Marquee wedding

[foodiefil]

Hi all,

I'm looking at doing a marquee wedding next May/June.

We've found a country house that can host 32 of us for the whole weekend and a marquee in the garden for wedding day guests.

Can anyone advise on how much it could be and if it's worth it and not a load of hassle for everyone?

It would be for 90 guests and I realise that there are extras like dance floor etc but just a guide or how to do it the most economical way.

And if anyone has had a DIY bar please advise on that too!

Thank you x

[relax2]

I think marquees can be super expensive but I have no idea however sounds lovely!!

[foodiefil]

I think so too @relax2 😭 thank you anyway x

[milienhaus]

It will be a few £k for the marquee - I would guess 3-4 but depends on local prices etc.

We had a diy open bar at our recent wedding - had a bar unit from the marquee company and then wine, beer keg, cider boxes and soft drinks out with cups for people to help themselves - worked really well (though we had a member of the catering team stay late to keep it tidy which was great and not that expensive). We spent c£1k on the alcohol for 120 people and had too much in the end.

[milienhaus]

Oh to note - that cost was all drinks all day including pre dinner drinks (served by caterers) and wine with dinner.

[twointhemorning]

We did similar to what you are planning in July – we hired a small country house for a week and invited close family to stay for the wedding weekend and had day guests. We didn't have marquee so can’t help with that.

It's harder than doing it in a hotel because you have to arrange for all the little things to happen, e.g. who will play the wedding ceremony music, or arrange for champagne and canapes to be served. We also wanted our family to enjoy the day and not have to pitch in and 'work'.

We had a fantastic caterer who knew what she was doing as regards organising the day and having the right people in place. For example our 'country house' was quite small so we had to hire in an extra oven to cook the food and fridges/ freezers for drinks etc.

We made a detailed timetable of the day and what needed to happen where and when. The caterer supplied staff which we paid for by the hour. We had a barman, head waitress, 2 waitresses and a washer-upper and the chef.

The caterer provided the wedding breakfast and the evening buffet food. We supplied all snacks, biscuits, tea/ coffee, alcohol and soft drinks. We probably spent about £1,000 on drinks (from Costco, Laithwaites, supermarkets) for 20 drinkers and had loads left over . It was a free bar and served by the catering staff. We also set up a tea and coffee station with Nespresso machine which was popular.

Don't forget you will have to transport all the food and drink you provide to the venue. We hired a van! Yes, Majestic etc can deliver but there will be someone at the venue to accept the delivery. Any equipment e.g. oven, fridges, chairs, tables, table linen will need to be delivered and collected. Ditto the wedding cake. Nothing got delivered on the same time or the same day which meant lots of hanging around.

[twointhemorning]

Just thought of a couple of other things:

Some caterers charge corkage even if you supply your own booze, so watch out for that.

Just get quotes for everything and work out what you want to spend. We had 20 people, so went for high quality food and drink.

[PerspicaciaTick]

Does your venue not have a preferred supplier for the marquee?

[stucknoue]

It's years since I rented one but it was £2k approx. I regularly do diy bars for work - assuming the venue isn't charging corkage it's a good option (asking cousins circa 18-20 who are a bit awkward with attending to look after the bar is a good tip). Get wine on sale or return, local brewery for a keg of decent beer and cases of lager from the supermarket, if you go for spirits keep it simple with just 4-6 types

[foodiefil]

Thanks all.

@twointhemorning yes that's what I'm concerned about also - family members working our wedding day.

@PerspicaciaTick not that they've made me aware of. Nothing on the website either but they do have recommended caterers on there. They don't do many weddings but sure they know of a supplier they can suggest.

[foodiefil]

@stucknoue thank you that's really helpful. Where does sale or return? Lots of great breweries near us.

[Pepperstripe]

Ours has been quoted around 4K

[foodiefil]

Can I ask what that includes? @Pepperstripe x

[Pepperstripe]

Bar, 100 tables and chairs, dance floor, inside decor, I think some sort of flooring (I can't remember what we picked!), lighting, generator. Not sure what else...but think that's the main bits. What's quite good is that it's an open quote, so we can finalise chair numbers etc closer to the time depending on how many guests accept.

The size of the marquees vary too. We've gone middle of the road size.

[Pepperstripe]

Sorry, 10 tables, 100 chairs!! Not 100 tables 😂

[foodiefil]

😂 all guests get a table each ey

That's great thank you - hope you have an amazing wedding