In Defense of the Garden Chair

I can't believe we agonized even 10 minutes over this decision, but that seems to be what wedding planning does to you. I can honestly say that I have never noticed the type of chairs at any wedding I've ever been to, but for some reason- when given the choice- I got totally sucked into the allure of this chair! But now that I am regaining my sanity, I realize that paying $6 more per chair for Chiavaris is just plain crazy talk, plus I have heard that they are not that comfortable. Keep in mind that 1) we have a short ceremony outdoors and 2) our reception dinner is indoors- so we will only be needing these chairs for 20 minutes total. Also keep in mind that we are not in favor of plastic folding chairs, which is why this whole dilemma arose in the first place. Here are our competitors:

{L: natural wood folding chairs on Brides; R: mahogany Chiavari chairs on Brides}

While I've never admired a rental chair before, the Chiavari does look impressive at first sight, but I actually think that in outdoor settings, the natural wood folding garden chairs look very simple and do not detract at all from the beauty of the setting. So if you are currently dealing with chair indecision, maybe these pictures will help you see that the garden chairs do not look always look cheap; in fact, they can look very elegant, especially with the right florist and photographer (which is where we believe the budget is better spent). I will leave you with some wisdom from Faye this weekend: when I asked her if it was possible that I was overthinking this issue, without missing a beat she said "Yes." I only hope that every bride has someone that will tell them that!

{photos from Brides}


{L: photo on Brides; R: photo on Brides}