Tips to successful marquee event planning.

A guide to what you can expect from a marquee contractor in the planning process.

A Wedding Reception Marquee.
Be prepared: before you speak to the marquee hire companies...

• Establish some kind of budget - even if it's a very rough guess of what you'd like to spend. This tells your marquee contractor what scale the event is on from the start. The first telephone call and an informal chat will give you an idea of whether your budget is realistic and will help you narrow down which supplier is right for you.



• Find pictures or articles depicting the type of thing you'd like. If you're organising a wedding marquee, gather up some photos of how you'd like it to look. This will make it much easier for everyone to know what they're working towards. We than have a better idea what sort of suggestions are worth mentioning. The three main very broad themes tend to be:
  
  
  • English country garden, twee; a traditional canvas pole tent open to the garden, lined with pale pastel stripes or pleated white. Brass chandeliers with dimmer and classic gilt or beech effect chairs colour-coordinated with pale or pastel table linen. A soft and simple ambience.
  
  
  
  • Modern, no frilly bits; aluminium frame tent or cluster of single-peak chinese hat pagoda marquees with plain flat lining and spotlighting to tables. Silver or limewashed ladderback chairs or metallic seating with a dash of strong colour on the table centres or draped from the roof. Black and white dance floor and perhaps an illuminated chrome trim bar. Works well for winter weddings with a starcloth or dark velvet lining with additional voil or liquid lame drapes or table runners.
  
  
  
  • " I don't want anything stuffy and formal, it's going to be a party! "; frame tent lined with a dark lining (crimson, purple, bottle green, terracotta, navy blue, ink blue velvet, midnight blue starcloth, or a light lining with colour-wash lights shone through from behind to give a real 'Wow!' factor when the dancing starts. Rope light fanned over the band platform or disco area. Casual sofa seating around low coffee tables with small occasional tables dotted around for drinks and canapes or bowl food.
    
    
  • Family and freinds and a BBQ, that's all; An unlined traditional white canvas poled marquee, broad beam coda floods and white plastic bistro style furniture for inside or outside. As simple as that.

Meeting on site.

So you've rung three companies and got three quite different estimates that don't seem to be for the same event, even though you're sure you said the same thing to each of them? Read on...

• Don't try to force different companies to quote for identical specifications; each company has it's own way of doing things with their unique kit. Listen to how and why your marquee supplier is suggesting what he or she is suggesting. Listening to the reasoning and explainations will help you decide who you are going to trust with your special occasion.



• There is no point trying to hammer down the quoted price. All businesses have to either make this deficit back somewhere else in the costings, or cut corners to save on the exspenses.



• Don't be shy of telling potential suppliers what you do and don't like about their proposal because usually the package can be toilored to exactly what you want. The better the contractor knows what you like, and what your are aiming to do, the more likely you are to acheive it. Likewise, anything you're not too bothered about may be trivial to you, but might make quite a difference to what your marquee contractor has to do.



• After the site visit, you will invariably be sent a revised proposal which is a formal quote rather than an estimate. Once this is confirmed in writing by both parties it is legally binding, so check terms and conditions regarding deposits (we don't ask for a deposit, just written confirmation), cancellation charges and how flexible you can be with the order.



• Always allow a few extra chairs, napkins, long tables just in case. Don't discard the idea of heating even in Summer because if girls are in Summer clothes and get chilly you must have some provision to warm the tent up, particularly if you don't want to close up all the sides. Try to leave a little in your budget for contingencies.

Things to do once it's booked

• Go and look at the chairs, table linen colours and if possible, your marquee, up in the air. This will give you a much better idea of the space you are going to have, the layout and colour schemes.



• Keep in touch with your marquee contractor and other suppliers, and make sure everyone knows how to contact everyone else so that they can organise things together, behind the scenes.



• Arrange to have another meeting a month or so before your big day just to recap and run through any changes of detail.



• Check timings: marquee delivery, parking arrangements, band/disco set-up times, caterers and florists time allocation.



• Make sure you know how to contact electricians and marquee backup team should any problem arise. Inside Outside Marquee Hire have a 24hr call-out number which is left on the answerphone greeting message.




Now, Relax and Enjoy!




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