​More customers have asked how savings can be made lately than at any other time I can recall since we started hiring out marquees.
 
So, this may not be a popular blog post to some within the industry but we realise times are tough and money doesn’t go as far as it once did. In this post we’ve put a few tips together on how to be economically minded when hiring a marquee. Please note that these are aside from the usual tactics like negotiation, offering cash (which we don’t accept!), contra deals and so on.
 
Company Location
Choosing a company that’s close to your venue helps. It’ll minimise the delivery charge and the supplier may look on the quote more keenly because there will be less fuel, less wear and tear on vehicles and staff wages too.
 
Date
Choosing a date that isn’t between May and August i.e. the peak season months may attract a little discount, particularly October to April but just be aware that if winter weather necessitates multiple heaters (due to cold) or wooden flooring (due to wet ground) then it could be a false economy. April and October are worth a try and the weather can often be just as good as the months which follow and precede them.
 
Marquee Size
The majority of companies charge marquees out by the square metre, so the larger the marquee the more expensive it is. Frame (clearspan) marquees are generally the cheapest but just be aware that not all frame marquees are created equal. Aluminium frame marquees by brands like Tectonics, Custom Covers, Roder, Hoecker and JJ Carter are recommended over tubular steel party style tents and Chinese imports. The latter have their place but in our experience aren’t as attractive, robust and weather resilient.
 
The more space you need for large bar areas, chill-out spaces, drinks receptions etc the larger and more expensive your marquee will be.
 
Furniture
Linked to the above, long tables are more space efficient but consider moving 4-6 tables after the meal and dance in the space this creates to reduce on marquee size.
 
Folding chairs are the cheapest chair option and save £1-2 per chair. Round tables generally work out a little cheaper overall too compared to trestle and ‘farmhouse’ style long tables.
 
Stages aren’t absolutely necessary so if your band asks for one just say no if you’re on a tight budget, particularly if guest numbers are under 100.
 
Dance floors are recommended but, again, they aren’t compulsory. Once guests have downed a Pimms or two they probably won’t notice if they’re dancing on matting or carpet. Once they’ve downed several they probably won’t notice if they’re dancing outside or on a table.
 
Flooring
Traditional marquee flooring like coconut matting is cheaper than new carpet (and better on the environment). It’s also much cheaper than solid plastic tile or wooden flooring.
 
It is sometimes possible to remove the flooring altogether and just have grass but the weather may scupper this plan. If there’s any moisture around then flooring is highly recommended because of intense footfall in a confined space. You could ask your marquee company for flexibility to remove the flooring at the last minute if weather permits.
 
Piggyback Bookings
The bulk of the work with marquee hire is in the install, removal and travel. If you have a friend who wants to get married around the same time as you, choosing the same venue and dates close together e.g. Friday and Sunday or even consecutive Saturdays may present a saving because only one install and removal will be needed. Be aware you’ll need to choose the same chairs, tables etc so there isn’t as much scope for having everything your way. Also, the second wedding won’t be free but you’ll probably be offered a discount which means that once the bill is split there will be a good saving.
 
Portaloos
You can compromise on loos by choosing plastic portaloos over a luxury loo trailer (c. £350 saving), or use house loos if there is one nearby and you’re confident they won’t get overwhelmed by your guest numbers.
 
Generators
Usually it’s caterers that use the bulk of the electric supply and necessitate a generator, so keep this in mind when choosing your menu. If you go for minimal hot food and choose cold buffet, deli platter options instead then you might be able to reduce the size of the generator or even eliminate it entirely. For this to work you will of course need a decent power source within 20m of the marquee e.g. sockets in a house and be sure to you do your sums (we are happy to help with this).
 
Damage Waiver
Most companies add a damage waiver to their quotes and this works exactly the same as when hiring a car. It’s not compulsory and you can run the risk because damage is rare, but do you want to chance it?
 
Choice of Company
You can look around and spot a budget company and/or one that hasn’t been in business long. They might not be VAT registered yet which is an instant saving. Budget companies will often be upfront about the position they occupy in the market, or you can spot them because their photos (and marquees) look a bit dated. I’m sure I don’t need to highlight the fact this comes with an element of risk and will require a little compromise on your part.
 
I hope this proves to be useful when exploring your options. Weddings and brides aren’t particularly known for compromise (😂) but I don’t feel I’d be doing my job if I didn’t give honest advice. I do however believe that, broadly speaking, you get what you pay for.
 
