Are table overlays worth it?

Hi Samantha! Welcome to WeddingWire! I think that if you already have colored tablecloths you don't need to also use table overlays! They can look very nice if you choose to order them to help accentuate your color scheme, but they are definitely not necessary! What other colors are you planning to use at your wedding?

We decided to skip these because the extra cost didn't really make sense to us! They can look really nice, but we liked the simple and elegant white table cloth with the candles and centerpiece.

And while buying them would be cheaper, I didn't want to be stuck with 20 table overlays!

I'm always under the impression that if it doesn't enhance guest experience, its not worth the extra cost and often times no one will even remember that small detail anyways.

If you have room in the budget thats awesome, but you totally don't need them!

We have plain ivory table cliths for our tables and I ordered 4 burgandy and 4 rose pink overlays to accentuate our color scheme. If our venue had more natural decoration I wouldn't have bothered but we need to add alot to dress up the place. I bought all of our tablecloths on efavormart.com rather than rent then for 15 bucks a piece. Theyre decent quality for more than half the price. I saved like $450 doing it that way.

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Thanks to all for the feedback! We're planning to use white tablecloths and lavender napkins. I tend to agree that guests won't notice, so it could be an necessary expense. We bought the tablecloths and napkins to save money, and I have ordered one overlay in ivory and one burlap overlay to see which is best before ordering all of them. The wedding is rustic and in a barn, so the burlap may be a nice addition.

I think most people use the overlays as a less expensive alternative to having colored tablecloths. If you have coordinating napkins and overlays, you can have plain white tablecloths.

In our case, they're totally worth it. Our colors are dark purple, white, and silver. It ended up being way cheaper to do purple overlays with white flowers ordered in bulk than to do just white tablecloths with bold florals. I think it depends on the kind of impact you're looking for.

View Quoted Comment We skipped for the same reasons (well minus the white table cloths) Our venue actually told us they weren’t necessary.

I’m using textured table runners instead of overlays. This way the table gets a pop of color/texture mixed with the decor.

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Ooh, I like the idea of a burlap overlay, Samantha!! How did it end up looking? Or have you not gotten it yet?