Wedding Reception Supply Checklist

First: what is usually already provided

Before buying anything, get your venue and caterer contracts side by side. In most Treasure Coast packages, the venue provides tables, chairs, and setup labor; the caterer provides serving equipment, chafing dishes, and often basic linens. The trap is the overlap nobody owns — confirm these five in writing:

• Linens: tablecloths and napkins — whose, what color, and are chair sashes or runners included?
• Tabletop: plates, flatware, glassware — caterer, venue, or rental?
• Cake cutting: knife, server, and plates for the cake — usually provided, rarely confirmed.
• Candles and votives: many venues allow them only in enclosed holders, or not at all (historic homes and barns).
• Setup and teardown: who places your decor, and by what time must it be gone?

Tabletop and guest tables

• Centerpieces: one per table, sized so guests can see over or through them — 12 inches tall or on stands above 24 inches.
• Table numbers and holders: one per table, readable from standing height. Personalized sets: wedding table numbers on Zazzle.
• Place cards or a seating chart display, plus a few blank cards and a pen for day-of changes. Personalized place cards: wedding place cards on Zazzle.
• Menus or a single menu card per table (optional, but guests ask what's coming).
• Favors at each setting or at a favor station — see the favor ideas guide for quantities by guest count. Personalized options: wedding favors on Zazzle.
• Disposable cameras or a photo-share QR sign, if you're collecting guest photos.

The counts behind this list — how many tables, chairs, and linens your guest count actually needs — are worked out in the table setting guide for large parties.

Welcome, ceremony-to-reception, and signage

• Welcome sign and an order-of-events sign so guests self-navigate. Personalized welcome and order-of-events signs: wedding signs on Zazzle.
• Card box (locking or closable — cards carry cash) and a gift table plan.
• Guest book or alternative, with pens that work on its surface — test them.
• Reserved-seating signs for the ceremony front rows and head table.
• Directional signs for outdoor venues: parking, restrooms, ceremony site. Guests wander at dusk.

Bar, cake, and send-off

• If you're stocking any part of the bar yourselves: bottle openers, wine keys, cocktail napkins, stirrers, a tub and ice for chilling — and confirm who is legally allowed to serve it.
• Cake topper, cake stand if the bakery doesn't provide one, and a to-go box for the top tier.
• Send-off supplies: sparklers (check venue rules and county burn rules first), ribbon wands, or bubbles — plus lighters/matches in quantity if sparklers are allowed.
• A day-of emergency kit: sewing kit, safety pins, stain remover, pain relievers, blister plasters, clear nail polish, phone charger.

Paper, printing, and the week-of box

Print everything at least two weeks out and pack it in one labeled box that travels with one named person — not the couple. Programs (if any), signage, cards, favors, and the emergency kit go in that box; the vendor contact sheet and final timeline go on top. If it isn't in the box, it doesn't exist on the day.

Still choosing the room itself? Start with wedding venues in Vero Beach or the regional list of Treasure Coast wedding venues, and keep the whole plan together in the party supplies and planning hub.