This is an update to a previous post which featured bands and DJs we've heard and can recommend for your wedding or party (you can view it here). But time moves on and over the past year we've met a few more we'd like to highly recommend to you. There's Weymouth, Dorset based band The Leggomen. We heard them at a wedding at Three Legged Cross in September and they really rocked the party. They're a vibrant foursome that play a great mixture of modern pop and rock alongside a variety of classic tunes plus original material. They cover the likes of the Stone Roses, Passenger, Mumford & Sons, Avicci, Oasis and many more. I'd say they are suited to a younger audience (or the young at heart of course) but anyone who appreciates good music played well will appreciate them. Check out their website for videos and details of their latest gigs and festival appearances. Another band we've seen on the circuit lately is 29 Fingers whose slogun 'music maketh the party and the band maketh the music' we entirely agree with (we also agree with Vince Vaughn's line in Wedding Crashers 'it's like pizza baby, it's good no matter what, there's music in the air'). 29 Fingers love a good party and they like to show you that besides the great music there's lights, colour, smiles, costumes, hats, wigs, maraccas, tambourines and an abundant sense of fun and occasion. You can see their website here and judge their YouTube videos and sound clips for yourself. With their wide ranging playlist I think they're suitable for parties and weddings attended by all ages. Bear in mind that most bands will bring a playlist on iPad (or similar) so the party can keep rocking when they aren't playing, but if you'd prefer a DJ then consider the award-winning Party Dexx. We've seen them several times and their DJs always get guests dancing all night long. They are massively experienced and have appeared at over 600 weddings! They are also the recommended DJ supplier at several prestigious wedding venues throughout Dorset and Hampshire. Get in touch with them online here. Another season is approaching so we'll keep our eyes (and ears) out for more bands and DJs to recommend over the next few months. Suggested links: Marquee Hire Dorset
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The house sleeps 15 and features a dining room with Georgian plasterwork and over a hundred 18th century plates on the walls. One of the highlights is a chair used by Napoleon on the island of St Helena. The house's many windows let in the romance of the Purbeck Hills and the open sea with its fresh and invigorating breeze and nostalgic smell.
Kimmeridge Bay is famous for swimming, surfing and fossil hunting. It is overlooked by Clavell Tower, inspiration for P. D. James’s murder story The Black Tower. The bay was once a haunt of smugglers and scene of their many battles with coast guards. The next bay along is called Brandy Bay as so much brandy was smuggled there! Marquees at Smedmore are placed directly in front of the house on a beautiful lawn. Our traditional pole marquees are particularly well suited to the elegant Georgian building and lush landscape surrounding it. As you can see in the pictures above, there is a secluded spot between some trees where ceremonies can take place with a sea view behind. Our white folding chairs are ideal and we can install an aisle with white carpet or coconut matting. Cover can be provided with an oriental canopy or two. Suppliers we've worked at Smedmore with successfully in the past include caterers Claret Catering and The Foodie Queen; photographers Courtenay Photographic and Tom Redman and venue stylist Inspire Hire. The house has a very comprehensive list of wedding suppliers on their website too including taxis and local accommodation. For enquiries about weddings, events and holiday accommodation contact Laura Dugdale on 020 7792 4565 or email smedmorebookings@gmail.com
If you're looking for a classic romantic English wedding we can think of no better venue in Dorset. The croquet lawn is perfectly flat for marquees and we've provided all styles of structure there in the past: traditional pole marquees for country style, clearspan frame marquees for elegant chic and tipis for a warm and cosy ambience.
Photo opportunities are vast with views everywhere you look plus topiary, archways tangled with flowers, water features, mature trees and secret grottoes. Civil marriages can take place either in the Garden Pavilion overlooking the croquet lawn (for which we can supply canopies and chairs) or in the nearby Sawmill. The medieval All Saints Church is within the grounds and suited to intimate blessings for up to 90. Marquees on the croquet lawn can accommodate up to 400 seated guest and there is ample parking available. Mapperton is located 15 minutes from Crewkerne and 20 minutes from Dorchester Stations, with direct links to London. There is tasteful accommodation nearby too with the Acorn Inn and Summer Lodge in Evershot and The Bridge House Hotel at Prout Bridge. Recommended caterers are Jo Killin of Oxbridge Farm and Victoria Blashford-Snell. The recommended florist is The Real Cut Flower Garden and photographers Allister Freeman and Helen Lisk. For more information on weddings at Mapperton click here or to get in touch call the Wedding Office on 01308 800114 or email mapperton@wedding-venues.co.uk
The house can accommodate 18 people in nine double (king-size) rooms, so guests can make a weekend or even a week of the wedding festivities. There are acres of beautiful gardens to explore not to mention direct access to the beach. But what makes Studland Bay House so appealing for marquee weddings is that it has three different options for marquee placement: on the cricket pitch in front of the house which allows the marquee to be just a few hundred feet from the sea, on the house lawn, or on the lawn but connected to the house - perfect for early or late season weddings.
