Rent Vs. Buy Table Linens

Our venue provides them for rental and sets up them up for us so I'm all for renting!

Also you may be able to sell them but you rarely get what you paid for anything when reselling.

A friend bought them, ended up paying about $10/cloth. She's renting them to me for a day after the wedding family party at our house! So if you know any other brides to be....maybe you'll get lucky and find someone who can help offset your costs.

I am debating on doing plastic cloths but wondering if it would look bad with a cloth runner on the table?

Buying is a lot of work. (Think steaming/ironing, then transporting to the venue in a way that they will not get wrinkled or creased again). It took us hours to get about 15 tablecloths to look presentable...we still weren't able to get all of the creases out.

ETA: Heather, yeah I don't think there will be any way to get plastic to look nice.

I'm buying mine but only because I won't need very many. If all else I'll hang onto them and reuse them for cook outs or birthday parties.

I just bought all my linens! I ordered them from CV Linens and payed a lot less then what it would cost to rent. The main reason I chose to go this way is because I really didn't want white table linens. It will be extra work but I think its worth it!!

My Mom bought 3 cheaply, for my sister's baby shower - maybe $8 each, through an online company. She planned to donate them to our church. Despite the hard work in pre-treating stains and using bleach, there were still stains. Luckily there was a lot of plates and such, put out on the tables for my baby shower.

Now they're used for painting drop cloths. No way could they have been sold or donated, after 1 use.

I bought all of mine from linentablecloth.com during a crazy sale and ended up paying much less than I would have if I rented. It may be a bit more work to steam and such, but I think the savings are worth it personally.

Definitely don't do plastic! There is no possible way for that not to look like a low-rent Fourth of July picnic.

I would rent . We had a Church Christmas dinner last year and I spent all week ironing tablecloths. I would gladly pay to not have to deal with that again.

I'm with FutureRios. Just ordered mine from linentablecloth.com, for about $5-6 each. I am having small affair, and didn't need many. So I'm not afraid of the prep and reselling aspect. Much cheaper than renting.

No to plastic.

Con for buying: You or someone would have to transport/steam/iron tablecloths and it can take a lot of time ironing them. Especially depending on the length, and quantity you're working with. The cheaper tablecloths can be see-through if you're buying a lighter color. If you don't iron them, there will be creases, and they'll look ugly.

Con for renting: It will cost more money than buying.

CV linens is great! Cheaper than rental for me. I got blush runners and few table cloths. The venue may offer to place on tables if you drop off ahead of time?

I'm so glad I read this. I was just browsing CV linens and was considering buying. I did not even think about ironing, and transporting without creasing. This made my decision so much easier. I am going to use the standard black my venue provides and buy my own napkins. Thanks!