Posts Tagged ‘Wedding Tent Rentals NH’

What’s in a date you may ask? In a word, “events” take the most important day or special event in your life and tie it into a unique date and make it even more memorable. With 10/10/2010 just ten days away let’s take a look at how popular this day will become for many folks across the country. This big date is just around the corner but now is the time to prepare for 11/11/11 it even falls on a Friday. Let us know what special event you have scheduled for 10/10/10 or are you now thinking about 11/11/11 for your next big event. As always we are here to help you with your arrangements, we are here to help, so visit us today at www.exetereventsandtents.com for all your event needs. Read the rest of this entry »

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I had the pleasure reading is amazing story the other day. It came to me as a recommendation of the writing skills of the author Nicole Baute. The recommendation was from another author, a client of mine for many years. He had said to me “when you read this author’s work you are transformed by the words to the places and events she writes about”. As a bestselling author I listen, he knows good writing when he reads it and this article is no exception. Be sure to read the whole article the ending is unbelievable! Read the rest of this entry »

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In May 2010, I made the largest career change since I started Exeter Rent-All in 1986. I have always been on the marketing side of our company.   “Sell, create, close the deal, and create a new product or new market”  

I loved what I was doing, I love to sell! 

I was CEO of the company and spent 90% of my time selling and a minimal amount of time on operations.  Selling to me was  where the action is.

Well heaven became hell.   We were hitting the wall and I had to make a change in my career.  We were heading down a negative production spiral to failure.   Our production department was not developing in an acceptable fashion.   We were servicing a more discriminating buyer.  We were turning more transactions.  We were running into cost overruns, slow turnaround times and bloated labor costs.  Our product was not being maintained, cleaned, stored or shipped the way I wanted.

What is crazy is that new sales still were growing even in a recession.  

I knew for years what I should do but either did not have the guts or I wanted to do what I liked best rather than what the business needed most.

I did the about face in my career on May 4 2010.   I did not plan to do it that day but was forced to.  An emergency forced my hand. I took my computer, moved two miles down the street to my warehouse facility.  My daughter Ashley took over running the Party Sales department and all other operations at the main office. 

It is now three month since the move.  The transition has not been seamless.  Sparing detail I have bullet pointed the early results

1. Most Warehouse personnel welcomed the change
2.  The situation was worse than I thought
3. There was a production surprise  every corner  and every day
4. We were six months  behind in prep for the season
5. It’s a lot of work to instill core values of quality, process, procedure and personal responsibility  for your action
6. It won’t happen overnight     
7. The owner(me) can make faster, crisper decisions than a salaried manager

The real reason I did not do this earlier is I did not want to get out of my comfort zone.  A lack of guts on my part?

The major regret I have is that I didn’t do it sooner.    

Feel free to email me with any advice, support or questions

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Living on the New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts seacoasts offer many brides the opportunity to have their wedding on one of the beautiful beaches of New England’s seashore. Exeter Events and Tents is the leading authority when it comes to outfitting your perfect beach or seashore park wedding. We offer you the ability to contract with one supplier for all your event needs. Tents, tables, chairs, flooring, along with many choices of lighting, table settings and fabric selections allows you to coordinate exactly what you want and save money at the same time. We can also assist with finding that special seacoast location from Down East Maine through New Hampshire or along Massachusetts’s North shore, our over twenty years of working knowledge with the best venues in this area guaranty the perfect setting for your special day. Give us a call today to discuss the possibilities. We hope the following article inspires you to choose an outdoor wedding event and leave a comment or question, we would be happy to reply. Read the rest of this entry »

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Photo courtesy of NICO designs

So far this year the Northeast has experienced very early, warm and relatively dry weather patterns. Also, this beautiful spring seems to be transitioning into a sunny and pleasant summer. Keeping that in mind, the following story confirms that outside events by themselves have become a more popular trend this year. I am sure after reading this article you will have developed some creative ideas yourself, moving your next event outdoors.

Summertime brings many wonderful clients to Exeter Events and Tents. They rent tents, tables, chairs, stages, dance floors and more . . .  so call us today and see how we can help!

Planners and suppliers alike are saying that clients are looking for beautiful, organic, natural, fun and affordable. All of these things are leading to the estimated 11% increase in outdoor events this year. Read the rest of this entry »

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I would like to take a moment before we look at this week’s featured article by Joanna Baymiller to thank the loyal supporters of this blog. It gives us great pleasure to bring you these timely bits of information every Wednesday  in hopes of making your event a more memorial, smooth running and celebrated experience. We would love to hear your feedback, thoughts and ideas especially ideas on subjects that you would like us to cover. The subjects we talk about are near and dear to our hearts. We have a staff of professionals that have produced 100’s of creative, successful events using may of the ideas talked about in this article, so you don’t have to go it alone. Need advice or help please contact us we are always ready to help. After all, dazzling weddings under an elegant sail cloth tent is our specialty. So call us today you’ll be glad you did.

I hope you enjoy the article!

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So you think your job’s tough?

New Hampshire offers some very unique challenges in the tent rental business. Challenges with wind at the seacoast, granite everywhere in the ground and now floods from Nashua to Manchester and all around the Concord area… work can be a challenge! I read this article that appears in the latest issue of intent magazine about a tent rental company in western Canada and was comforted by the fact that things are the same no matter where you go.  The article outlines some of the same challenges and solutions Exeter Events and Tents faces every day and addresses the daily obstacles we all face, from overcoming not only work challenges but the struggles with the current economy and some of the unique solutions we found in common.

