Post # 1
Member
2440 posts
Buzzing bee
I am trying to do a line item comparisson between two venues. One includes most of everything, so it’s pretty easy. But another venue is a blank slate. I can bring in whoever I want as vendors, or I can DIY whatever I want.
Where I’m getting confused is on food related rental items. If you rent china, servingware, utensils, glasses, etc- seperate from your caterer, how on earth do you get them all clean to return them? O_O Do you hire a porter? I have no idea how this would work..
Post # 3
Bee
1835 posts
Buzzing bee
- Wedding: November 2012 - Oak Tree Manor
@Asia: I’m not 100% sure but I think sometimes you are responsible for cleaning them yourself. We rented glass beverage dispensers, and we had to clean them ourselves before the company would pick them up from the venue the day after the wedding. It would probably be simplest to rent servingware and china from the caterer, depending on how many guests you’re expecting. If it’s more than 20-30 guests, that would be a lot of dishes for your family to do after an exhausting wedding. But I dunno, hopefully some other bees will chime in!
Post # 4
Member
1562 posts
Bumble bee
Our caterer washed the glasses we rented for us prior to return.
Post # 5
Member
4676 posts
Honey bee
We were able to rent through our caterer. I believe if we didn’t rent through them we would have had to rinse all the food off of the plates. But it was worth it to rent throught the caterer. They set up everything, and took the plates away.
Post # 6
Member
12956 posts
Honey Beekeeper
@Asia: My caterer is taking the dirty dishes, cleaning them, and returning them. However, we did have the option of renting through a different company, and they said they were responsible for the cleaning, not me. It would be nice for the caterer to at least rinse the dishes, but at least this company didn’t require it.
If you have questions about a specific company’s policies, just ask them! I’m sure you aren’t the first bride to have this question!
Post # 7
Member
2440 posts
Buzzing bee
Thank you sooooooooooooooo much! This really helps. I am looking at venues in different cities (and states) but It’s been really hard to make sure I am being aware fo their impact on my budget when my attention is being pulled every which way. I think i’ll definately have the caterer provide any food related rental items.
Thanks everyone for the info! I was spinning in circles trying to figre it out 😀
Post # 8
Member
845 posts
Busy bee
I’m not sure, part of the reason why I’m going to purchase them if we have to figure out flatware and plates.