I hear a lot of people wondering which is more cost effective…renting or buying supplies and décor for their wedding. To be honest, it all depends. One can save you valuable time while the other might save you some money in the long run. How about we break it down comparing linens?
Quite often, you can find great deals for linens with online retailers, sometimes for as low as $4. But they won't come table-ready. You'll need to iron/steam them yourself, which takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on size of linen.
I would definitely recommend that you wash, dry and hang your linens up before your event. Hopefully that will save you the hassle of trying to iron all the obnoxious creases and wrinkles out of them the night before your wedding like I did.
If you were to rent your linens, most places in the Portland area run right around $7-$14 a piece for basic white or black, depending on size and shape. They’ll come already cleaned and ironed, so all that you have to do is worry about returning them to the rental place after your wedding. The other benefit of going with renting as opposed to buying is that most rental companies do offer set up as a service, so that it's one less thing for you to worry about on your wedding day.
I could go on with various rental items like place settings and décor. But it’s all going to boil down to the fact that you might find a better deal if you buy, as long as you take the time to do your research for the best deal. Rentals will definitely save you time and energy, which can be just as valuable as money when you’re busy planning a wedding.