Event Planning 101: Your Tented Wedding Part 1

Dreaming of a tented reception? It will be gorgeous- after all, it's a blank canvas for you to work with! Before you start the planning process, take a look at these tips and facts about tents and all that goes into preparing for a tented event. Today's post is written by and features Lance Hill from Event Rent, and will hopefully arm you with the information you need for everything from preparing a realistic timeline to choosing the canopy that best suits your needs and budget.

Can you tell us a little bit about the different (or more popular) styles of canopies to choose from? Are there any restrictions or advantages to certain types?

There are 4 main types of canopies to choose from, but for the sake of simplicity we'll talk about two of the more common types:

Tension Canopies are built with poles and ropes only. This would be more of the “circus style” canopy with the poles holding up the center. These canopies may only be staked (water weights are not an option) with ropes pulling out from the canopy.

Some of the advantages to this style of canopy are:

* These are probably the least expensive canopies available.
* They take the shortest amount of time for the rental companies to set up.
* Sometimes available for “do it yourself” rental where the customer sets themselves.

Some of the disadvantages to this style of canopy are:

* The larger canopies tend to be less sturdy in wind than other types of canopies.
* These canopies must be staked with “out guy” rope (ropes pulling out from the perimeter of the canopy to between 4’ and 7’ out from the base of the pole).
* No place in top of canopy to hang chandeliers or any other large decorations.
* This type of canopy requires 2 to 3 times as many stakes as other types of canopies.

California Style Canopies are the most common type of canopies. These are a frame style of canopy.

Some of the advantages to this style of canopy are:

* This type of canopy tends to be the next to least expensive.
* Since this type of canopy is the most common it is easy to find matching parts if one place is out of them.
* This type of canopy can be either staked down or tied to water weights for support.

Some of the disadvantages to this style of canopy are:

* The canopies must be staked with “outguy” ropes (ropes pulling out from the perimeter of the canopy to between 8” and 18” out from the base of the pole).

{ We'll have more from Lance later today- stay tuned for ways to customize your tent, timeline help and more!}

{Event Rent is located at 600 N Eagle Rd in Meridian, ID }