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Brush Up on Your Wedding Linen Lingo to Rock Your Reception
Brush Up on Your Wedding Linen Lingo to Rock Your Reception

Brush Up on Your Wedding Linen Lingo to Rock Your Reception

You’re planning a wedding? We’re so happy for you! Let's dive into all things wedding, including wedding linens which are a crucial element to get right for a successful reception. Ready to rock your reception? Read on to get the details you need.


Linens versus Linen

What’s the deal with linens versus linen? Is it a fabric? Or is it an entire grouping of cloth products? Actually, it’s both. When you search online for table linens (with an s), you’re searching for an entire grouping of products—all the cloth components to setting a beautiful table from tablecloths and runners to napkins and chair covers and sashes. When you search for linen tablecloths, you’re more likely to get a mix. You’ll find tablecloths made from linen, which is a material woven with natural flax fibers, and you’ll probably also find companies offering tablecloths made from other materials, too.


Everything Tables!

Table Runner

As much as we’d love it if a table runner was a personal assistant running back and forth from our table (wouldn’t that be fabulous?), a table runner is a narrow length of fabric that “runs” the entire length of the table. Most often used for rectangular tables, they are also gaining popularity to bisect round tables, too, for a dynamic look. Usually table runners are made from finer premium materials or have some eye-catching design, shine, or color to them. They can also be used to dress up a bare table.


Liners or Table pads

A table liner or table pad fits underneath the tablecloth to give volume and cushion to enhance the feel of the table. It can often assist in giving delicate fabrics more luxurious heft.


Tablecloth

We figure you know what a tablecloth is, but we wanted to be thorough. A tablecloth is a covering that goes over the table to give elegance and uniformity to your rental tables and dress up the ordinary table.


Dropline, drop, or drape

Related to tablecloths is the drop (also known as the dropline or drape). The drop describes the overhang or how far the tablecloth extends over the table’s edge. If it extends all the way to the floor, it’s considered a floor-length drop. If it extends past the floor and puddles on the ground, it’s considered a puddle drop. The puddle drop is often used for the gift tables or cake tables where guests won’t get tripped up by the extra fabric, while floor-length drops are used for elegant reception dining tables.


Overlay or Topper

An overlay or topper describes a shorter top-layer tablecloth that lays on top of the bottom layer to create dimension, volume, and unique, eye-catching droplines, like when square tablecloths are used over round tablecloths on round tables. Overlays can also be made from more lightweight, thin, sheer, premium fabrics like silk or organza to give it a more formal feel. It can help you budget-wise too to be more value-conscious on the selection of the first layer. You could choose perhaps a polyester tablecloth for your foundational layer, then add a secondary premium overlay to enrich the elegant feel of the table. If you need more help understanding the difference between fabrics, you can learn more here.


Napkins

Dinner cloth napkins add grace and class to a wedding, especially since cloth napkins are rare for everyday dining events. They are placed either on the plates or as part of the place settings and can be folded into pretty designs. Our cloth napkins come either in cotton, a cotton-blend, or polyester. It’s good to choose a cloth napkin material that makes it fairly easy to maintain with stain-resistant and wrinkle-resistant properties, and even better when you can pair it with decorative napkin rings.


Napkin Folding

Just in case you haven’t heard, napkin folding is the art of designing napkins into a beautiful shape to charm your guests. Shapes include fans, silverware envelopes, pyramids, and more.


Everything Chairs!

Chair Covers

Chair covers dress up rental folding or banquet chairs by doing exactly what their name implies, covering the chair all the way to the floor. This gives uniformity to a design and transforms ordinary chairs into beautiful seating. Chair covers can be made with polyester, satin, or spandex.


Chair Bows or Sashes

Chair bows embellish a monochrome chair cover by adding color and dimension. The chair bow can be tied into a variety of shapes to help add a unique look to the chairs and tie in the overarching color palette of the event. Usually the chair bow is wrapped and tied around the backs of the chairs or are used as pew bows. They can also be paired with chair bow covers, which wrap around the bow knot for a unique design.



We hope you have more confidence and understanding of what all these wedding linen terms mean. Let us know how we can help you make your next event special. Happy shopping and congratulations!