Party Under the Big Top!
From protection to aesthetics, the party tent plays such an important role in a wedding that it’s practically a member of the bridal party.
It has to show up on time and looking good as well as mingle with your guests all night as they come and go.
I’ll be selecting mine with as much scrutiny as I did my ladies. I’ve learned a lot in just the past week about the different sizes, shapes, and types of party tents out there.
Size IS Important
In the case of party tents, size is one of the most important factors in the selection process. You need to make sure you have room for all of your guests.
It is recommended to have fifteen square feet per person if seating is available and ten square feet per person if guests will be mostly standing during the reception.
In addition to personal space for each guest, one must take into account decorations, tables, chairs, a dance floor, and a DJ or band setup when considering the size of the tent.
With so many options, you could end up partying under the “Big Top” on your wedding day.
We plan on keeping things simple. With more of a cocktail party feel to our reception, we can eliminate most chairs and tables; having only a few for an option.
We’re hoping that with mostly standing room, guests will be encouraged to use the dance floor we’ll reserve through the party tent rental service.
Make a Wish List
With so many options and services to choose from with most party tent rentals, its easy to let the budget get a little out of control.
With catalog in hand from a possible rental service, I suggest you first make your wish list. Include every little detail you would have if money were no option.
Then, with fiancée in tow, go through the list item by item, and decide if it’s absolutely necessary to your day.
We are still weeding through our list. We sit down each night and hash out the importance of each detail deciding which make the cut until we’ve gotten the cost down to a manageable amount.
Sometimes it’s absolutely painful to chip away from our vision, but by sorting through the list of accessories, we eliminate any frivolous spending making this wedding much more realistic for everyone involved.
I feel like this is bringing us closer together as we practice the type of compromise that will undoubtedly lead to a successful marriage.
Bring Protection!
As we go through our countless options to accessorize our wedding one thing that we agree to be a crucial investment, aside from the dance floor, would be siding for the tent. Even if we don’t end up using them, walls can save an outdoor wedding from ruin in the case of wind and rain.
We’ve also been toying with the idea of flooring. Although flooring does raise the rental price considerably, carpeting, wood panel flooring, or even a canvas floor can save guests and the party from a possible muddy situation.
In the case of rain, we plan to, at the very least, have heavy door mats at the entrance of the tent in effort of keeping the inside relatively dry and clean.
As we are finding out, there is a lot to consider when selecting a tent for a wedding. Probably most important, is whether or not setup and tear down are included.
When the wedding day finally gets here, the last thing I need is Mike and his groomsmen trying to put up a 75 foot party tent as guests arrive. It’s always best to have professionals erect and dismantle the tent to ensure timeliness and safety. It may, in some cases, cost a little more, but it's one less stress on a magical day!
Lena M. Sack is a 25 year old student of life currently working her way through Massage Therapy School. By day an Executive Assistant for a magnet company, by night, writer and artist, Lena's latest mission is planning a dream wedding with her wonderful fiancé, Michael.