If I rent dishes, flatware and glasses, how many should I order?
Caterers add 10% of the total quantity (total number of guests) for every item ordered. This also applies to determining the quantity of disposables to purchase.
List of items you will probably need, whether rental or disposable, for each guest.
- Dinner Plate
- Knife, fork and spoon
- Wine or Water Glass (I recommend using a large water glass, which can also be used for white and red wine)
- Champagne glass (if you use disposables be sure and hot glue the bases to the flutes because they tend to fall apart easily)
- Coffee cups and saucers (Not everyone will drink coffee so this is one where you might want to make an educated guess. I set up a separate coffee serving table to avoid the expense of placing a coffee cup and saucer at every place setting)
- Cake Plate + Fork (A good option for cutting costs, and cleanup time, is to use pretty disposables for your cake)
- Bar Ware (All of my clients used disposables for beer and bar drinks served from separate stations. Plan on at least 2 to 3 glasses per person)
This is a minimal set-up. If you are serving punch you might want punch cups. I don't recommend using salad plates and forks if you are serving buffet style, it is difficult for the guests to handle so many items; which slows down the buffet service.
Just for Fun - Wedding Traditions That Have Changed and Why
I just read a blog about the tradition of guests showering the bride and groom with rice or other objects following the ceremony and decided to explore the origins of that tradition. From researching the information about wedding traditions available on the internet today, it seems that most agree that throwing foodstuff items at the bride and groom began as a fertility and prosperity wish. Seeds and grains are used for crops, and from the smallest seeds, large crops can grown. For some cultures, throwing rice or grains at the wedding was a blessing for the wish of a healthy and large crop so the couple could be prosperous. It might also have signified fertility, so the couple would have many children to help them work the crops.
