Rain or Shine Tent Blog

Hi All,
I have moved our blog location to www.rainorshinevt.com/blog

That is where I will be posting new entries from now on.  See you there!

How to size a tent for a cocktail party

Cocktail parties are great fun. They are an informal mixer that lacks any schedule and enables your guests to just have a good time.  The topic of this post is how to size a tent/event space for a cocktail party.  The rule of thumb is that you assume 6-8 sq ft/person for "roaming" space.  This number will create the "feel" of the event.  If you want it tight and have your guests be closer together, then you reduce this number.  If you want your guest to be able to spread out, then increase the number.  You must also add the amount of space the furniture takes up and the amount of space for the food stations and bars. The area that a piece of furniture takes up is a function of it's size and the amount of space you want around it for guests.  The amount of space for a bar is typically about 250 sq ft per bartender.  (if you have a two-bartender bar, then about 500 sq ft)  It really is that simple.  If anyone has any questions or comments, then please let me know.

New Chairs in Action

Here is a camera phone photo of our new chairs in action at The Catersource

Back from Vegas

Hi All,
So we are back from Las Vegas.  It is the first time that I have ever stayed for any length of time there.  In the past, I was just passing through or only stayed one night.  I am not a gambler and I am more of an outdoorsy person (hence living in Vermont), but I have to say that I had fun.  I took it for what it was and enjoyed some things that Las Vegas had to offer.  The sushi was delicious and Cirque du soleil was amazing.  On top of that, there are a bunch of new ideas that we got at The Rental Show and at Catersource.  Let me know if anyone has any questions.
Pete

The Rental Show

I am leaving in a day for Las Vegas.  It is this years location for the American Rental Association annual convention. http://www.therentalshow.com  I look forward to these to see some new products as well as some fellow rental professionals that I have met at previous ARA events.  Going to these helps us stay current and learn from all the other rental companies.  While we enjoy thinking outside the box and going in new and unique directions, we also do not to waste time re-inventing the wheel.  There is so much to learn at these events.    We also visit the construction portion of the rental show and see if there are any new and unique items that will help us create more sophisticated events.  After all, we do BUILD new wedding venues every weekend. Anyway in which we can set-up and take down quicker and more efficient will translate into savings for our clients.
P.S. Yes, i did have to shovel about 12-14" of new snow today, so 50 degrees in Las Vegas is looking pretty good. 

Sailcloth tents

We have sailcloth tents!  I have posted this on our facebook page and also on our website.  I have pasted a couple of photos.  The sizes that we have are 20x27, 33x60, 42x83, 51x91.  We will also have some period lighting as well as all hardwood poles.  Please contact us for more information

Christophe Chef Services

I want to point your attention to a great husband and wife catering team for events.  They do a great job bringing in all the food and cooking fresh right there on-site.  They have done some great events in the past and I am told they are adding different styles of food their menu.  They are Chris and Carolyn Sailer and their company is called Christophe Chef Services.  Their website is http://themoonshineinn.com/chef-services/  the best way to contact is to call them. I understand they are re-doing their website.

A Great Video

Check it out on Youtube.  It helps describe the potential of tented events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC5SAUudIr8

Wedding Planners

Carrie MacMillan-Lane is a great wedding coordinator.  I would like to rave about her more, but that is for when I have more time.

Visit her website here!

http://www.storiedevents.com/

Permanent anchors for tenting

This entry is targeted to the wedding facilities or inn owner that is concerned about tent companies constantly going in and out of gardens or shrubbery.  These permanent tent anchors also enable the site owner to accommodate a slightly larger tent compared with what they typically get for the same spot.  So what are permanent tent anchors?  One version of them are a cam-like mechanism that is installed in the ground and opens up when an upward force is exerted on them. They are attached to a very strong steel cable that attaches to the ratchet straps of the tent. This speeds up the process of tent installation as well as removes any traffic to and from where the tent stake (now replaced with the anchor) would have gone.  As I said before, the anchors enable the tent company to move the stake line to a previously inaccessible line.  This results in the maximum amount of cleared lawn or leveled site to be tented.  A real life example of this is an inn in South Woodstock VT where the site could only accommodate a 50' wide by 80' long tent (stake line of 60' wide x 90' long). We installed tent anchors and now we were able to install a 60' wide tent.  This enabled the inn to increase their maximum wedding size, for a traditional dinner and dancing wedding , by around 50-70 guests. 

Other Media Outlets

We have several other website/webpages with different types of media.

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rain-or-Shine-Tent-and-Events/64310241701#!/pages/Rain-or-Shine-Tent-and-Events/64310241701?sk=wall

Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/rainorshinevt

youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSOMuKG4F0w

We have different (and the same) photos and content on each site.

The first post

Hi All,

We have ventured into the realm of blogging.  My name is Peter Martel and I am the head of sales and marketing at Rain or Shine Tent and Events Company.  When clients call, I am the one that they talk to.  I am the person who will perform the site visits and work with the clients to develop their rental needs and wants. I find that the majority of what I do is education. I try to educate my clients and prospective clients on what it takes to host a outdoor tented event.  While we are not limited to tented events, it is the primary type of event we provide rentals for. 
There are many things that go into tented events.  In the following entries, I will try to high light different vendors, types of equipment, and other blogs that help to explain the world of tented events. 
If anyone has any questions, they can visit our website www.rainorshinevt.com and get in touch with me there.