Event Decorations in Toronto: What to Rent and What to Buy

Updated November 13, 2026

Rent the big things and buy the small ones. That rule settles most decisions about event rentals in Toronto hosts face, because the cost of a decoration is rarely the purchase price. It is the storage, the transport and the number of times you will ever use it. A backdrop wall, a lit number or a photo booth is worth renting. Confetti, candles and place cards are worth owning.

This post works through the catalogue on that basis, and says plainly where renting is the wrong answer. A few things people ask to rent are cheaper to buy outright and keep. One popular item, the balloon installation, is not a rental at all, and confusing the two leads to awkward conversations on event day. The second half covers pricing.

The rule: rent what is large, awkward and dated

Ask four questions about any piece. Is it large enough to be a problem in a condo or a garage. Is it awkward to move without a van and a second pair of hands. Is it tied to one occasion, year or name. Will you honestly use it again within two years. Two yes answers on the first three and a no on the last means rent it.

The reverse is just as reliable. Small, cheap, personal and likely to be used again points to buying. A hundred dollars on serving pieces you keep goes further than the same hundred spent renting three times. The middle ground is thin, and where it exists we would rather tell you to buy than book a rental you did not need.

Backdrop walls: rent, every time

The boxwood hedge wall is 8 ft wide by 8 ft high, and a shimmer wall has a similar footprint. There is no Toronto condo, and few townhouses, where a wall that size lives comfortably between events. It has to lie flat, stay dry and never get leaned against. Owners with garage space find the frame is what gets damaged, and a bent frame photographs badly.

Green wall backdrop balloon decorations are website-listed from $450 for a 6.6 x 6.6 ft stand and from $380 for 6.6 x 5 ft, shimmer wall versions from $480 and $420, both shown with delivery, installation and takedown. Final pricing is set by location, timing, size and customization. A wall you own is also one colour for life, while a rented one can be greenery for a spring shower and shimmer for New Year. That is what our backdrop rentals range is for.

Numbers and signs: anything with a date or a word on it

Marquee numbers

Our marquee numbers are 4 ft high, wood, LED lit, digits 0 to 9. A 4 ft lit number needs careful handling and is specific to one birthday or one anniversary year. Next year it is the wrong number. A marquee number balloon decoration is website-listed from $320 for one 4 ft number with balloon decoration, the mosaic version from $260, with final pricing set by your event details.

Neon signs

Neon wording is fixed. Happy Birthday, Oh Baby, Better Together, Let’s Party. Each suits one kind of event, then sits in a cupboard being the wrong phrase. Added to a listed balloon backdrop, a neon sign appears as a $35 add-on in our listings. Renting the wording that fits the occasion makes more sense than owning one phrase, and our neon and marquee sign range covers the usual ones.

Plinths: bulky, and only interesting when dressed

White plinths hold a cake, a dessert display or gifts, and on their own they are empty boxes. That is the argument against owning them. They are bulky, they mark easily, and they only earn their place when something sits on top. Rent the number your table plan needs, in heights that suit the cake and the sightline guests photograph from.

Photo booths: a rental with no buying case

There is no sensible way to buy a photo booth for private events. What you book is an attendant, lighting, overlays and sharing, not a box. A 360 video booth is website-listed at $400 for two hours, $500 for three and $600 for four, additional hours from $150, with attendant, setup and teardown, stanchions and red carpet, LED lighting, a custom overlay and instant sharing. The classic booth is $410 for two hours and $490 for three on our photo booth rental page.

What to buy instead, and what to skip

Buy the small consumables and the personal touches. Table confetti, candles, place cards, favours and small signage are cheap, light and yours to handle at your own pace the week before. Nobody should pay delivery on a bag of confetti. Buy anything you will use again: serving platters, cake stands, pitchers, a tablecloth you already like. If it survives a dishwasher and fits a cupboard, ownership wins.

Spend a little on a keepsake from the event itself, a printed photo or the booth album, since that is the only part of the decoration budget you still have in five years. Then skip things outright. A second backdrop nobody stands at. Centrepieces where guests will be standing rather than seated. Balloon centrepieces are website-listed from $20 each and are good value, but only at tables people sit at.

A balloon installation is a service, not a rental

This causes more confusion than anything else on the list. When you book a balloon garland, nothing comes back to us. The balloons are inflated and built in place, sized to your wall, and they stay with you. We are not lending an object, we are building something that did not exist before we arrived, so it is priced as design and labour rather than time with our property.

