what type of things would you hire for a party

runawaybride

hi i was recently married and found this forum a great help. im now considering starting a small business hiring things for weddings and partys starting with items i bought for my own wedding and increasing stock with time, and was wondering what things you would consider hiring and what price you would think was suitable. il list what i currently have below please tell me honestly what you think.

3 tier chrome 'S' style cake stand (for large cakes not cupcakes) £15 to hire + £30 refundable deposit.

30 glass champagne flutes + a heavy metal wine cooler ice bucket £7.50 to hire + £10 refundable deposit ( i have also put a breakage charge of 50p per broken glass so deposit would be refunded minus this charge if there were any breakages) i have 2 lots of these so 60 glasses + 2 ice buckets but thought it was better to hire them in smaller lots.

any input would be appreciated
when i looked at hiring a cake stand the prices started at £30 (which i thought was too much) and they cost approx £35 upwards + postage to buy on ebay and the cheap plastic disposable champagne flutes are approx £1 for 6 so would cost £5 to buy 30 so thats what iv based my prices on.

oh also im based in county durham i know prices differ around the country.

DomRavioli

I wouldn't bother with the ice bucket/wine cooler - if it is bring your own beer then they usually have them, and if it is corkage (where you bring your own to a staffed venue) then they will deffo have them. Also 30 glasses isn't very many, especially not for weddings - I live in Manchester and weddings are usually around 150-200 guests. Also Sainbo's and waitrose have glass hire which is more competitive than your prices, with a wider selection and availability of glassware to hire. You're competing in an over saturated market.

Most venues also have cake stands (some have a selection); most brides who want to buy can get them fairly cheaply (home bargains had some recently for around £10), and they have resale value; bakers also have them to hire, so you'll be competing with a lot of people. I think £15 to sit a cake on is steep personally.

I can't see a market whatsoever for what you're trying to do as there are people already undercutting your prices with great reputations.

nidO

Just a minor suggestion in terms of the champagne flute hire, your main competition price for this isn't cheap disposable flutes for £1, its proper glass flutes for £0 - Both Sainsburys and Waitrose offer completely free glass hire for all sorts of glasses including champagne flutes.

As a lot of caterers will provide glassware anyway your market for that is probably relatively small to begin with, and you're then hindered by the fact that your competition provides them for free. Granted you're offering ice buckets included but people can buy them for less than £7.50 after getting their free glasses from a supermarket.

runawaybride

Hi thanks for your input i think my market is 'budget brides' who are not hiring an official wedding venue.

i realise supermarkets hire glasses free but i was under the impression that you had to buy the wine from them. my idea was people who want to buy wine/champagne via offers (which is what i did) and would normally be looking to buy the plastic type of glasses. i know large wedding venues have glasses aswell but i was thinking people who would be hiring a local church hall/ cricket club etc. i would like input as to how many people consider this as an option. 60 glasses is just a starting point as thats what we had but i could buy more if there was demand.

the cake stand is the type you would use if you bought supermarket cakes i know the M&S ones are popular and sainsburys also do them. it is sturdy metal with three rings of different sizes one for each cake. i saw the ones in home bargains but they were just like thick cake boards that you would stand a cake on nice enough but not what im offering. 3 cake shops in the area that i looked at all wanted £30+ to hire the stand i bought on top of the price of the cake.

is there anything you would hire ? i know lots of places hire things for weddings etc im just confused as to what the market is.

VintageBelle

What about things like chair covers and bows? I know they are popular but can be pricey so if you could hire those out cheaper that may be more of a winner. The only issue there is getting the bow colours.

guardiangirl

Or how about some different kind of chair cover? Everyone seems to offer the same, something a bit different would be nice.

nykied

You definitely don't have to buy wine from Sainsbury's to get free glass hire. £20 deposit and £1 per breakage.

dw85

I think your cake stand idea is overpriced IMO, we got a great 5 tier perspex one from ebay for £10 and was solid and perfect for our cupcakes and feature cake. We didnt do the "venue' big day thing, as we got married abroad but did hold a reception back here so kinda get what you want to do.

My suggestions would be to think outside the main box - cake stands and glass hire is, as has been previously stated, over saturated and there are already many, often cheaper, options available.

How about expansion into:
Decorative Chalkboards/Signs for various elements i.e. decorative photoframe, chalkboard paint on an mdf insert and replace glass with insert. Great for sweetie buffets, guest books etc...

Polaroid type cameras - we had a Fuji Instax Instant camera which was a massive hit and used with our guest book. Film can be bought in bulk from ebay but who wants to buy the camera? Hire it out!

Card postboxes/cases

Table decorations or various candle/tealight holders? Simple ones that could then be 'personalised' by the bride to match theme i.e. ribbon or lace etc.

All the best!

