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Weddingbee Blog
(Or maybe just mine.)
Do enough blog stalking of SMP (along with every other bridal blog out there!), and you’ll be hard-pressed not to find a least a dozen inspirational photos featuring Chiavari chairs (AKA ballroom chairs).
Image via The Knot / Photo by Next Exit Photography
Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Tana Photography
Simple yet just enough detail and daintiness, Chiavaris are pretty much the “it chairs” of the wedding world. (Hello, even Jackie-O used them when she wed JFK! And y’all know she is the epitome of class.)
Unfortunately for many brides, myself included, these beauties come with a hefty price tag. With some companies charging upwards of $9–11/chair, I thought having Chiavari chairs at our wedding reception was just a pipe dream. (But I thought…why not just do a little research…just in case. Famous last words, right?)
I had remembered reading Mrs. Cloud’s post about using Chiavari chairs in the Richmond area, so I started with her vendor, Magic Special Events. They were very helpful and friendly, but at $7.75 a pop plus cushions AND mileage to Williamsburg? I knew they were out of budget.
So I searched the Hampton Roads area. Acclaimed Rentals offered them, but they too were out of our range. From there I visited Distinctive Event Rental’s site and was incredibly impressed with their selection. They even offered a range of colored seat cushions but again, at about $7.50 a piece, I couldn’t justify the rental. I started to get frustrated with the lack of rental options, so I figured who knows the area better than my caterer? She works with these people all the time! I sent her an email immediately. She let me know that Distinctive and Williamsburg Event Rentals both offered them, but she actually had a stock of gold ones herself offered at a discounted rate of $5 a chair. (Thank you, Lord!)
I called up Mr. Hawk for approval and actually waited a couple days to ask again. He responded, “I thought you took care of that forever ago!” I guess it was a go! I went ahead and reserved the chairs. I couldn’t be more in love (with a chair, that is.)
Did you fall in love with Chiavari as well?
We paid for the chiavari rentals before my dress and the cake… that’s how important those stupid chairs were to me!
We did pay the $9 price tag + delivery, but it was so so so worth it!
yes!! but cannot cut that into the budget at all- budget does have “budge” in it….. but i ..just…cant….. enjoy though!!!
I lucked out as these are the standard chairs at my venue. they even let me pick what color pad I wanted out of a few colors. so exciting! if they didnt already offer them I would be renting them… they are a must have for me!
I love the look, too. I first encountered them when a fellow design blogger bought some for her dining room. They were supposed to be temporary, but she wound up keeping them around.
My venue already has them, thank goodness!
Way to keep shopping around for the best bang for your buck! I love these chairs and silver would have looked amazing in our venue but I never went after them. Chair covers were included in our package so just signed on the line and moved on!
I think finding our Chiavari chairs for $4.50 a pop (in Southern CA no less!) was my best wedding planning moment to date!
We are on the same wavelength Ms. H! I was obsessed with chiavaris and searched high and low for a deal. I eventually found one. Now my friends tease me that I’m so in love with these chairs that we’ll have to take plenty of pictures with them. They ranked higher on my priority list than the cake!
We were lucky enough to find a gorgeous venue that offered Chiavari chairs as an upgrade, we don’t have to deal with any other vendors, the venue takes care of it. It’ll be $6-7 per chair. We’re having 70-80 guests….SO WORTH IT. Love those chairs!
@mittens111211: I think I may be in agreement with you. They were one of the first things I started lusting over!
@Jessoverall: Oh, I am sooo using that “budge” in budget with Mr. H, haha.
@AshleyB: and @Miss Mink: Lucky ladies to have them included!
@Miss Sunhat: If chair covers were included I might have just gone that route as well.
@Leia: Wow. That is so inexpensive!
@Sammie: If my friends knew about my secret love of chairs, I would be brutally teased! (Well I guess it’s not a secret anymore. Oops.)
@nashanta: Great deal! I’m glad you got them! 
What a great deal! I wanted Chiavari chairs, but couldn’t find a proper color in our area.
As far as I am concerned, these are THE chairs for a elegant evening. I absolutely loved this post and loved the flowers on the back of the chairs too.
I love them! But at $8 a pop for upwards of 170 people, yeah right.
Um yes these damn chairs were the be all end all for me during the search for a venue. I would walk in and go “CHAIRS!?” ha… luckily our venue includes them.
@Future Army Wife: I hear you! I loooove these chairs. I wanted them so bad. But they are $8 each here too, and we are having 150 guests. So, we nixed them 
Instead I get uplighting
yay I’m glad you got your chairs! I’m going with the fugly ones that come with the venue I didn’t understand the appeal of Chiavari chairs until I started venue shopping. They truly are the best.
@Mrs. Pony: Color was a concern of mine as well, but we really lucked out!
@Elizabeth Marvin: I’m glad you enjoyed it! I wish I could afford to put flowers on the back of each chair!!
@Future Army Wife: Oh, I hear you. The reason it works for us is because we’re having a smaller group.
@Miss Porcupine: Another lucky lady with chairs included!
@Alleycat: Uplighting is awesome. Good trade, I think.
@Miss Unicycle: I know. Who would think that chairs are important? But once I saw them, there wasn’t any going back!
Glad to see someone is cray about these chairs other than me….
@mittens111211 hahaha I did the SAME thing paid for my chairs in July.. paid for my dress in November
I would love to have them, they are just so pretty…but it ain’t gonna happen. Yay, so excited you get them!!
Like Miss Unicycle we’re going with the ugly ones provided by our venue… It was just too expensive for us to upgrade. Plus my dad kept going on about how uncomfortable they were, so I’ve given up on the chairs.
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Miss Hawk, Richmond, VA Age and Occupation: 26, Finance Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, District Supervisor Engagement Date: March 13, 2011 Wedding Date: May 2012 Venue: The Chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building, 2007 Legacy Hall About Me: I’m an Arizona-born girl who has spent the majority of my life living below the Mason-Dixon line. The South has definitely earned a special place in my heart (alongside my Virginia born and bred fiance, of course!). We are planning a traditional Christian ceremony at my alma mater in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, followed by a rocking reception filled with Southern cooking and vintage/shabby chic details. When we’re not wedding planning, we enjoy spending time with our three dogs, going for runs together, watching plenty of football (or baseball depending on the season), and sampling new wine.
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