I'm sure I don't need to lecture you on the charms of Studland - let's just say four miles of golden sand and leave it at that. If that's not enough, Sandbanks is just ten minutes away (if you time the ferry right) with Poole and Bournemouth beyond with endless entertainment and dining options. There's also Corfe Castle and Wareham within easy reach. For those not fortunate enough to sleep in the house The Knoll House is just across the road. Speaking of which, The Knoll House catering team is on hand to cater for any event at Studland Bay House whether in the house itself or a marquee on the cricket pitch. The most impressive menu I've seen was a selection of shellfish to start served from a cart on the lawn followed by lobster and chips in the marquee. Talk about doing it in style! All our marquee styles and tipis work well at the house so the choice will depend on decorations and the look you're trying to achieve. We're fond of placing marquees end on to the view and fitting them with clear gables plus panoramic windows as this makes the most of the view (the end of the marquee effectively becomes one big window). Recommended photographers are Jude Ives and One Thousand Words. For all Studland Bay House and Knoll House catering enquiries please contact Michael on 07703 691579 or email mike@studlandbay.co.uk There seem to be more and more wedding awards popping up both regionally and nationally of late. In fact the organisers that promote them seem to have established a new industry for themselves (as I’ve been writing this I’ve just seen a new one appear that covers Bristol and Somerset).
Never say never but it’s highly unlikely that Oakleaf will be entering for an award any time soon. The reason? I feel they are more aimed at those seeking PR and networking opportunities plus the kudos of introducing their business as ‘the award-winning….’. But the main reason is that they’re not representative of the whole marquee industry. If a national and impartial body decided to launch a ‘National Wedding Marquee Awards’ and entered every marquee firm in the country automatically, that would be more credible to my mind. This is the way it’s done in other industries. The trouble is there’s no money in doing this (bear in mind that to enter the awards process in the first place a supplier has to pay a fee and then, if selected for the final stage, buy tickets for the awards dinner too). Nobody does it for the love. I’ve seen competitors plaster the ‘finalist’ and ‘winner’ logos everywhere and ram them down throats via social media at every opportunity. I’ve even seen one refer to themselves as being the ‘best in the UK’ which is neither fair nor true. They won an award for being the best supplier among the other suppliers that chose to enter based on certain criteria. Therefore, in my opinion the accolades are misleading. At the very least the awarding bodies should publish a list of entrants so the scale and importance of the awards can be assessed. As far as I’ve seen, they do not. I’d be interested to know what customers think about this. Should we enter awards? If so, would it be purely so we can be seen as entering? Would the logo of an award on our homepage impress you? Based on some of the customers I’ve spoken to recently perhaps not. One such customer made a booking with us and when she informed a competitor they had not been chosen to supply her wedding marquee their retort was ‘but we’ve won awards’! Why am I writing this post you may ask. Sour grapes? Jealousy? Inferiority complex? No, I guess I’m just irritated that these awards appear to be increasing in number and customers can easily get the wrong idea. Until someone convinces me that we must enter and that it's totally fair and fully representative of the industry and all its facets (service, range, value for money, safety record, financial performance etc) I’ll ensure we keep winning the award that matters most – customer satisfaction and recommendations. Thanks for reading! A difficult question, a bit like being asked which one of my parents I like most! I don't have a favourite - all have their own charm.
