To Save or to Splurge: Wedding AV Rental
Planning a wedding can be time-consuming, draining and even confusing sometimes due to the number of choices you’re given. To make it a bit easier on you, we dug into the weeds on one topic — wedding AV rental. Is it something you should save on, or splurge on? Here’s what we found.
What is AV rental?
Planning a wedding can be time-consuming, draining and even confusing sometimes due to the number of choices you’re given. To make it a bit easier on you, we dug into the weeds on one topic — wedding AV rental. Is it something you should save on, or splurge on? Here’s what we found.
Common wedding audio rental equipment includes microphones and speakers, and wedding video rental equipment includes projectors and other screen options.
There are a number of ways to secure the equipment you need. Audio-visual equipment might be included in the DJ package, available through your DJ company as an add-on, or if you aren’t using a DJ, through a rental company. Use our rental store locator to search “wedding AV rental near me” to find a rental provider in your area. Your rental partner can help you decide exactly what items you need to rent, making your dream day a reality.
Save vs. Splurge
Is AV rental somewhere you should save or splurge for your wedding? A few factors can help you determine that. Below are the circumstances in which you could save on wedding AV rental, or splurge.
Save
- Your ceremony is indoors and has excellent acoustics
- Your guest list has fewer than 75 people
- You aren’t playing any videos at the ceremony or reception
Splurge
- Your wedding is outdoors with unpredictable acoustics
- Your guest list has more than 75 people
- You’re playing one or multiple videos throughout the day
As for skipping AV equipment rental altogether, we strongly advise against it. You can rent a DIY AV package for as little as $150 and ensure guests will be able to participate in your day. That way, guests don’t come away from the ceremony saying, “It was beautiful, but I wish I could have heard the vows better.”
Your hard work, and the dance party, can fall flat if you don’t have the right sound system to amplify it. If you’re planning a smaller, indoor wedding, you might get away with a simple, minimal setup, but for larger weddings — and especially larger, outdoor weddings, you’ll want a more robust system in place. Work with your local rental store now to map out your wants and needs in advance of the big day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of sound system do you need for a wedding?
Ideally, your sound system will have a wireless clip-on microphone for your officiant, a second wireless handheld microphone for any other readers, speakers, a mixer, and a DJ. Do you need all of these things? No, but the sound quality may suffer in turn. If you’re renting the equipment and running it yourself, you can follow this list, minus the DJ.
How do you sound an outdoor wedding?
The difference with outdoor weddings is you have ambient noise to battle — and you can’t always plan for it. Whether that’s nearby traffic, wind or birds chirping, the noise level isn’t consistent. You’ll want multiple microphones, a speaker, a mixer and a DJ or sound engineer. That way, the sound can be adjusted in real time to help guests hear every aspect of the ceremony.
How much do speakers cost for a wedding?
Pricing can differ based on the number of speakers needed, and whether any other equipment is necessary. DIY rental options can start as low as $150.