Good luck with your planning!
​

The latest news from Oakleaf HQ is that we've just added a fleet of Humbaur 10ft fridge trailers to our hire range. With over 9 cubic metres of space, racks each side and enough room to stand up inside plus large barn style doors at the rear, these industry leading trailers make chilling your event booze an absolute breeze. Why bother with buckets of ice or loading a fridge up precariously like a game of Jenga? Give us a call now if you want to chill out with one of our fridge trailers! Available throughout Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Devon and the entire south UK.

We have just replaced our ageing parquet style wooden dance floors with the more modern 'Auckland Oak' dance floor from leading manufacturer Portable Floormaker. This lighter and more natural wooden dance floor looks right at home in our beautiful sailcloth tents as you can see in the photo below. It looks great on coconut matting and works equally well in clearspan frame marquees and stretch tents too. All Oakleaf Marquees quotes from hereon will include the Auckland oak dance floor as the standard option.

It's long overdue, but we just updated and expanded our recommended suppliers section which you can find here. This is not an exhaustive list but provides a good starting point for researching your wedding and event suppliers. We can recommend all of them personally and have heard great things from previous customers.

Struggling to find a suitable marquee venue in Dorset, Somerset or Wiltshire? We have several to recommend from farms to woodlands to beautiful country manor houses. How about a caterer? We've got you covered! Photographers, videographers, bands, tableware and linen suppliers, kitchen equipment, florists - it's all there!

View our list of recommended wedding and event suppliers.

We're delighted to announce that we now stock these beautiful 'Aurora' sailcloth tents made in the USA and popular at all the society weddings one associates with locations like The Hamptons, Nantucket and New England. 

Features of the sailcloth tent are:

• 8ft high windows as opposed to the usual 7ft on traditional pole marquees which maximises views and lets the light in
• unique translucent sailcloth canvas which makes the interior light and airy by day and creates a warm glow from the lighting at night
• octagonal wooden poles
• oval shape due to the rounded ends rather than the traditional rectangle
• cute little flags on the pole tops is a nod to the canvasses nautical roots

The sailcloth tent replaces the traditional pole marquees we've hired throughout Dorset, Somerset and the entire south since 2013. We're confident they will be a big hit with new and existing customers seeking a special space for their wedding or party.   ​

​They are 14m (46ft) x 26m (85ft) and suitable for up to 220 seated with space for a dance floor, stage and bar. 

Wow, where should I start with this one! It's been an interesting 8 months for the entire UK events industry that's for sure...

Customers started to contact us re postponing their weddings in early March. We had just over 100 weddings booked and were looking forward to the usual busy season. By late March it's fair to say we were getting increasingly concerned about our future. What started as a trickle of customers postponing became a landslide and by the middle of April every job we had from May to July had postponed or, in the case of larger public events e.g. National Trust and festivals, were cancelled. 

By the end of April the outlook was improved thanks to a raft of support measures put forward by the government. Furlough scheme, bounce back loan, local council grants, VAT deferral etc. We took advantage of everything we could as did virtually every business I know (whether they needed it or not....).  

In the end, most of our August to October jobs also postponed or cancelled. We managed to deliver 6 socially distanced wedding builds which is a fraction of what we'd normally hope to get through, but they were all successful and happy occasions.  

It's not all bad, though - my colleagues and I had a nice summer off, dealt with some personal priorities, spent time with immediate family and generally chilled out. I'm sure we aren't the only ones who enjoyed riding the furlough train! It's hard to explain how manic a regular event season is, and nine in a row can catch up with you in many ways. 

What has been a challenge is keeping pace with the regular changes in directive. I know it's an impossible situation but so many events were on, then off at the last minute. It's been a rollercoaster. Even recently with the rule of 6 coming in our enquiries collapsed for a few weeks with the 'life may be restricted like this for 6 months' guidance Thankfully enquiries are picking up again for 2022 in particular now. 

We have already seen customers who postponed to 2021 postpone again to 2022. As it stands we are happy for customers to do this but the situation is a dynamic one. We will always be as supportive as we can. There is positivity now around the vaccines in development so let's hope life returns to normal in early 2021.  

It's my opinion that the events industry has been rather overlooked through all of this. Many companies have suffered a downturn and many have seen a significant downturn e.g. aviation and hospitality - but there can't be many industries that have faced a 90% plus downturn! For a few months it felt like weddings were being unnecessarily demonised and we fully supported the 'what about weddings' initiative on social media. Was there any evidence that socially distanced weddings of 30 people are a hotbed for the virus whereas aircrafts full of people are not? I didn't see any... 

If you're planning a wedding in the next year or two you may struggle to obtain a decent insurance policy. Currently no insurers are covering weddings including the once highly respected John Lewis. We therefore recommend that all deposits paid to suppliers are paid on credit card so you benefit from the free insurance (as you would when booking a holiday). This is what we're recommending to all our new customers.  

