The Tent Merchant Reviews

The Tent Merchant

Santa Barbara, CA

4.8 out of 5 rating, 53 reviews

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4.8 out of 5 rating

4.8

Excellent

53 reviews

Recommended by 96% of couples

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Quality of service
4.8 out of 5 rating
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4.8 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
4.8 out of 5 rating
Value
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Denise Sent on 02/25/2026

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The Tent Merchant - best choice!

We needed tables, chairs, linens, heaters and possibly a tent for an outdoor wedding. After contacting 6 vendors, The Tent Merchant clearly became our top choice. No other vendor was even a close second, for the following reasons. (All other vendors were deficient in one or more of these areas. Every other vendor was deficient in the first. Scary!).

1-COMPETENCE- The Tent Merchant asked all the right, necessary questions to safely, legally, securely erect a tent and visited the venue early on to ensure they were prepared. Beyond safety, they had the best variety of tent sizes,features and embellishments. They also had varied tablecloths available from basic polyester (the only thing available from all other vendors) to cotton, linen, and luxurious textured fabrics. They offered more sizes of linens and tables than others as well.
2-TRANSPARENCY/INTEGRITY: Immediate, clear, unchanging prices and no “surprise" small print. By FAR the best contract terms. No required NON-(or partially)REFUNDABLE deposit on a tent until 10 days prior to event (when weather is more clear), yet guaranteed tent availability! (Others required tent deposit up front: a guaranteed loss if you don't need it). The weather forecast led us to forego the tent, but even after the 10 day deadline, TM assured “we'll do everything we can to take care of you”. We had nearly daily communication that final week, with immediate responses, updates and support.
3-Word-of-mouth RECOMMENDATION by a local event planner, who also sent me a link to the 2025 Santa Barbara Independent Wedding issue, in which The Tent Merchant was a recommended vendor. Yelp and Google were sources for others.

Concluding, every detail was efficiently and thoughtfully fulfilled as promised, and on time. I am grateful for the professionalism, competence and integrity of this company. I can't recommend them more highly. They will capably support and fulfill your vision with excellence, they will be available, encouraging and honest, and they will have your back from start to finish.

The Tent Merchant's reply:

Denise, thank you so much for taking the time to leave us such a detailed and thoughtful review. We are grateful for your feedback and consider ourselves lucky to have been able to work alongside you!
Kim Sent on 02/07/2026

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Great Customer Service

Great Customer Service. Great product selection, and great delivery team. Best value for the money.

The Tent Merchant's reply:

Kim,

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a thoughtful review! We are so grateful for the opportunity to work alongside you.
Alanna Sent on 08/15/2022

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Everything went smoothly

We mostly worked with Tent Merchant through our wedding planner but we did go to their physical location in Santa Barbara to see what they had in advance, which was helpful. Everything we received looked perfect. Pickup and dropoff went smoothly at the scheduled times.

Are you interested?

Melissa Sent on 11/20/2019

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Great service and rentals

Everything was beautiful, the service was exceptional and all my rentals arrived as expected. We had no issues and highly recommend The Tent Merchant.
Brittany Sent on 10/17/2019

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Went Off without a Hitch!

From start to finish, working with The Tent Merchant for our wedding was a pleasure! Long-distance wedding planning is not an easy task but Lilly was absolutely wonderful in guiding me through my selections and had saint-like patience dealing with the many times I changed my mind and requested various quotes. Everything went off without a hitch and I know that wouldn't have been possible without their dedication to organization and professionalism!
Kimberly Sent on 09/26/2019

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So easy to work with for beautiful rentals

We loved working with The Tent Merchant for our rentals. They did our dance floor, chairs and tabletop items and they did a beautiful job. We had a mixup with the pickup and the owner, Shareen, could not have been more lovely. She was responsive and helpful and I cannot recommend Tent Merchant enough!
Shauna Sent on 10/18/2018

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Impeccable service, rentals and delivery!