A 12 ft balloon garland is website-listed from $250 and 20 ft from $350, with ceiling garlands from $250 at 10 ft and from $320 at 15 ft and over. A balloon bouquet starts at $85 with delivery from $35, and a custom name is $35. So there is no collection window and no returned condition to check. Timing matters instead, since balloons look freshest installed close to your start time. Our balloon decoration page sets out the formats.

What an event rentals in Toronto price includes, and what to confirm

Many listings include delivery and installation, and most include takedown, but this varies item by item. The green wall and shimmer wall listings show full decoration with delivery, installation and takedown. The balloon wall listing, from $430 for 6.6 x 6.6 ft and from $380 for 6.6 x 5 ft, shows delivery and installation. Confirm which applies to your items rather than assuming, and note that travel outside the GTA is extra.

Venue access and ceiling height

Before we quote we want to know the loading door, whether there is a service elevator or stairs, and the ceiling height. An 8 ft wall does not travel in a passenger lift, and an arch that fits your floor plan may not clear a low bulkhead. Condo party rooms in North York and Mississauga often have a booked loading window, and that window sets our arrival time.

The collection window

Halls frequently run two bookings in a day. If yours does, the venue wants everything out within a set period after your end time, sometimes under an hour. That changes what is realistic to rent, since a large wall and several plinths take longer to strike than one arch. Give us the contracted end and vacate times and we will plan the takedown backwards from there.

Who is responsible on site

While a rented item is at your venue it is in your care, so someone should know it is not decoration to be shuffled around. Keep walls and lit numbers out of the traffic path between the bar and the dance floor, clear of the door swing, and off any route the caterers use. Damage is nearly always accidental and nearly always happens in a corridor.

What we do not carry, and where it comes from

We do not supply tables, chairs, linens, tenting, china or audio equipment, and we will not pretend otherwise while you plan. Those come from a general event rental supplier, and most venues either provide them or have one they work with. Book that supplier early, because their delivery window and ours both have to fit the same venue access schedule.

What we handle alongside decoration is the design side, plus entertainment such as face painting, balloon twisters, magic and bubble shows, and fresh floral design discussed case by case. Knowing which supplier owns which part of the room is the difference between a calm load-in and three vans at one door at once.

The short version: rent the walls, the lit numbers, the signs, the plinths and the booth, buy the confetti, the candles and the serving pieces you will use again, and treat balloon work as a service. Send us your venue, date and access details and we will say which of your list is worth renting and which you should simply buy. Ask us about our new-customer offer when you get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Is it cheaper to buy a backdrop than to rent one twice?

Usually not, once you count the real costs. A wall is 8 ft by 8 ft, needs flat dry storage, and arrives at your second event with whatever damage the first one caused. You also lose the ability to choose greenery for one occasion and shimmer for the next. If you host large events monthly in your own space, owning starts to make sense. For two or three events a year, renting wins clearly.

Do you deliver and set up, or do I collect items myself?

Our listings are built around delivery and installation by our team, and most include takedown as well, though this varies by item and should be confirmed for your order. For large pieces that is the sensible arrangement anyway, since an 8 ft wall and a lit 4 ft number are not car loads. Travel outside the GTA is extra. Ask us to confirm exactly what your quote covers.

Why is a balloon garland not treated as a rental?

Because nothing is returned. A garland is built on site for your wall, at your length and in your colours, and it stays with you afterwards. You are paying for design, materials and installation rather than for borrowed property. Practically, that means no collection window and no condition check, but timing matters more, since balloons look freshest when installed close to your event start time.

Do you rent tables, chairs and linens?

No. We do not carry tables, chairs, linens, tenting, china or audio equipment. Those come from a general event rental supplier, or from the venue itself, and it is worth asking your venue first because many include them. We handle the decoration, the backdrops, the balloon work, the photo experiences and the entertainment, and we are happy to plan around whatever your furniture supplier schedules.

How far ahead should I book rentals for a Toronto event?

As soon as the venue and date are confirmed, particularly for a weekend in a popular month, since specific walls, numbers and booths are single items that can only be in one place at a time. We are available seven days a week, and we get back to form submissions within 24 hours. If your date is tight, tell us at the enquiry stage and we will be straight with you about what is possible.