It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and the excitement surrounding wedding planning and rush out to buy everything we need. Certainly in the past that was your only real option. These days, however, you can easily hire everything you need, plus quite a few things you didn’t know you needed.
Not only is hiring a more environmentally conscious approach, but it will also save you money and allow you to have things that you might not be able to afford to buy. Plus, it also means you don’t have to worry about tidying it up the next day when you may well be feeling a little delicate.
So, before you start making purchases that will probably end up in your garage for the next 10 years, take a look at our curated list of must-have wedding hires:
1. Wedding Signs, Light Up Letters & Ambient Lighting
Great lighting is not beyond your reach when you hire lighting-based finishing touches like neon signs and big light-up letters to spell out your initials or a message. Festoon lights are included, but you can always hire our glitter mirror ball to add a disco vibe!
2. Wedding/Festival Flags
Festival weddings look incredible with colourful flags and bunting fluttering around. Give your day a fun Glastonbury vibe with silk rainbow colours, or choose cute spring pastels, bright tropical colours, or even choose an elegant all-white theme.
3. Garden Games
Often overlooked, wedding garden games make the perfect entertainment for pre or post food. Young and old guests will be entertained for hours with the likes of croquet, giant Jenga and Connect 4, chess and skittles.
4. Glassware & Tableware
While your caterer may provide standard glassware and crockery, why not upgrade to something unique and memorable by hiring.
As well as glassware, linens are expensive to buy and a real hassle to iron. It makes so much more sense to hire from an experienced company who will deliver high quality tablecloths, napkins, table runners, overlays and more, all beautifully pressed and ready to go. You’ll be able to hire matching sets of colours and patterns for gorgeous tablescapes and you don’t have to worry about cleaning up afterwards.
5. Props & Lounging Areas
Yep, that’s right, you can hire whole lounging areas! We provide comfy seating in the chill out tent, but this can always be added to – from sheepskin-draped benches to Moroccan rugs for a cosy indoor lounge area, you can hire props and furniture to suit your theme. It will certainly save you lugging coffee tables from home and buying things like cheap lanterns or cushions that you will probably never use again.
6. Quirky Wedding Transport
You can, of course, hire a classic wedding car or limo to take you to your venue, but have you considered something a bit quirkier? How about a tractor or cute little Fiat 500? They’ll make for some amazing, out-of-the-ordinary wedding photos.
7. Statement Props
Wedding stylists often hire vintage props to make statement installations, but have you considered hiring the items yourself from your nearest prop hire company? We’re thinking vintage trunks, deck chairs and fancy dress boxes and instead of buying a post box for your wedding cards, consider hiring one. You can find them in all sorts of different designs, from classic vintage red to modern glitter ones.
8. Your Wedding Dress
You might think your only options are to buy a wedding dress or to shop around on second-hand marketplaces, but that’s not true, you can hire one.
While for some brides the thought of wearing a wedding dress worn by lots of other people might be too much, for others, it makes a lot of sense. After all, you’re only going to wear the dress once, so why spend a big chunk of the budget on it?
Hiring a wedding dress is also a great way to reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding.
9. Groom and Groomsmen Suits
Wedding suits are already a well established item to hire and there are lots of specialist stores, like Moss Bros for example, who cater to grooms and groomsmen searching for their perfect outfit.
10. Bridesmaid Dresses
If you’re working to a budget, it can be tempting to buy bridesmaid dresses from fast fashion brands, but that’s not the best choice for the environment.
The most environmentally conscious option is to let your bridesmaids choose something in your colour scheme from their own wardrobes, or let them buy a dress they know they’ll wear again and again.
However, if you would really like your bridesmaids to match, you can hire dresses on a number of sites. And if you’re happy to be a bit more flexible with styles and colours, any dress rental company will have bridesmaids-worthy options.
Recommended hire companies (sourced locally where possible):
Etiquette Event Styling – styling and floral design, neon lights, photo booth
Dress To Impress by Julie – styling and design, glassware
Hampton Hire – glassware, catering equipment, crockery
Chocolate Falls – venue dressing, prop hire, treat bars
West Country Marquees – lounging furniture, garden furniture
To Have and To Holed – crazy golf and garden games
In the Booth – photobooth hire
Tents4Elements – festival flags and décor
Event Flag Hire – handmade festival flags and bunting
By Rotation – wedding dress hire
I’d love to hear your thoughts,
