For an event you hire (in Italian, noleggio) everything the venue and the caterer do not already have: tables and chairs, plates, cutlery, glasses, table linen, lounge furniture for the aperitivo, gazebos and marquees, field kitchen, generators, lighting. The caterer usually brings a standard line of tableware; a particular style or a delivery-only service needs separate hire.
Read the hire price together with transport, set-up, take-down and security deposit. The items most often forgotten are service tables, power, lighting and bins. On breakages and missing pieces, the clause almost always puts the cost on the hirer.
What to ask
Before hiring, ask the caterer for a written list of what it brings. Then draw a plan with tables and walkways and check the quantities against the menu. The details are in the guides to equipment hire and glassware and tableware hire.
