Wedding Marquee Hire

A marquee wedding is a wonderful option that has so many great advantages.  It gives you freedom to make choices that you just don’t often get with a wedding venue or hotel, and the chance to make the whole day thatmuch more personal. However, couples starting out on this journey might find the prospect daunting.   Where do you begin with so much to organise? Fear not, we’ve put together a few helpful tips to help you get going and to guide you through a process that needn’t be overwhelming.

Decide on your wedding concept.  Are you wanting a formal or relaxed feel to the day?  Do want to have a theme to your event? Who are the important people you would like to be involved with helping with some of the tasks.  Once you are clear about what you want for the day you are ready to move forward. 

A large notebook (or spreadsheet) to jot down and keep track of your ideas, stick in pictures and fabric samples, make all important lists and keep a diary/calendar to organise appointments.

It’s worth having a few dates to be flexible around so that when you try to book the Church/ Registry office / Venue and marquee you have some room to manoeuver.   Now here’s the thing, do you book the marquee or the church first? I’d say it depends which one is in most demand, so it’s worth asking what the availability is like for both before deciding hard and fast on a date.  Send out ‘Save the Date’ to your guests ASAP so that long distance travelers can make early plans.  Start planning about one year in advance of your preferred date to ensure you get the best choice of dates / venues.

There are now many different types of temporary structures on offer for weddings, including traditional marquees, tipis, yurts, clearspan marquees and stretch tents.  Posh Frocks & Wellies have chosen to offer both traditional canvas marquees and stretch tents as we believe the aesthetic of these tents is second to none. Traditional tents lend themselves perfectly to weddings with their light and airy feel, spacious design and are great in all weathers.  The stretch tent offers a modern sophisticated style with great versatility in layout and looks wonderful when lit up at night, it can have the sides up or pulled down. We can advise you on the best marquee or your event if you need help.

We offer a wide range of furniture including rustic wooden tables and benches, dance floors, bars and informal furniture – in fact more options than you can shake a stick at.

This is where you can add all your own personal touches but make sure you have a team of ready helpers.  Our team can help to hang decorations in those hard to reach areas or put up a wire between king poles to hang foliage, pom poms or bunting etc.  Our lighting options bring your marquee interior to life at night adding sparkle and a touch of magic.

There are many different types of venue for marquees and it will be important that it fits in with the feel of your event and your budget.  Your own land or friend’s field will be good options for keeping the costdown. However, it is possible to get good value venues that don’t need to cost the earth, there are some wonderful village hall fields in Cheshire.  We have a list of venues around the North West of England and Wales in our ‘Little Black Book’ that will help you find the right venue from fields to period houses.

Catering– Once you have your marquee or tent booked, the next important decision is choosing what food you will be having.  You will no doubt want the food to fit in with your theme and feel of the day. Catering options can vary hugely from Picnic baskets to full-blown silver service.  You can choose whatever you want, but you will need to set a realistic budget, as it can often be the most expensive thing on your list to organize. Some people involve the family and opt to do their own catering although this obviously is quite labour intensive and may add to your stress on the day.  A lovely idea is to ask specific guests to bring cakes to a ‘Bake Off’ table, this can provide you with lovely home cooked desserts and costs nothing. Always try before you buy when choosing your caterers, go to a tasting session and where possible use personal recommendations.

 Music – You can hire in music systems that you just plug in your device and have your own favourite music all night.  If you want to have a live band make sure you have heard a demo at the very least and book these very early in the planning process as good musicians get booked up quickly.  The larger the band the more they are likely to cost you.

 Generator and Toilet Hire –Some venues have these installed, others you will need to source your own. We are able to provide luxury toilet hire and recommend the right generator and supplier for your event.  

 Florists – There are a plethora of wonderful florists out there but you need to find one that suits you. So it’s worth having a look at what they do and having quite a lengthy consultation.  We have a working relationship with creative florists who grow their own flowers and use flowers grown in Britain almost exclusively. They offer a variety of options for all budgets and work wonderfully with our marquee interiors.

 It’s nice to add a few extra personal touches to the event such as including some quirky vendors, be it vintage Dj, ice cream van, mobile chippy, cocktail bar or parlour games.  We have access to lots of fabulous suppliers, look in our Little Black Book.

Don’t let the planning take over your lives completely, remember it’s just a big party and it’s only one day.  So get on with your life and enjoy yourselves. Delegate any jobs you don’t like doing to reliable friends or family. We can offer advice on many aspects of the planning if you need it, and answer any queries.  We have a wealth of experience so you can always give us a call or drop us a line. Don’t get swayed by well meaning people who want to organize everything for you. Remain calm and in control and everything will fab-u-lous!