If you haven't stocked up on lighted tables and eco-friendly ware, get a move on. Here, rental operators share what's all the rage …
COMPANY: M&M The Special Events Co., Carol Stream, Ill.
Hot: Lighted bars, shaped plates and chargers in different colors and patterns, and lounge furniture, which president Michael Berk says is “the '70s disco look re-visited and updated.”
Not: “Chocolate fountains have run their course,” Berk says.
COMPANY: TriServe Party Rentals, New York
Hot: Screens made from sustainable materials.
Not: Square plates.
COMPANY: Celebration Party Rentals, Lee's Summit, Mo.
Hot: Lighted bars and tables, white spandex.
Not: Rose- and purple-colored linen.
COMPANY: Marquee Tent Productions, Austin, Texas
Hot: An iDJ system — a small speaker on a stand with a microphone and the new iPod Touch. It has four hours of customized music and “works great for events that need music but not necessarily a band or DJ,” according to president Narcy Martinez, CSEP, CERP.
COMPANY: Pedersen's Rentals, Burnaby, British Columbia
Hot: Faux Shantung silk linen, modern bar stools, velvet flocked linen, mini dishes and glasses for petite desserts, white china and “anything environmentally friendly,” vice president Rhonda Pedersen says.
Not: Damask, crinkle-crush linen, frilly items and earth-unfriendly cleaning products.
COMPANY: Chicago Party Rental, McCook, Ill.
Hot: Energy-efficient tents; low-energy LED lighting; combining different linen fabrics, such as crepe de Chine, sheer, lamour and crushed; using standard linen in new ways, such as banding a chair tie around the perimeter of the table instead of cinching; and using a single unit for both heat and air conditioning.
Not: Bows, poufy swags, disposable items and table skirting; clients favor skirtless banquet cloths.
RESOURCES
Apres Party and Tent Rental
952/942-3399
www.apresparty.com
Celebration Party Rentals
816/525-8568
www.celebratekc.com
Chicago Party Rental
800/322-5868
www.chicagopartyrental.com
Marquee Tent Productions
512/491-7441
www.marqueetents.com
M&M The Special Events Co.
630/871-9999
www.mmspecialevents.com
Pedersen's Rentals
604/324-7368
www.pedersens.com
TriServe Party Rentals
212/752-7661
triservepartyrentals.com
A RENTAL RUNDOWN
Sheree Bochenek, design consultant for Apres Party and Tent Rental in Edina, Minn., provides the ultimate cheat sheet for all things rental.
AT THE TABLE
Hot: “Evolved” square dishware that is slightly rounded or has a circular center; distinctive and opaque white or black glassware — “Pure” from Fortessa is particularly popular — metal, bamboo and square charger plates; copper, hematite and brushed-gold flatware; and tabletop patterns “resembling tiny pebbles.”
TENTING
Hot: Open structures that resemble buildings, clear-span and Navi-Trac tents with slanted and straight roofs, sisal hardwood floors, geometric carpet grids, and chandeliers and lanterns — especially clear, Moroccan-beaded or French tin.
DECOR
Hot: Acrylic chairs, candelabras and water tables where flowers can float on water between an acrylic base and lid — Bochenek's new passion is black acrylic; bling, such as huge crystals, candelabras, hanging ornamentation and crystal-encrusted napkin rings.
FABRICS
Hot: Vertical or “mushroom” pleating, raised velvet design with a “modern Louis XIV feel” for a rich look with depth, organic looks with textured wovens and taffetas that “resemble tree bark or dimensional leaf patterns,” graphic prints of black and white, chocolatey browns in different fabrics, all shades of blue — cobalt, hyacinth, soft lilac-tinged and Tiffany blue — as well as fuchsia, purple, gray and metallic.
