How Event Linen Hire works: a complete guide for event planners

The linens are laundered, pressed, and packed by event, delivered on a named weekday anywhere in the UK, used at your occasion, then returned in a pre-labelled bag for us to launder. There is no washing, pressing or storage at your end, and no contract to sign. Whether you need event linen hire for a single wedding or ongoing table linen rentals for a busy events calendar, the process stays the same. 

Seeing the linens in the hand matters more than most planners expect. Colour behaves differently under candlelight than it does on a screen, and drape is impossible to judge from a photograph. Our collection features over 40 solid, brilliant colours, with custom colours for occasions that require an exact match to a brand or scheme.

Sizing follows the table and the look you are after. A five-foot round takes a 120-inch cloth to reach the floor, or a 104 inch for a 22-inch drop that sits clear of the chairs. A six-foot trestle takes 90 by 144 inches for full length. Our Table linen size guide lists every table against the cloths that fit it, with the drop for each

Before the quotation is written, we check your dates and verify availability, so the quotation reflects what is genuinely available for your occasion. Stock is allocated once an order is confirmed rather than at the quotation stage, so colours are not held while a decision is made. To confirm, you reply to the email. There are no contracts to sign.

The main factors are the number of covers, the size and drop of each cloth, whether any colours are custom, the length of the hire, and where and when the linens arrive. All deliveries and collections carry a surcharge. Laundering and pressing are included in the hire, so no laundry bill follows the event.

We do not deliver at weekends, and we aim to have the linens with you at least five days before the occasion, so there is time to check the order and put anything right.

Every item is hand-checked and pressed before it is packed for the event. The whole order arrives in one drop, checked and labelled so it can be sorted quickly on a busy morning. Each delivery includes a delivery note, a returns note, and a pre-labelled, paid returns bag, so the return is set up before the occasion begins.

We ask that boxes are opened and checked on arrival rather than an hour before service. We guarantee the standard of every order, and the earlier anything is flagged, the better the chance we can put it right before service.

Linens go into the pre-labelled bags once they are dry, with the returns note inside. Collection runs between 8 am and 5.30 pm on the date agreed at the time of booking, so someone needs to be on site. A failed collection charge applies if a return is not ready, and linens kept beyond the agreed date carry extended hire charges.

Everything then travels to our Cheltenham laundry, where the linens are washed and finished by CLEAN, our sister company in the Alsco family. Each piece is checked and pressed before it returns to the collection, ready for the next occasion.

Some damage cannot be laundered out. Ink is the most common cause of a cloth being condemned, usually a guest with a pen late in the evening. Candle wax means a cloth is condemned. Wax travels in the wash and can contaminate other items in the same load, so it cannot be laundered out, which is why we ask that candles never sit directly on the linen. Burns melt the fibres, since most of our table linen is polyester. Red wine will not lift in the wash, so a cloth marked with it is condemned. Heavy oil-based staining, paint and party poppers fall outside fair usage, as do rips from a cloth caught on a chair leg.

When an item cannot be returned to circulation, our customer service colleagues submit a damaged linen notification report. It includes photographs, the quantity affected, and a 10-day window before an invoice is issued at the current replacement cost. Missing linen follows the same process, with 10 days from the notification email to find it and return it. Anything that comes back later in rehireable condition is refunded.

Two habits prevent almost all of this. Count the linens against the returns note as they are bagged. And make sure they are dry and packed no more than 24 hours before collection, since damp linen sealed in a bag grows mildew quickly.

Colours move quickly through peak wedding weeks when demand for wedding linens runs highest, and through the festive season, and an early order confirmation secures the ones your scheme depends on. Bookings may be cancelled or postponed up to seven days before an occasion.

We have been dressing tables for memorable events for over 130 years, and we measure our work by how little you have to think about the linen on the day.

Enquire today about our linen hire services or order your swatches at Special Occasion Linen. Once your order is confirmed, your colours are secured for your date.