A wedding planner reveals the major expense you're probably forgetting about when planning your wedding

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A wedding planner reveals the major expense you're probably forgetting about when planning your wedding
Renting tables, chairs, and linens can be pricey.Thomas Barwick/Getty Images
  • People planning weddings often forget about the cost of renting tables, chairs, and linens.
  • Some venues include them, but they can cost upwards of $10,000 to rent for a "raw space."
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Many wedding costs are well-known. A beautiful venue, delicious food, fragrant flowers, and a talented photographer often come with hefty price tags. But there's one hidden wedding cost that people often overlook, New York City wedding planner Rivka Holzer told Insider: the cost of renting tables, chairs, and linens if a space doesn't provide them.

WeddingWire reports that most couples spend between $425 to $1,000 on wedding rentals

A wedding planner reveals the major expense you're probably forgetting about when planning your wedding
Some couples want more unique table settings than the standard ivory, which comes with a cost.Anthony Ching/Getty Images

The costs can vary greatly depending on the event. Some venues include tables and chairs but not linens. Other settings known as "raw spaces," like barns or old warehouses, don't provide anything at all. Holzer has planned weddings where rentals cost upwards of $10,000.

"Some venues do include tables, chairs, linens, things like that, so I think that's possibly why it does get forgotten about," she said. "When you think of an event, you're like, 'Oh, of course, there are going to be table, chairs, and linens there.' But how are you getting them?"

Even when basic table settings are included with a space, Holzer says some people opt not to use them if they want something more unique.

"When they're included, they're usually very standard," Holzer said of items provided by wedding venues. "You'll have one type of ivory linen, your very standard 60 or 72-inch round table, and maybe a Chiavari ballroom chair, if you're lucky. Because of the Pinterest and Instagram way of the world, and certainly the wedding and events industry, people don't just want an ivory linen that would come with a venue. They want something that's unique, different, special, and you have to pay for that."

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To save money, Holzer recommends comparing prices, booking all-inclusive venues, buying some items, and getting creative

A wedding planner reveals the major expense you're probably forgetting about when planning your wedding
There are ways to save money on wedding rentals.Yurii Kifor/Getty Images

"The best thing I can say is to price compare different rental companies against each other, and then also look for venues that have these items included," Holzer said. "If the raw space is the same price as a space that has all of these amenities included in it, then your budget has to increase if you go with the raw space because you have to account for all of these rental fees."

For smaller items like linens, it can sometimes be less expensive to buy instead of rent.

"If you get a super-cheap polyester, that can be $10 to $20 a linen, and renting it can be $20 to $40," Holzer said. "So you might not get the same quality when you buy it, but sometimes it's a lot more affordable that way."

Holzer also finds that there are ways to get creative with decor that don't require splashing out on fancy table settings.

"I'm doing this with a client now where we're on a tighter budget for decor: instead of getting very expensive tablecloths that would make a statement, we're doing an ombre effect of tablecloths with linens in different shades of a certain color," she said. "All the linens are a standard polyester cotton, but when you look at the room as a whole, it looked really interesting and cool. That's going to bring the room together as opposed to getting the $80 cool pattern linen."

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