CoconutJay

dw85 wrote: »

I think your cake stand idea is overpriced IMO, we got a great 5 tier perspex one from ebay for £10 and was solid and perfect for our cupcakes and feature cake. We didnt do the "venue' big day thing, as we got married abroad but did hold a reception back here so kinda get what you want to do.

My suggestions would be to think outside the main box - cake stands and glass hire is, as has been previously stated, over saturated and there are already many, often cheaper, options available.

How about expansion into:
Decorative Chalkboards/Signs for various elements i.e. decorative photoframe, chalkboard paint on an mdf insert and replace glass with insert. Great for sweetie buffets, guest books etc...

Polaroid type cameras - we had a Fuji Instax Instant camera which was a massive hit and used with our guest book. Film can be bought in bulk from ebay but who wants to buy the camera? Hire it out!

Card postboxes/cases

Table decorations or various candle/tealight holders? Simple ones that could then be 'personalised' by the bride to match theme i.e. ribbon or lace etc.

All the best!

There's an online company I've looked at called Very Vintage Hire that lends out all that sort of weird and wonderful stuff. (if you google veryvintagehire the website will come up)
I think it's a great idea as couples are increasingly looking for something a bit different or 'out there' for their wedding.
In our case it's a giant deckchair!

It must be popular as I also looked into hiring their kissing booth as well but it was already booked out for July next year.

You can get props and signs easily or make them yourself.
I think that would be a much better place to start than cake stands and glasses.

Evil_Olive

I was pretty much exactly your 'target market' runawaybride.
I was a budget bride, using non-wedding venues and I actually did hire all of the things on your list. Also, I'm in the South East, in Essex, near London, so the prices I paid are likely to be among the highest you'll find anywhere. My experience may be helpful to you.

I looked at around 10 different companies within a 50 mile radius of my venues. There were two big national companies that were a bit expensive and one company hiring out mismatched vintage crockery at prices that actually made my eyes fall out of their sockets, but apart from that, they all pretty much charged the same amount for the actual hire of the pieces, so I just went with the one that had all the exact items I wanted and had the cheapest and most convenient delivery/pick up arrangements.

I hired around 700 items in total as I was hiring all the crockery, cutlery, glass cake stands and giant teapots I needed for a cream tea for 120 people, as well as the glasses for champagne and welcome drinks. But nearly all the companies I spoke to were happy to hire smaller quantities - even down to 1 or 2 items.

Nearly all the companies had pretty much everything you might need from bar and kitchen equipment to coffee machines/tea urns and crockery, cutlery and glassware, seat covers and table linen. They usually also had a choice of styles for glasses, cutlery and crockery. This was quite important for me as I wanted a specific 'look' and didn't want to have to deal with more than one company/delivery.

This is what I got in terms of pricing and service:

HIRE FEES
The hire prices, inc VAT, I paid for the actual items you've mentioned in your list, for 2/3 days hire (delivered on Saturday, picked up on Monday) were:
Champagne glasses - 18p each (I had vintage style saucers, ordinary flutes were a penny or two cheaper)
Heavy duty metal ice buckets - £1.30
Wine cooler stands - £2.50
S-shaped, 3 tier, chrome cake stand - £9.50 - they also allowed me to pick this up from their warehouse myself a week prior to the wedding (at no extra charge) so that the cake could be decorated 'on stand' (I wanted ivy trailing round the cake and stand).

The crockery I hired was lovely vintage style stuff with gold rims and a fluted style cup and the cutlery was 'Kings' pattern and very fancy looking. Everything was good quality and very sturdy. The glassware all had some sort of certification so that it could be used professionally (a health and safety thing I think)

DELIVERY
A separate delivery fee was charged but they were happy to drop the stuff off at the venue within a 1 hour timeslot and pick up from a different address if necessary on the Monday.
You could also opt to collect/return the items yourself for free.
My delivery/pickup fee from a company based about 20 miles away from my venue was £45 for around 700 items.

WASHING UP SERVICE
You could wash up the items yourself before returning, or send them back dirty for an extra 6p per item charge.
We took all the stuff back to my mum's and she put it through the dishwasher for me on the Sunday (good ol' mum ) which saved me this (would've been about £40 for around 700 items). The company picked it all up clean, from her house on the Monday.

BREAKAGES
Breakage charges varied according to the item, but ranged between 1p for a teaspoon to £50 for the cake stand (champagne glasses were £1.50)

DEPOSIT
The deposit was based on a percentage of the hire fee and the number of items, with a maximum/minimum amount chargeable. Mine was £100 for around 700 items. It was completely refundable in the event of no breakages/washing up charges.

I found all the companies I checked out by googling 'Crockery Hire Essex' Most of them had all their prices and charges, plus photos of their items, on the web sites so I was able to compare and choose before actually contacting anyone.
It might be helpful to you to do the same with your own county to check out the local competition and what they offer.

Hope this info helps you out.