The Ultimate Marquee Wedding Guide

Everything you need to know about planning the perfect marquee wedding, from the cost based on your wedding budget and where to put them to how to decorate them and the different styles to choose from.

There’s a lot to love about a marquee as the reception venue for your wedding. Marquees are hugely versatile spaces, they’re light and airy, make excellent blank canvases for any type of décor and can be placed in all sorts of amazing locations.

Planning a marquee wedding can be quite a lot of work though, as you may need to source a lot of equipment and hire items of furniture, so you need to know what you’re doing and give yourself plenty of time to plan.

This guide covers everything you need to know to pull off the marquee wedding of your dreams, with all your burning questions answered as well as suggestions of some gorgeous marquee wedding venues around the UK.

Your Wedding Planning Style

An important thing to consider when planning a marquee wedding is if you have the time and energy to plan such a logistical wedding. If doing your own wedding planning isn’t your thing, then you’ll want to get a wedding planner on board from the off.

A wedding planner can help you source all the items and best suppliers for a marquee wedding and will be invaluable during set up and on the day, making sure everything comes together.

The Marquee Site

A lot of couples choose a marquee wedding if they or a family member has a large garden that is an ideal pitch. This means they can have their wedding day at home, which makes for some truly amazing memories.

However, if you don’t have a lot of outside space at your disposal, don’t discount a marquee wedding as a lot of venues, especially country houses, halls and stately homes, have huge grounds and offer couples the chance to put up marquees and then have the house as a backdrop or for guest accommodation.

Some venues even have a permanent marquee all ready to go for the entire wedding season. These venues will make a marquee wedding extremely easy as they usually have the furniture and all the catering needs sorted for you.

Your guest list

If you’ve got a really large guest list, a marquee is a sensible option as they can be made as large (or as small) as you need them to be. A marquee often allows you to party for much longer too – with no noise constraints if you’re in the middle of nowhere and the chance to use the marquee for other events around the wedding like a rehearsal dinner or post-wedding brunch.

The Time Of Year

While it is definitely possible to have a marquee wedding at any time of year, the warmer months of spring and summer definitely work best as a lot of time will be spent outdoors at a marquee wedding.

In winter you need to factor in the cost of heaters and also the fact that the grass around the marquee may get muddy and slippery – not ideal for guests in high heels!

It is possible to have a marquee erected on an area of hard-standing though if you’re worried about this.

Catering And Electricity

One of the main things you need to consider when looking for a marquee site is whether you have access to water and electricity for your caterers. A marquee wedding often allows you to choose your own caterer (a lot of venues come with in-house caterers as standard), so if you have a specific culinary style or want on your wedding day it’s a brilliant option.

However, these caterers will need their own smaller marquee attached to your main reception space as well as water and electricity. Your marquee company can help you decide where the best marquee site is based on these needs though.

There are always generators and water tanks for really remote weddings. Remember to let your marquee company know how much electricity you’re planning on using too – think about evening entertainment and lighting too.

Guest Facilities

You need to make sure that accessing your marquee is nice and easy for guests. No-one will be happy if they have to hike for miles across muddy fields in their suits and dresses, so consider good parking and walkways that are well-lit for the evening.

Luxurious toilets are another facility you need to think about. You’ll need to have around 10 toilets for every 100 guests. Spending a little more of the budget on smart trailer toilets with sinks, proper cubicles, mirrors and some posh soap is an excellent idea, as no-one wants to use a builder’s style portaloo when they’re at a wedding.

Some marquee wedding venues come with toilet facilities inside already so make sure to ask when you book.

Marquees used to just be big white canvas tents, but these days there are many different and stylish marquee types to chose from. A marquee allows you to create your own wedding venue from scratch and make it completely unique to you and this starts right from the off when you choose the type of marquee.

There’s everything from traditional canvas marquees, big tops, yurts and tipis to clear span frame marquees, Bedouin and Sperry tents available to hire and the type you choose will set the tone for your wedding day.

