Two Suffolk companies publish tent packages, and they nearly agree
Academy Tent Rentals bundles every tent with round tables and folding chairs. On its own site, a 15x15 frame tent with 4 tables and 32 chairs is $350 and a 20x20 frame with 4 rounds and 40 chairs is $425. A 20x30 pole tent with 6 rounds and 60 chairs is $475, and the 20x30 frame version is $490. The list climbs through a 20x40 pole at $560 and a 20x40 frame at $590. A 20x50 frame with 10 rounds and 100 chairs is $790, as is a 30x30 pole. A 30x30 frame is $890 and a 30x40 frame with 12 rounds and 120 chairs is $1,190. The 30x60 frame with 18 rounds and 180 chairs is $1,590. The only bundle with a dance floor and lights is the 30x45 pole special at $1,650 with 10 rounds and 100 chairs. Larger sizes are by phone.
Suffolk Tent and Party Rentals publishes a comparable card, plus tax and delivery. A 15x15 frame with 4 rounds, 24 chairs and a banquet table is $379 and a 20x20 frame with 4 rounds and 32 chairs is $429. The 20x30 frame with 6 rounds and 48 chairs is $499. It also prices the extras Academy leaves off: sidewalls or globe lights at $60 to $100, heaters at $100 to $150.
The marketplace figures are flat starting prices with no tent size attached. Premier Party Rentals in Patchogue and Camelot Party Rentals in Medford both show $500 on WeddingWire. At Your Service Party Rentals in Mattituck shows $1,000, and Daley Party Rentals in East Moriches shows $4,000. WeddingWire's Long Island rentals page runs $45 to $4,000, and the $45 is Darling Events Waitstaff in Southampton, priced per staff hour. The Knot's 2026 study puts the national rentals average at $2,000.
The lawn gets measured before the tent gets quoted
A good tent company does a site survey. It measures, checks for underground utilities before staking, looks at the grade and tells you honestly whether the lawn will hold. It quotes pole versus frame correctly: frame tents need no interior poles and can sit on a deck or patio, while pole tents are cheaper but need staking and interior poles that eat the floor plan. It quotes flooring honestly too, because an uneven Long Island backyard needs subfloor, and subfloor often costs more than the tent. Suffolk Tent says on its own site that a clear, unobstructed setup area must be ready at install time, which is the polite version of the same point.
Magnif-A-Tent in Bohemia carries Tidewater sailcloth, clear top and Jumbotrac structure tents and covers the five boroughs as well as Nassau and Suffolk. Premier Party Rentals runs sailcloth rope and pole tents, and its packages include delivery, setup and takedown, with tables, chairs, linens and glassware available from the same order. A bad company sizes a tent off a guest count over the phone and never sees the property.
The 50% non refundable deposit and the sidewall decision deadline
Premier Party Rentals prints its terms on its own site. The minimum order is $750 and the deposit is 50% and non refundable. The balance is due 14 days before the event and changes are allowed only up to two weeks out. The client pays for damage or loss. That is a fair template for reading everyone else's contract. Then price the weather. Sidewalls, heaters and fans get decided late and priced late, so get the sidewall and heater rate into the original contract; Suffolk Tent's $60 to $100 and $100 to $150 figures are the reference. Damage waivers are commonly 5 to 10% and are not insurance.
Weekend weddings usually mean a multi day rental, installed Thursday and struck Monday, and you pay for those days. Academy's package prices leave out sidewalls, flooring, heaters and delivery, and Suffolk Tent's leave out tax and delivery. Suffolk Tent also states its offers cannot be combined. Power distribution and a generator are separate lines at every company on this page.
East Hampton's 700 square foot tent rule and the 14 day limit
East Hampton Town treats a tent as its own permit. Under Chapter 151, a tent of 700 square feet or more at a residence, or any tent on commercial or public property, needs a separate Tent Permit Application to the Fire Marshal. No tent may stand on a property for more than 14 consecutive days. Multiply the dimensions on any package list and you will see that the Fire Marshal line arrives quickly. The special event permit itself triggers at 50 or more people on residential property. Application deadlines run 21 days for up to 75 guests, 30 days for 76 to 150, 48 days for 151 to 250 and 60 days for 251 or more. The Town wants $2,000,000 per occurrence in insurance naming it as additional insured. East Hampton Village runs its own Chapter 139, where tents go through a separate application to Code Enforcement and the permit triggers at 50 people counting staff. Fines start at $500 to $2,000 for a first offense under both codes.
Elsewhere on the Island, many townships require a tent permit and sometimes a fire marshal inspection above a size threshold; who pulls it is negotiable, and often nobody does until it is late. Restroom trailers, generators and valet are separate vendors most couples do not budget for. That is why Twin Forks Portables in Southampton, Better Restroom Rentals in Bellmore ($1,500 to start on WeddingWire) and Gold Coast Valet in Shirley ($850) are on this page at all.
How much does a wedding tent cost on Long Island?
Academy Tent Rentals publishes the clearest list: $350 for a 15x15 frame with 32 chairs up to $1,590 for a 30x60 frame with 180 chairs, and $1,650 for the only package with a dance floor and lights. Suffolk Tent prices a 20x30 frame with 48 chairs at $499 plus tax and delivery. Both leave out sidewalls, flooring and heat, so the tent is roughly 40% of the real number.
Do I need a permit for a tent at a house?
East Hampton Town requires one at 700 square feet or more, through a separate Fire Marshal application, and the tent cannot stay up more than 14 consecutive days. East Hampton Village routes tents through Code Enforcement. Other Long Island townships have their own thresholds, and who pulls the permit is negotiable, so settle it in the contract.
What else will I need besides the tent?
Start with sidewalls, lighting, flooring or subfloor, a dance floor, heaters or fans, power distribution and often a generator. Then the separate vendors: Better Restroom Rentals starts at $1,500 on WeddingWire and Gold Coast Valet at $850. Darling Events waitstaff is $45 per staff hour. None of that is in a tent package price.
What does a rental deposit look like?
Premier Party Rentals publishes its terms: 50% non refundable, balance due 14 days before the event, changes only up to two weeks out, and a $750 minimum. Damage waivers of 5 to 10% are common and are not insurance. Ask whether the rental period runs Thursday to Monday, because you pay for every day the gear sits.
Facts read from each vendor’s own site and, where noted, its The Knot or WeddingWire listing, on 3 September 2026. Prices marked “on their site” are first party; anything marked “on The Knot” or “on WeddingWire” is marketplace sourced and may have changed. Run a Long Island rental company business? Claim or correct a listing, free.
