Renting vs Buying Decorations - Jan 21, 2010

Should I rent or buy my decorations? This is a great question....it depends on a few things.
1. Your budget
2. Your location
3. How much do you want to do yourself?

Take a look over your budget and see what you have set aside for your decorations. Try to figure out what you want for centerpieces, ceiling decor, backdrop (if you are having one), head table, ceremony flowers, etc. Decide what you will have time for, if you are making your own, shopping for and finding what you would like (you could go through many stores/websites to do this).

After you have all of this in line, compare pricing, buying vs renting.

Sometimes people do not want to deal with the decorations afterward, or it could be a destination wedding and they do not want to haul the decorations to and from. At times it is so worth renting, especially for hard to find items, or items that are very expensive to buy.

If you buy, you can always resell them, granted you may not get everything back that you paid for them, but you will get a portion. When and if you are planning on buying your decorations, check out craigslist or ebay, you would be so surprised in what you can find that may be the perfect fit for your style and your budget.

Also keep in mind you can do a little of both. Buy some decorations, and rent some decorations. It does work great for larger items, or if you are limited in choices for purchasing. They are great rental businesses to use out there!

Good luck and have fun :)