So why don’t you just hire a wedding marquee in your back garden? Lots of couples dream of a marquee wedding, there’s something about being in a tent that feels relaxed and laid back, exactly what most of our couples want. Marquees can be a blank canvas allowing you the freedom to bring your own style and create something unique. 
I’m not surprised when some couples say they’re looking at Ever After but they’re also looking at hiring a marquee in a field. It’s got to be cheaper to just find a field and hire a marquee right – how hard can it be? Especially when you look on the marquee websites and they tell you ‘Prices from £2,500’ – it’s beginning to sound like a complete bargain.
Before I went into the wedding business I’d held plenty of family parties here at the venue and elsewhere and I always hired a marquee. So I learned a few things about marquee hire. Here’s a few of the things I picked up along the way:
- the marquee comes with pretty much nothing, no lining, no flooring, no lighting, no power. All those are extras
- if you’re in a field then you WILL need a solid floor in the marquee. It might seem like a romantic idea to have real grass as your wedding carpet. Back in the real world…if it rains that grass will quickly turn to mud
- you can’t put chairs and tables on real grass, their legs sink into the ground and heavier guests will sink more quickly (not good)
There are other things to consider too:
- your marquee will have to double (triple) up for your humanist ceremony (unless you’re getting married in church), your wet weather drinks reception area, your wedding breakfast dining space plus your evening music & dancing space. You can’t use the same space for two things at the same time (obvs) so you’ll need somewhere for all your guests in case your drinks reception has to be under cover. That can double up later as the cocktail hour space you’ll need whilst you turn over the wedding breakfast area to music and dancing (but who’s going to shift all those tables and chairs?)
- you’ll have to hire everything – and I mean EVERYTHING. So as well as the marquee lining, flooring, carpeting, lighting and power, there are other essentials you’ll need like a separate catering tent for the caterers, tables & chairs, toilets (make sure you’re not getting married on Glastonbury weekend, they’re ALL hired out), lounging furniture for the evening, not to mention heaters. If it’s a hot day you might not need the heaters but you can’t predict the temperature so you’ll have to hire them just to be on the safe side even if you don’t end up using them…
- the caterers will probably hire the linen, cutlery and crockery to you for an additional charge.
- nice things to have will be a sound system and a dance floor – more extras. And you’ll need to remember smaller things like a cake table (plus linen) and cake knife and slice.
- you’ll need to hire in a mobile bar – there are plenty around so you won’t struggle to find one but it’s another expense
- what if the generator you hire breaks down? What’s your back up?
- parking. If you’re in a remote field how will people get there? If they’re going to drive, how will they get home? Taxis? To a remote place with no address? Buses? Can the bus get access? What if it’s been raining and the field is a mud bath…
And with all these things that you have to hire in, you don’t have a relationship with the supplier and let’s face it they’re going to prioritise their long standing clients over a one-off hire, it stands to reason.
But you’ve gone ahead, found your field and sourced everything you need to go in it, now you’ve got to co-ordinate all your suppliers and in the right order. What happens if someone breaks down on the way or just doesn’t turn up? What’s your plan B? Who’s going to put all those tables and chairs out? Decorate the marquee? I can’t tell you how many couples who’ve told me they’ve been guests at a marquee wedding where they worked the whole day before to help set up and were back in the day after to clear down. It’s that day after the night before thing that makes people determined not to put their own guests through that.
One way to avoid all these issues is to hire a wedding planner who will have the contacts and experience to hire everything in and look after all it all for you, set up, clear down, co-ordinate. I’ve got news for you, that doesn’t come free.
The other way is to hire a venue where they have their own bespoke marquee, linings, solid wood floor, pale carpet, fairy light canopy, bar, sound system, sparkly LED dance floor, catering tent, luxury (and I mean luxury) toilets, tables, chairs, outdoor fires, outdoor lighting, parking, generator, bus service, umbrellas, rugs and let them do it all for you.
Well, phew, good job we’re here then…Add to the mix a stunning stone wall backdrop, indoor fire, indoor planting and water feature and you’ve got yourself a marquee wedding you can’t get anywhere else.
Get your digital wedding brochure link delivered to your inbox here and get yourself on the way to your beautiful marquee wedding without any of the hassle. It takes a whole day to set up for your wedding the day before, we’ll be there for the whole day of the wedding and we’ll clear down the day after.
You can kick back and relax knowing you’ve got a team of experienced wedding planners and organisers (wedding ninjas basically) dedicated to the wedding you can see right now in your head. With a click of your mouse you can take yourself closer RIGHT NOW to getting that reality on your wedding day.
Don’t just take our word for it, read our reviews from happy couples who chose to do just that.
