Planning your dream marquee wedding
Posted onAs experts in delivering catering and event management for marquee weddings, we’re sharing some top tips to ensure you achieve your perfect wedding.
Marquees (or teepees and similar structures) can be challenging venues to use for events, however the results are always worthwhile, with the benefits of a blank canvas for beautiful styling, your chosen location and a wedding that is entirely bespoke to you.
Planning and location
We have catered for some truly stunning marquee events over the years, overlooking rolling fields or in the grounds of manor houses. But aside from choosing the overall location, the placement of the marquee is important. You might want your wedding to be right in the middle of a field surrounded by nothing, but keeping it closer to amenities is desirable, for access to water, power and facilities. So if you have a property nearby (perhaps a family home or a community centre), try and keep it within reach. Planning is vitally important for marquee weddings because unlike wedding venues, you have to sort everything yourself, from power and food to, drinks, décor and parking. One thing to consider is hiring a wedding planner to ease the process. And if you work with our team at Berry Blue we can help with much more than catering – we can support with set-up, equipment hire, drinks and general planning.
Space for catering
When thinking about catering for your wedding, you need to ensure that there is accessible space within your marquee for caterers to set up and access to running water and electricity. You will require what’s called a catering annexe where the temporary kitchen can be placed away from the eyes of the guests.
You’ll also need to check whether your catering company provides the cutlery, crockery, glassware and so on for your event. Luckily, at Berry Blue, we provide everything you need, to help take the stress off your day. We work with brides and grooms to make sure every little detail is to their taste. This is especially important when working up a wedding menu.
Bar and waiting services
If there is no bar near your marquee then you’ll need to think about how you will provide drinks to your guests for the meal and the after party. From drinks on the tables to a free or paid bar, there are a variety of options. At Berry Blue, we provide drinks packages and cash bars. We will handle everything from setting up the bar, providing glassware and staff, to creating a bespoke drinks menu.
If you’d like table service, we can also supply trained waiters and waitresses to deliver drinks and food to your guests.
Choosing your wedding menu
We believe the wedding menu should truly reflect the happy couple and what they enjoy eating. That’s why we provide an array of options to choose from. Whether you’re opting for a three-course meal, a BBQ, sharing platters, a buffet or an elegant afternoon tea – we can help. Everything is still possible within a marquee as long as we can bring in the equipment to cook it.
We’re proud to provide fresh, seasonal produce, some of which comes from our farm in the Cotswolds. If you’d like to find out more, get in touch with one of our team today.
Venue permissions
Whether you’re pitching your marquee in a local field or at a country house, you need to make sure you have received permission from the landowner/property first. Some wedding venues may even already have marquees set up on their grounds.
In addition you will need to consider risk assessments for the structure and lighting etc, and ensure contractors coming onto site have public liability insurance.
You will also need a Temporary Events Notice from your local council if you plan to sell alcohol or have music/entertainment.
Decorating your marquee
So now the fun bit. One of the best things about having a marquee wedding is that you can design it exactly how you’d like it. Start by deciding what style you’d like to go with, whether you’re going for a black tie or a rustic wedding. Knowing the style will help you to stay on track with which decorations to choose.
You also need to think about the lighting for the marquee. Fairy lights and candles can be fantastic for creating a romantic atmosphere. Alternatively, if you’d like to go more luxurious, you could opt for large hanging chandeliers.
It’s also important to think about how to create spaces for each part of the event. For instance, where the dining area will be, the dance floor and the catering. You could also include lounge areas for your guests to take a rest from dancing. At Berry Blue we can offer simple extras and upgrades to help enhance your theme, such as coloured napkins and table linen and rustic signs and boards – just ask us, you’ll be surprised what we can help with!
We hope this helps you on your way to planning your dream marquee wedding. Our team of experts can help you on every step of your wedding planning journey. Get in touch today: https://berry-blue.co.uk/contact-us/
