The short answer
Count ceremony and reception chairs separately, then work out tables from how many each seats: about eight at a 1.5 m round, ten at a 1.8 m round and six at a 1.8 m trestle. Order crockery and cutlery per course and glasses per drink, add about 10% spare, and check the hire terms before you book.
Hiring for a wedding is mostly arithmetic, and the arithmetic is where it goes wrong: twelve guests without a dessert fork, a top table with no tablecloth, or forty ceremony chairs still on the beach when the reception starts. This wedding hire checklist gives you the numbers to work from.
Below: chairs, table sizes and capacities, tablecloth sizes, crockery, cutlery and glasses, spares, a full quantities table for a hypothetical 100-guest wedding, and the hire terms to check before you book, including how hire works with Tarika.
Start with a headcount and a floor plan
Before you count a single fork, settle three things:
- Your final guest number, including the two of you, children who need a seat, and any suppliers who’ll be fed at a table (photographer, videographer, coordinator).
- Where everything happens. A ceremony on the beach and a reception at a hall are two separate setups. A ceremony and reception at one venue may share chairs.
- How food is served. Plated, buffet, food stations or a spit braai each need different crockery, cutlery and serving pieces. Our guide to wedding menu styles compares them.
Then sketch the room or site with tables drawn in. It doesn’t need to be to scale, but it shows you where the bar, cake, gifts and dance floor go, which is where forgotten tables usually hide.
Ceremony chairs vs reception chairs
If you’re seating everyone for the ceremony, you have two choices:
- Hire one set and move it. This works only when the ceremony and reception share a venue, and it needs people and time. Build the move into the timeline while guests have drinks, and make sure someone is actually responsible for it.
- Hire two sets. Essential when the ceremony and reception are in different places, such as a beach ceremony followed by a reception at a hall or farm. It also lets you set the reception completely before guests arrive.
Add a small signing table with two chairs for the couple to sign the register, and seats for any musicians. For a beach ceremony, count blankets too; it gets cold when the sun drops.
Wedding table sizes and how many each seats
Allow roughly 60 cm of table edge per guest for comfortable dining; you can squeeze to a little under 50 cm, but elbows will know about it. On that basis, these are common sizes and what they seat:
| Table | Comfortable | At a squeeze | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 m round | 6 | 8 | Small families, a children’s table |
| 1.5 m round | 8 | 10 | A common banquet size |
| 1.8 m round | 10 | 12 | Fewer tables; centrepieces need more presence |
| 1.8 m trestle (about 0.75 m wide) | 6 | 8 with ends | Three a side; seat the ends for eight |
| 2.4 m trestle | 8 | 10 with ends | Good for top tables and long banquet rows |
The maths is simple: a 1.5 m round has an edge of about 4.7 m, which is eight places at 60 cm, and a 1.8 m round has about 5.7 m, which is ten places at about 57 cm. Check the exact sizes your hire company stocks, because they vary.
To place people at the tables, use our wedding seating plan guide. If you’re under canvas, your tent company will want the table layout early; see stretch tent and marquee weddings.
Tablecloth sizes and drops
The “drop” is how far the cloth hangs over the edge. Everyday dining drops are roughly 15 to 38 cm; a floor-length cloth drops the full height of the table, which is about 75 cm. The formula is the table size plus twice the drop, in each direction.
| Table | Shorter drop | Floor-length |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 m round | 2.3 m round cloth (about 40 cm drop) | 3 m round cloth |
| 1.8 m round | 2.7 m round cloth (about 45 cm drop) | 3.3 m round cloth |
| 1.8 m trestle | About 2.3 m × 3.3 m | |
| 2.4 m trestle | About 2.3 m × 3.9 m |
These match standard tablecloth size charts, which assume a table height of about 76 cm. Floor-length cloths look more formal and hide table legs and anything stored underneath; shorter drops are easier on a windy site.
Then add:
- Napkins: one per guest, plus spares.
- Runners or overlays: one per table, if you’re using them.
- Cloths for the extra tables: cake, gifts and cards, guest book, bar, DJ and the signing table.
- Chair covers or sashes: only if you want them.
Crockery and cutlery per course
Count one piece per guest per course, then add spares. A plated three-course dinner typically needs:
| Course | Crockery | Cutlery |
|---|---|---|
| Bread or starter | Side plate, starter plate or bowl | Butter knife, starter knife and fork (or soup spoon) |
| Main | Dinner plate | Main knife and fork (steak knives for a braai) |
| Dessert | Dessert plate or bowl | Dessert spoon and fork |
| Cake | Side plate (unless cake is dessert) | Cake fork |
| Tea and coffee | Cup and saucer | Teaspoon |
For a buffet, add extra dinner plates, because people go back for seconds with a clean plate. Remember the serving pieces too: platters, serving spoons and tongs, a cake knife and server, water jugs for each table, and chafing dishes if hot food is kept warm. Ask your caterer exactly what they bring, because some supply some or all of their own.
Glasses per drink
Count one glass of each type you’ll actually serve, per guest:
- Water glass at every place.
- Wine glass, one per guest. Add a second if you’re pouring red and white and want separate glasses.
- Champagne flute for the toast, if there’s one.
- Tumblers or highballs for soft drinks and mixed drinks.
- Gin glasses or beer glasses if your bar serves them.
