Best Tableware to Purchase?

I'm not of much help but I will say the Dollar Store is such a great place for charger and plates, at an amazing price.

I just wanted to add that I love your color palette!!

I didn't even think of getting plates there! Do they sell glass plates? I'll look into it!

It depends on which Dollar Store you go. I've literally seen them maybe once a while ago near me. You can always try calling ones around you to see if they carry them!

Great advice! I just looked online too. I'll at least order candles and all that! Thank you!

Those type of plates and gold flatware you will find at an event rental company. I also had gold rimmed china and it was $1.00 per plate to rent. But the gold flatware was a lot more expensive so I decided to forego it and just use the flatware the Fairmont provided. If you can find a rental company near you that has what you're looking for then I recommend renting.

Yeah I have gotten some quotes already with the gold flatware and gold china! I was just seeing if there were some things I could buy vs rent, like maybe water goblets or something. I was leaning towards all renting but thought it was worth asking!

Oh I see! Well, depending on the rental company, it could still be about a $1 per item which would be the same price as Dollar Tree but be better quality than Dollar Tree. Plus you save yourself and family a lot of hassle if you rent because the rental company delivers and picks them up and you don't even have to wash the dishes. Also, if you bought 150+ dishes, glasses, etc. where would you store them after the wedding, and would you even use them again?

We could store them in our garage until I resold them for a loss I'm sure! But I do agree, the rentals would be better quality. I'm leaning towards renting china & flatware, then possibly looking elsewhere for water goblets, wine glasses, and coffee cups! Just trying to save money where we can.

We skipped the chargers, but we do plan to buy our water goblets from the dollar store (also $1 a piece, way cheaper than renting) I also read a ton of reviews on the water goblets from Dollar Tree and the reviews are all awesome.

We bought our linens from linentablecloth.com which is where we got all of our table cloths and linen napkins. The products are always on sale so we got about 150 napkins for .33 a piece. It was a STEAL. We were quoted around $1 a napkin from a rental place so that was a no brainer to buy.

I definitely think buying certain things over renting them saves you a pretty penny.

I'm a charger fanatic, I have them at home for every Holiday or special event haha! Yeah I saw the goblets on Dollar Store Online, I'm thinking about ordering 4 to see the quality and just keep them at home if we don't like them. Are you worried about pressing or ironing/washing your linens and napkins? That's my biggest concern

Be sure to check out FB resale groups. My daughter purchased her gold chargers for something like 60 cents a piece and plans to re-sell them after her wedding.

So a lot of this is contingent on the prices in you area. Its a lot of math and a lot of work, but this is what I found in breaking it all down for our wedding:

Plates: Rent. First of all, 150 plates will be HEAVY! if you buy them, you will have to also by the packing materials to safely transport them, if they break in transit it is on you, and you will have to scrape and repack them at the end of then night which no one wants to do after a full day of wedding events. [ I know you said you dont want plastic, but there are very high quality ones that will match the china you have pictured, which is the pattern I am using. We ordered some high quality disposables that match the china to have extras in case people give up their pate too early or break them. It was cheaper than renting extras. Just a thought]

Tablecloth and Napkins: BUY! By FAR so much cheaper to buy! They dont take up too much space to transport, are light weight, and all you need is a steamer [if you wanted to remove wrinkles]. Easy to re-pack and remove from venue and won't take much time to set up or break down.

Flatware: You can go either way. I rented them, one fork/knife per guest for dinner, one fork for desert. [I bought matching disposable to have as extra just in case]. My sorority sister is getting married the same weekend I am, and she bought hers online in bulk. The cost was about the same for each of us. If you dont need heavy duty knives [for steak or tough meats], you can buy/order these from the dollar store or wholesale online for comparable cost of renting. If you need heavy duty, look at online wholesalers that market to restaurants. But if you buy you have to scrape and repack at the end of the night, although they wont be hard to transport.

Glasses: We rented. Like the China they would be heavy and require special packaging for safe transport if bought. We rented 1 per guest and have extra upscale disposables as a contingency [if someone looses or breaks their glass. Same with Bar ware.]

For our area, this breakdown saved us a couple thousand. If you do buy most of this, especially china and glassware, you might want to think about renting a UHAL [no joke] so you can pack it all along with any decor you have to transport, so you could transfer it in one trip and safely. Alternatively, think about how many vehicles you will have to use, and what types of vehicles, to take things to your venue and back again. Also, consider how long you have to clear everything out at the end of the night.

Make an excell spreadsheet and itemize your rent or buy list. Make calculations for renting and buying using costs from your area. That's what I did and it made it SO much easier. Good LUCK!

Hey (: where did you buy your plates from?

Thank you SO much for your thorough answer. It's super helpful! Fortunately, our month of coordinator will pick up all decor/wedding stuff the week before and take it to the venue & set up, then take it back to our house the day after the wedding. BUT I do understand the saving money aspect! I'll for sure match prices. Thank you!

You know, I will have to check with FMIL because they are at her house. I am not 100% positive, but I am pretty sure they were "Occasions" brand. I will double check and get back to you. But it was well worth it, and when they came in the match the others perfectly and were very durable.

You are very welcome! Good Luck!