We will have a selection of our marquees on display over the course of the weekend of April 21st and 22nd. We will also be putting down matting and some tables and chairs inside to give you an idea of space available.

The Venue is in Plymouth. However as the venue is a private location so for full directions please contact us with your name, contact number & preferred day and time of attendance. Not to worry if you make a booking and are unable to make it on the day.

If you have any questions then feel free to ask them before hand or on the day. Someone will be on site to meet you and talk through any questions you may have. Feel free also to bring camera’s if you want to to take photo’s for reference and if the weather is wet than perhaps bring a coat, umbrella and some suitable footwear as the marquees will be on grass a short distance from a driveway. We will also have tape measures to hand for those that would like specific measurements.

We look forward to seeing you all on the 21st & 22nd April.

From a venue perspective the good news is that provided you get a licensed venue for the actual marriage or civil ceremony than the venue for the wedding reception really can be almost anywhere.

From castle weddings to marquees in a farmers field you really do have a lot of choice. We suggest you aim high! Perhaps put together a list of dream wedding venues or desirable locations. If nothing else it will be fun, then (the boring part) marry those up with your budget limitations and practicalities for guests etc. You may surprise yourself with the idea’s you produce.

Our opinion on alternative weddings is that just about every wedding in our marquees is in some way alternative, in that it is unique to the couple involved. No two events we supply ever look or feel quite the same. The marquees we supply are extremely versatile, will fit into many locations you may not even consider as possible to use and they look and feel modern while supplying you with a blank canvas that you can (and most everyone does) make your own in someway.  In this way you can go for an alternative venue for your wedding and make it work with our marquees, you can use our alternative marquees to make your venue stand out or you can go to town with decorations inside the marquee to put a personal stamp on the event.

So if you think we can help create your ideal or alternative wedding reception venue then get in touch or complete our enquiry form.

Whatever you chose  we hope your wedding or civil partnership is as fantastic as you hope it will be!

Whats more is that most marquee companys hold a number of different marquee sizes and sometimes styles. Choosing between all these and the additional items you are likely to need/want can be quite a process.

But not to worry, we have been doing this for some time and can help with these matters. You will find a lot of advice throughout this site on our marquee dimensions, marquee layout options and floor plans. We also stick to the basic items you will need to have a good time without worrying about making 100′s of decisions and escalating costs. So have a good look round the site, read our FAQ’s and some customer testimonials before making your easy and informed decisions. However if you are still unsure and would really rather have some further advice or perhaps you would like us to make a few suggestions for you then just ask and we will be more than happy to help you come up with the right set up for your needs.

Here’s one we made earlier….

If so and you are in Devon or Cornwall then it is likely that you are going to need to hire tables and chairs for the event. While we shut down our marquee hire from October, we continue to offer basic table hire and chair hire in any number for any event throughout the Christmas period.

We can offer table and chair hire packages from as few as 10 chairs and a single table for the family get together though to 250 chairs, 25 round tables or 20 trestle tables for your big Christmas event. Whats more if needed we will let you have them for the whole Christmas period (before Dec 20th – after the 2nd Jan). Delivery to the Plymouth area is free and for all other locations we will keep the cost as low as we can. Below are some examples of approx costs.

For an accurate quote just let us know how many people you need to seat as well as a few simple details by filling in our online enquiry or give us a call.

Example of our chairs

Example of our tables

So here are 5 top tips from us to help you save money on your Marquee wedding venue in Devon and Cornwall. It is possible to keep your wedding marquee and venue cheap!

1. Family & Friends: Do you know anyone with a good sized garden? Perhaps your Aunt or Uncle have a holiday home, your grandparents may have a flat sizable garden or maybe your place of work have space or own some land. Have a think and ask around! We have recently visited a beautiful marina not far from Totnes, a private large garden owned by friends of the brides family near Whimple and even a holiday rental property on the sea front at Hayle. You should find these venues are MUCH cheaper than a hotel.

2. Time of Year: Winter weddings can cost less however they are not ideally suited to marquees. If you have you heart set on a marquee wedding venue and want to keep it cheap then try and see if you can get a better rate in April or October. Bare in mind however that you may also then need to heat your marquee at that will be an added cost! We would hope that our prices are competitive all season long.

3. Local farmers fields: You may know one, you may not. If all you are after is some space for a party then find out how much a flat field is for a weekend. As long as access to the site is fairly easy then we (or any other marquee company for that matter) can erect a marquee. You may even get a great view thrown into the price and often have few restrictions on times and noise levels.

4. Type of Marquee: We may be biased and do shop around but we like to think our variety of marquee (the Capri) will save you money against a traditional or clearspan marquee of a similar size. What you may miss in swags and linings you can make up for in decorations.

5. Facilities Try to find a venue that has either electric, accommodation, toilets, water or a bar included in the price. The more they can supply the better as otherwise you will have to add on the price of all of these items plus individual delivery charges.

These are just a few helpful hints. If you are looking for a particular type of venue then call or email us and we can give you a hand, we have worked with some wonderful venues over the years and would be happy to recommend a few.

Themes

Beach: drift wood, sand and pebbles. Can be used anywhere but we have seen it used to great effect on waterfront/beach side locations. You can put as much or as little work into this as you want. Think driftwood center pieces, pebble name places and sandy jars with candles. We have even seen surf boards signed by the wedding guests!

Images: Mirrors and Pictures (old, new, friends and family). Get a collection of images from the bride and grooms past blown up into various sizes and/or framed. Tell the story of how they meet or just have images of all the guests with members of the bridal party.  Grab a big empty frame and have people take photos of themselves using a Polaroid camera… ask for a little message on the back?

