Whether you’ve chosen the formal elegance of a stately home, the festival vibe of a field or you’re lucky enough to have room at home, finding exactly the right position for your marquee is a vital part of ensuring you get the best from the site and that all the logistical elements of the wedding come together in harmony.

We’re often asked, what are the things we look out for on a site visit and so here they are!  For ease we’ve split them up into three different sections below.

Practicalities

• • is the available space big enough for my marquee? As a rough guide, for 100 seated guests with room for dancing you will need an approximate minimum area of 25m x 20m.

• • is the ground flat enough and level enough for a marquee? Very few sites are perfectly flat, so a certain degree of unevenness and slope is to be expected but the flatter it is, the better it will be. It is possible that either a hard floor, or in extreme cases, a levelled platform floor may be required.

• • is the site well drained; or is there a risk of flooding?

• • is there good access to the site for your suppliers, your guests and in case of emergency?

• • is there a nearby drop off point for you and your guests and adequate parking?

• • is there provision on site for facilities such as loos, for electrical supply and for catering?

• • ideally, ensure there is room behind the marquee to hide the facilities from view (none wants to see the generator).

• • opaque white canvas walls along the back wall of the marquee screen the facilities and work areas and provide a neutral backdrop for flowers or a top table.

Safety 

• • all pole tents are secured to the ground using long metal stakes so it’s essential to check that no underground services such as cables or pipes will be affected.

• • the king poles of a pole tents rise up to around 8-10 metres and have metal fittings so overhead power lines and telegraph cables also have to be considered.

Aesthetics

• • for maximum visual impact on arrival your guests should approach the marquee from the front or at a slight angle (it’s no accident that most photographers take their pictures this way).

• • To give the appearance of a magically floating canopy, position the clear walls to the front and ends of the marquee.

• • ideally, position the clear walls (or the whole marquee) to take advantage of a view.

• • if the marquee faces south or southwest then the outside area to front will not be shaded by canopy and will benefit from the sun throughout the whole day, allowing you to make the most of an outsideterrace or spill-out, chill-out area.

We hope you will find this guide on where to put a wedding marquee useful in planning your wedding day but please don’t worry about having to remember everything on it!  We’re more than happy to come along and take a look at your venue and to provide as much help and advice on each of the points as you might need.

Finally, here are a few extra hints and tips …

Tips

When you first check out a potential site (especially a field), walk over the ground yourself and imagine yourself and your friends on the spot, don’t rely on photographs, they can be misleading.

If in doubt take a chair and sit down as if you are at a table for a meal. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t going to work.

Visit the site early in the planning stages, if some groundwork is needed (think filling holes, levelling bumps and humps, cutting back shrubs or seeding new grass), then the longer there is for everything to settle down and grow back the better the site will be.

Ask us to come and check out the site with you, we’re happy to do it and It’s always nice to meet face to face.

If you’re stuck for ideas have a look at the venue section on our website or give us a call.

Planning a party should be a fun and interesting experience, culminating in a magical day backed up with a lifetime of happy memories.

We believe there’s no better way to mark life’s milestones than by celebrating in a marquee. You have the flexibility to do things your way and to choose every detail of the look and feel of the day. Time taken in the planning where to put your wedding marquee will never be wasted and when you need us, we’re always on hand to help.

If you’re looking to hire a marquee in Yorkshire, Teesside, County Durham or Northumberland please get in touch or have a look at our blog Marquee Hire Near Me for more wedding marquee hire info.