Tipis are increasingly popular because one of the priorities with weddings is the desire to do something different and original. Many of us have been to a wedding in a white marquee whether it be a pole or frame structure whereas a wedding in a tipi is a new experience for most. However, all our marquee styles allow customers to bring them to life in their own way - there is virtually no restriction on decorations. We've installed wallpapered walls, water features, topiary, different carpet colours, Moroccan linings and lanterns, coloured drapes and so much more over the years. That's one of the key reasons people choose a marquee wedding. Tipis can be a bit more cosy by virtue of the fact that there's less roof space (due to the conical design) and you can have real fires inside thanks to the flaps at the top that allow smoke out. You don't get one big space with tipis as you do with marquees because they are smaller (10.3m diameter) structures joined together, so depending on layout the event can feel slightly divided. Having said that, I'm sure we've all been to rocking house parties where several rooms are involved, some with music playing, others for chilling out, the kitchen for drink and snack selection, which never seemed to affect the atmosphere negatively at the time. What I really like about tipis is the timbers we use which are de-barked spruce from the freezing forests of Scandinavia and all 80+ years old. Furthermore, tipis have been used by humans for 4000+ years and I love that sense of sitting in a piece of history. Traditional white pole marquees are very English and suitable for quintessential country wedding experiences and clearspan frame marquees are extremely flexible in terms of layout and interior fixtures and fittings - both attributes I like. Tipis are darker inside due to the canvas used, so if you're after an event space that's light and airy then perhaps a tipi isn't the best choice. Also, you don't get the many window options as you do with a conventional marquee - if you want to look out at a view the sides need to be raised which is great in summer but not ideal if it's raining and windy. Whichever structure you choose for your event, you can rest assured that you will get the best standard from us and we'll happily meet with you to introduce our range and listen to your ideas. Oakleaf Marquees are renowned throughout Dorset, Somerset and across the South West for the hire of marquees and tipis. A quality service, premium product and approachable pricing. Woo hoo, the Oakleaf blog's back baby!! Sorry it's been so long (5 months) but there have been plenty of marquee fish to fry since I last posted. Now I can commit to posting once a week at least until the season kicks off again (which currently looks like mid March).
Marquee hire work is obviously quite seasonal so people often ask 'what do you do in the winter?' and the slightly more forthright finish sentences with comments like ‘I guess you’ve got nothing else to do this time of year’. Well, this is absolutely not the case so I’ve decided to give a complete rundown of this week for you. This is what the Oakleaves have been up to at Oakleaf HQ (no yawning!): -Minor service on a Land rover and Transit Luton (oil change every 6,000 miles don’t you know) -Service five marquee heaters ahead of Christmas/New Year work (thanks Rob and Ed) -Optimise our website for better search engine results (look out competitors, we’re coming for you) -Submit quarterly VAT return -Install a marquee for a party near Stalbridge, Dorset and remove another near Bridgwater, Somerset -Three furniture hire deliveries/collections in Dorset -Keep on top of emails, enquiries and quotes (I call this ‘proper work’ as some of our guys are under the impression that bookings just appear out of thin air) -Three site visits for 2015 bookings -Load spreadsheets with details of our hire stock for uploading to a new IT system being implemented at the end of January (line upon line upon line upon line of data). This includes checking and counting stock in the first place; weighing it, allocating codes, descriptions, categories, sub-categories to it; loving it, holding it, nurturing it etc. It’s quite amazing that our inventory now numbers in excess of 600 stock lines! -Keeping on top of accounts (invoicing, reconciling, paying, updating cash flow and P&L projections etc) – more ‘proper work’. Again, like bookings, it’s a common misconception that money just appears out of thin air too. I wish… -Deleting junk mail both email and posted. Seriously, is it just me or is there more of this flying about now than ever? And I’m not talking about Viagra just to pre-empt any witty comments! -Repair, overhaul and clean furniture and PVC (this is ongoing throughout the whole winter and spring) So glad I’ve got this down in writing. Now when people ask me what we do in the winter I can refer them to this post with a smug grin on my face. This means you Andy! Have a great weekend everyone. Just picked up this blog post by photographer Helen Lisk who has written about Natalie and Mat's wedding last summer in Weymouth, Dorset. It had a summer fete theme which included morris dancers, bunting, hay bales, plenty of cider and thankfully plenty of sunshine too! Lovely couple and a lovely day. See Helen's blog here
We use a professional CAD programme to create our 2D and 3D marquee plans but you may want to play around with options yourself in order to get a sense of space. Our friends at County Marquees in London have a great online planning tool which can be found here. If you want to hire a marquee in the South West please choose Oakleaf Marquees but if you need one in London or the Home Counties we can recommend County (we have no intention of expanding anywhere near the congestion charging zone......or the M25 for that matter!).
Chances are if you're having a marquee you'll need some form of entertainment such as a DJ or band. If so, you should check these guys out: The Jackson 3. We get asked to recommend bands a lot and I'm quite particular about music (music graduate and former function band player myself blah, blah, blah; brag, brag, brag) and these guys are the cat's pyjamas. I heard them at the Milton Abbey School Leavers' Ball at the weekend where they laid down a seriously funky groove (they also played in a wedding marquee of ours the weekend before and got rave reviews). Book soon to avoid massive disappointment! |
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