Returning the Hire: Deadlines, Deposits and the Morning After

Both approaches to returning hired wedding items work. What differs is what they cost you, and the cost is what this sets out.

What has to go back and when

Furniture, linen, crockery, glassware, structures, lighting, outfits and anything else hired all have a return arrangement written into a contract. Some suppliers collect and some require return, and the difference determines whether you need a vehicle and a person. Collection times are frequently early on the morning after, because the items are booked out again for the following weekend.

Late returns generally incur a charge or forfeit a deposit, and the amounts are not trivial for a large hire. Read every contract for its return terms while you are still calm and write the times on one list.

Assigning it before the day

Neither of you will be in a position to manage a collection the morning after, and expecting to is the standard mistake. Name a specific person for each collection and give them the supplier's contact details, the time and the location.

Ask them explicitly rather than assuming a willing relative will pick it up, because assumed volunteers do not appear. Where several suppliers collect from the same place, one person can usually cover them all with a clear list. This is a fifteen-minute planning task that prevents the worst hour of the following week.

Counting things out and in

Hire is charged against a count, and shortfalls are billed, so someone should check quantities at delivery as well as at return. Breakages happen at every wedding and are usually covered by a charge rather than a dispute, provided they are reported honestly.

On the day itself, keep the delivery note, since it is the only evidence of what actually arrived rather than what was ordered. Photograph anything that was already damaged on arrival, which takes a minute and settles an argument. Where an item is genuinely missing, tell the supplier promptly, as items frequently turn up in a venue's store cupboard.

Getting deposits back

Damage deposits are held by venues and by hire companies and are returned according to terms that vary considerably. Establish who inspects, when, and how long the return takes, since some are settled within days and others take considerably longer.

The decision that unlocks the rest: chase politely if the stated period passes, because deposits are occasionally forgotten rather than withheld. Where a deduction is made, ask for the detail, which is entirely reasonable and usually produces a clear answer.

Record the expected returns in the same place as your payments list so nothing is quietly written off.

Clothing and formal wear

Hired outfits usually have a short return window and charges for late return, and this catches couples out while travelling. If you are leaving immediately after the wedding, arrange the return with someone else before you go rather than after.

Six months out, check the terms on cleaning, since some suppliers require garments returned uncleaned and others expect the opposite. The wedding party's outfits are each individuals' responsibility, but the couple usually gets the call if one is late. A short message to everyone with the return date and address prevents all of it.

Nobody executes the plan exactly, and guests do not notice the parts that slipped.

What belongs to you

Anything you brought yourselves also has to leave, including decorations, stationery, leftover favours and personal items. Venues generally dispose of what is left behind, sometimes within a day, and are not obliged to store it for you. Gifts, cards and anything valuable need a named person and a plan agreed before the evening rather than during it.

Designate one clearly marked box for anything that must not be lost, and tell your coordinator where it is. The most commonly lost items are the guest book, the cards and one of the couple's own possessions.

Side by side

The takeaway

Write every collection time on one list, put a name beside each, and hand it over before the wedding starts.

Decide early, decide once, and stop reopening it.