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Spectacular outdoor wedding venues: our guide to hiring marquees, tipis and tents

Marquees are the kings of the outdoor wedding venue market - © luke varley / photo
Marquees are the kings of the outdoor wedding venue market - © luke varley / photo

Nothing says summer loving like an outdoor wedding. Get it right and it's the type of event that lives long in the memory – a vision ready-made for Instagram and nostalgia inducing photo albums. 

Marquees are the kings of the outdoor wedding venue market, their popularity buoyed by Pippa Middleton’s nuptials last May. For her marriage to James Matthews, Middleton had a £100,000 glass marquee built in the gardens of her family home. The crystal palace structure was 140ft long and was able to hold 350 guests. To say it was spectacular is to do it an injustice.

Wedding marquee - Credit: Mint Images RF
Vintage and rustic is a popular style for wedding marquees, including bunting and lime-washed chairs Credit: Mint Images RF

Size, flooring and cost

Unfortunately, we can’t all afford something so grand – but cheaper marquees and other outdoor wedding venue options do offer a bespoke element that you just can’t get with more permanent indoor venues. It doesn't all have to cost the Earth.

“If it’s on your own land then its great cost effective way of doing it because you don’t have to think about hiring it days before,” says Ruth Lawton-Owen, managing director at luxury wedding planners, The Admirable Crichton. She places the cost of an average marquee anywhere between £3,000 and £60,000, depending on size and additional costs.

Soft, tent-style structures can go up the day before; anything more substantial will take longer - Credit: The Admirable Crichton / Peppers
Soft, tent-style structures can go up the day before; anything more substantial will take longer Credit: The Admirable Crichton / Peppers

Whereas Middleton’s reportedly took six days to put up, the standard hire for less extravagant structures is three days, says Lawton-Owen.

“Soft, tent-style structures can go up fairly quickly, usually just the day before, but if it’s a fixed structure then you may need a little longer because you have the flooring to go in and it’s built-in panels rather than just a tented structure that gets pulled up. On the flooring, there are different sorts of soft matted flooring, which is entry level stuff and you can go up to hard boarded flooring that gets carpeted over. You may also choose cassette flooring that looks like a parquet pattern where you have bits that can slot into each other.”

Geo Dome - Credit: Ken Somerville
A blow-up geo-dome can look spectacular at night - perfect for partying Credit: Ken Somerville

If you are renting land you will have to remember to hire for the days needed to put up and take down the marquee. When it gets to peak wedding season (from April to September), a lot of hotels and wedding venues will have a marquee already set up as an option for their clients. This gives you the choice to have the ceremony inside the venue, before taking the party outside. This can also make things easier when having to consider the cost of power and water needed.

If you would prefer to have your marquee set up away from an inside venue, in a position that would need its own energy supply, the cost will quickly rack up. “You’re looking at a good £2,000 for a generator,” warns Lawton-Owen. “And you also have to consider lighting, space for a catering unit, Portaloos, and water to be brought in coolers.”

Geo Dome - Credit: www.bayahire.co.uk
Blow-up geo-domes that you just fill with air offer a futuristic alternative Credit: www.bayahire.co.uk

Geo-domes, yurts and tipis

The marquee can hog the limelight – there are other outdoor venue options that might be more suitable depending on what style of wedding you are after. Blow-up geo-domes that you just fill with air offer a futuristic alternative (Baya Hire offer a double dome for 150 people at £8,500). Yurts have a more rustic, festival-like vibe (Yorkshire Yurts offer a 50ft yurt for 150 people at £4,500). If you want to go full-on Glastonbury then you might even want to consider a tipi.

A reputable outdoor wedding venue should provide everything you need for the wedding, and if they don’t supply it themselves then they will have a preferred supplier that they will outsource to.

“Most people aren’t experts on these venues so it’s an awful lot of effort to go to get the parts individually,” says Lawton-Owen. “Also if you did get everything yourself it means you are a little bit responsible for it on the day. Whereas if you’ve outsourced it all to a planner or a marquee company then the responsibility is off your shoulders.”

Yorkshire Yurts - Credit: www.yorkshireyurts.co.uk
Yurts have a more rustic, festival-like vibe Credit: www.yorkshireyurts.co.uk

Don't forget the weather

One thing that is out of everybody's hands is the weather. While the sun might be shining brightly now it can be a fickle mistress. It pays to be prepared.

“We’ve always held an option on trackway which is really heavy duty rubber pallets that interlock,” says Lawton-Own. “It just means that any trucks have to drive on the tracking so they don’t churn up the lawn or get stuck. We would always do that for good practice. Usually, you keep an option on it so a week before you can say yes I need it or no I don’t.”

Most marquees are waterproof so that shouldn’t be a worry (although it is good to ask when hiring) - Credit: The Admirable Crichton / LPM Bohemia
Most marquees are waterproof so that shouldn’t be a worry (although it is good to ask when hiring) Credit: The Admirable Crichton / LPM Bohemia

Most marquees are waterproof so that shouldn’t be a worry (although it is good to ask when hiring) but do bear in mind that if it is raining people will inevitably have to brave the droplets for one reason or another.

“I would always have a good stock of brollies for when people may have to go out to the Portaloo as they are always separate from the marquee,” recommends Lawton-Owen.

“We also do a big basket of flip-flops for people to dance in at the end of the night when the feet are hurting and last May, we did a marquee with a basket of pashminas and wellies so that people could just pick them up and stay warm.

"When you’re having an outdoor wedding, it just pays to be prepared.”

Wedding venues | Read more
Wedding venues | Read more