A marquee wedding gives you total creative control. You're building a venue from scratch, not booking one that already exists. It's also more involved than booking a fixed venue, and we'd rather be honest about that up front. You're building a venue from nothing, which means decisions to make, logistics to manage, and details that are easy to miss until they turn into problems on the day.
This guide covers everything you need to think about when planning a marquee wedding, so nothing catches you out. We've been planning and building wedding marquees across London and the South East since 1988, so most of what follows comes from things we've watched go right, and a few we've watched go wrong.
What nobody tells you before you book a marquee wedding
The first thing we tell couples is the thing they least expect to hear: a marquee wedding isn't always cheaper than a fixed venue. Plenty of people assume it is, and then the quotes for flooring, power, toilets and catering facilities start to add up.
That's not a reason to rule it out. It's a reason to go in with your eyes open. Here's the honest trade-off.
| A marquee wedding gives you | A marquee wedding asks of you |
|---|---|
| Total creative control over the space | Every element sourced and coordinated separately |
| A venue that's uniquely yours | More decisions than a fixed venue |
| The setting of your choice | The right outdoor space, or access to one |
| No venue restrictions on styling or suppliers | More planning time and logistics |
It works best for couples who want full control of their day and have the right space to build on. If that's you, the freedom is worth every extra decision. If you'd rather turn up to somewhere that's already a venue, a fixed site might suit you better, and there's no shame in that.
Finding the right location for your wedding marquee
Your garden, a family member's property or a hired outdoor space are all options. Wherever it is, the ground matters more than people think.
Watch out for large trees, uneven ground and boggy patches, which can turn into access problems for supplier vans after a wet week. Level ground is the thing to hope for, because uneven sites need levelled flooring, and that gets expensive fast.
Then think past the marquee itself.
- Where will guests park?
- How close are the neighbours?
- Can contractors get in and out?
- Where will the toilets sit, and is there room for the caterers to work?
All of it needs a place before the day, not on it.
Always insist on a site visit. A wedding marquee company that tells you it doesn't need to see your site is a company to walk away from. A proper visit checks access, ground levels and whether pegs can go in without hitting a pipe or a cable.
Types of wedding marquee and which suits your day
The structure you choose sets the style of your day and shapes how you use the space you've got. Here's how the main options compare.
| Structure | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Clearspan | Framed structure, PVC roof and walls, no internal poles | Larger events and tighter gardens, thanks to the open floor |
| Traditional pole | Canvas structure with central poles, sailcloth versions especially | Couples after a classic look, on level ground |
| Stretch tent | Open, flowing canvas, sides exposed | Ceremonies and drinks receptions in fair weather |
| Tipi | Linked timber-and-canvas cones | A boho or rustic feel, often at a competitive price |
Clearspan marquees have no poles down the middle, so you get a blank canvas to lay out however you like, which is why they suit both big guest lists and awkward gardens.
Traditional pole marquees are beautiful, particularly the sailcloth ones, but the central poles need designing into your layout and they want level ground.
Stretch tents look wonderful but the open sides make full weatherproofing harder, so we'd use one for a ceremony or reception rather than the whole day in a British summer.
Tipis create a cosier, more intimate setting, and you can connect extra cones together to build the shape and capacity you need.
How to work out what size wedding marquee you need
Your layout changes the space you need more than the headcount does, and seated dining needs the most of all.
Whatever your seating plan works out to, you then have to find room for the dance floor, the bar, the catering area and space for people to move between them. Round tables take up less room than long ones, which buys you a little flexibility. And if you want a chill-out area, soft seating, a photo booth or a guest book table, each of those needs its own footprint too.
If you want the exact square-metre calculations and the right size for your guest count, read our marquee size guide.
Marquee wedding flooring options and what to consider
What you can lay depends on what you're laying it on. Grass, gravel, concrete, even a tennis court can all work as a base.
Matting is the most common choice and the most cost-effective, and it's ideal on level ground. Hardwood flooring with carpet gives a smarter finish but costs considerably more.