As a wedding planner in Santa Barbara, I know that a rental company can make or break an event. Tent Merchant has exceeded my expectations on every event we have worked on together. Their showroom is spectacular, they accommodate my clients every step of the way, their delivery/install team works efficiently and the quality of their product is always spot on. I would highly recommend them to anyone planning a wedding in the Santa Barbara or Santa Ynez area!
Brooke Sent on 06/18/2018

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Recommended to us by our wedding planner, their rentals were exactly what we wanted. They basically provided all the tables, chairs, table settings, glasses, and extras for our wedding. Everything was clean & put together. Delivery and pickup were seamless.
Anna Sent on 06/08/2018

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The service I received from Janet and her crew at The Tent Merchant was Top Notch! They were accommodating, flexible, professional, on time and worth every penny spent. The quality of the linens was wonderful, tables and chairs were clean and set up just as I wanted. I highly recommend this company for your next wedding or event! Thank you Tent Merchant, what a pleasure it was to do business with you!
Stefani Sent on 10/04/2017

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The Tent Merchant provided our wedding linens and loveseat. The rentals were amazing and Joey was a pleasure to work with. She really went the extra mile to reach out to our planner to ensure we had the correct linen dimensions. They helped us bring our wedding vision to life. :) Would highly recommend!
Melanie Sent on 07/18/2017

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The Tent Merchant provided the decor for my wedding last summer & everything turned out so beautifully. They have an amazing selection of everything you could possibly need to throw a fabulous wedding or any other sort of event. The prop house is such fun to wander through & see all the different creative little areas to get inspired. The staff is very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. My husband & I were so lucky to have their services for what was a truly amazing evening. So very thankful to John, Sherine & the rest of the crew.
Josh Sent on 02/06/2017

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John, Sherine and the entire Tent Merchant team was a dream to work with. Not only were all of our rentals high quality, they truly cared about making sure our Wedding was everything we wanted and went above and beyond working with us. They were always responsive to our questions over the phone, email or in person and made the setup a breeze!
User2747654 Sent on 08/30/2016

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The Tent Merchant was excellent from the moment I walked in their door without an appointment. They were friendly, engaging, and helpful from the getgo. They were incredibly prompt in getting me a quote and in addition they helped me make sure everything I needed was on the list. As I did my own organization until the day of, they acted like my assistant, assigning someone to me to be my go-to person. Lily responded to all my inquiries and multiple changes without skipping a beat. They were constantly reassuring and offered a mock up as well as a site visit before I even signed the contract. They were less expensive than the other local competitors, far more helpful and engaging, and I also found they had more interesting choices. It made the process enjoyable and exciting. They were also prompt for their arrival and pick up times and left the property impeccable.
Sonia Sent on 01/19/2016

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The Tent Merchant is a value added vendor for event rentals. I love mixing in their beautiful inventory to our clients designs. I can highly recommend their items and service.
Heather Sent on 07/25/2015

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Renting with the Tent Merchant was exactly what I hoped and expected. The rentals were well taken care of, promptly delivered, and set up exactly as discussed. Furthermore, they were incredibly communicative throughout the whole planning process, and were very understanding and receptive to changes. They were reasonably priced for the area, and had a fantastic variety of linens, chairs, furniture, and decor items to rent. I recommend going to their prop house to see the items in-person, as they are very friendly and willing to show you anything you'd like to see.
Maria Sent on 09/21/2014

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Working with the Tent Merchant was easy and stress free. They did everything to be sure my wedding was perfect!
User1822090 Sent on 08/16/2014

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The Tent Merchant provided all rentals for my rehearsal dinner, and August 9th Carpinteria wedding. We live out of town and made a couple of trips up to their Santa Barbara location to make decisions. Kirsten was amazing to work with! By the time we arrived my fiancé was losing steam from a long day of decision-making, and she made it quick and painless for both of us. They have a ton of great options for tables, chairs, china, silverware, dance floors, and more! We used the harvest tables for the head table (3 tables in a row) and it was beautiful! The white chiavari chairs were perfect on their rustic dance floor as well. The set up and tear down were painless. The men who arrived at our outdoor venue were very eager to make it exactly what we wanted... even after we had them adjust the exact placement of the dance floor about 3 times! :) I would recommend The Tent Merchant for ANY of your upcoming events!
Lemi Sent on 08/13/2014

