Marquee Weddings in Wiltshire, Dorset & Hampshire
We’ve done our fair share of marquee weddings over the years in Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and throughout the South West.
Way back in the day we worked with DP Marquees base over in Wimborne. Before we were even doing weddings, we catered the first ever Chalke Valley History Festival, on the cricket pitch at Bowerchalke, which DP serviced with their magnificent tents. It was a big gig for us at the time, 200 covers every day for 4 days. The following year, the venue moved to Ebbesbourne Wake, the marquee grew, we catered 400 covers for 5 days. Then we catered the Somersault Festival in North Devon, another marquee, 400 covers, twice a day for 4 days, 3200 covers in all, plus breakfast for 300 at 8.00am on the last day, nearly a bridge too far, one of the younger chefs was stretchered off site, exhausted, broken.
Now we do plenty of weddings in private gardens, usually for about 140 guests, so manageable, where the marquees are the epicentre of the event. Well, the food is the epicentre in our opinion obviously, but granted, the marquee has its uses. Interlocking tepees have been very popular recently, creating areas for mingling, chatting, eating and dancing. And of course the mighty stretch tent never goes out of fashion, available with or without sides, weather dependant and perfect for inviting the floral garden borders into the overall interior design, along with selected shrubs and well placed smaller trees.
I’m a sucker for a circus tent, all stripy, giggly and full of fun. A bit shouty, lets you know where it is and promises a good time for everyone who enters there. Perfect for a strategically placed, massive mirror ball to dance under later in the evening, once the trapeze artists and the calypso band have edged away, leaving the pounding house DJ to flex his vinyl.
My advice, for what it’s worth. If you’re planning to have a marquee in your garden, or a friends’ field this summer, to celebrate your nuptials, you need to nominate a ‘site manager’ to ensure everything goes smoothly on the day. Preferably not the bride, groom or immediate family, or the best man for that matter. You just need someone who’s reliably responsible and happy to stay reasonably sober in case anything goes wrong. They don’t have to fix everything, but they do need to know who to call should anything need fixing. Often that ‘site manager’ will be the wedding planner if you have one. Often clients think it’s the caterer as they are the only ‘staff’ on site, but personally I don’t think preparing, cooking and serving food, sits well with cleaning out a blocked Port-a-loo. Besides which, the caterer will have their work cut out delivering canapes, three courses, coffee and evening food to all your guests.
Here's what often gets overlooked, signage, car parking facilitators, what happens when the generator packs up, the band arrive and want to know where and when to set up and do a sound check. Where are the spare loo rolls, how to unblock sinks and drains. Who calls last orders at the bar and makes sure guests leave the site in a safe and timely manner. Not an exhaustive list, just a few things to consider in advance. Keep that in mind and you’ll have a wonderful, stress-free day.
We enjoy a great relationship with many suppliers and venues. Here are few Marquee companies that we would recommend:
If you would ike to discuss your marquee wedding, or any other aspect of your event please contact us