Working Out How Much to Hire From Your Guest Count

Last reviewed: August 8, 2026

Almost every question on a hire list comes back to one number: how many people are actually coming. Get that number honest and the rest follows. Get it wrong and you either pay for equipment standing empty or spend the function borrowing chairs from the neighbours.

Start with a realistic headcount

Invitations sent is not the same as people seated. For a wedding or a formal function with RSVPs, work from confirmed replies and add a small allowance for the ones who never reply and come anyway. For a community, church or family gathering where nobody RSVPs, work from the number of households you expect and the average size of those households, then round up. It is far cheaper to add a few chairs to a quote than to add them on the morning.

Seating

A round table seats eight to ten. Eight is comfortable; ten is tight once there are glasses, side plates and a centrepiece on the table.
Trestle tables are for buffets, the gift table, registration and the cake — count these separately from dining tables, because people forget them and then take a dining table out of the seating plan.
Add a few extra chairs beyond your headcount. There are always elderly guests who need to sit, staff, musicians, a photographer and children who arrive unannounced.
Chair covers and sashes are ordered per chair, so any chairs you add late need covers added too.

Working out the space

When you are sizing a marquee or checking whether a hall will work, plan on space per person rather than on the floor area alone. As a rough starting point, a standing or cocktail-style function needs around a square metre per person, and a seated function with round tables needs closer to one and a half to two square metres per person once you have allowed for the tables themselves, walking space between them and chairs pushed back.

Then add area, separately, for everything that is not guests:

The buffet or serving line, and enough room for a queue to form without blocking a walkway
A dance floor if there is one
The top table or stage
A bar or drinks station
A back-of-house area for warmers, urns and crates — out of sight but close to the food

Tables, linen and the things that go on them

Linen is sized to the table, so the linen count follows the table count exactly. If you are using overlays or runners, decide that before the quote rather than after, because it changes the item list. Centrepieces are counted per table too, and it is worth confirming whether the height of your chosen centrepiece will let guests see across the table — a beautiful arrangement people have to lean around is a common regret.

Cutlery, crockery and glassware

Count place settings against your seated headcount, not your invitation count.
Add for every course served on a separate plate, and for dessert.
Glassware is the item most often under-ordered. People put a glass down, forget it and take another. Allowing more glasses than guests is normal.
If there is a welcome drink before the meal, that is a separate glass again.

Serving equipment

Urns, chafing dishes and food warmers are sized to the menu, not to the guest count alone — four hot dishes need four chafing dishes regardless of whether there are eighty guests or a hundred and eighty. Talk through the actual menu with whoever is cooking before you finalise this part of the list, and confirm what power is available where the food will be served.

What to send us so the first quote is accurate

The date, and the setup and collection times
Your best guest count, and whether it is confirmed or estimated
The venue and suburb
Whether it is seated, standing or a mix
The menu, or at least how many hot dishes there are
Whether the venue provides anything already — some halls have their own tables

Send that and you get a real list back rather than a guess. If you are unsure, send the guest count and the type of function and we will suggest a setup — we would far rather talk it through than have you over-hire.