Printed Paper Serving Cups for Hosted Events

Serving guests rather than selling to customers

Serving cups are bought by hosts. The guest never pays for the drink, but the cup is still part of how the day feels.

That changes how people choose them. Looks and theme matter more than price per sleeve, and the order is often for a single date rather than a steady weekly supply.

Venues and caterers order them too, often in a plain house design. One printed cup that suits any booking saves them reordering for every client.

• Wedding receptions and engagement parties
• Conferences and training days with a tea urn
• Charity events, fêtes and open days
• Religious and cultural celebrations
• Office launches and client receptions
• Funeral teas and memorial gatherings

Printing for an occasion

Event cups carry something specific to the day. Couples print their names and wedding date, while companies print a logo and the event name.

Our photos show a few directions. A bold red cup with a gold emblem for a wedding, a brown cup with a simple coffee icon for a tea service, and a bright mosaic pattern for a summer party.

We print in full colour CMYK or Pantone, on one side, two sides or a full wrap, so theme colours can be matched to invitations or banners.

Keep the layout simple if guests will see the cup up close for hours. Two lines of text and one motif usually look better than a crowded wrap.

Picking a size for each drink

Hosted events often serve two or three drinks, so a mixed order is normal. Choose the cup by the pour, not the other way round.

Our UK cup size guide shows how each size looks in the hand if you are unsure.

Hot drinks at functions

Tea and coffee from an urn are poured very hot and often carried across a crowded room. A double or ripple wall cup keeps hands comfortable without a sleeve.

For the classic conference break, 7oz and 8oz are the usual sizes. Guests tend to come back for a second cup rather than take a large one.

If you are torn between the two insulated walls, our guide to choosing a cup wall sets out the differences.

Milk and sugar should sit at the end of the urn table, not the start. Guests then pour first and move along, which keeps the queue moving at a busy break.

Cold drinks and welcome trays

Welcome drinks are poured in advance and set out on trays. Small 4oz cups look neat in rows and stop guests carrying a full glass around for an hour.

Punch and lemonade at summer events suit 9oz cups. Single wall is enough for cold drinks and keeps the cost down for large guest lists.

Avoid filling cold cups too far ahead on a warm day. Ice melts, and condensation can soften the outside of the cup.

For children's parties, a bright pattern hides small spills and keeps every cup looking cheerful. Write each child's name on with a marker so cups do not get swapped.

Ordering cups for a date

Serving cups are priced from £0.25 per cup, set out in a written quote. Order early, so there is time for proof changes before your date.

You can share your event details through the event cup quote request.

Fêtes and open days often get rained on. Keep spare cartons boxed under the table rather than open on top of it.

1. Tell us the event date, the drinks you are serving and roughly how many guests.
2. Choose sizes and wall types for each drink.
3. Send your design, or describe the theme and let our team draft it for free.
4. Approve the digital proof once names, dates and colours are right.
5. Cups are printed in 4 to 6 working days and delivered tracked in 2 to 3 working days.

How many cups to order

Guests rarely use one cup each. People put a cup down, lose it and pick up another, especially at standing receptions.

A simple rule is to plan two to three cups per guest for each drink served. Allow more for long events with several tea breaks.

Leftover undated cups are useful for the next gathering. Most hosts would rather have a few spare than run short halfway through the speeches.

• Welcome drinks: one cup per guest plus a tray spare
• Tea and coffee breaks: two cups per guest per break
• Summer punch: three cups per guest across the day
• Add a carton extra for staff and spills

Checking names and dates

Event cups are personal, and a typo in a name or date cannot be fixed with a sticker. Read the proof aloud, letter by letter, before you approve it.

Ask someone who knows the couple or the event to check it as well. A second pair of eyes catches the mistakes the first one skips.

Try a few layouts on a real cup photo with the online cup design preview before deciding.

Mistakes hosts make with event cups

The most common mistake is ordering too late for the date. Proof changes, printing and delivery all take time, and a wedding date does not move.

Next is choosing single wall for hot tea served from an urn. Guests then double-cup, which uses twice the stock.

Last, many hosts print a date on cups they hoped to reuse. Leave the date off if you want leftover cups for future events.

• Ordering too close to the event
• Single wall cups for urn tea
• A typo in the names or date
• Dated cups when leftovers could be reused

Trays, carriers and tea stations

Think about how cups reach guests. Staff carrying drinks across a marquee need trays or carriers, while a self-serve tea station needs cups stacked within reach of the urn.

Set the station up with cups mouth down in short stacks, next to milk, sugar and stirrers. Put a bin at the end of the table so empty cups do not collect on chairs.

For runs between a kitchen and a hall, our printed paper cup carriers hold several drinks at once.

Event delivery and faulty cartons

We deliver serving cups free to the UK, tracked so you can plan around the date.

Should a carton arrive misprinted or crushed, send us photos within 10 days of delivery. Those serving cups are reprinted or refunded.