Thank you NHS and key workers for everything. Thanks to the vast majority of couples who were incredibly supportive and have stood by us at a very difficult time too. We look forward to working with you as soon as we're able.

​Stay safe and well :)

We thought it was about time we did an updated post on good bands we've seen around lately. In our opinion you should look to spend between £1-2000 on a decent 5-6 piece wedding band. This will ensure you get a decent musician quality plus the sound system and lighting to support them. We had a customer spend £7000 on a band last year.....ouch!

​Stone Groove are excellent - they have two keyboard players who also bust out trumpet and trombone on some tunes. They also have nice tweed waistcoat/tie ensembles which look good at country and formal weddings. Stone Groove are fronted by a female vocalist with male backing vocals. 

Audio Allstars based in Bournemouth are also good and have won a few wedding industry awards of late. Excellent male lead vocals and musicianship. 

29 Fingers bring the entertainment value with wigs and costumes (plus their famous tartan trousers). They cater for a lot of high-end events we're involved with. They describe themselves as 'the BEST international party band' - wow, that's some big talk!

Riptide are a quality 4-piece band if you prefer the more modern hirsute look with no brass instruments or keyboard on the horizon. They're based in Brighton but travel everywhere pretty much. 

Shout out to the Leggomen who are a quality group too. 

We can personally recommend all these groups. You won't be disappointed with any of them. Rock on! ​

Having some outside lighting at your wedding or party can add some serious bang for your buck and really help set the scene. It could be just as simple as a pair of floodlights uplighting a couple of trees or 40m of warm white fair style festoon lights - both options are less than £100. ​

We also stock 4ft and 10ft high festoon light poles as you can see in the middle photo above. They can be placed anywhere but look great flanking a strip of matting leading to your marquee or tipi entrance. 

It's not just the decorative quality of outside lighting you need to consider but the functional quality too. Most people have lights on their mobile phones now but if guests need to find their way across fields to collect their car at the end of the night a little illumination is very welcome. I really don't want to tell the story (or publish the photo) of one poor wedding guest who found himself up to the shoulders in a slurry ditch...

​For £2-300 you could get a really nice outside lighting set up. Festoons are £40 per 20m length and floodlights are £15-30 depending on size. Fire pits are £85. We often use fairy light strands outside if you want more subtle warm and pretty lighting. Once we put a disco ball and smoke machine in a copse for a slightly psychedelic outside lighting feature (complete with swing suspended from a branch)!

​You're very welcome to do your own outside lighting because it's not expensive or rocket science. The point is that for a little expense we you can create a difference to your event which is worth far more. 

For 2018 we've invested in a new range of wedding chairs which we know will be bridal dynamite over the next few seasons as they're already popular at society weddings in The Hamptons. These natural lime oak French crossback chairs really do hit the 'rustic-luxe' nail firmly on the head. Coupled with long or round solid wood tables we don't think there's a better way to be at the crest of the wedding trend wave. ​

We stock rustic planks which can be suspended anywhere in frame marquees and between the poles of traditional marquees both with edison bulbs or without. As you can see in the picture below, hessian drapes are effective particularly when partnered with strands of warm white fairy lights. The long tables have white cloths and are joined with ever-popular limewash Chiavari chairs.  ​

​We are also currently working on a round wooden bar measuring roughly 4m in diameter. We already have an illuminated round bar which is very popular but the wooden version will work well with the rustic-luxe look. Look for photos coming soon!
I hope this has been useful. Your wedding marquee doesn't have to reflect the latest trend - I suppose it depends on how much you want your photos to kick around on Pinterest and various wedding blogs once your big day has passed. Whatever boxes you want to tick, Oakleaf Marquees have the bits and bobs to help you tick them!

Why have a marquee if you already have a barn or warehouse to convert, particularly over the wetter and windier months of the year. With our draping, flooring, lighting and furniture we can create an incredible venue in virtually any building. 

We've worked with this particular company in Weymouth, Dorset for three years. Each Christmas they push the boat out a step further and challenge us to create something with more 'wow' factor than the year before. In December 2017 they needed to accommodate 250 guests with space for a large dance floor, bar and entrance areas for a 'VIP after-show' themed party. Here are the before and after photos - what a difference!  ​

We covered a 495 square metre area with black starlight linings suspended from the existing warehouse structure (which was a challenge given the very gentle pitch of the roof). New black carpet and a mirrored dance floor covered the floor. Round tables were fitted with crushed black velvet table cloths which gave an opulent feel, particularly with gold candelabra as the centres and surrounded with gold chairs. We also draped 40m of corridor and fitted red carpet so the building felt completely different to the staff attending the party. ​