Alberta & British Columbia are beautiful and challenging locations to be in the tent rental business

InTents | April 2010 . Photo courtesy of All Occasions Party Rentals Inc.

Surrounded by mountains, lakes, ski resorts and wineries, the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, is a beautiful—and challenging—location to be in the tent rental business.

“I am sure our plight is no worse than many others, but we do live in a valley on a lake with rocky and sandy shores and mountaintop houses where the soil is bulletproof,” says Dwayne Ranson of All Occasions Party Rentals Inc. of Kelowna. “Not to mention a very high USPSF (my technical term for underground sprinklers per square foot!) as our climate is very arid.”

In Alberta, tent renters contend with a short season due to extreme winters. “Rentals usually start in April and end in October,” says Averill Torrieri, marketing manager for Special Event Rentals of Edmonton. “Rates are typically a bit higher here than warmer climates due to the fact that our rental season is only six to seven months long.”/p>>
Ranson says that his company uses only frame and clearspan tents, engineered and on adjustable legs to deal with irregular ground.

“Tents that can’t stand up in the wind are of no value to us,” Ranson says. “We would prefer to have tents that go up and come down quickly but have chosen to go with tents that are more structurally sound for the added measure of safety and peace of mind they provide.”

Both Ranson and Torrieri note that one positive to the downturned economy is a favorable labor supply.

“Being an oil-producing province, our labor supply can be very volatile;

when oil prices are up, quality labor is hard to find,” says Torrieri. “That said, with the recession affecting all of us  more people are looking for work and, as a result, we have been able to reduce the overinflated wages we were forced to pay when oil was high.”

The challenging economy has motivated Special Event Rentals to discern where inefficiencies lie and employ new systems to address them. The company installed a Teeco tent washer in January, which will reduce cleaning labor costs by 50 percent, Torrieri says.

All Occasions Party Rentals also is approaching the recession as an opportunity.

“Now is the time to bargain hard for future space, invest in not-so-used equipment at a fraction of the new cost, train your people and entrench yourselves with your customers and suppliers,” Ranson says. “When the good times come back, we are striving to be in a better position to build our brand and expand our client base.”

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By: Cedar Rain Gordon

So, most, if not all, weddings have some sort of budget.  If you have absolutely no budget, whatsoever, you could quickly be throwing 6 figures at the one day.  If you don’t make a Hollywood paycheck, but still want to have a wedding, it’s best to give yourself some sort of limit, so that you might still be able to own a house in your lifetime. 

Couples planning a traditional wedding in the New Hampshire seacoast region are spending an average of $20,000-$40,000.  The question then, is how to get the most bang for your limited buck.  The answer is to prioritize.  Make a list of all the things that are important to you.  For instance, a stunning view, a huge dance floor, elaborate & custom lighting design, a couture wedding gown, an open bar, haute cuisine menu, china & crystal rather than paper & plastic.  Make the list huge and dreamy and, maybe even, completely fantastical.  Then, start doing some pricing research.  Assign realistic dollar amounts to each item.  Add them up.  How far over budget are you?  Maybe not all.  Maybe you’re considering knocking over a bank.  Maybe you’re so discouraged you’re thinking of calling the whole thing off.

This is the time to sit down with your fiancé, and anyone else in your family who’s helping with the planning or paying, for a nice long chat.  Things can get challenging here; how often does your family agree on anything?  Let everyone say their piece, uninterrupted.  Let me repeat that: uninterrupted.  Once everyone has gotten the chance to say what’s important to them, it’s time to do a second budget crunch.  In a perfect world, each person could have the one or two most important items on their dream list.  In a real world, we’ll have to make some tough decisions.  The thing to keep in mind is that the day is about the joining of two people and two families.  Allow this budgeting process to open the doors of communication that will keep you all happy & functionin  in sickness & in health, for richer & for poorer, til death do us part.

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By Sarah Bissell

Lately many of our brides have been talking about having potluck wedding receptions instead of hiring expensive caterers. They send out invitations with a request that guests bring their favorite dish to share at the reception. What a great way to cut costs and ask your guests to participate in creating a lifetime of memories.

Ask everyone to bring a copy of their recipe. Instead of a guest book have a cookbook!

The cost of a cake, catered food and beverages can add up to thousands of dollars quickly. Many venues such as parks, public gardens and private homes allow you to bring in your own food. Read the rest of this entry »

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Spring is in the air and that means tradeshow season. Here at Exeter Events and Tents we are always seeking new ways to bring the best products and customer service to our clients. Last week I attended my 25th buying show at the American Rental Association.  The show floor was alive with tent companies purchasing the latest in special events equipment.   The consensus was this is going to be a very busy bridal year.  Weddings are booking very early and dates are filling up!

I spent a lot of time looking at all the new silverware and glassware pattern .  The glassware by Riedel was stunning.  It is lighter and more elegant than conventional rental glassware and is a well known brand in the wine industry.  Many of you folks who cruise have probably already been introduced to it in the wine tasting events held on the major cruise lines. Stay tuned I hope to purchase it for this summer season!

Here is a summary of other exciting new items at the show: Read the rest of this entry »

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