How to Plan a Marquee Wedding at Home
If you are fortunate enough to have a large space at a family home, hosting your wedding in a marquee is a fantastic way to create a really personal celebration. It can be a lot of work and careful consideration is required of various elements, but remember you are building your own wedding venue from scratch - you are only limited by your (or your planner’s) imagination! We know it can be a scary prospect turning your garden, paddock or field into a wedding venue, but we’ve got a lot of experience and we’re going to share it with you. Here’s everything you need to know to plan a marquee wedding at home.
The first thing you need is a marquee! There are many different types of structure so start your research and try to establish what you really like and what would work well in the space. You could opt for a modern clearspan marquee with clean lines and white or transparent walls and ceiling, or you could choose a more traditional sailcloth marquee with canvas walls and wooden poles. Or how about something different? A giant hat tipi or stretch tent perhaps? Spending some time on this to get the right structure for you is really important because once you have decided on a structure that suits the style and size of your event you can begin to design the layout. Opting for a larger marquee means that you can create separate areas for dining, drinking and dancing, comfortable lounge areas, ample seating and a stunning backdrop for photographs.
When it comes to food and drink, think about the style of food you would like and how that works with the garden marquee setting. Are you looking for a formal three course meal, or something more casual? Don’t forget about the drinks. Having a wedding at home means there are no restrictions when it comes to caterers or bar offerings so let your imagination run wild!
The sky’s the limit when it comes to design and décor for a marquee wedding. Taking inspiration from the garden setting and bringing the outside in with lots of flowers, foliage and plants is a great place to start - we’ve even incorporated existing trees within marquees at past events, building the marquee around them. It doesn’t have to be floral décor, think about what else you can use - disco balls, paper decorations, suspended décor within the high ceilings of a marquee is always a beautiful route to go in. But please don’t forget about the importance of lighting - to enable the transition from day to night seamlessly, but also to decorate. From stunning chandeliers to fairy lights filling the tent with a sparkling sky, lighting will transform the space in a marquee wedding at home.
When thinking about entertainment for your marquee wedding, it’s easy to just consider the evening party - which is, of course, an important element, but think about entertainment throughout the entire day. When you are planning a wedding at home you may have multiple spaces you want to use, consider how you can entertain guests in each area. Live music for the drinks reception is always popular, as is a live artist or a magician to entertain guests. Moving on to the evening a great DJ or live band can really bring the party to your reception. What about something else; flair cocktail bar staff, dancers, a firework display?
It’s also really important to think about the slightly less glamorous, but essential part of a marquee wedding at home. When you’re planning a wedding at home it doesn’t always come with the infrastructure a venue can offer, power, water etc. So you’re likely to need, or at least consider, a generator, toilets, access to water, car parking, catering area, functional lighting, heating and/or cooling, as well as the logistics of bringing everything together. For a Saturday wedding, the structure would typically be installed on the Wednesday to allow time for everything else to be prepared.
For us, planning a marquee wedding at home or on private land allows us to really play to our strengths, Tori’s creative approach means she can help you, quite literally, build your dream wedding venue. Caroline’s logistical approach means that everything works seamlessly behind the scenes. So if planning a wedding at home is starting to feel a little overwhelming, then we’re right here to lend a helping hand, just get in touch!
Overall, the greatest joy of planning a marquee wedding or wedding at home is the huge potential for personalisation. You have full control over every element to make it truly feel uniquely yours. Enjoy the process and take your time loving every little detail!
V&C x
P.S. If you’re looking for some marquee wedding inspiration, check out our marquee weddings page