: can you put chair covers on white garden wooden chairs? does that work?
for me to actually save money i would have to try and use the chairs we used at the ceremony for the reception but dont know if they would work with having chair covers (as stark white does not match the colors or my decor)
They would cost $10/chair for us. I'm a bit torn, b/c I think sometimes they look really classy...but chair covers done properly can be more romantic. My Dad, though, says he thinks they are the most uncomfortable things ever. since I was on the fence anyway, that and the cost swayed me.
for the record all chairs look the same when they are full of people! And before that they are tucked in!unless they truly stand out or are totally tacky or bill gates is paying for your wedding i say chivari chairs are not needed.
Wedding_11.jpg (65.5 KB, 61 downloads) 1 year old
Is it possible to rent wooden chiars that would work better with your color scheme than the white ones? Our rental place had white, cherry stained wood, natural wood, and bamboo folding chairs, all at $1.50/piece. If you really want white for the ceremony and not for the reception, or if your only choice is white, I don't see why chair covers wouldn't work.
Maybe someone who has direct experience with chair cover on wooden folding chairs could chime in with some advice?
Look let's be realistic! The first thing you need to ask yourself is do you have the money??? If you answer "no" honestly you should realize that if you go with other chairs things WILL BE OK!!! You can concentrate on other areas of your wedding. Shoot think of all of the money you can save! Think of what you can do with that money on a honeymoon, new house, bills, baby, or whatever your life priorities are. Let's all be honest with ourselves. I have been to weddings that have cost $5,000 to weddings that have cost $300,000. I have never once left there saying to myself, "damn were nice chairs!"
here is an option, why dont u just rent like a few for headtable or sweetheart table since those will be in alot more pics anyways than the other guest tables. Will save ya alot of $ just an idea
DSC01132.JPG (1733.4 KB, 55 downloads) 1 year old DSC01130.JPG (2320.3 KB, 31 downloads) 1 year old 
I just got married and used our venue's chairs. I guarantee you, not one guest looked around our reception and said "Well, everything is great, except just this one thing- the chairs aren't Chiavari chairs. The whole thing is pretty much ruined now."
Seriously, no one cares :) Hope that helped!
In all honestly, chairs will not make or break your wedding. If you have to talk yourself out of them and you really want them, then get them. You might just have to alter your budget somewhere else and give up something. Then you have to ponder if there is anything that you are willing to give up in exchange for the Chavari chairs.
There are some really great ways you can dress the chairs you may get that aren't the Chavari chairs!!!!! Maybe you could put a sash from your color scheme on the chairs. I have seen some really nice things done with sashes on chairs. Hope this helps!!!!
wow $8.50, $10, $11.50?! mine are $15 a chair!
I am a hypocrite because I am getting them but honestly, no one cares about the chairs - never have I heard anyone say "did you see the chairs they had, so gorgeous/ugly" If it saves you some money you can put towards something else - go for the regular chairs!
I had no clue what chivari chairs were so I googled them. Turns out they are the chairs my venue alread has! Honestly I probably would never have noticed anything different as a guest. If they are out of your budget, then don't try to stretch a penny too far!
i agree with most of everyone here, NO ONE will care!! keep in mind not just the chair cost, the vendor will also charge you setup/ delivery fee if your venue doesn't already offer them....use the chair $$ for drinks!!
We are having an outdoor reception at my parents' home, so our venue doesn't already have any kind of chair - its up to us. Mrs. Spring is so right, though - that extra $1000 or so will be much better spent somewhere else! We don't have a super tight budget, but we definitely don't need to spend that much on rentals. We can instead focus on things like food & flowers and create atmosphere in a way that guests can benefit from.
I really don't want to use chair covers, as I don't think that look goes with my outdoor brunch reception. We'll just use wooden garden chairs for both the ceremony and reception. Mrs. Spring had a great suggestion, though - we could use natural or dark wood chairs like the ones in the attached picture for the reception to mix it up, though I'm not sure it that will look good with my color palette (plum, lavender, lime green).
