Any thoughts on Marquees

Have a look at Ducky's wedding report (you'll find it in the awards section) - she did just this. I would be very surprised if you managed to get everything for under £5k. £7k isn't unreasonable for a marquee depending on the size and how it was kitted out.

Thanks,

Thats good to know, I will have a look. I literally have no idea how much stuff costs. I always used to marvel at how expensive weddings are and am now finding out why the hard way!

I looked into doing this too but most quotes I got were around the 6k mark and since that didn't include any food/drink we decided we were better off just having it in a hotel.

My aunt had her wedding in a marquee at her own house, it was amazing but it was a fairly stressful few days before the wedding getting it all put together.

Hi,

My daughter had a venue with a marquee and it was fantastic as it is then a blank canvas for you to decorate exactly as you want. It will be amazing.

Lynne

I can imagine it will be very stressful and possibly more expensive than a hotel.The day before my friends wedding, they had to hire a tractor to pull the portaloos out of the mud (it was in June - remember June this year!?!) For me though there is no other option, I have to have it there. My younger brother died in August and he lived with my parents at that house. I know if I have it at home, I will feel like he is there with me. I can't imagine doing it anywhere else.

I just hope I can find one. Or my guests will be sat on my parents lawn with no roof over there head in the unpredictable English Weather. :/

Sorry 'their' not 'there'. Am suffering from severe wedding head!

Hi,

We are having a marquee wedding. Ours is suitable (i.e. still comfortable) for 120 daytime guests (seated) and a further 30 people in the evening.

It includes

- Marquee

- Marquee Ivory Lining / Pleats

- Wooden Dance-Floor

- All Tables / Chairs

- Glazed Double Doors

- Chandelier Lighting

- Power Generator

- Brand New Cream Carpet Laid Over Wood Floor (Without the wood underneath you risk damp coming through and also uneven flooring)

And is costing around £4,200.

You will need to look into external caterers etc - and as your marquee will be in a home then you might need to find a caterer that as a portable kitchen etc.

It might help you to get a quote from someone with a breakdown, then you can work out what you need and what you don't.

Good Luck!

Painted Hales, where are you based?

Thanks for all your replies everyone.

Kirstabubble - I live in London but need a marquee for Worcester as thats where my parents house is.

Ah ok, can't help with that area as I'm in Essex!

Hope you find something. My friend's are having a marquee in the grounds of a stately home in Essex and one thing they said they've noticed is a lot of the prices are very similar and they were finding it difficult to get people down on price.

That could be because of where we are though.

I second Kirstabubble - all our prices were very similar and we were not able to get any negotiations. We are Midlands.

I am in Norfolk!

Not much help. I LOVED having the marquee at home. It made the wedding feel like a week long celebration. I am very organised though, and had a little itinary for the week prior to the wedding. Everyone had their own jobs, it was a proper whole-family-muck-together job. I wouldn't have changed it for the world though and I know that no one will ever have their wedding in the same place as me (apart from my little sister maybe...).

Any questions just gizza shout.

We're having something similar with Giant Kata (titi) tents, although for the whole day and not just the reception.

I think we're looking at around £7500, which includes the land we're hiring, space for around 150 guests, tables and bench seating for 72, flooring, lighting, 18 sets of fairy lights (decoration for beams within the tents), a wooden dancefloor, relax lounge (comfortable seating), bar, reindeer hides, open fire (& fire safety kit), toilets and shower facilities, a separate log cabin with an open fire and sofas (away from the action, intended for elderly guests) equipped with a fully functional kitchen & an additional side room, licence for camping on the site for guests wishing to camp, parking for 100, insurance. Set up/take down/travel and all that stuff is also included.

On top of this we'll need to hire a generator to power everything, we've been quoted around £600 for this.

We'll also have to arrange our own caterers and literally everything else- decor, ceremony etc. It seems like a big job but it's exactly what we wanted. We wanted to celebrate exactly as we pleased without having to abide by rules, traditions or limits/minimum numbers etc dictated by a venue or other vendors.

The price we're paying is the cheapest we were able to find, so it's definitely not a cheap option. However, for us as we wanted a non-weddingy wedding it suits us perfectly and it's literally the price we're paying to be able to have exactly what we want.

Any specific questions, just give me a shout

We're having a marquee in FMIL's garden. For 60 people, lining, main lighting, green carpet, trestle tables and plastic chairs, it is costing £1,400. We will need to add heaters to that and portaloo. We will get fairy lights and caterer is doing a BBQ with a gazebo in case it rains.

If you go for the simplest package it is cheaper but you have to decide what look/finish you want. We just see the marquee as rain protection as the garden is the focus.

We had a marquee and although it is expensive to hire, it meant we could have exactly what we wanted (with decor, caterers, bar etc). Also, we saved a lot of money on caterers and saved on the bar- we had a free bar and this would have costed a fortune in a hotel.

Our quotes came through with and without interior items and a run down of the costs. Had to hire toilets seperately but the marquee company recommended places.

We went with a more expensive option- £9000 but half of it was glass and we got married in the lake district with beautiful views so it felt worth it. I would definitely do it again just for the freddom it brings but it is probably more stressful in the build up because there is more to organise. Here's a picture of our marquee in the evening:

@RedKitchie - which company are you using for yours?

Crystal marquee in Surrey. I think in Guildford. The family has used them before. Like I say, we are going small and basic.

@RedKitchie - thank you.

I could talk about my amazing marquee all day, loved loved loved it, like Ducky has said it was a week long of family helping, watching the marquee going up, dressing it, aunties/friends doing my flowers, bbq’s, just fab…. We were so lucky with the weather it was the only week this year in the North East that was hot and sunny.

I started out thinking it would be cheaper than any venue and we would save a fortune, not the case, I would say it ended up the same price as a middle of the range venue but we could have everyone we wanted.

There was room to sit 130 for a 3 course meal, and then an extra 100 guests in the evening; we had a bar/lounge area with sofa, high bistro tables, dance floor, powder room and the most amazing swanky toilets ever. I would say mine including food and drink £11k.

If I could do it again tomorrow I would, so proud that we pulled off an awesome wedding in the middle of a field!!!