It’s a common situation: a bride and groom want to have an outdoor wedding, but they also want to make sure that they’ll be protected from the elements. A hot summer day with its intense sunlight may be uncomfortable, and rain is always a possibility.
Finding a tent for a wedding involves more than just picking the right size or shape. The choice of fabric can have a major effect on both the overall look of the wedding and how well the tent does its job keeping the elements out. To make the right decision, it’s important to have some information about what distinguishes different fabrics from each other, and how this can help to create an ideal environment for the big day. Knowing these details also means avoiding common mistakes. Overall, it helps wedding planners make the best choices for their clients and keep everyone happy.
Choosing Herculite fabrics takes the worry out of tent selection Their high quality materials excel in all the following areas:
Mildew and water resistance
Since an important function of a tent is protecting guests from the possibility of rain, the fabric should be able to stand up to water reliably. If the tent is being used in an intensely humid climate, moisture protection can also be a factor. A high quality tent should be mildew and wick resistant. This may seem irrelevant for a one-time event, but they protect the tent over the course of its life. Since the tent is being rented out many times a year, those that use subpar fabric without proper mildew resistance are more likely to be in poor condition.
A seemingly perfect wedding can be marred by a tent with clear signs of mildew or its accompanying smell. Any tent that’s made out of lower quality material may show signs of water damage and may even allow water to seep into the fabric. This is an area where Herculite provides peace of mind. Their tent fabrics feature mildew inhibitor treatments for maximum mildew and wick resistance.
The right look
When looking for a tent fabric supplier, aesthetics also come into play. It’s best to choose a supplier with the largest possible selection of colors. This ensures that your customers have more options and helps make the wedding more unique.
Another important factor is that the tent fabric is easy to clean. If it’s not, it increases the likelihood that the tent material may not be adequately cleaned before a wedding. Herculite tent fabrics not only have a best-in-class look, but they are also easy to clean. Their Rain Kleen® finish top coat keeps fabric looking vibrant over time, ensuring the best possible look for the wedding. On top of this, Herculite also offers the widest variety of colors in the industry, from 17 stock colors to another 40 that can be specially customized.
The best light – or no light at all
For some weddings, it may be desirable for the tent to block all light from coming through. To accommodate this, blackout fabrics provide complete shade and allow the use of artificial lights to full effect, without worrying about any diffused sunlight interfering. Lower quality fabrics, however, present challenges. Some may not fully block out all the sun. Worse, weaker material may get nicked during transit, and these abrasions may cause the tent to develop holes that allow light to shine through. This creates an undesirable pinhole effect. To combat this, Herculite uses a double blackout system in the fabric composite that provides 100% opacity. This ensures that no visible light makes it through the material. Its strength also protects against abrasion and helps to prevent light holes from developing.
For weddings in which a more translucent tent is needed, high quality is also essential. Inconsistent manufacturing can create uneven illumination under the tent that leads to “blotchy” light. During weddings this can be particularly bad because it can lead to poor quality photography and video.
The bride and groom will want to remember the event for posterity and poor quality photos may mar the experience. Herculite fabric helps protect against this. They assure consistency of light through the translucent material. They also offer more color options for this type of tent material, giving the bride and groom both better lighting and more opportunities for customization.
Durability and strength
In addition to the look of the fabric, it’s durability and strength are also important. Abrasion resistance is an important element of durability. Without it, tents can acquire scrapes, scuffs, and even tears from continued use. Herculite’s fabrics use a stronger formulation that helps protects against this type of damage. Additionally, their fabrics’ UV resistance and top-notch color fastness keep the fabric from fading. In selecting a wedding tent, these qualities of Herculite fabric will help ensure that, even after numerous previous uses, the tent fabric will retain its high quality and look its best for the big day.
Strength is an important factor that can also affect the look of the tent. For large events, the tent fabric must be strong, but oftentimes this leads to tent fabric made of a great number of smaller sections. This means more seams and more opportunities for the tent to come apart. But it isn’t just a structural problem; it’s also an aesthetic one. More seams lead to a patchy look that’s less elegant. Herculite fabrics help to remedy this by using stronger, wider fabric sections.
The Herculite advantage
Tying all of these factors together is the manufacturing process and origin of the tent fabric. In order to ensure that a fabric lives up to its quality standards, it’s best to choose a reliable brand that produces their fabrics within the United States. Herculite manufactures its tent fabrics in Pennsylvania, and its American pedigree assures a superior level of quality. Herculite uses the highest quality raw materials and takes pride in their workmanship. They also have strict control over the entire process, which ensures the fabric is consistent. With Herculite, you can trust that the fabric lives up to its promises
No one would pick just any fabric for a wedding gown or table linens, so why settle for subpar tent material? Quality fabrics ensure that your wedding tent stays durable and beautiful. Download our free whitepaper, ‘Why It's So Important for Your Wedding Tent Rental to Have Quality Fabric’ today.