Monday, January 16, 2012

Who gives a sh*t about the chairs?? (Sponsored by YEAH! rentals)


Remember way back here when I said I was branching out into a different kind of sponsored post? YEP.

I am beyond thrilled to have Michael Antonia (aka The Flashdance) here to say a little something about his latest venture: YEAH! rentals.

Who gives a sh*t about the chairs? 

Well, we do. In fact, we're obsessed with the chairs. First let's get something straight. We think that marriage is about love, and that a wedding doesn't need a particular style of chair to be awesome. But if you do have to rent furniture for your party or wedding, it might as well be hype, right?

If you're looking to create a cohesive atmosphere, you pretty much have three options: (1) a fancy-schmancy hotel ballroom with chiavari chairs and glossy "modern" accents that are actually fifteen years old. (2) a miami vice lounge-lizard vibe, with its white cubes, pleather, and lucite. (3) a shabby-chic, rustic look—an improvement, sure, but still not for everyone.

Mind you. We've seen our fair share of well-designed events, with details that make our heads spin. They're the result of a lot of hard work by a very talented couple, or by a team of artists worth their weight in vendor fees. It's hard work that gets lost amongst late-90's nightclub reject furniture, and the photographers we know curse those ugly chairs because they get documented in every shot. (Also. Can someone please explain why such cheap looking furniture is still so effin expensive to rent?) We call bullshit!


Which brings us to option four for that cohesive atmosphere: us. (Yeah!) We're really into interiors. We love timeless furniture and props that are artistic, not glowing. Most of our stock is vintage mid-century stuff or pieces by independent artisans in Los Angeles. In other words, we offer an extension of what's in our homes. We're always adding to our inventory, which not only means we're continually finding new items, but we can also shop just for your event. And if we can't buy it, we can make it; we have a line of custom items and are always creating more designs.

And here's the clincher. Even though our pieces cost bank to buy. Even though they're a pain in the ass to fit in a truck. Even though we have to haul them in and out of that truck daily without damaging them, causing countless 'holy ish!' moments. Our pricing is basically the same as AAA Party Rentals or Classic. Nothing against those guys. They rent things we don't like lighting, generators, and dance floors. We just dig our furniture a lot more.


So we're, like, really excited. 'Cause we know we're sitting on something really special here. Amongst a lot of other things—Eames daybeds, raw wood benches, Knoll sofas—we're sitting on a bunch of chairs. And like we said, we give a sh*t about the chairs.

22 comments:

  1. Lovely! Just sent them an email. Let's do this.

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  2. Beautiful. I would have killed a bitch to have awesome chairs like that at my wedding. I was kind of obsessed with chairs while I was planning the reception, but alas, in our small town we only had two options: ugly gray metal folding chairs or ugly white plastic folding chairs. AND both crappy options were expensive.

    But, all said and done, I actually didn't give a crap about the chairs when I was actually in the midst of getting married. Funny how some things seem like a huge deal beforehand, and then just aren't anymore. I guess that's how you know you're getting married for the marriage and not the party, right?

    But I'm glad you guys are doing your thing so other chair-conscious brides out there can have one less detail to drive them nuts during planning!

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  3. I'm a total design snob so I think this is rad. Unfortunately this won't affect any parties I plan, as I'm in Chicago...anyone out here want to start up a rad rental service? Thanks.

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  4. To wit:

    "Are you more concerned with a) getting your wedding published all over the blogosphere, or b) throwing a great party for your guests?

    If B, the [chairs] matter NOT ONE IOTA."

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    Replies
    1. That was my gut reaction, too.

      BUT: If the chairs *cost the same* as the ones you were going to have to rent anyway since your venue does not include them, than this is the way to go if it is your aesthetic.

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    2. Ha! I thought the same thing. Kind of funny to follow the last post with this.

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  5. "you pretty much have three options: (1) a fancy-schmancy hotel ballroom with chiavari chairs and glossy "modern" accents that are actually fifteen years old. (2) a miami vice lounge-lizard vibe, with its white cubes, pleather, and lucite. (3) a shabby-chic, rustic look—an improvement, sure, but still not for everyone"

    ...TRUER WORDS HAVE NEVER BEEN SPOKEN!
    god! my husb accidentally (read: was tricked) ordered chiavari... i forgive him. it didn't matter thaaat much, but if you had the choice- and you're paying for it anyway...!

