The early bird catches the best linens!

                  

Lately it seems our phone has been ringing off the hook with last minute clients looking for linens for their wedding. Now, in some industries this is a great idea! Deciding at the last minute to attend a concert or travel out of town can often get you deeply discounted rates.

In the wedding industry, however, this is not always the case and will leave a lot of brides in the dumps just weeks before their wedding.

We have some clients who book their wedding far in advance to ensure that their date is available for setup/breakdown and also to guarantee the linens they want is stocked. (We love these type of clients by the way!) But we understand the money restrictions and indecision about colors and schemes often forces brides to wait until the last minute to book their linen orders.

It's best to book your linen order at least 2-3 months in advance. This allows for the linen company, like Picture Perfect Linens, to guarantee the exact style, quantity and color of your linens will be available for your wedding day. But if you do have to wait until the last minute, here are a few tips:

1. Have all your details ready. When you call or set up an appointment to book your linens, you should have all the details needed to complete your order. Quantities, styles wanted and delivery/setup details such as time and location should all be known.

2. Be Flexible. We know that brides and grooms often have very detailed dreams and wishes for what they want on their wedding day. But if you find yourself without linens 2-3 weeks before your wedding, you have to be willing to compromise if necessary. Linen companies may already be booked for your date and even if they aren't, they may have already rented out the style of linen you had your heart set out on. Be flexible in what you need and willing to work with the linen company to get your desired linen look for your ceremony and reception.

2. Pay Immediately. This may sound weird but there are a lot of last minute brides and grooms who work out all the details of their order and then still wait to pay for another week. Remember that an order is not placed until after payment has been received.

We hope this helps all the brides out there who may find themselves fretting over ordering their linens last minute. Happy Linen Shopping!

Why every wedding needs a wedding planner!

Well, maybe not JLo since she did end up falling in love with the groom of a wedding she was planning (spoiler alert!!)... But all brides & grooms do need to hire a GOOD wedding planner for their big day!

We know telling couples to hire a good planner may sound strange coming from a linen rental owner. But seriously, it makes our job so much easier! There are so many elements of a wedding that a lot of brides and grooms don't even consider. And a good planner will help you put all those details in focus and make sure every aspect of your wedding day is taken care of.

For those of you who are incredibly organized and creative and don't think you need anyone to help with all the plans, think about this... You've spent months (maybe years) planning every aspect of your wedding day from the flowers in your bouquet to the linen napkin color on the tables. But what about the day of the wedding? Do you want to be the one fielding calls from vendors and venue staff asking questions? Do you want the responsibility of making sure all the preparations are running smoothly and fixing them if they aren't? Even if you don't hire a planner to help in the months before your big day, consider hiring a  Day-Of-Coordinator.

As a bride, your job on your wedding day is to relax, reflect and get ready to enjoy one of the best days of your life. And with a good event planner, your wedding day is stress-free and goes off without a hitch!

www.pictureperfectlinens.com

7 Tips for Choosing Picture Perfect Wedding Linens!

You ask a lot of brides what they dream of on their wedding day and wedding linens are rarely ever included. It's always the dress, the venue, the flowers, etc. So we love it when brides understand how important a role linens play into their big day. Months down the road, guests may not remember what color napkins they wiped their mouth with or what color chair ties were on the seats.What will be remembered is how beautiful the room looked and felt when the entered it for the first time. And that's the feeling that Picture Perfect Linens strives to achieve with each and every event!

We've put together a list that hopefully can help turn the daunting task of choosing rental wedding linens into a simple (and dare we say FUN!) process:

1. Don't Wait Until the Last Minute
It always amazes us how often we get frantic phone calls from brides that are 1-2 weeks away from their wedding and haven't thought about linens for their reception. By that time, the bride's first choice for linens may already be rented out so they have to decide on an alternate. It's very important to start making a decision on linens at least 2-3 months before the event date if possible. The sooner the better!

