Rental FAQ's

CAN I DRY HIRE THE ITEMS??

Most of our clients dry hire our items and arrange delivery and collection through us. We deliver and load into the venue after which the caterers or banqueting team will set the items up on the tables on your behalf (as they would if using their in-house equipment). Where this is not possible, we can set-up the tables for an additional cost. Please enquire for more details.

HOW LONG DO WE HAVE THE ITEMS FOR?

We have a 3 day rental period which includes Friday delivery to Monday morning collection for weekend events. If you require the items for longer, please do get in touch as we are happy to discuss that with you.

CAN I HIRE CUTLERY ON ITS OWN?

We are able to hire out our Versailles range of cutlery as a standalone rental. However, due to popularity, our Grace Matt Gold and Gaia Cutlery need to be hired as part of a package either chargers or stemware (or both).

HOW DO I SECURE MY BOOKING?

We require a 50% non-refundable deposit to secure your booking and reserve the items you have selected for your wedding or event. We recommend paying the deposit on the maximum number of guests you are anticipating with an allowance for a few spare settings.

For bookings with less than four weeks to go, we will require the balance in full alongside the refundable security deposit.

WHAT IF MY NUMBERS CHANGE?

We understand that the number of guests attending at the outset of the planning process may change quite a bit closer to the event or wedding date. We therefore allow numbers to be revised four weeks ahead of the actual event date. We will get in touch with you when your balance is due and ask for a number count and revise the balance invoice accordingly. This means that even if you have paid a larger deposit to confirm your booking, you won’t lose any money unless your numbers drop below the 50% deposit paid. Please note that the deposit is non transferrable to other items – once you’ve paid the deposit, we will have held those items for you and therefore they aren’t available to other clients so we are unable to transfer the deposit to other items not detailed on the invoice. It’s important to let us know as soon as possible if you think your numbers are going to increase above the quantities you have paid for with your deposit booking as other clients may have booked these out for their wedding or event. Some of our items are extremely popular and are often fully booked during the wedding season.

SHOULD I ORDER SPARES?

We always advise ordering a spares of each item just in case. Please note that our items come in their full bundles and crates and we will round up to the nearest bundle for your guests numbers so the good news is that it is likely that you will have spares of some items depending on your final numbers and the products you are ordering. Each pack size is outlined in our quotations and invoices and you may wish to order an additional pack to make sure that you have accounted for a few spare numbers. We can’t open bundles and do charge for the full pack sizes even if all the items aren’t used; we can’t hire these out to other customers and all items on the order will need to be washed alongside the other items too on return regardless of whether they are used or not.

DELIVERY & COLLECTION

Delivery and collection is quoted from our warehouse just outside Hemel Hempstead to your venue or specified destination. Please provide us with the postcode so that we can quote accurately. The cheapest option is for delivery/ collection Mon – Fri between 9:30 – 5:30pm. We will happily deliver and collect outside of these hours but there is an additional charge. Payment is required in full before we deliver any items.

CAN I COLLECT MY ORDER?

Depending on the size of the order and which items have been booked, we do allow clients to collect from our warehouse which is located just outside Hemel Hempstead. Most clients collect cutlery, chargers and coloured goblets from us but please note that it’s the client’s responsibility to send a vehicle that is suitably sized to fit the items in. We can give an indication of the volume but can’t advise if a certain car will be suitable. Orders that exceed a certain volume or replacement value won’t qualify for customer self collections.

It’s important to note that the security deposit for self-collections increases as our items are more at risk when not being transported by one of our drivers. This may be due to not being re-packed correctly on the return journey or clients forgetting to bring everything back.

CAN ITEMS BE COURIERED OR POSTED?

Our items are transported in appropriate catering boxes and crates and therefore are not suitable for overnight couriers or for posting. All items being couriered need to be allocated a designated, same day courier.

DO YOU HAVE A MINIMUM ORDER?

During our peak wedding season which runs between May to October, our minimum hire is £400+VAT excluding linens, wash and delivery/ collection fees. The same applies for orders placed during the Christmas period. At other times of the year our minimum hire value is slightly less at £300+VAT excluding linens, wash and delivery/ collection fees. Please note that this order value increases the further the delivery point is from our base. We have set rates for different regions of the UK so please do fill out the form and we can advise. Also, please consider that greater distances will also increase the delivery and collection costs as our drivers need to make the journey to the venue and then back again to base.

The minimum fees also apply to our dinner party packages.

WHAT IS THE REFUNDABLE SECURITY DEPOSIT FOR?

We take a refundable security deposit in case of any breakages or missing items which is taken along with the balance deposit four weeks ahead of the event date. The amount will vary depending on the items being hired and the quantities of those items. It’s not uncommon to have a few items broken or missing following a wedding – a guest may drop a glass on the floor or knock cutlery under the table for instance.

HOW DO I LOOK AFTER THE ITEMS?

We do ask that our items are re-packed as they were delivered in the Duchess & Butler crates or boxes provided. We charge 20% of the rental fee to professionally clean dinnerware/cutlery and 25% on all glassware. In addition to this we do require all cutlery to be rinsed to remove food residue after use, as once food is left to dry on cutlery it can damage the items resulting in replacement charges. We understand in some cases that rinsing cutlery at certain venues may be tricky, if this is the case, please talk to us about the option of a late night collection and rinse fee at an additional cost