27.jpg (88 KB, 137 downloads) 2 years old 
We are having an outdoor wedding at a non-weddingy location and so we have to rent everything. We met with the rental people and they have 3 chair types, 2 types of folding chairs and chivari chairs. I loved the look of the chivari chairs and I was totally prepared to try to convince my parents that it was worth the extra $7/per chair. Then, I sat in all three chairs and the chivari chair was the most unconfortable of the three!! I was shocked!! I think my dad was shocked too b/c he was expecting me to go for the chivari chairs. So daniellemybelle, they really are less comfortable than the less expensive ones offered in my area!!
daniellemybelle - I love the dark chairs in you inspiration pic! They look amazing and they will definitely go really nicely with your colors. Nice suggestions Mrs. Spring!
Literally from the moment I got engaged I started telling myself renting chaivari chairs was a waste of money - esp because any venue we'd consider would already have some form of chairs. The chairs at my venue are nice enough but would require chair covers...I started pricing that out and it came to about $5 a chair cover w/ sash plus delivery etc. I got a bunch of quote for chaivari chairs and two companies came in at $6.50 and $6.75...so for the difference of $1.5 I got the chaivaris! So its only another $400 and I'll cut something else out somewhere or make the invites myself or whatever but I love the chairs. If it were $10 a chair there's NO way I would have gotten them.
Sigh... I love that picture, daniellemybelle. So romantic and gorgeous!
Melissa_Brooh.jpg (283.2 KB, 31 downloads) 1 year old Melissa_Brooh_front.jpg (38.1 KB, 20 downloads) 1 year old 
Seriously, I do not remember 1 chair I've sat on at a wedding. I can tell you if I remember if the DJ was good, if there was a crazy drunk, but I CANNOT tell you about the chairs. I agree with Mrs. Spring, put the money somewhere else or save it!
Our reception venue has these chairs...I honestly had no idea what they were...I though he kept saying "safari chairs."
I don't think anyone will care a smidge about what kind of chairs you have. And actually, I've heard that chivari chairs are less comfortable than the banquet style. There are sooooo many other details you can work on (more affordably) to make the decor special without dishing out that extra cash!
SANY0276.JPG (1416.6 KB, 48 downloads) 1 year old 
I, too, am having an outdoor wedding at my parent's place.... meaning I had to rent EVERYTHING (including porta-potties... yikes!)
Basically, it is really easy to become convinced that you need the expensive chairs, or that you need chair covers, or that you need etc. etc. etc. The most important piece of wedding advice I have received was that the guests won't remember the centerpieces, the aisle decorations, the programs and espicially not the chairs. What they will remember is the love between two people (and good food!!!). Seriously, it is much better, in my opinion, to spend the money creating an ambience of some type (be it with lighting or bright linens) and having good food... no one cares about the chairs- other than the bride.
I am getting white, plastic folding chairs for .97 each... the chivari were about 5.00 each. No, the folding plastic chairs aren't my dream, but they are white, they are bright, and they will hold people's butts while they watch me marry the man of my dreams!
shoes_mine.jpg (78.3 KB, 47 downloads) 1 year old 
When we were looking at venues, I too was hung up on chivaris and all ready to plunk down the (outrageous) cash for them. It was all about the looks, because when I finally sat on one I couldn't deny (as much as I wanted to) that it was actually pretty uncomfortable! The backs are really upright and the chairs themselves are really hard.
However ... the venue we decided to use has two sets of chairs, white plastic stacking ones for the outdoor (ceremony) area that actually look modern and not tacky, as well as some padded ones for the indoor (dinner/reception) area that I am going to cover. (On their own, they're not terrible, but I still think they're a little ugly.)
I agree with the others, put that $$ toward something else, and just go with cheaper chairs -- covers aren't that outrageous to rent. I can't tell you one thing about the chairs at any wedding I've ever been to, so I don't think it's something that people really notice!
Ours are $4. If I were having a larger wedding I probably still wouldn't get them, but with 50 guests it's something I'll swallow. I *know* hardly anyone will notice, but I will!
I don't think they're a big deal at all.
Nobody cares what they're sitting on. I bet they prefer to be served premium liquor though 
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I was heartbroken when I found out how expensive Chivari chairs are this weekend. I had my heart set on them, as I know other bees have!! How did you move on?