2. Know What You Need
Before you contact a rental linen company, it's important to get a count of all the tables and chairs that you'll need linens for. Be sure to include gift tables, dj tables, buffet tables (if your caterer isn't supplying these), guest and head tables and escort card tables. Picture Perfect Linens allows orders to be adjusted up/down until 2 weeks before the event, but it's always better to be as prepared as you can. Last minute changes aren't necessarily guaranteed with all companies.

3. Compare Apples to Apples
There is nothing wrong with contacting a few rental linen companies to see which one is the right fit for your wedding. Make sure to get a detailed description of the type of linens each company is quoting you. One company's satin may not be the same as the next. For example, we use a medium weight lamour (matte) satin for our linens and chair covers which may be different from another company's quote which is using thinner, shiny satin.

4. Get a Swatch
Brides today are experimenting more with colors - which we love. And it's important to know what shade of gold or hue of blue, the linen company you rent from is providing. If possible, try to get a swatch of the linen you are ordering. It may come in handy in future meetings with your dress shop or florist.. Most linen rental companies do offer swatches for free or a minimal cost. Don't be afraid to ask.


5. Understand All Costs
Like #3 above, all rental companies operate differently. Be sure to understand each company's quote when it regards delivery, pickup, setup and breakdown. Picture Perfect Linens offers free delivery the day before the event and free pickup the day or two after the event. However, this is not true with all rental companies. Ask if there is an extra charge for delivering and picking up the linens. Also, determine who will be doing the setup the day of the wedding and taking it down after it ends. Usually this is a separate cost added onto the quote, but some brides assume it is included in the price.

6. Spend Your Money Wisely
Brides often think they need to spend a lot of money to make the reception stand out which isn't true. If you have a limited budget, try asking your reception venue if they include standard polyester tablecloths in their package. If so, consider just renting satin chair cover with sashes or specialty runners (like our rosette satin) for each table. This is a great way to add some visual interest to the room without spending too much money. Also, a really nice cake table and/or head table linen is a great way to add some WOW factor to any reception.
  
7. Have FUN!
Choosing linens for a wedding shouldn't be a chore. Tablecloths and chair covers are a fantastic way to dress up even the most drab reception room. Be creative and ask your linen company for ideas and new products. Look in bridal magazines and online sources such as Pinterest for reception ideas. Brides are starting to take some bold choices when it comes to reception decor and the end result is unique and eye-catching!

We hope these pointers help you in your quest for the perfect wedding linens! Happy Planning!

www.pictureperfectlinens.com

Ph: (407) 271-1814

New Wedding Rosette Satin Linens!!

We are seriously in love with our new line of Wedding Rosette Satin Linens! Want your sweetheart table to stand out from the others? Or your cake table to be set on top of luxury? Rent these linens and you will have all your guests oohing and ahhing over your reception!

We rent these linens in following colors and sizes:

White, Ivory, Gold, Silver, Hot Pink and Plum

108" Round for 48" tables - $50.00

120" Round for 60" tables - $60.00

13"x108" Table Runner - $13.00 

 

And if you are looking for table runners in our wedding rosette satin, we have them too in 13" x 108"
Our linens are made of Rosette Satin not Rosette Taffeta... The difference between the two is the Wedding Rosette Satin linen is smooth to the touch and has more depth in the rosettes than the taffeta version. And the best part? We RENT these linens for much less than you can buy! So don't delay... your reception is practically begging you to rent these :-)

www.pictureperfectlinens.com

Puffy Barrel Linens Are A Bride's Best Friend!

Drool!!! Seriously, if we had to pick only one of our linens that would come with us on a deserted island, it would be our Puffy Barrel Linen! It turns any standard round table into a work of art. Our brides have used this linen for anything from cake tables to sweetheart tables to even guest tables.

The main thing we love about our puffy barrel (or gathered tablecloths) compared to other linen companies is that our linen is actually a tablecloth - not a table skirt. So you don't need a top linen or any other accessories... just our linen. You also won't see any plastic skirt holders that you will from buying or renting a puffy barrel table skirts from other companies.

