How To Find Cheap Tablecloths For Your Wedding

Tablecloths and chair covers are a key element every wedding. Often, the linens, tablecloths and chair covers that you select for your wedding, set the initial atmosphere and tone for your entire event. If you’re not careful, rental charges can sneak up on you – to the point where buying your own set of wedding linens may be the more affordable option.

Why would it cost so much to rent vs buy? Wedding venues and rental companies will tell you that tablecloths and chair covers need to be laundered, pressed and perfectly matched for each event. Your paying a premium for minimal convenience in return. Save your money, and achieve the style your going for by tracking down some cheap table cloths for weddings with these simple tips:.

Start by choosing widely available tablecloth colors

White and black fabrics are probably the two most common colors used at any event. When you select rare color combinations for your wedding you may be unknowingly setting yourself up for greater expense, less options, and more frustrations.

There is an elegance in simplicity – in the atmosphere it creates, truly focusing the attention of the day towards the real centerpiece, you. And also by the savings it can bring.

Sticking to simple colors is easy to do, as long as you view them as the background to the overall impact you’re trying to create. Adding small flourishes that complement your color scheme can tie together the overall look and feel you’re going for, but without the cost and volume needed to accomplish the same style with larger items, such as your tablecloths and chair covers.

Look to items such as napkins, napkin holders, chair ribbons, sachets, wedding centerpieces and table adornments as inexpensive areas for added flair. Get creative here and you will amaze your guests, save yourself money, and still create the wedding atmosphere that you’re going for.

Also, consider the durability of the tablecloth material you are selecting

If you choose to go with cotton tablecloths, linen tablecloths, or a similar durable material you will find the fabrics are much cheaper to come by. Thin, delicate materials are less durable, more expensive to manufacture, and need to be replaced more often (more of an impact for rentals) and all that added expense will ultimately be passed down to you, the consumer.

Great Sources for Finding Cheap Wedding Tablecloths:

• Check your local fabric stores to see if any bulk material is on discount. This will require the most efforts on your part as will have to size, cut and maybe even hem each tablecloth (depending on the fabric – and the style your trying to achieve) but it can be a great way to create an affordable set of tablecloths for your wedding.
• Discount Stores like Walmart, or the Dollar Tree could be excellent places to look for inexpensive tablecloths. You might be able to purchase vinyl tablecloths for about $1. You could also repurpose flat sheets, a quick pass through a sewing machine could correct the hem – and most flat white sheets can be purchased for $2 – $3 dollars apiece.
• If you’re comfortable repurposing flat sheets as tablecloths, then head out to some garage sales and thrift stores. Basic white sheets are easy to come by, and with a little negotiation you’ll be able to pick up a great deal.
• Bulk stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, or even better a restaurant supply company would be excellent places to look for commercial table coverings. These are generally disposable, but because your purchasing in bulk the cost here is really dependent on the number of tables you need to cover. These commercial tablecloths are only inexpensive if your wedding is large and will use enough of these coverings to make it worth your while.
• Online linen tablecloth companies (who may require you to do more of the preparation, such as the laundering and pressing. But as always, the more work you do yourself, the less you have to pay.)
• Also, make sure you check with your wedding venues coordinator, they may have in-house supplies that you are free to use at no additional charge.

[Photo: "Wedding Table Setting" Photo by andrewmalone, some rights reserved.]