The Proper Tent For Your Event.

So you have decided to have an outdoor event for 250 people. You know you need a tent but have no idea how large of a tent you will need for 250 people. This is a very common problem that customers come to us with here at Windswept Entertainment & Events. When customers ask us how big of a tent they need we figure it out by asking them questions about what they will be doing under the tent and then plugging that information into the formula below to get a square footage size of the tent they will need to accommodate their guests.

How many guests will be at the event?........................ 250
Seating:
Theater (chairs in rows)= 6 sq ft/person .................... No
Classroom (tables and chairs in rows) 6 sq ft/person......... No
Banquet Seating:
Rectangle Tables 8 sq ft/person.............................. No
Round Tables 12 sq ft/person................................. Yes
Cocktail Parties:
All Standing 6 sq ft/person.................................. No
Some Seated 8 sq ft/person................................... No
Activities:
Dancing 2-4 sq ft/person..................................... Yes
Bar 100 sq ft................................................ Yes
Buffet 100 sq ft per table................................... Yes 4 tables
DJ 100 sq ft................................................. Yes
Band 240-400 sq ft........................................... No

Now that all of our information is in the tent sizing formula all we have to do is add up the total sq footage. In this example the total sq footage would be as follows:

250 people seated at round tables 250 x 12=...................3,000 sq ft
250 at the event with dancing 250 x 3=........................ 750 sq ft
Bar .......................................................... 100 sq ft
Buffet 4 x 100=............................................... 400 sq ft
DJ............................................................ 100 sq ft
Total sq footage needed=......................................4,350 sq ft

Now that we know that the total square footage of tenting we will need for your event is 4,350 ft we can pick a tent that is the right size. The style of this tent will be determined by the size of the property it is going to be put on, and the budget you have allowed for your tent.

So how do you determine how many sq ft a tent is considering they are not listed by square footage size? To get square footage we multiply the length times the width of a tent. Most rental companies tents will be listed in sizes like 20' x 20' or 40' x 60' so if you multiply those numbers together you will get the square footage of a tent.

Example: square footage for a 40' x 60' tent is 40 x 60 = 2,400 sq ft.

For our example event of 4,350 sq ft we will need to go with either a:
50' x 100' clear span tent = 5,000 sq ft
40' x 120' frame tent = 4,800 sq ft

This formula is a great way of getting an estimate on the size tent you will need, and the cost of the tent, but we recommend having a trained professional come out to look at the site before booking a tent. If you would like to schedule a site consultation please give Windswept a call at 724-539-1009.