Crafts: Filled jam jars, used wine bottles, homemade bunting, scarves and ribbons. Get the Family and your friends involved to make it a highly personal event with all sorts of homemade decorations.

Balloons: Go mad with balloons, attach to chairs for name places, get a professional balloon modelling company to create some stunning center pieces, use a balloon archway as your entrance to the marquee or have a massive helium filled balloon release!

A little bit crazy…

Sweets: Grab some funky jars and fill them high with your favorite tasty sweeties. Go retro or more modern. Do it yourself or get a sweet supplier to organise it for you. Your guests will love it and no doubt you will to. 

Fabric and feathers: Very chic! Why no go to town with creating your own drapes or making our internal poles part of the colour scheme? Easy to source and with multiple points of attachment inside the marquees,  fabrics and feathers can create a very elegant look

Crate paper and crayons… not just for the kids: Use crate paper as table clothes and invite all your guests to doodle, decorate, write messages and create a wedding work of art while they eat, drink and be merry. A great keeps sake with a personal touch from all your guests.

Cupcakes: What some professionals can do with cupcakes still leaves us somewhat stunned. Amzaing collections and colours are available from multiple suppliers locally. Shop around and shoot for the stars with your request as you may just get it!

Fish?!? Make your marquee into an aquarium… Goldfish and fish tanks on all tables, perhaps even one per guest as a wedding favour?!

We understand that it can be difficult to visualise your marquees set up and we encourage you where possible to have a look at them up and in action (email or call for possible viewings). Where this may not be possible due to distance or time etc, we offer some basic advice on marquee capacity and layouts on our planning page. However for each event we still recommend it is best to discuss you individual needs and them we can come up with a bespoke solution and floor plan to suit you event.

100 Guests Seated, a dance floor & catering tent

150 Guests Seated, a dance floor & catering tent

These plans should help you to get a feel for how your event may be laid out. Do remember that our marquees are not limited to these layouts only. If you want a ‘T’ shape or and ‘L’ or even a U” shape these are possible. So if you have restricted space or just want something a bit different then let us know! We have enough marquees to cater for up to 250 people seated at any one event.

The only restrictions we have are that archways can only be linked to archways of the same or very similar size. So if you have visions of how you would like your event laid out then make sure you consider this.

Well no not really, as with most things both types of marquee have good points and some less favorable points to consider when making a decision about which style to opt for. We will break down some of these with our opinions on both styles of marquee.

As you can see it is down to individual choice. Traditional and frame marquees play a massive role in the marquee market. However we feel the Capri is a great alternative hence our decision to stock Capri marquees only.  Do your research and make sure you get what is right for you and your event.

The basic diagrams below should help you to visualise your layout options and help you to consider the space and shape you may want or need.

Below is an example of a floor plan for each of our marquees with dimensions. The small dots represent the internal poles.

There are two  very simple ways of linking 2 or more of our Capri marquees together. Either end to end at the larger archways (28ft or 20 ft)

or side to side at the smaller archways (19ft)

Of course you can also add other size marquees into the mix to create the unique shapes and sizes we mentioned. By adding a 20/20ft or a 20/30ft marquee to the side you create a fantastic space for a bar or catering area.

By adding in a 3rd or 4th marquee you can create a big enough space for 200+ seated guests. To see what these looks like up and in action have a look at our gallery for some useful images.

Next week we will go further into floor plans and layouts including some seating, dance floor and larger layout options… keep visiting or even better  follow us on twitter or facebook for updates.

Firstly you have a fair few options to consider when thinking about your needs, as ever it is slightly more complicated than you would anticipate!

In order to avoid the dangers of being unorganized (pictured right) Here are a few things we suggest you think about and some links to companies in Devon and Cornwall who will be able to give you more details and prices.

1. Quantity: Number of guests to number of toilets needed. The ratio needs to be right so you don’t have a queue forming for the loo all night!
2. Needs: Baby changing facilities. Will anyone at your event have the need for a baby changing area? Do you have the need for a disabled toilet? Are any guests at the event going to need disabled facilities on site? If so make sure you discuss these with your hire company.
3. Style: What type of toilet would suit your event. Do you need a posh toilet with running water and cubicles or would a portaloo suffice?
4. Access: Access to the site. Where will the toilets fit and can the hire  company place them where you need them? If access is an issue how far will clients have to walk and do we need either lights or signs to indicate the way?
5. Space: Do i have a flat space big enough to house the toilets on? An uneven surface for portaloos can be problematic!
6. Power: Electricity supply. Where will i draw power from for the toilets if required?
7. Length: How long will you need them for? For longer events how often and at what times will the toilets be emptied and cleaned?
8. Delivery: Do i have a local company that will be able to help me keep my costs down. Delivery of items and cost of petrol will be factored into all bookings, so try to go local where possible.

These are just a few considerations to think about before you embark on the process of hiring your toilet facilities for your event. Ask questions of your Toilet hire company as they should be able to help with finding the right solution to your needs and budget.

We have worked along side various toilet hire companies in our time and these companies provide a great range of options.

Event hire solutions are based in Exeter with a wide range of types of toilet, baby changing facilities, showers etc.
Premier Luxury Loos operating from Cullompton they offer a  selection of high end toilet options for wedding and corporate events and well as basic loos .
Cornwall Conveniences Based near Wadebridge and ideal for events in Cornwall as the name suggests.. offering great facilities and local toilet hire at competitive rates.

Of course Larger/national companies such as Brandon Toilet hire, Andy Loo’s may also be able to offer competitively priced solutions so shop around.