And to make this linen even more enticing... we just reduced the rental price for the summer!

Colors: White, Champagne and Platinum Silver: 
48" Round Table - $55.00
60" Round Table - $70.00

So don't hesitate to rent this linen - and get ready for all the compliments from your guests!!

Renting vs. Buying Linens

With the surge of many online linen suppliers, we often get asked by brides and grooms "Why Rent when I can Buy for just a little more cost". And it's a valid question. I know that's shocking to hear from a rental linen company owner! But I do feel that each bride & groom has to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of renting vs. buying the linens for their special day.
A lot of brides don't realize the benefits and drawbacks of each choice and it's important to make a educated decision for the decor of one of the most important days of your life!!

BUYING LINENS FROM AN ONLINE WHOLESALER

1. Verify Quality - A lot of online wholesaler of linens are driven by offering the consumer the lowest possible price to draw customers away from renting. They usually ship these linens out of China in mass quantities and order the most economical linens which are lower quality than what you'll get from rental companies. Rental companies use their linens for numerous weddings and wash them after each use. So, in turn, they tend to use higher quality linens with higher thread quality so these linens will stand up over time. I've heard quite a few brides who bought linens from online wholesalers say that when they washed the linens after their wedding, the seams fell apart and the linens were unusable.

2. Resell Advantage - Most brides who buy linens online are doing so with the intention of reselling the linens after using them for their wedding or event. So even if the linens are more expensive to buy, they feel they can recoup some of those costs when they go to sell them to another bride. Online websites are starting to pop up that allow brides to sell back their wedding linens to other brides. This is a great tool for brides who don't have high budgets for linens and want to keep costs low.

3. Preparation/Setup Needed - When buying linens online, most come folded in plastic packaging or folded in a large box. They will need to be taken out of the packaging before the wedding and ironed and laid out so they don't collect wrinkles. There is nothing worse than wrinkled linens on your wedding tables!! In a typical wedding of 120 guests, it could take 2-3 days of prep time to ensure the linens are ready for the wedding day. You'll also need at least 2-3 hours of prep time the day of the wedding to lay out all the tables, chair covers and sashes. Most brides don't want to do this themselves, so they ask friends and family to do this for them. Venues and Wedding Coordinators don't usually include the setup as part of their costs - so you will need to add these services for an additional cost.

RENTING LINENS FROM A LOCAL RENTAL COMPANY

1. High Quality - The quality you'll find from most rental companies far exceeds what you find from online wholesalers. Rental companies use the same linens for multiple weddings so the quality of the linens needs to be a very high quality. Also, some brides may think all satins are the same, but there are so many varieties of satins available. At Picture Perfect Linens, we offer Lamour Satin which is a far better quality than the standard Shiny Bridal Satin. Our satin makes for a more elegant and sophisticated look than some of the satins you will find online.

2. Preparation/Setup is Done For You - The biggest advantage of using a rental company for your linens is that the setup and prep work is done for you! The last thing a bride wants to deal with on the days leading up to her wedding is ironing linens and making sure they are wrinkle free. A good rental company presses all linens before use and has proper equipment to store the linens until they need to be delivered. Also, most rental companies charge a minimal fee for setup on the day of the wedding. So for $75-$150 extra, you will have professional grade setup of the decor of your reception. There are countless brides who asked their friends/family to setup chair covers and sashes only to have them fall down on the chairs by the time the reception starts.

3. Variety of Linens - The variety of specialty linens that you find at rental companies, far exceeds what you're able to find from online wholesalers. These wholesalers usually only carry a certain amount of colors and not all sizes. So if a bride is looking for a certain color or certain unique cake table linen, it is hard to find them online. At Picture Perfect Linens, we carry a Puffy Barrel Tablecloth that rents for far less than what you can purchase it for online. We also offer many specialty linens that can distinguish your wedding from others.

All of this information is vital to a bride's decision about renting vs. buying linens. There is no correct answer. Each bride's situation is different so it's up to you to determine whether buying or renting is the right decision for you!