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The Tent Merchant provided the chairs, china, flatware, glassware and cocktail tables for our wedding. John, the owner, was delightful and easy going. The staff was always friendly and helpful. They answered any question we had regarding the rentals and were very accommodating to our indecisiveness. Everything went smoothly, even on the busy July 4th weekend. I strongly recommend them!
Akhila Sent on 08/12/2014

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I don't been know where to start! John and the tent merchant team was amazing. Together with my planner Percy, John helped create his magnificent gorgeous space that made the Fess Parker, which is already a gorgeous venue, even more magical. His creative eye is amazing, and he helped me put together a space that was truly something out of my dreams. He was easy to work with, gave me the best prices, sent me the CAD worksheets showing the layouts, and helped make my dreams a reality.
User1698495 Sent on 07/07/2014

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From the first time we visited the Tent Merchant the owners were helpful, professional and enthusiastic! As the wedding date grew closer they were patient with our changes and concerns and always tried to help us do things in a way that was economically favorable to us.
Virginia Sent on 04/22/2014

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Had a wonderful experience with The Tent Merchant! They were a breeze to work with, even with an insanely complicated event such as a from-scratch wedding. From the bar to chandeliers, glasses and tables, TTM went out of their way to make us happy. They even ordered new blush glasses that would work well for our event. Don't hesitate, these guys are the best in town!
User1472778 Sent on 12/14/2013

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Tent Merchant was absolutely wonderful! We worked with Kirsten and she was by far the most helpful, patient, positive vendor we worked with! In the hectic and stressful wedding planing process, she was someone we looked forward to working with. She helped us make our vision a reality and never made us feel rushed, always taking the time to work out every detail with us. Although Tent Merchant was a little more expensive then other vendors in the area, Kirsten and the Tent Merchant team made it well worth the additional cost..
User1429796 Sent on 11/09/2013

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The Tent Merchant had all the rentals we wanted and were very reasonable with their price. John was so patient with us when he met us at our wedding site (Firestone Vineyards in Los Olivos). He knew what core rentals we would be needing and was so very helpful with making sure we had what we needed and wanted. Then we went back to the showroom in Santa Barbara and made our detail selections. Again John was very patient with us in our selections, specifically when we were choosing our wine glasses as we were getting married at the vineyard, we knew the wine glasses were a big detail that we wanted to be perfect. We even changed our color selections after we left the showroom and the Tent Merchant team sent us napkin color samples in the mail as we lived three hours away. All the details were exactly how we imagined them.

All the rentals were delivered on time and arrived in perfect shape. We couldn't recommend them more. The Tent Merchant team made it easy for us to have a destination wedding without worrying about the details.
User1416167 Sent on 11/01/2013

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We used the Tent Merchant for our wedding in July and loved working with them. They were very easy to work with and accommodated all of our changes and order updates. They thoroughly set up everything the day before the wedding and took great care in the work that they did. I would highly recommend them and would use them again.
User1412309 Sent on 10/30/2013

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Tent Merchant helped us with rentals for our rehearsal dinner as well as our wedding. They were incredibly easy to work with, very flexible and great communicators. This was the most stressful part of the planning for me, and they made it very simple and pointed us in the right direction. Quality was lovely and everything looked terrific on both days. Really great!!
Kristen Sent on 10/13/2013

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Having our wedding at a winery meant that we had to bring everything into the venue with us and the very thought of that was very stressful. Thankfully we worked with The Tent Merchant and they made it an easy and stress-free process. They have the most amazing collection of rental items and picking everything out was so much fun. They were able to work within our budget and suggested items that helped save us money that still delivered a wedding that our guests described as "something out of the movies." The staff was so friendly and helpful and we loved working with all of them. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend them at all!
User1301048 Sent on 08/25/2013

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Everyone at the Tent Merchant couldn't have been more helpful or accommodating. They easily met all of our needs including delivery schedule and followed up to be certain we hadn't forgotten to include additional items that they knew would be needed. They also made appropriate suggestions regarding set up and lighting needs based on their familiarity with the outdoor venue we were using. All in all the Tent Merchant staff was very professional, caring and dedicated to making our event a success. It was a pleasure working with them.
Alison Sent on 03/09/2013

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We need to rent just about everything for our wedding, and the Tent Merchant delivered. We rented dishes, cutlery, glasses, linens, patio heaters, a dance floor, a bar and an amplified sound system (we DJ'd our own wedding using the sound system and a laptop).

