Planning a wedding is one of the most amazing times of your life, you have the freedom to create the day you have been dreaming of and using a marquee gives you total flexibility in style, theming and layouts.
However, planning can be stressful and marquees can by nature bring with them a lot more considerations. Below we have listed some key items to think about if you're hosting your wedding in a marquee.
Pick a Venue/Site
After you have decided on a rough date for your wedding you'll need to decide on a venue for your wedding, this may be in your garden or some land to which you have access, if so you'll need to make sure that there is enough space, not just for the marquees but also for parking and back of house areas. Our structures require a space of around 20m x 22m to set up so it's important to check with your structure company first. If in any doubt ask them to attend a site visit to ensure the space is suitable.
If you don't have access to land, don't worry! There are many venues across the country that either allow marquees or are marquee-only venues. You should organise a viewing and discuss what options are available, many work with a set number of marquee providers or are flexible about who you bring in.
Here at Husk Marquees, we work with a number of local venues in South Oxfordshire, and even have exclusive access to two plots of land which we can offer to our clients. Get in touch if you'd like some more details!
Design your space
Next up on the list is starting to design the space for your big day. Start with a list of ideas which you might have. Some examples are; type of tables, rounds or long? Bar/Bar Area? Dance floor? Soft seating? Entrance for guests? Space for favours or a wedding cake?
Start to think about your theme and how this may link in with the layout you're choosing. Current theme trends include Rusitc, Vintage, Hamptons, Contempory, Bar Style, Pastel or Bohemian to name a few.
Top Tip; speak to your suppliers for advice or suggestion where to get certain prop or furnishings to match your theme. They may even have equipment in house to match.
Kitchen
Depending on the style of food you end up choosing you'll most likely need a space for your caterers to prepare and cook in. For us this is usually in the form of a marquee linked through to the main marquee, this provide a segregated area for your caterers which is our of view of your guests.
Once you have both your marquee company and caterers booked in, it's best to put them in contact so they can discuss space and power requirements, more on power later.
Toilets
Making sure you have the right quantity of toilet facilities at the standard you wish is an important factor in any event. It can be usual for toilets to be booked through your marquee company, they should be able to recommend the correct size for you based on the number of guests.
For our events we usually use a 3+1 (3 laddies toilets,1 gents toilet + urinals) for events with 150 + guests. For anything less a 2+1 toilet will suffice.
Top Tips;
Check what supplies your toilets come with and if in doubt have a back up stock of toilet paper / towles.
Depending on your site you may require walkways + lights up to your toilets
Waste
One commonly overlooked item for all events is waste. Whether it's florists, caterers, bar company; they all produce waste so important to have a process in place. The easiest option is a local skip company. A 8 or 10 yard skip should suffice for the whole event.
The best place for your skip to go is by the back of house area, therefore it's within easy access for the caterers and our of view for your guests.
Site and Floor Plans
If your marquee company provide you with floor plans, get them! They can be really useful in visualising the layout and making sure you'll have enough space within the marquee. Floor plans can also be very useful when getting to the table plan stage.
CAD/Site plans give a further representation of how the site will look with the marquee and infastructure in place This is not only useful for you but other suppliers heading onsite so they know what to expect and where their kit will be going.
See a couple of examples below.
Power Supply & Distribution
Lastly, but probably the most important item for an event is the power supply and consequent distribution. Again this is commonly provided by your marquee company.
Here at Husk we understand that you don't want to be thinking about power balancing and current outputs required, therefore, we'll get in touch with your suppliers and find out there requirements. From there we'll create a power plan which is balanced out, on sepate circuits. We'll always bring two generators, one live and a one backup giving you piece of mind for the big day.
To further this we commonly have a manager onsite for your event day so we can make sure the venue is all set for your arrival, from walls being open, hoovering, other suppliers and of course the power.
We have this has been helpful and if you need any help with your wedding plans please do get in touch!
Team Husk
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