Wedding Blog
I’m currently debating the necessity of fancy linens. Our venue will provide ivory or white tablecloths (that do not go all the way to the floor… what is up with that?!) and ivory or white napkins. I’m down with the ivory napkins, but I don’t think I can get behind the shortie tablecloths.
I really like the idea of champagne pintucked satin or ivory dupioni silk.
However, I don’t really like the idea of paying around $30 per table. With 14 guest tables and 2 specialty tables I’d be out over $400 for rentals! Ouch!
So here’s my dilemma: do I suck it up and deal with the free ivory linens (boo!), find an alternate source for more budget friendly rentals, or beg my mother to add sewing 16 satin tablecloths to her list of wedding projects?
Are you renting linens or going with the ones your venue provides?
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Share this post: Today’s Topic of Importance: Linens
We’re going with the free table cloths. This just isn’t one of the things I care about, so I’m not going to spend time or money on it…
Beg your mom!
I helped plan a wedding recently and they did the cheap non floor length white and it ruined the whole look of the centerpieces. Tacky!
I am in the same dilemma—the venue has damask patterned white tablecloths (which reach the floor thank goodness!) but it all feels so blah. I was thinking maybe crisscrossing 2 table runners on each table. It would be cheaper, but I soooo love pintucked tablecloths!!!! sigh…
We put money into linens and I have to say it was worth it to bring color and polish into our venue. It was a bit pricey (~$800) but it was our big splurge on decor and was worth it.
I faced the same dilemma and I am actually making my own linens from discount fabric that I found. I can tell you it definitely isn’t easy as its time consuming and additionally the cost is only slightly cheaper. Yesterday I was searching for napkins, but things don’t look too much cheaper online that just buying them in the end.
Good luck!
How to do you (the venue) have not-to-the-floor table clothes as an option? This isn’t someone lunch cafe!
We are using our venue’s “blah” ivory table clothes but making runners to add more color. However, it would really bother me if they didn’t reach all the way to the floor. I’d say, BEG your mom! Maybe you can work on it over the holidays together. That’s when my sister and I are our making my table runners. 
I agree with you the whole linen rental prices are crazy. I think I may just get the standard white and get colored napkins. I just cant justify it because the dancing is being held in a different area so I am not going to splurge in that area. I try not to look at nice pics of table linens though it hurts me, the linen colors and textures out there are just add that extra umph!
I am choosing to upgrade, but we have a choice of 39 linen and napkin colors already, so it’s only $9 a table for an overlay. Can you wait until the wedding is closer and see if this is in your budget before making a decision? Either way, people will be too busy admiring you and enjoying your event to notice!
I was extremely fortunate to have won a substantial gift certificate to a local rental shop before my wedding… It still ended up costing me an additional $300, but the chocolate pintuck linens seriously made the room! ….you could go the runner route though much cheaper & consider charger plates (I ended up buying 150 of them as they were cheaper to purchase than rent- and then sold them) - the more you cover the table the less you’ll notice the cloth!
We bought our own linens off eBay and we are sharing them with two other brides. All together, 200 napkins and 20 white 120 inch table cloths cost us $450 dollars. split 3 ways (even with cost of laundering in between) we each spend around $200. If we sell them again either here or on eBay afterwards, it comes to even less. I am considering buying burgundy squares to overlay on the table, or the criss-cross runners like Elizabeth suggested, to spruce things up a little. Maybe it’s my overly frugal nature, but I didn’t want to spend that much on tablecloths.
don’t do it… You will never notice at the wedding. I thought about it and after the table is set it won’t matter what’s under it.
I would say you won’t really notice it, except that they don’t go to the floor? I they fall just above the lap, you will notice them…or lack of them.
We had the same option…. white or ivory. I went back and forth on the decision for so long… I really wanted to upgrade, but the cost seemed so much, and I couldn’t decide if it was worth it. And you know what? Honest to goodness, I COULDN’T REMEMBER WHAT I DID. I just had to go LOOK AT PICTURES from my wedding to see what the tables looked like. That, right there, just answered my question that it was NOT worth it, when I couldn’t even remember whether or not I had white linens… because if I, the bride, couldn’t remember, Aunt Helen sure as heck can’t remember!
I’m fortunate enough to live in LA so I went downtown to the garment district and bought pintuck linens for $4/yard. My mom is a whiz on the sewing machine. It didn’t take her very long to make them. If you do the DIY route make sure to buy 120in fabric which is kinda hard to find. Most places carry the stand 60in fabric so you’ll have to sew 2 pieces of fabric together to make floor length tablecloths….not cute! I didn’t even know there was a difference until I got there. Everyone carries the standard size but only a few places had the large table cloth size so make sure you double check. I hope that helps!
The tablecloths provided by my venue do not reach the floor either! I hate that! We are renting plain ivory tablecloths that do reach the floor, but we are not splurging on fancy fabrics. You can still rent floor-length linens that reach the floor for a lower price. We might be adding less expensive table runners to add a pop of color.
I say beg your mom or give up something else that you don’t really need. IMO, white/ivory table clothes are blah! Colored linens can really make a significant difference! THey are super classy and elegant looking. I’m using the chocolate pintuck linens and paying about the same price, but there’s no way I would change my mind about them!
Overall though, linens don’t make the day. So if there is absolutely no way you can afford them or your mom can’t make them..just forget them! and don’t look back or have regrets
You may not notice AT the wedding… and no, your guests may not care… but it does make a difference in the pictures! My sister decided she would use the venue tableclothes (white and NOT floor length) so she could save the money for other things. Looking back, her ceremony pictures are gorgeous… but the reception pictures? Not so much. It’s very blah and has no personality.
