Cutlery, crockery & glassware hire
Place settings and glasses by the crate, return-dirty as standard. Delivered, set up and collected by suppliers who cover your patch.
Tableware hire typically costs £2.50 to £5 per guest for a full place setting (plate, side plate, cutlery set) and 30p to 70p per glass. Order 20 percent over guest count for breakage margin. Nearly all suppliers offer return-dirty for a small uplift, which is worth it.
The maths is per head times courses, plus margin. A three-course dinner for 100 is roughly 300 plates, 300 cutlery sets, and 250 to 300 glasses once you count reception fizz, wine, water and toast. Return-dirty service (scrape and crate, no washing) typically adds 10 to 15 percent and saves the last hour of everyone’s night.
Many wine merchants lend glasses free with drink orders: worth checking before you hire, though free glasses are usually basic and the breakage terms are stricter.
PLANNING RATIOOrder 1.2 items per guest per use: breakage and second helpings are real. Glasses: 2 to 3 per guest across the evening.
What it costs
| Item | Typical guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full place setting per guest | £2.50–£5 | dinner, side, cutlery |
| Wine / water glass | £0.30–£0.70 | |
| Champagne flute | £0.35–£0.80 | |
| Return-dirty service | +10–15% |
Guide prices exclude VAT and vary with season, region and site access. Quotes from suppliers are always the real number.
Cutlery, crockery & glassware hire across the launch corridor
Local pages for every corridor town, with the same honest ratios and local site knowledge.
Cutlery, crockery & glassware hire: questions organisers ask
How many glasses do I need per guest?
Across a full evening, 2.5 to 3 glasses per guest: one reception glass, one or two wine glasses at dinner, and a toast flute. For a standing party with a bar, one polycarbonate or glass per guest plus 50 percent turnover cover is enough if the bar re-washes.
What does return-dirty mean in tableware hire?
You scrape food off, crate everything dirty, and the hire company washes it all commercially. It usually costs 10 to 15 percent extra and is the standard choice for events without a full catering team.