If your garden's uneven, levelling is often unavoidable, and it adds to the bill. On restricted or hard-standing sites, a clearspan marquee tends to be the easier fit.
Planning power for your marquee wedding
Unless your site happens to have the right power supply, you'll probably need to bring in a generator. You can't just run a cable through the kitchen window, a full wedding draws far more than that.
The suppliers that need power usually include:
- catering kitchen
- lighting
- band and/or DJ
- toilets
Ask each of them what they'll draw, so you can choose the right generator size for what you actually need.
We'd always recommend a backup generator too. It feels like an expense you might not need, right up until the main one fails and you're very glad it's there. Planning a wedding without one isn't a risk we'd take.
Give your marquee company your full supplier list and they can size the whole thing for you.
The essentials you need beyond the marquee itself
Toilets
Luxury toilet trailers come in a range of sizes and finishes, and you'll want them sited close to the marquee. Tell your supplier your guest numbers, and mention if anyone's camping overnight, so they can recommend the right unit. If you're running a two-day event, it's worth arranging servicing between the days.
Water
Caterers usually need running water or a hose they can reach. If neither is available, you're into water-tank territory, which adds cost, so talk to your caterer about their water needs early rather than discovering the gap late.
Catering kitchen
Your caterers will need a kitchen, and a good team will tell you exactly what that involves. They can often talk to your marquee team directly to sort it out between them. In most cases, a separate catering tent goes up alongside the main marquee.
Creating the atmosphere inside your wedding marquee
Lighting does more for the feeling of a marquee than almost anything else, and it's the last place we'd cut a budget. Think about both the decorative and the practical: the fairy lights and chandeliers, yes, but also making sure the paths to the toilets and the car park are lit once it's dark. Your options run from festoon lighting and uplighting to starlight ceilings and clear roof panels.
Lining and draping change the whole interior, softening a bare structure into a proper room. Choices include ivory pleated, ivory flat, printed linings and starcloth ceilings. Because the lining is the backdrop for all your styling, it's worth settling on it early rather than late.
Furniture pulls its weight too. Round tables or long, chiavari chairs or bentwood, each affects both the look of the room and how much space you use.
Getting your marquee layout right from the start
If you're having a ceremony, a drinks reception and a dinner and dance, decide early whether they share one marquee or split across separate structures, and plan around that choice.
If one space is doing double duty, say, the ceremony, then reception, you need a plan for where guests go during the turnaround. Nobody wants to stand in a drizzle while the chairs are rearranged. Many couples get around it with a separate ceremony structure, keeping the reception marquee back as a reveal.
Ask your marquee company for floor-plan examples, and settle the placement of the bar, dance floor, catering and entertainment before anything else locks in.
How long does a marquee wedding take to set up?
At Ruby's we aim to set up several days ahead, typically the Wednesday or Thursday before a Saturday wedding, so there's plenty of time for you to add your own touches once the structure's up. Everything else follows in order: suppliers deliver into the marquee, so the frame and floor have to be down first. And make sure every supplier collects their kit before the marquee comes down, or it ends up sitting out in the weather.
Above all, build in buffer time everywhere. Things take longer than anyone expects, and a wedding is not the day to run the timings tight.
Marquee details that catch couples out
After enough weddings, you learn the things that get forgotten. Run through this list early:
- Car parking, somewhere with easy access for guests
- A green room or changing space for the band or DJ
- A backup generator
- Weather cover for the ceremony if it's outdoors
- Air conditioning, which is costly and only works with the walls closed, so fans or openable sides are often the better call
- Event insurance
- Any permits your location needs, plus a music licence
- Telling the neighbours in advance, particularly for an evening do
Ready to start planning your marquee wedding in London?
A marquee wedding takes more planning than a fixed venue. What you get back is a day that's entirely your own, built around you rather than fitted into someone else's room.
The most important first step is a site visit from a marquee company that knows what it's looking at.
Ruby's Marquees has been helping couples plan and build wedding marquees across London and the South East since 1988, and every installation starts with a free site visit. No obligation, no pressure, just an honest look at what your day could be.
Enquire about your wedding marquee.
