Wedding Forum - Anyone know where to get helium cheaply?...

Hi all, well we are doing our own balloons and i need to buy helium for 50 balloons, i would love any recommendations....we are in the notts area...

Hope everyones plans are coming along nicely.....

( bet Catherine didnt have to inflate her own balloons lol!!!!)

Grrr I cant remember where we looked for the helium 4 our lil girls Christening but the likes of Birthdays & Clintons sell it from around £30.
In the end we asked a local flower shop to blow ours up! They did 65 balloons for £16.
Could be an idea if you fancy asking around your local flower shops hun.
We having a few balloons to decorate the food area at the reception and i'm going to ask them to do it for us again!

x

try matalan hun if u have 1 or try clinton cards

thanks ladies, some good ideas there....will look into them all x x

I personally would do as Mrsh2b has suggested and ring around some florists, as it will save you time and possibly money. It might be worth you having a look on book of face, as there are alot of wedding groups set up and you might come across someone who will do it for a reasonable fee. Where abouts in Nottingham are you from? I'm in Kirkby Woodhouse, near Mansfield.

Please, please, please ladies! If there is one thing I would ever say is to trust me on and that is this, as Lisa said above the small canisters often mean that the balloons deflate really quickly, unless you are lucky :-(

Having had experience of this personally. The smaller grade canisters have lower grade hellium :-(

x

This is taken from the website of a wee shop that specialises in balloons - I only know it exists as H2B has an interview with them. lol.

Q. How long will my balloons last?
A. A foil balloon when inflated with helium will float for weeks although will start to deflate after about 3-5 days. When filled with air a foil balloon will last for months but will not float. A 12" latex balloon filled with helium will float for about 17 hours (floating time depends greatly on the size of the balloon.) or when treated with Hi-float can float for weeks. A latex balloon filled with air will stay inflated for months but will not float.


Q.Can I buy helium to fill my own balloons?
A. Helium is available to hire from Balloons Are taking Off in 3 different sizes to suit your needs. The helium canister needs to be returned to Balloons Are Taking Off when finished.


Q. What price are your balloons?
A. This is one of the most common questions asked and it doesn't have an easy answer. The price of balloons depends on many factors which include the type of balloon, size of balloon, printed or plain, single or arranged. If you would like a quote please contact us for a quote which meets your individual needs.


Q. Why don't my balloons float?
A. Balloons don't float for a number of reasons. A balloon must be inflated with helium for it to float. If it still does not float, make sure that you are blowing the balloon up to its full size. An underinflated balloon is the most common reason for a balloon not to float. Do not fill a balloon smaller that 9" with helium as they only float for a few hours.


Q. Why does my foil balloon deflate outside?
A. When a foil balloon becomes cold the helium inside contracts, making the balloon look deflated. When the balloon is taken back into room temperature the helium expands filling the balloon again.


Q. Can I have a message on a balloon?
A. Yes. We print latex balloons using an ink print. These tend to be costly for just a few as there is a minimum order of 25 although this is the most cost effective method for large quantitys. We also print on a foil balloon using a vinyl print and there is no minimum order on these.


Q. Can you refill a balloon?
A. A foil balloon can easily be refilled as it does not get tied or sealed. A latex balloon usually gets tied at the neck so can not be refilled unless a ribbon valve is used.


Q. Why do balloons deflate?
A.Both latex and foil balloons are porous which allows the helium to escape from the balloons. Latex balloons are more porous and let the helium escape more quickly than the foil balloons.


Q. Why do air filled latex balloons deflate?
A.Air filled latex balloons do not tend to deflate as the particles in air are larger than those in helium, there for last longer inside the balloon. An air filled latex balloon will stay inflated for many months without deflating.


Q. Why do balloons deflate more quickly in a hot room than a cold one?
A.In theory a balloon will deflate more quickly in a cold room as the helium contracts in the cold making it easier for the particles to escape from the balloon. In a hot room the helium particles expand making them less likley to escape from the balloon. Depending on how hot the room is, if the particles expand a lot then this can cause the balloon to pop. One reason for a balloon to deflate more quickly in a hot room would be that the heat causes the helium particles to move about rapidly and therefor escape at a faster rate. This is not a scientific fact - more what we have found through years of working with the balloons.


Q. Why do helium balloons deflate more quickly than exhaled air?
A.Helium balloons deflate quicker than air filled balloons because the helium particles are smaller than air particles and so escape through the balloons more easily.

Not sure if this will help anyone but it's a bit of info. x

we went into a clintons n they want £2.50 a balloon............i wouldnt mind but we were providing the balloons 4 em n they were bought from yep u guessed it clintons!!!!

we gettin a local flower shop 2 do it hopefully, if its affordable otherwise we'll go without as we were only havin em on cake table n buffet table anyway x x x

Flipping day light robbery! I would ring round a few florists and card shops

if you have any floristry wholesalers nearby you may be able to get helium through them but most you have to be in a trade that allowsyou to become a member im using one in nofolk as we are doing our own ballons but i have my own jewellery business so have managed to get a wholesale account with them may be worth a try xx

Interesting - hadn't thought there are different qualities of helium! But most of these disposable canisters, I would be dubious about the number of balloons they inflate. Foil balloons are a lot more expensive but will last if you blow them up the night before. There is a product called Hifloat which I believe is what the professionals use - I've found it on ebay for about £15 to do 100 balloons - which extends the float time to 2-3 days (I think - haven't tried yet!). Our local 'Birthdays' shop hire out helium canisters (I think these are the proper big ones!) that will do about 200 balloons. This is £50 plus a £50 deposit and they charge £5 for each extra day you have it - for example our wedding is a Friday so we would want to pick up and inflate Thursday night but wouldn't have time to take it back on Friday, so would only get £45 of our deposit back when returning it on Saturday. Balloons seem to be cheaper on Ebay too - try to go for something like Qualtex (?) as this is what the balloon decorators use I think. Hope that helps - and if anyone has any experience of Hifloat can they let me know how well it works please. xx

ive posted a webstie on my wall have a look at that and next day delivery

try to check out party needs shop or balloon shop services near you or check out balloon elegance they have the best balloons