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  6. @Allitron, I thought the same thing. The venue doesn't matter, but the chairs do? Are your guests really going to walk away thinking, "Great wedding, but those chiavari chairs were sooo tacky." God, I hope not! And, if the Flashdance is your DJ, nobody will be sitting down. Everyone will be on the dance floor!

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  7. This is awesome! i think you can care about throwing a great party for your guests and want good looking chairs (and more by the looks of it!) i know i don't want my wedding to look like a bloody quinceaƱera! now if only I lived in Los Angeles...

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  8. I'm fine with people caring about their chairs, I really am. If I had enough money in my budget to care about my chairs, I bet I totally would have. But I was definitely thinking the same thing as allitron while reading through this post.

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  9. If the chairs matter - the venue matters. Chairs aren't going to "class up" the courtyard Marriott.

    ESB is a moron.

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    Replies
    1. personally, i care about chairs and the venue... and for fuck's sake, you better not be wearing your sister's dress.

      p.s. do you think that chairs might be able to "class up" your attitude?

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    2. Everything Celia said. <3

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  10. Sure yah. If cool chairs cost the same as lame chairs, go for cool chairs, of course. But if they don't, no one will notice or care about chairs during your wedding. Blow that money on an open bar & great music or a plane ticket for your broke bestie for a better experience instead.

    Anyone viewing your wedding photos who actually knows you will see people in those photos, not things. Anyone overlooking your Mom dancing with your college buddies in the foreground to instead criticize chair choice in the background....is a either a total stranger or is in the business of selling you chairs. So who cares!

    Also just my two cents-- ESB is not a moron. For me, this blog was one of the few consistently enjoyable things about wedding planning. I still read it! Sponsored posts are always skewed to the service but something has to pay the bills to support the blog, right?

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  11. With all due respect, YEAH! rentals, your chairs are much more expensive than the chairs at AAA Rentals (which you referenced in your post). AAA chairs range from about $1 to $8 (for fancy Chiavari chair) and yours range from $15 to $35+. Your cheapest chair is double the price of the *most expensive chair at AAA? This is not "basically the same" as you said. Calling bullsh*t?

    By all means you have every right to charge what you want for your rad product, but you specifically said in your post that your prices are "basically the same" as AAA Rentals, which I found misleading and dishonest.

    *Note: the "director's chair" @ AAA is $22. Maybe he meant to compare his basic chair with the director's chair?

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  12. This service sounds great. It might not be for everyone but it sure is for some! And the anonymous comment above sounds like it's from someone who works at AAA rentals. Am I right?

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  13. Nope, I don't work at AAA. I'm just a regular 'ol grad student bride who is looking for cool chairs and I inquired about the service this morning when it posted. I think this is a GREAT service to offer and I'm sure the company will do well, I would just appreciate honesty about the pricing if you're going to mention it.

    Cheers!

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  14. The images look amazing! And since I married before the blogosphere takeover and also had Eames chairs at my reception I can say with confidence that chairs do matter!*

    *that being said, I couldn't care less about bridesmaids, the macarena, or a gazillion boring speeches so to each their own!

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  15. Cool, more fancy expensive wedding stuff! Thank god there's finally someone out there who'll sell me something to make my wedding look cooler. And for just $15 - $35 a guest, which is clearly the same as 1$ - $8, when you think about it.

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  16. I don't know, you guys. I'm way way cheap. And I was super cheap about my wedding (ESB yelled at me for my fake Louboutins). But $15 for hot chairs does sound comparable to $8 ugly chairs to me. It seems within range-ish. You think $15 and $22.

    Never the less, being bitchy on a snarky wedding website is the same as being bitchy on any other wedding website. It still makes you a bitch. Whether you're anonymous or not.

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  17. I had to swallow my hatred for Chivari chairs because they were included with our venue and it just seemed stupid to pay more to rent another style. I made myself feel better by upgrading the tablecloths and renting some of that pleather lounge furniture. If I was doing it all from scratch again I would love to have incorporated some of these pieces. Brilliant idea, I say if you've got it in the budget, go for it. You could always do cheaper folding chairs for the ceremony and around the dining tables and then just get a bit of their stuff for loungey areas during the reception.

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