Glasses go astray easily, because guests put them down and pick up a new one. Add a generous spare allowance at the bar, and plan for someone to collect, rinse and return glasses during the evening. For working out how much to pour, see how much alcohol you need for a wedding.
A full quantities table for a 100-guest wedding
How many spares to add
About 10% on crockery, cutlery and napkins covers breakages, dropped forks and late additions to the guest list. On bar glassware, more is sensible. A few extra chairs are always useful; someone’s grandfather will need a seat near the dance floor.
The 100-guest example
Say you have 100 guests, including the two of you, with a beach ceremony, a reception at a nearby hall, a plated three-course dinner, wine, a champagne toast and a bar. Seating is nine 1.8 m rounds of ten, plus a top table of ten.
| Item | Quantity | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremony chairs | 100 | Everyone seated; reception is elsewhere |
| Signing table and chairs | 1 table, 2 chairs | For signing the register |
| Blankets for the ceremony | 50 | One between two guests |
| Reception chairs | 105 | 100 plus a few spare |
| 1.8 m round tables | 9 | 90 guests at ten per table |
| 2.4 m trestles for the top table | 3 | Ten guests along one side |
| Extra tables | 6 | Cake, gifts and cards, guest book, bar (2), DJ |
| Cocktail tables | 6 | Somewhere to put a glass down before dinner |
| Round cloths, 3.3 m | 9 | Floor-length on 1.8 m rounds |
| Trestle cloths, floor-length | 9 | Top table and extra tables |
| Napkins | 110 | 100 plus 10% |
| Side plates | 220 | Bread, then a clean one for cake |
| Starter plates | 110 | One per guest plus 10% |
| Dinner plates | 110 | One per guest plus 10% |
| Dessert bowls | 110 | One per guest plus 10% |
| Cups and saucers | 110 | Tea and coffee after dinner |
| Knives (starter, main, butter) | 110 each | One per guest per course plus 10% |
| Forks (starter, main, dessert, cake) | 110 each | As above |
| Dessert spoons and teaspoons | 110 each | As above |
| Water glasses | 110 | One per place plus 10% |
| Wine glasses | 110 | One per guest, one wine at a time |
| Champagne flutes | 110 | For the toast |
| Tumblers and highballs | 130 | Bar drinks; extra because glasses go astray |
| Water jugs | 10 | One per table |
Your numbers will differ, but the method holds: one per guest, per course, per drink, then spares.
Delivery, setup, collection and deposits
Before you book any hire company, get the terms in writing: what secures the booking, how breakages and missing items are charged, whether delivery includes setup and collection, and how everything must come back. Tarika hires out its stock on its own, whether or not we’re planning your wedding, and it works like this:
- Quote. Send your list of items and quantities, the date and where it’s going. You’ll get a quote and confirmation of what’s available on your date. If we’re short on something, we’ll tell you and help you source the rest locally.
- Deposit. A deposit confirms the booking, with the balance due before delivery. A refundable breakage deposit applies to crockery, cutlery and glassware.
- Delivery or collection. We deliver around Jeffreys Bay and the surrounding towns, charged on distance, and set up if you want us to. You’re also welcome to collect, provided you can transport everything safely.
- Returns. Crockery and cutlery come back rinsed and repacked in the crates they arrived in. Linen goes back as it is, because we handle the laundry. Anything broken or missing comes off the breakage deposit at replacement cost.
Exact rates, deposits and delivery fees are confirmed on your quote, because they depend on quantities, distance and the date.
You can see what’s available, from white wooden folding, Tiffany and stackable chairs to round, trestle and cocktail tables, arches, linen, crockery, cutlery, glassware, blankets and a red carpet, on our hire page.
Next steps
Settle your guest number, layout and menu style, sketch the floor plan, and fill in a quantities table like the one above. Add spares, and confirm the terms before you pay a deposit. For what hire tends to cost and how it compares with buying, see how much wedding décor costs, and for dressing the tables once they arrive, our wedding table décor ideas.
When your list is ready, send it through with your date and we’ll reply within a working day, or browse everything you can hire first.
Frequently asked questions
How many chairs do you need for a wedding?
One per guest at the reception, plus a few spares, and one per guest at the ceremony if everyone is seated. If the ceremony and reception are in different places, you need two full sets or a crew and a gap in the timeline to move them. Add chairs for the signing table, musicians and any suppliers you’re feeding at a table.
What size tablecloth do you need for a round table?
Add twice the drop you want to the table’s diameter. For a floor-length cloth on a table about 75 cm high, that means roughly a 3 m round cloth for a 1.5 m table and a 3.3 m round cloth for a 1.8 m table. For a shorter, neater drop, a 2.3 m cloth on a 1.5 m table hangs about 40 cm over each side.
Do you have to wash hired crockery and linen before returning it?
It depends on the hire company, so read the terms. With Tarika, crockery and cutlery come back rinsed and repacked in their crates, and linen goes back as it is, because we handle the laundry. Anything broken or missing comes off the refundable breakage deposit at replacement cost, so count everything back into its crates at the end of the night.
How far ahead should you book wedding hire items?
As soon as your date, venue and rough numbers are settled, especially for a Saturday between December and February, when stock is in demand. Ask how late you can adjust quantities once your RSVPs are in, and confirm delivery and collection times in writing. Off-season and mid-week dates are often easier to book at shorter notice.