Wedding Hire Checklist: What to Book and When

Most wedding hire mistakes aren't about picking the wrong supplier, they're about booking things in the wrong order, discovering three weeks out that the marquee size doesn't fit the furniture you already ordered, or that nobody thought about toilets until the venue asked. This checklist runs through what to hire for an Australian wedding and roughly when to lock each piece in, so the pieces actually fit together by the time they all turn up on the day.

Start with the structure, everything else follows it

If the wedding is on private property, in a backyard, on a farm or anywhere without a purpose-built function room, the marquee is the first booking, not the last, because its size decides how much floor space is left for everything else. Nail down your guest count first, then work out a footprint using the marquee size guide, and get a marquee quote locked in 3-6 months out for a peak-season (spring or autumn) wedding, since good suppliers book out early on the best weekends. Understand roughly what marquee hire costs at this stage too, because it's usually the single biggest line item in the hire budget and worth confirming before you commit to other big-ticket bookings.

Furniture and seating, once the guest count is locked

Tables, chairs and linen should be booked once your final (or close to final) guest count is confirmed, typically 2-4 months out. Working out how many tables and chairs you actually need, in your preferred table style, before you contact a furniture supplier means you're asking for a specific order rather than a rough estimate that gets revised twice. This is also the point to decide on a head table or bridal table layout, a gift and card table, and any lounge or cocktail furniture for a pre-reception drinks area.

Ceremony furniture is a separate booking

If the ceremony is happening on-site (rather than at a church or separate venue), ceremony chairs, an arbour or arch, an aisle runner and a signing table are usually a different hire line to the reception furniture, sometimes from a styling specialist rather than the general furniture supplier. Book this alongside your main furniture order so delivery and pack-down can be coordinated as one job rather than two separate trucks turning up on the day.

Power, before you assume there's enough of it

Ask this question early, not on the week of the wedding: does the site have enough power for a band or DJ, lighting, a coffee cart, catering equipment and a marquee heater or cooler running at the same time? Residential power circuits are often not built for that combined load, and running an extension lead from the house is not a real answer for a marquee full of guests. If there's any doubt, work through whether you need a generator well before the final month, because generator hire, like marquees, gets booked out on popular wedding weekends.

Toilets, especially for a home or property wedding

If the venue doesn't have enough permanent facilities for your guest count (common for backyard, farm and rural property weddings), portable toilets need to be part of the plan, not an afterthought raised by a nervous bridesmaid the week before. See how many portable toilets an event actually needs and book them alongside the marquee, since delivery for both often happens on the same setup day.

Climate control, once the season is known

A summer wedding in a marquee without cooling, or a winter wedding without heating, is the kind of oversight nobody notices until the day. Once your date and season are locked in, read through heating and cooling a marquee in Australian conditions and add it to the marquee order rather than as a separate late booking, since ducted systems in particular need to be specified against the marquee itself.

Styling and finishing touches, last but not last-minute

Decor, floral styling, an arbour, table centrepieces, fairy lights or festoon lighting, a dance floor and a photo booth are usually the last things booked, typically 1-2 months out, but "last" doesn't mean "leave it to the final week." Popular styling suppliers and photo booth operators book out on the same weekends as marquees and furniture, so treat this as a real deadline, not a flexible one.

Reconfirm everything once the final guest count lands

RSVPs rarely settle until 3-4 weeks out, which is exactly when marquee, furniture and catering numbers need to be locked in properly. Rather than treating each supplier's final headcount as a separate conversation, update one master guest number and send it to every supplier the same week: the marquee company, the furniture hire, the toilet supplier if you've booked one, and catering. A mismatch between what the marquee was sized for and what the furniture order assumes is one of the most common last-minute scrambles in property weddings, and it's entirely avoidable if one number drives every order.

A rough booking timeline

• 6-9 months out: venue or property confirmed, marquee supplier booked if needed.
• 3-6 months out: catering, bar service, marquee walls/flooring/lighting finalised.
• 2-4 months out: furniture, ceremony hire, toilets and power confirmed against a near-final guest count.
• 1-2 months out: styling, decor, dance floor, photo booth and any remaining extras.
• 2-4 weeks out: final guest count confirmed to every supplier, deposits and bonds settled, and the bond and fee terms checked so there are no surprises on the invoice.

One marketplace, many independent suppliers

Party Hire Near Me lists marquee, furniture, toilet, power and styling suppliers from across Australia in one place, which makes comparing options faster, but every booking, contract, deposit and bond is between you and the supplier directly; we're a classifieds platform, not the supplier, the venue or a wedding planner. Start with marquees and tents and work through the checklist above at a pace that fits your date.