Birthdays, engagements, parties at home
Party Hire
Bars, cocktail furniture, lounge settings, festoon lighting and dance floors for adult celebrations and private parties.
Hire for events
Event HireEverything a room can be built from, sorted the way hire companies quote it.
Start with the occasion or go straight to the pieces. Each category explains what it covers, what shapes a quote and what to ask, so the brief you send is easy to price.
By occasion
Start with the occasion.
Party and wedding hire bring together the pieces a celebration usually needs. Use them when you know the event but not yet the list.
Ceremony and reception
Wedding Hire
Ceremony seating, arbours, signing tables, reception furniture and tableware: the pieces that turn a venue into your room.
Every occasion
Events
Showers, christenings, corporate nights and long lunches, with the hire categories each one tends to lean on.
The elements
Build the list by element.
Six categories cover almost every physical piece at an event. Open one to see how it is usually quoted and what to check.
Event Furniture Hire
Chairs · Dining and cocktail tables · Lounges · Stools · Ottomans
Chairs, tables, lounge settings, bar stools, ottomans and cocktail furniture. This is the category that decides how guests sit, stand and move.
Tableware & Linen Hire
Linen · Crockery · Cutlery · Glassware · Chargers · Vases
Everything that lands on the table: tablecloths, runners, napkins, plates, cutlery, glassware, chargers and vessels for centrepieces.
Backdrop & Arbour Hire
Arbours · Arches · Draping · Panel walls
Structures that frame a moment: ceremony arbours, arches, draped frames, panel walls and backdrops for photos and speeches.
Marquee Hire
Frame · Stretch · Pole · Tipi · Flooring
Shelter, and a room where there isn’t one: frame marquees, stretch tents, pole marquees and tipis, with flooring and walls.
Event Lighting Hire
Festoons · Fairy lights · Candles · Uplights · Dance floors
Festoons, fairy lights, candles, candelabra, LED uplighting and light-up dance floors. Light is what changes a room after dark.
Event Décor Hire
Plinths · Signage · Props · Decorations
The finishing layer: plinths, vessels, signage, props and decorations that give a space its character.
How it is delivered
Pieces only, installed or styled.
The same chair can arrive three ways. Decide how much help you want on the day before you compare quotes.
01 · Pieces only
You take delivery or collect, and you set up
Often called dry hire. It suits a simple layout, a few helpers and enough time before guests arrive.
- Confirm the delivery or collection window
- Ask who covers breakages and missing pieces
- Check how pieces should be packed for return
02 · Delivered and installed
The hire company delivers, sets up and packs down
The usual choice for marquees, dance floors, draping and anything heavy or technical, where installation is part of the job.
- Ask what setup includes and how long it takes
- Share stairs, lifts, parking and the distance from the truck
- Match pack-down to the time the venue closes
03 · Styled
A stylist designs the space and brings it together
A stylist chooses the pieces, plans the layout and dresses the room, using their own range or pieces from hire companies.
- Ask whether hire items sit inside the styling fee
- Ask who will be on site during setup
- Share inspiration images early
Beyond furniture
Event equipment hire, from floors to power.
Some of the most useful hire items never appear in a styled photo. Add them to your brief early, because they affect the layout and the setup time.
Dance floors and staging
Portable dance floors and low stages give a band, a DJ or the speeches a defined place. Share the floor area you have and what will stand on it.
Bars and back bars
A hired bar sets the service point in a room. Think about where drinks will be stored and how guests will queue before choosing its position.
Shade and warmth
Market umbrellas, heaters and shade sails make outdoor spaces usable for longer. Ask about fuel type, clearances and what the venue allows.
Flooring and runners
Carpet runners, matting and marquee flooring protect lawns and give guests a stable surface to walk and dance on.
Light-up letters and signs
Initials, numbers and neon-style signs photograph well at night. Confirm the power they need and where the cable will run.
Power and cabling
Lighting, heaters and bars all draw power. Ask each supplier what they need so the load can be planned before the day.
Before you ask
What to have ready for event hire quotes.
Hire companies price from the details you give them. These eight points answer most of their first questions.
Guest numbers and format
Seated dinner, cocktail or a mix. The format changes the furniture list more than the guest count does.
The space
Indoor or outdoor, rough measurements, the surface underfoot and any slope.
Access
Stairs, lifts, narrow doors, parking for a truck and the distance from the kerb to the setup area.
Timing
Your event date, when the space opens for setup and when everything has to be gone.
A weather plan
For outdoor events, what happens if it rains, blows or turns cold.
A budget range
A band helps suppliers suggest what fits rather than quoting for everything.
References
Photos of rooms you like, including images you have saved on The Set Edit.
Must-haves and extras
Separate the pieces the event needs from the ones you would add if the budget allows.
Packages
Event hire packages or a piece-by-piece quote?
Both are common. The right one depends on how closely a package matches your guest count, layout and style.
What a package usually means
A package groups pieces that are often hired together, such as a lounge setting with a coffee table and rug, or chairs with tables and linen for a set number of guests. Contents and quantities differ between companies.
When a package makes sense
When the bundle matches your guests and style closely, a package keeps the quote simple. When you would remove half of it, ask for an itemised quote instead.
How to compare the two
Ask each company to list quantities, delivery, setup, pack-down and any minimum hire amount. Compare the lists line by line rather than the totals alone.
Event hire services, not just items
Labour, travel, after-hours collection and cleaning can appear as separate service lines. Check that every quote shows them, so a lower total isn’t simply missing something.
If you would rather hand the whole look to someone else, see event stylists or event styling.
Questions
Event hire, answered.
Short answers to the questions people ask before they send a brief. Terms differ between suppliers, so confirm details in each quote.
Is event hire the same as party hire?
They overlap. Event hire is the broad category and includes weddings, corporate functions and formal dinners as well as parties.
Party hire usually means the furniture, bars, lighting and décor people hire for birthdays, engagements and parties at home.
Can one brief cover several kinds of hire?
Yes. Step 2 of the brief lets you select as many service types as you need, from furniture and tableware to lighting, flooring and styling, and describe anything else in your own words.
What if I don’t know what to hire yet?
Choose “I’m not sure what I need” in the brief and describe the event, the space and the feel you want. Event hire and styling professionals can suggest the pieces that suit.
Do I need a stylist as well as hire?
Not always. If you know the look and have help on the day, hiring the pieces may be enough. If you want someone to design the layout and dress the room, compare event stylists.
Why do quotes for similar pieces differ?
Quantities, the style and condition of the pieces, delivery distance, setup labour, access and timing all change a quote. Itemised quotes make those differences visible.
Near you
Event hire by state and market.
Location pages add local geography and the services people search for in each market.
Planning somewhere else? Choose your state and suburb in step 3 of your brief.
All locationsBuild your brief
One brief for every piece.
Tell us about the event, the space and the pieces you have in mind. Suitable event hire companies and stylists can review it and respond with quotes.
There is no obligation to book.