We visited all the local rental companies one Saturday, and had the best experience with the Tent Merchant - even though we didn't have an appointment, they spent plenty of time showing us around and talking to us about our wedding. Since we had such a good feeling from them, we pretty much decided right away to do with them, and *then* they told us they would match their competitor's prices if they were lower! So amazing (as it turns out, their prices are very competitive so this didn't really make much of a difference).

They apparently delivered everything to our venue on time, and were able to clean up everything we rented in just about an hour (including disassembling the dance floor). The guys who came to pick everything up were also super friendly! A bunch of our guests were sort of drunkenly hanging around and generally getting in the way, but the Tent Merchant guys were so polite and understanding. We really appreciated it!

A side note - when we were talking to our caterers, they mentioned that the Tent Merchant is definitely at the top of their list in terms of rentals vendors to work with.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Tent Merchant, and if I ever throw need event rentals again, I'll definitely go with them!
User1065361 Sent on 01/10/2013

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The people at Tent Merchants were fabulous to work with. They were professional, experienced, wise and calm! They helped with every single detail - and there were MANY! We had a gorgeous tent complete with chandeliers and it was fairy tale-esque.
The women I worked personally with were gracious, helpful and always so kind. And the end result was stunningly beautiful!
Meredith Sent on 12/15/2012

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Kristen was a doll to work with. Several changes were made along the way and she was very quick to make the changes.
Sasha Sent on 10/14/2012

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Tent Merchant was great to work with
Benilda Sent on 10/09/2012

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The tent merchant staffs were very helpful and responsive to my questions. Excellent customer service and always available to assist you. I would highly recommend TTM to anyone planning an event.
User945431 Sent on 09/24/2012

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Love this place!! I planned my daughter's wedding in Santa Barbara on 09-15-12 entirely from my home state of Oklahoma. The first time I called the Tent Merchant which was in May, 2012, I spoke with the owner who was so helpful and guided me through placing my first order. Many times, I think it was 12 to be exact, I either changed and/or added to my order. I even sent a prototype of a chair bow I made to them for fitting. The girls took pictures of the bows and emailed them back to me. All the girls were friendly, very knowledgeable and went out of their way to help me. Everybody was so pleasant to deal with. I felt like I was dealing with family. When I finally visited their location, the showroom was beautiful and has many, many items to choose from. The day before the wedding, at the last minute, I had to add umbrellas and a cake stand. This was no problem and everything was delivered on time and in perfect condition. My daughter's wedding was beautiful and the venue has just asked me if they can use pictures of her reception on their website. All of this would not have been possible without the great people at the Tent Merchant. Thank you so much.
Carly Sent on 09/06/2012

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I absolutely love working with the Tent Merchant! They are very prompt, friendly, and easy to work with. They are always conscious of budgets and very detailed. I would highly recommend to anyone in need of rentals! All the staff is a pleasure to work with and makes the process very easy!

~ Carly Boyd
Catherine Sent on 09/06/2012

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WOW!! I can't ever describe how grateful I am to the tent merchant. They had everything and more to choose from and they were so friendly. I planned the wedding myself, so I had many questions and revisions along the way and they were great at answering all my questions and providing me with whatever I needed. I am so happy that I used them. Their rentals really took my wedding from mediocre to magnificent!!
Susan Sent on 08/22/2012

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We could not have been more pleased with the Tent Merchant for my daughter's wedding. Their showroom is beautiful and offers many options. The owners and sales people are very courteous and helpful. They were very patient through our changes and did everything they could to try and bring our vision to reality, all why staying within our budget. We rented stunning tables and chairs from them, dance floor, china, flatware, glassware, stage, heaters and more. We felt that they were offering their services at a very good value as well. The result was a stunning wedding that many of our guests commented was the most beautiful they had ever attended.
Christine Sent on 08/08/2012

