Table and chair rental for the farewell and the wake

A set for ten guests

• Table: a long folding table, two metres, where ten people sit comfortably.
• Chairs: ten matching, sturdy chairs with backs, comfortable for older guests.
• Tablecloth: white or light grey, clean and pressed, cut to fit the table.
• Crockery: plates, tumblers, wine glasses, knives, forks, spoons, bread baskets and salad bowls.
• Napkins: paper or cloth, as the family prefers.

Every set is in the same colour and style, so a table for fifty or a hundred guests looks unified and neat.

Rental prices

Delivery, table setting and collection within Tbilisi are included in the price; outside the city, travel is added by the kilometre. If the equipment stays for several days, for example from the farewell through to the wake, the second day costs half of the first.

Working out how many sets you need

The most common mistake is overestimating the number of guests. Far more people come to the farewell and the funeral than stay for the wake: as a rule, half of them or fewer stay to eat. Count the family, relatives, neighbours and closest friends, add ten to twenty per cent, and that will be enough. We always keep one or two spare sets in the van: if more guests turn up, the spares are set out on the spot, and you pay for them only if they were used.

The days of mourning: seating for visitors

During the days of mourning, chairs at home and in the courtyard are needed above all for older relatives and for those who stay overnight. In the room with the coffin we place chairs along the walls so the way through stays clear; in the courtyard, under a tent, they go in rows. For these days many families order only chairs, thirty to fifty of them, and add the tables and crockery on the day of the wake.

Arranging a flat, a courtyard or a tent

In a flat the table is usually laid across two or three rooms, and with the family's agreement we move some of the furniture out of the way for a while. In a narrow room the tables go in one long row; in a spacious one we arrange them in a U-shape so guests can see one another. In a courtyard or a tent there is more room, and the rows stand in parallel with aisles for the waiters. We always think about where the family, the priest and the tamada - the toastmaster of the Georgian table - will sit, so that tradition is respected. We show the family the seating plan before the table is laid.

Seating guests in two or three sittings

In villages and in large families it is common for not all the guests to fit at the table at once, so the wake runs in sittings: first those who travelled from afar and the elderly, then the neighbours and the young people. In that case the furniture is counted for one sitting, but you need two or three times as much crockery so no time is lost on washing up. Our waiters clear the table between sittings and lay it again within ten to fifteen minutes.

Tableware per guest

• two plates: a deep one for kharcho (a Georgian beef and walnut soup) and a flat one for the main course;
• one wine glass and one water tumbler;
• a knife, fork and spoon, plus a teaspoon for dessert;
• one bread basket and one salad bowl for every four guests.

This allowance is already built into the set for ten people, so there is no need to count every item.

Our process from order to collection

1. Order: you tell the operator the number of guests, the place and the time. He suggests how many sets you need and sends the price.
2. Delivery: the equipment arrives three to four hours before the wake, or, for the farewell, on its very first morning.
3. Setting: our staff arrange the tables, spread the cloths and lay out the crockery according to the customs of the Georgian table.
4. Collection: after the wake, usually the same evening. We gather up the dirty dishes and take them away, so the family will not have to wash them.

When the food is cooked at home

In many families the memorial dishes are still prepared by the women of the house and their neighbours: kharcho, pkhali (vegetable and walnut pâtés), lobio (bean stew), meat and shilaplavi, the rice dish traditionally served at a Georgian wake. A family like this does not need ready-made food, but it does need the equipment to serve hundreds of portions at the same time. In that case we also bring large pots and serving trays, together with one or two waiters who carry the dishes from the kitchen to the table, so the women of the family can sit at the table instead of spending the whole day in the kitchen.

Delivery to the regions

At a village wake, the furniture is often the biggest worry, because finding hundreds of chairs and plates locally is hard. We bring everything in one lorry the evening before or early in the morning, and collect it the following day, sparing the family from stacking dirty dishes late at night after the wake. Travel is charged by the kilometre, and if a tent or a bus is going out on the same day, the transport is calculated together.

Smaller memorial days and graveside spreads

On the memorial days there are fewer guests, between twenty and fifty, and the table is often laid at home. These are the ormotsi on the fortieth day and the first anniversary. Some families lay a little table beside the grave once the panikhida (the memorial service) is over, with bread, wine and something sweet, and one or two sets are enough for that. At the cemetery we carry the equipment by hand along the narrow paths right up to the grave, and take it away as soon as the ceremony is over.

Farewell in a hall, wake at home

Sometimes the farewell takes place in a funeral hall, while the wake is held at home or at a country house. In that case we deliver the furniture to the wake venue that same morning while the family is at the hall, so by the time mourners return from the cemetery, everything is already laid. We ask a relative or neighbour to meet us with the keys, or the coordinator takes the keys from the family and returns them afterwards.

Breakages and missing items

At a large gathering a glass or a plate can always get broken, and that is only natural. We charge the family nothing for a few items. Only in case of serious damage, such as a broken table, do we apply a fixed charge, which is stated in advance in the handover record. We count the equipment together with the family both on delivery and on collection.

Tablecloth colours

Our tablecloths are mostly white and light grey, which suits a memorial table. If the family wishes, a dark runner for candles can be laid along the centre of the table. Napkins are matched to the tablecloth, and the whole space takes on a single calm look without any clashing colours.

Quality and cleanliness

After every rental the tablecloths are washed and ironed, the crockery goes through an industrial dishwasher at high temperature, and the tables and chairs are wiped down and checked. A wobbly chair or a damaged leg is taken out of use. A family will never receive a cracked plate or a stained tablecloth, and if it does happen, a member of staff replaces it at once.

Frequently asked questions