What Size Tent Do You Need for a Wedding?
They’re some of the most frequently asked questions in the realm of party tents. What size tent do I need for my wedding? How big should a wedding tent be for a reception, or for the main event? And how many tents should I use? Do I need one huge tent, or several smaller tents?
Thankfully, calculating the size of your wedding tent is fairly straightforward. There’s a simple algorithm we can use to figure out what size tent you need for a wedding, or any other type of event really. And figuring that out, and knowing how much a wedding tent costs, will give you a good idea of how many tents you should ultimately use.
Whether you’re renting tents or buying them, this simple formula will help you figure out precisely how big your wedding tents need to be. And given that you’re planning a wedding, we should hurry this up, right? So let’s get to it!
To fully calculate how big your wedding tent needs to be, we first need to answer a few important questions. And these will give us a good idea of how many different tents you’ll need, too.
- How many guests are you expecting to attend your wedding?
- Which wedding events will take place inside your tent(s)? Will they house your reception? Will you have a dance floor, or folding tables and chairs, or both?
- How much outdoor space do you have to work with?
- Is there a particular style of party tent you’re partial to, or are you just looking for a beautiful wedding tent with high functionality?
Calculating Wedding Tent Sizes (It’s Easy!)
Figuring out what size wedding tent you’ll need is rooted in a very simple algorithm used by event and party rental experts the world over. It involves some math, but thankfully it’s easy math.
First, we’ll need to figure out the square footage of a particular wedding tent. That’s simple enough: you just multiply the length versus the width (ignoring the height, of course). So a 10x10 party tent has 100 square feet, a 20x20 party tent has 400 square feet, a 40x40 party tent has 1600 square feet, and so on.
For dining, Each guest your wedding tent will accommodate needs to be given approximately 10 square feet of space. So let’s divide the square footage of a wedding tent by 10. That will tell us how many people can fit inside that particular tent (roughly speaking).
By this math, the 10x10 wedding tent can seat 10 people. The 20x20 can seat 40. And the large 40x40 wedding tent should have enough space for 160 guests to sit and eat comfortably.
This is assuming seats are arranged with guests seated side by side at rectangular folding tables. For cathedral-style seating, where everyone is sitting side by side and facing the same direction, you can get by with just 7 to 9 square feet per person.
If you’re more concerned with comfort than space, you can of course increase the square footage offered per guest. Some experts say you should offer as much as 18 square feet per seated diner and 12 square feet for row seating. It ultimately boils down to your financial and physical space limitations, and how many people you’re hoping can attend.
Dancing Days
A wedding without dancing is like a slice of pizza without cheese or sauce. It just doesn’t work, you know? So let’s make sure we’re planning on including some space for a portable dance floor and a DJ.
First, you’ll want to figure out how big your dance floor will be. And for the purposes of keeping this article as short as possible, we’ll just point you toward a blog we published that explains how big of a dance floor you need for parties or weddings.
For setting up inside a party tent, you’ll want to add about 30 percent or so to the square footage of the dance floor. This helps you make sure you have some additional space to work with, and for foot traffic. If you’re setting up outside of a party tent, you can use that information to help with planning your overall layout.
As for your DJ (disc jockey), space requirements tend to vary. But as a general rule, most DJ’s will request one 6’ or 8’ banquet style folding table, and they’ll need a few feet of additional space to work with. If they’re setting up lighting and large speakers, they’ll need additional space for trusses and stands. You’ll need to ask your DJ what sort of space they’ll need for their setup.
If you’re booking a band, that’s going to eat up a lot more space. You’ll need to consult with the band to learn how much overall space they’ll need. Bands have drum sets, guitar and bass amps, PA systems, and more. But a professional band should be able to tell you how much square footage their act will need.
What Else is Going Under Your Wedding Tents?
You’ll want to take a few moments to figure out what else, apart from dining and dancing, is going to happen underneath your tents. Then, try to calculate how much square footage each of those things will require. And be sure to round up and add space for maneuverability and miscellany, too.
We’ve seen people use wedding tents for just about everything under the sun. Some have lined up tables underneath them to house nothing but wedding gifts. Some set up smaller pop up tents to showcase their wedding cake.You might use party tents to protect ice sculptures, or create a play area for children, or provide caterers with tents for outdoor food preparation.
You’ll want to try and figure out the square footage of all these extra party tent uses and add them all up. Be sure to tack on some extra square footage, too. It’s always better to overestimate your needs than to be left with inadequate space. And be sure to reach out to service providers and ask what sort of operational space they need, too.
When all of this math is finished, you should have a strong idea of how many tents you’ll need, and how large those tents should be. And that, coupled with a general idea of how much open outdoor space you have to work with, should let you make concrete plans as to which wedding tents you should consider.
Figuring Out What Size Wedding Tent You Need is Easier than You Thought, Right?
See? We told you the math would be relatively easy! You just need to figure out and then add up some square footage. And at no point will you need to calculate the speeds of moving trains or figure out the absurd number of apples someone has questionably accumulated. Who writes those high school math questions, anyway?
Now that you’ve figured out how many tents and what sizes of tents you’ll need, the next step is easy: choosing the best wedding tents for your special day. You’ll want to brush up on the four basic party tent styles a little, but chances are you’ll want to go with a high peak tent. Pole tents and frame tents are great too, but a high peak tent screams “Pick me! Pick me!” when you’re putting together a wedding plan.
Many of you will want to rent your wedding tents, while some of you might be interested in buying one. If you do opt to buy a wedding tent instead of renting one, please give PTD a call at 1-716-566-5804 and let us help you find all of the equipment you’ll need. We carry party tents, folding tables, folding chairs, portable dance floors, and more. And we’ll do our best to work within your budget and put together a list of essentials, so that the only hitches you need to worry about are of the “getting” variety. Get it? Getting hitched? Ha!
On a serious note though, we hope your wedding planning is going smoothly. And more importantly, congratulations on reaching one of life’s greatest milestones. If you need any tent related help, please don’t hesitate to give us a call!