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The Tent Merchant team is amazing! A few months after we got engaged I walked into the showroom hoping to get some ideas on reception decor ...but I had no idea what I wanted! The showroom was absolutely immaculate and the way everything was staged was truly inspiring and so easy to look though. Sherine & John were incredibly helpful with making sure no detail was missed, willing to search & procure random products because I asked for it, made countless revisions to our estimate while never fudging a number and worked tremendously well with the rest of my vendors.
You can't beat the great pricing, personal attention & investment to your event, wonderful customer service and the endless amounts of candy available in the showroom - yum :) Love you guys and thank you for making our wedding day vision come to life!
Katie Sent on 12/14/2011

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Emmalee worked with my caterer but still kept me in the loop so I had absolutely no stress.
The one time I had to stop into the showroom to pick out a few things I got amazing service and felt like I was their only client.
They had another really large party the same day as my wedding so they gave me complimentary upgrades on a few things but I didn't feel their stress in any other way at all.
When changes needed to happen they just made them with no question or hassle at all.
They made the part that can be the most stressful absolutely stress-free.
I will definitely not be using any other rental company again.
Kate Sent on 03/11/2011

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The entire team at the Tent Merchant is wonderful to work with. They go above and beyond to make your event the best it can be and they work with you all the way through. I would recommend them to anyone and we were so happy they were a part of our wedding process.
Amy Sent on 06/15/2010

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Everyone at The Tent Merchant went above and beyond to make sure our reception was flawless. Jon and company had everything we wanted available for rent. They went out to measure our sight, reserved a tent up until the last possible moment, and made sure everything was in place and on time. I could call or email them with a change or an addition and within the day they would respond with an updated invoice. They were extremely professional, and worked closely with our caterer to perfect the day. Because of them, we had an ideal reception.
Jenna Sent on 10/06/2009

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AMAZING!! I absolutely love these guys. They worked well with me and helped me with every question I presented. They even helped me with a wedding day dilemma. Try them out and you will be as amazed as I was.
Terri Sent on 07/30/2008

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I had actually won their service at a wedding fair, so it was all free and they did an excellent job! We used champagne glasses, chairs and a trellis. I highly recommend them.
Cesar Sent on 07/10/2008

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Again, Percy Sales Events, hooked us up with The Tent Merchant, and they were so easy to work with. They found exactly all the items that we needed and was very flexible when we had to add or change things to the order. Their products were top notch. Wonderful group to work with.
Mark Sent on 01/09/2013

4.9 out of 5 rating
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The staff and workers were very professional and corteous.
User1413134 Sent on 10/31/2013

4.8 out of 5 rating
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Tent Merchant was the complete package for rentals. They helped us sort
through the inventory and develop a style and feeling for the wedding that
matched our vision and site. The wedding took place in a canyon meadow,
and the reception down at the barn area. We wanted a rustic meets elegant wedding, Italian market style seating with 16 foot tables, and comfortable padded oak chairs. We used ivory instead of white to soften the effect, and
popped the tables with bright orange napkins. Live succulents were boxed
and mixed with hurricane candle holders down the middle. We used the
ivory plates with the gold rims and the mixed vintage cutlery. Water carafes and red and white wine bottles were on the tables. I changed the size of
the tables the last week and Tent Merchant was very flexible. They addressed
all of my concerns and were very understanding on any changes I made along the way. They know how to throw a wedding. Trust them! I did!
Karen Sent on 10/09/2011

4.8 out of 5 rating
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I'm really glad we went with The Tent Merchant for our small backyard wedding in Santa Barbara. They were really quick to answer my dozens of questions via email and they were extremely flexible with several changes I needed to make (some very last minute). The delivery guys were also quick, knowledgeable and professional. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone needing party rentals in Santa Barbara.
Perla Sent on 04/20/2010

4.8 out of 5 rating
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Got married 4/3/10 and we loved their service. Very attentive with what we needed and they all helped us with any question or concerns we had. Thank you so much for helping us make our wedding day perfect.
Morgan Sent on 09/12/2012

4.7 out of 5 rating
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Emmalee at Tent Merchant was amazing and really helpful with any changes or updates we needed. The staff was great setting up and taking down and we were really happy with all the rentals!! Thanks so much
Peter Sent on 01/04/2010

4.3 out of 5 rating
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I think we used all of their china at our reception.It was very affordable and had a good number of different sets.They did a very professional job with pick up.
Kara Sent on 12/02/2015

