Funeral tent hire - in the courtyard, on the street and at the graveside

Sizes and prices

The price covers delivery within Tbilisi, putting up, anchoring and dismantling. If the tent stays for several days, for instance during a three-day farewell, each extra day costs half of the first. Beyond the city limits we add a per-kilometre travel charge, combined with the trip made by the hearse or bus if they fall on the same day.

Occasions that call for a tent

• A farewell in a private house: the coffin is in a room, and visitors paying their last respects gather in the courtyard and wait their turn.
• A wake in the courtyard: the kelekhi, the memorial meal, is laid at home, but the rooms cannot hold all the guests.
• A funeral in a village: where a table in the yard is the tradition and there is no hall or restaurant nearby.
• At the cemetery: in rain, heat or wind, so the family and older relatives are sheltered during the panikhida, the Orthodox memorial service.
• Ormotsi and the first anniversary: when relatives set out a modest spread beside the grave after the panikhida. Ormotsi is the gathering held on the 40th day after a death.

Choosing the right size

What decides the size is how many guests are coming and what the tent is for: only for receiving condolences, or for the memorial table as well. People who embrace the family and leave a few minutes later take up little room, so for that purpose a medium tent copes even with hundreds of visitors over a day. For a table, however, each guest needs roughly a square metre, allowing for the aisles. That means a medium tent is already cramped for fifty seated guests, and we swap it for a large one. If a large tent will not fit in the courtyard, we put up two medium ones side by side under a shared roof.

Receiving condolences in the courtyard

At a traditional Georgian farewell, the men of the family often stand in the courtyard and greet those arriving there, while the women sit in the room beside the coffin. The tent is arranged with this custom in mind: we leave a clear space at the entrance where family members stand in a line, and set chairs further in for those who stay a while. In the evening, when people come after work, the lighting makes the tent the centre of the courtyard and guests are not left standing in the dark.

The layout inside the tent

We plan the arrangement of tables for the wake in advance, so the waiters have a gangway and the guests are not squeezed together. Long rows run the length of the tent, with a cross table at the head for the senior members of the family and the tamada, who leads the toasts. By the entrance we leave space for a washstand and towels, and in a corner a table for used dishes, so plates do not pile up on the table. If the courtyard has no electricity, we bring a small, quiet generator for the lights.

Putting the tent up, step by step

1. Assessing the site: over the phone the operator asks about the size of the courtyard, the surface (earth, asphalt, paving) and whether there are trees or overhead wires. If needed, one of our staff inspects the site beforehand or asks for photos.
2. Delivery: the tent arrives early in the morning, before the first guests. The crew is two or three people.
3. Assembly: a medium tent goes up in an hour, a large one in two. On asphalt we secure it with weights, on earth with ground anchors, so the wind cannot shift it.
4. Fitting out: inside we set out the chairs, tables and, if ordered, a carpet, lights and a heater.
5. Dismantling: after the ceremony or the wake, that same evening or the next morning, whichever suits the family. We leave the courtyard exactly as we found it.

Colour and appearance

For a funeral we use white or grey tents, which look calm and tidy in a courtyard. A small table with a book of condolence and a portrait with a black ribbon can be placed at the entrance, and if the family wishes, the edges of the tent can be trimmed with dark fabric. Inside a tent set up for the wake, tables stand in long rows in keeping with the customs of the Georgian table, with places at the head for the elders and the priest.

Neighbours and using part of the street

In apartment blocks the shared courtyard belongs to all the residents, so a tent needs the neighbours' agreement. Usually they agree, and often they help out themselves. If the tent has to stand on part of the street or partly blocks the road, consent from the local administration may be needed, and we take care of that. We always leave room for cars and ambulances to pass, and at night we mark the tent with reflective tape.

Weather and the seasons

In the summer heat it is noticeably cooler under the tent than outside, and we suggest putting drinking water for guests near the entrance - we can bring that too. In spring and autumn the main risk is rain, so the roof is always waterproof, with drainage along the edges. In winter we add side walls and a heater, and during snowfall the crew clears the roof so it does not sag.

A canopy at the graveside

A cemetery canopy is much smaller than a courtyard tent: it covers one side of the grave, where the family stands during the panikhida and the lowering of the coffin. With it we bring ten folding chairs for older relatives, a carpet that covers the edge of the grave, and drinking water. The canopy goes up half an hour before the family arrives and is quietly taken down after the ceremony. In the narrow sections of old cemeteries we use a compact model that does not touch the neighbouring railings.

A tent in a village

At a village funeral the guests are usually all the neighbours and relatives, and the only way to receive hundreds of people is with a large tent. We bring it to the village a day early, so that everything is ready by the morning of the farewell. Often the tables, chairs, tablecloths and crockery come on the same trip, and the cost of the journey is split across several orders. Dismantling happens on the second or third day, as the family decides.

Safety

All our tents stand on an industrial frame and are designed for windy weather. When strong wind is forecast, the crew adds extra fixings and warns the family if any spot is unsafe. Lights and heaters are connected with insulated cables, and a gas heater is placed only on the open side. During the ceremony our staff check the structure several times.

Frequently asked questions