We rented beautiful linens for our tables, and it was one of the best decision we made in terms of decor. It really tied everything together and made the room look really special.
You will be thankful that you went with a floor length linen. The pintucks and silks are amazing, but if you can’t find the $$ to splurge on them, you can always go for a colored polycotton. Floor length of course. It will still add to your centerpiece and elements of the room decor and only run you $10 - 15 per table instead.
My venue provides nothing, so I’d have to rent them anyway. Since my wedding will be small (only about 50 people) I proably will splurge on linens just because I LOVE THEM, and since my wedding is small I can afford them without breaking the bank.
A friend in the catering field advised us that table runners just get lost in the table and with the plates and everything, the linens just aren’t that noticeable. So we plan on renting fancier napkins and chair sashes and leaving it at that.
I splurged because our venue was a pretty blank canvas so the colored floor length linens made a big impact on the overall look of the room.
We have a similar issue in that our venue has less than stellar linen options. One option we are considering is purchasing white floor length plain linens from Sams Club (approx $250) and then having my mom sew square toppers from a more fancy fabric we can get a deal on by buying the entire bolt. This way we still come out cheaper, but with mom only have to do straight hems on the square toppers. Of course we’ll have to iron the white base linens ourselves….but we can do that ahead of time and hang them.
i do agree that floor-length tablecloths look better, especially if you’re going for an elegant, evening reception. can you negotiate with your venue to provide floor-length tablecloths? ivory tablecloths can still look nice, in my opinion, especially if you have a nice or elaborate centerpiece with candles and flower petals surround it. i’m going with the free ivory, floor-length tablecloths at my reception. and friends of mine tell me that people notice the food and music more than the decor. if anything, most people i know get more impressed with the centerpieces than with the linens. however, i do agree that beautiful linen can add an even more elegant touch.
besides talking to your venue, you can also try searching for smaller, event planning/rental companies (they tend to be less advertised) that rent linens for a much lower price. for example, i really wanted drapes to cover part of the wall at my reception, and the major rental companies in my area were charging over $1500. i found a place from online searching that charges 80% less, and they rent out a lot of other items at lower prices than the major rental companies. otherwise, i think making the tablecloths or runners as others suggested is a good idea as well.
overall, i would try to get floor-length linens, at least the white/ivory ones. however, the really nice fabric linens are less necessary unless you want to spend the money to get them.
Have you tried The Wedding Connection is SA? Their linens are much more reasonably priced.
we had the same problem of shortie linens, and I couldn’t get the table leg image out of my head. we rented ours from brightsettings.com for a totally decent price and the room was just beautiful. people are still taking about our decor. I’d say go for it.
I am in the same boat Ms. Lemonade! I can’t stand the thought of spending $30+ for fancy schmancy tableclothes either so what I am doing instead is renting the fancy schmancy table runners for half the cost. I am going to be using 2 of the free, basic tables clothes provided by our venue on each table so that they will touch the floor. The table runner will hide the seam so no one will even know! Make sense because I can’t tell! :o)
Our venue has the same thing- linens that go halfway down! I couldn’t believe it. I’m glad that you posted about this, I have been trying to figure something out but am pretty stumped. I recently began thinking about getting blue tablecloths, since there will be so many ivory dishes on the table, I think the color to white ratio would be perfect, even better than doing colored runners. I am *this* close to mocking up some stuff in our dining room! 
If you want pintucked silk or dupioni, it is going to be really expensive to make them. You could try to sell them afterward though!
My venue only had tablecloth colors for free, but none matched any of my colors (e.g. white linens [under white dishes...eww!] for a crimson, brown, champagne color scheme). Plus, they didn’t go to the floor. So we rented the champagne pintuck like you have picture. I was way too much money (and I looked EVERYWHERE…try weddinglinens.com), but for me I HAD to have them because things wouldn’t have looked right.
@july2008wedding: Do you remember the name of the store that carried the 120″ pintuck fabric? That was such an ingenious idea to make your own, now I’m considering it!
check out egpres.com. They have pintucked linen rentals for 17.99! It helps a little bit with your budget….
@july2008wedding:
Hey, exactly where did you get the pintuck fabric? I want to send a family member there to try to get some fabric for me because its soo expensive here in florida! Also do you know if they have black pintuck?? thanks so much!
Reception halls typically stock the shortie linens because they usually skirt them for buffets & such–blah!
My venue doesn’t have anything, and I actually just want a white floor length. I’m borrowing overlays from a friend. Thus, I may be purchasing white floor length linens for my Aug 2009 wedding. I’ll try and sell them afterward and cross my fingers!!
Hello! There is a Web-site that have Satin Tablecloths for a very reasonable price, for 120″ round tablecloths $17.99 each.
Here is the web-site:http://www.efavormart.com/search.aspx?find=Satin+Tablecloth
I am a wedding planner and I really recommend for you to spend a litle on the tablecloths, after the wedding you could put them for sale on Craigslist, I am alway purchasing wedding decorations from that web-site and at the end you will end up with beatiful tables at a fraction of regular price.
Good Luck!
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Mrs. Lemonade, Austin/San Antonio
Age and Occupation: 28, Bureaucrat
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Music Management
Engagement Date: December 21, 2007
Wedding Date: April, 2009
Blogging Since: August 22, 2008
Venue: Country Club ceremony, ballroom reception
About Me: I’m a total wonkette who is lucky enough to be surrounded by her favorite things on a daily basis – awesome music, the great State of Texas and of course, Mr. Lemonade! I find any excuse I can to craft something and am completely infatuated with the 1950’s, all things Kennedy, and my furbaby Vida.
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