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Very friendly staff members and a great selection for the ceremony and reception! We just need chairs for the ceremony and though they have different types to choose from, I wish they didn't have an added delivery fee when we're getting married so close to their store yet have to pay quite a bit extra just for the delivery and pick up. But everyone says this is the place to go and they do seem very helpful, so we're going with it! :)
User2298538 Sent on 09/02/2015

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Tent Merchant helped to make my vision of a perfect wedding come true. They have a huge selection in their showroom and have beautiful selections of everything. I had the pleasure of working with Jamie who was awesome and super helpful and creative. Tent Merchant was willing to work within my budget which was very helpful too. Thank you, Tent Merchant!
Tracy Sent on 12/24/2019

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Worst treatment

Tent merchant
Worst experience ever.
Schedule to deliver and setup wedding Thursday 8-4:30pm
The staff left at 4pm with only the tent up... called next day to see where staff was to do the rest of the work build tables, stage, dance floor... I was told they were all on other deliveries and would see when they could get someone here. I was offered 8am of the wedding day. I explained that left no time to decorate and that the contract said complete Thursday by 4:30pm.
I was then told they would see what they could do, but all their staff was busy on other projects. They finally came Friday around 4pm didn’t finish till after 9pm

Decorating team had no choice but to start decorating at 5am for a 3:30pm wedding

Ridiculous hardly an apology and refunded only$600 for our inconvenience. I asked for a call from the owner who emailed me 7 days later to say he would not be calling and that this matter was closed

Wow! I spent $12,000 on rentals and couldn’t even get a phone call from the owner

Terrible service
0 stars
Kim B. Sent on 10/21/2019

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Worst nightmare. Did not set up.

Most of the positive reviews are from other wedding planners -- fellow business owners not customers. My husband and I arrived 30 minutes early at the Chase Palm Park Center, Santa Barbara for my nephew's rehearsal dinner to find my sister and her husband setting up tables and unstacking chairs for 80+ people. Nothing had been set up ahead of time by the Tent Merchant. They left tablecloths still in plastic. We didn't find the rented centerpiece candle holders until afterwards in a box set off to the side. We used the wine for a centerpiece. No flowers. No decor. To add insult to injury, the lights had been strung up with a third of the lightbulbs out. The only indication my sister had that there was a problem was when the Tent Merchant called about 2:00 that afternoon to say they could not set up because the patio was "not secured," and they wanted an additional $75 to walk across the street to get a key to have someone to let them in to the facility. She didn't pay the $75 for the woman to access a key to get into the facility. The set up required was on the outside patio. They just dropped off the tables and chairs and did not call to let her know they were not helping with setup as agreed. My sister let the Tent Merchant know weeks ahead of time that the Park would not allow set up before the afternoon. (The Tent Merchant said the contract was to set up in the morning at a venue that only allowed set up in the afternoon.) Shouldn't the local vendor be responsible for knowing when and how to access the facility they are paid to decorate or at the very least, inquire ahead of time if there is any question at a public venue? They left the tables on the patio, so security was not the real issue. Maybe the Tent Merchant double booked for another event? They never sent anyone or called to confirm or showed up at all to help with setup for the 7 PM dinner. Talk about stress. The four of us unfolded tables and unstacked chairs for 80 people. Guests began arriving as we frantically moved tables around with wine glasses we had set out before we realized one of the tables blocked an entrance. A business that cared about customers would have at least called my sister and let her know they did not decorate the venue and given family and friends an opportunity to pitch in, but we had no idea we were going to be stiffed the services of set up until we arrived minutes before the event. This was planned weeks ahead of time from across the country. The Tent Merchant may have the equipment you need, but don't count on them for decorating for special events or try planning anything if you are not from the area and need someone reliable to depend on. While misunderstandings may not be unusual in this business, refusing to set up at the last minute and then not communicating that the venue was not prepared or decorated was inexcusable. If they had a problem with accessing the facility according to their plans to set up early, they could have admitted it and given family a heads up to save the day. No refund offered. No explanation. Totally unprofessional. Just avoid these folks unless you are into paying a premium for DIY without any communication that you are on your own. They were recommended by the mother of the bride who owns a home in Montecito. Unfortunately, my sister paid them upfront.

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