As well as thinking about the style you like, you’ll want to keep your budget in mind as some marquees cost a lot more than others and the larger you go for the more expensive it will be.

Marquee weddings aren’t always a cheaper option and a lot of brides and grooms misguidedly chose them thinking they’ll save a lot of money. While there are savings to be made if you’re savvy, in order to get a marquee looking wedding-ready it can end up costing you the same as hiring a country house or castle even! If you’re hoping to create the look of a luxury wedding reception in a marquee then it could end up costing more.

Marquee hire: This can vary hugely from around £500 for a small basic marquee to £10,000 for a luxury fully kitted out marquee. You will need to get in touch with more than one marquee company to get quotes to see what your desired type of marquee is likely to cost on average.

Marquee site hire: £0 (if it’s your own land) – £8,000 for a private hire site

Hire costs (furniture, crockery etc.): £1000+

Catering: Anywhere from £15 – £100+ per head depending on the type of meal you serve

Toilets: £100 – £600

Staff: Up to £150 per member of staff per day depending on hours worked.

Decor: The sky’s the limit on this one, but on average you’re looking at something between £500 and £2000

Insurance: Check with your marquee company if you need to add public liability to your wedding insurance.

As any marquee you hire will be a blank canvas, it’s important to spend a lot of time, effort and money on the decor side of things. Creative brides and grooms often choose marquee weddings because of the enjoyment they get from coming up with a scheme for their day and decorating it to reflect their personalities. If you’re not creative you might want to consider hiring a wedding stylist to help you.

When decorated properly, a wedding marquee can be absolutely breathtaking and because they are such a blank canvas pretty much any theme or colour scheme looks brilliant. Lighting is really important in a marquee and will set the tone for your day. You can choose a romantic rustic look with fairy lights, festoon lighting or lanterns or go all out luxury with chandeliers. Ask your marquee company for suggestions as they may well have a company they work with or have their own lights you can hire.

You can even have the ceiling draped with hundreds of sparkly lights to look like stars or opt for a stunning light up dance floor for the evening. And remember to provide lighting around the outside of the marquee for when it’s dark and your guests need to locate the loos or their cars.

Another thing to think about with your decor is creating zones. A marquee can look really empty as it’s such a large space if you don’t create set areas, such as the dance floor, eating area and perhaps a chill out lounge area.

Listen to your suppliers’ ideas as they will have experience of hundreds of marquee weddings and can tell you what works and more importantly what doesn’t.

Is A Marquee Wedding More Expensive?

A marquee wedding can be cheaper than hiring a venue if you work hard to keep costs down and have space on your own land to erect the marquee. However, if you choose luxury options for all your hired items and decor, it can actually cost more than a wedding at a traditional wedding venue.

If you’ve got a really large guest list though it can definitely be cheaper to hire a marquee rather than look for huge permanent venues.

Do You Need Planning Permission For A Marquee Wedding?

No you don’t. As long as the marquee isn’t a permanent structure and you have it erected for less than 28 days then you’re fine.

Where Can A Wedding Marquee Be Located?

Pretty much anywhere as long as you have permission and the land is flat enough. Some private wedding venues will allow you to put up a marquee on their lawns or you could ask local landowners if they would allow you to use their fields or grounds for a fee.

If you want to erect a marquee on public land you will need permission from your local council.

Can You Have A Marquee For A Winter Wedding?

Yes! You will need to factor in the cost of heaters though and think about how practical a temporary structure is in bad or cold weather. Marquees can be really cosy if decorated well for winter weddings though, as long as you choose a style that has closed sides.

Can You Have A Civil Ceremony In A Marquee?

Currently outdoor weddings in England can only legally take place in a permanent structure. As marquees aren’t permanent this means you can’t get married in one.

You can have a humanist ceremony in your marquee though. If a venue has a permanent marquee that is licensed for ceremonies you can legally get married there however.

No room in the garden for a marquee? Here are five gorgeous wedding venues with marquees that you can make your own for a very special big day.