Everybody gets a little obsessive about the weather when they have a wedding date on the horizon. Whether it’s paying out for long-range forecasts from the Met Office or becoming a bit of a weather nerd yourself, looking anxiously to the skies becomes habitual in the days leading up to the big day.
Despite our weather worries, al fresco weddings are making a real push at the moment. Perhaps the past couple of summers in London and the south east have set couples thinking. Idyllic stretches of sunny weather certainly tend to stick in the memory when they occur in the UK climate, famed for its unpredictability.
When an outdoorsy feel to a wedding is desired, the option many people choose is a marquee event. With a marquee you get the best of both worlds – and the major bonus with a marquee is that they are totally flexible and can cope in fair weather and foul.
Increasingly, a marquee in the garden is the option couples select. When a marquee is erected on home territory, it gives a wedding a uniquely intimate and personal feel that is hard to find in corporate venues. So what does it take to have a marquee in the garden for your wedding?
Is there Room?
The first thing you need to establish is whether or not you have the space, and is it easily accessible for large delivery vehicles? The best way of finding out quickly is get a marquee hire firm around for a site visit. They will be able to assess the access, look out for overhead cables and other snags that may be problematic. For marquee hire London is well served and most large companies have a range of designs and floor plans that can be adapted to fit your site footprint. If your garden proves to be unsuitable, firms often have sites they can recommend, so your dream of a wedding open to the fresh air needn’t be quashed. If you are having a south east wedding, when looking for marquee hire London is a wise place to begin your search.
What Goes Where
Consider where dining, dancing and chilling out is going to take place. If the ceremony is happening on site too, how do you envisage this? What about the drinks reception? Think about where the caterers will go, will there be room for them to prepare food and plate up for all your guests? Often, the catering side of things is put into an annexed marquee.
Have a good idea in your mind of what you want before calling in the marquee specialists, of course they will have useful suggestions to make, but it is helpful if you know exactly what you want in advance. That said, it’s wise to be flexible and open to the ideas of others – remember they are experts, and this is (probably) the first wedding you have planned for yourself.
Décor Tips
A marquee is a big blank canvas, waiting for you to put your personal stamp on it. White flowers often get lost against a pale backdrop, so choosing more vibrant shades is advisable. Grand floral displays on tall columns are inadvisable too, if the floor is at all uneven. Well chosen lighting can make a huge difference both during daylight and night time hours. Again, choosing coloured lights will show up better against a white backdrop. Up-lighters,starlight ceilings, chandeliers, fairy lights wrapped around poles, trees hung with lanterns and candle lit pathways are all ideas to throw in to the mix.
Important Details
When hiring items such as tables and chairs from a marquee firm, it is vital to get the numbers correct. Extra incidentals such as tables for the cake, gifts, DJ, caterers and bar staff to use all need to be taken into account, too.
Depending on your toilet facilities and the number of guests, you may need to hire in portable WCs. There are a range of options here, from basic festival-type loos to smart, sophisticated powder room models that can be integrated into the marquee floor plan.
The caterers, DJ, bar staff and band will all require power so choose a generator that is up to the job. At night, lighting and heating will also drain power, so make sure you get a generator that won’t let you down.
A marquee wedding bathed in sunshine can be the most magical event. If you fancy getting hitched on home turf, why not explore the possibilities of pitching a marquee in your garden? Come rain or shine, marquees are the stylish and flexible choice for staging the most memorable of wedding days…
