The Events Field is suitable for functions with up to 200 guests and the views of the surrounding countryside are breathtaking. Any of our structures are suitable for use. The summer house can be incorporated inside the marquee as you can see in the picture above (a large marquee is required to do this) or we can position a smaller marquee alongside it. Alternatively, it can be set apart from the marquee and a stretch tent or oriental canopy used to cover guests. 

Holme for Gardens offers excellent parking facilities and suitable power outlets for an average wedding or party. Use of the venue comes with the services of professional and acclaimed wedding planners Blue Bay Events who have a list of outstanding wedding suppliers experienced in working at the venue. They also organise regular open days so you can see its charm for yourself.

We've worked with the following suppliers at Holme for Gardens: event caterers Claret Catering, ​photographer One Thousand Words ​(who took the photos you can see here),  bar company A&D Mobile Bars, disco Pegasus Disco and venue dressers Perfectly Pretty Weddings. 

For more information and to enquire about availability please email Blue Bay Events events@bluebayevents.co.uk

We love a new wedding venue and this one is right up our street quite literally in terms of both appeal and location! Haddon Copse Farm occupies a breathtaking setting in the rolling valleys of the Blackmore Vale framed by beautiful unspoilt views that stretch for miles towards Bulbarrow Hill. It's the perfect spot for a festival theme or country wedding experience.

But it's not just the location that Haddon Copse Farm has going for it. Camping is permitted and a complete bell tent glamping village can be installed at your request which enables wedding celebrations to take place all weekend. Haddon Copse Farm also offers its own organic Dorset hog and lamb roasts, welcome meals on Friday evening, hearty breakfasts, use of a shepherd's hut and an area called the 'Magic Circle' which is ideal for natural blessings. 

Oakleaf Marquees is the exclusive supplier of marquees and tipis at Haddon Copse Farm. Packages start from just £6000 for 100 guests which includes both marquee and venue hire fees but we can look after all your requirements including catering, music and even entertainment for the night before the wedding.

Contact Matthew at matthew@oakleafmarquees.co.uk to organise a visit and begin planning your big day or see the website for more information here Dorset Country Wedding. 

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

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

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

With Lorton House not doing weddings anymore (boo hoo) we've been looking for a new favourite venue in the Weymouth area. We're due to provide a wedding marquee at Westbrook House in Upwey this weekend having been there a few times already so I'm pleased to announce that Westbrook is now our favourite marquee venue in the Weymouth area! It's a private house but there is accommodation available on site too and the setting is exquisite with a lovely lake, gardens and house providing an ideal backdrop to any marquee. Bookings are handled by the lovely Oonagh (The English Event Company and The English Florist) - click here for the contact page of her website.

The majority of jobs we undertake are on private property, but for those of us not fortunate enough to have a large country pile or acres of farmland (me included), hiring a venue is necessary. And although two of our most frequented and favourite venues have sadly decided to stop hosting weddings from the end of 2013 (Lorton House near Weymouth and Chettle House near Blandford), Dorset is still a wedding venue goldmine.

If sea views are your thing, you can't get better than Harry Warren House in Studland (www.harrywarrenhouse.com). The views at both these locations are simply breathtaking. At The Manor, you can see along Chesil Beach whereas at Harry Warren you can see right out across Studland Bay to Poole and Bournemouth. There's also Studland Bay House (www.studlandbayhouse.co.uk) with views over Studland Bay but with accommodation available in the spectacular house.  

Or how about a grand wedding at the kind of gaff Mr Darcy would be happy hanging out in? Mapperton House (www.mapperton.com), nestled in a Dorset combe among rolling hills near Beaminster, has a wonderful croquet lawn overlooking the house and Italianate garden with fountains which is perfect for a country wedding marquee.  Alternatively, Weycroft Hall near Axminster (www.weycrofthall.co.uk) offers a great deal with rooms and camping on site, two potential marquee locations and lovely, helpful owners (they bring us drinks and ice cream when we put marquees up there so BOOK IT NOW!!!). Shillingstone House is equally perfect for those seeking elegance, privacy and spectacular countryside (www.shillingstonehouse.co.uk).

Festival themes are popular these days and many folks idea of perfection when they dream of a country wedding is a peaceful field with great views, a few trees......maybe a lake too. Haddon Copse near Sturminster Newton fits the bill for both of these (www.dorsetcountrywedding.co.uk). They offer a marquee meadow where you can get away from it and have an event entirely of your own design. There's also glamping nearby. Another great spot for classic Dorset views is Monkwood Hill near Mappowder (www.dorset-venue-monkwood.co.uk).

Golf courses always come with a good view as part of the deal too (plus on-site bar and catering usually). There's Bridport Golf Club (www.bridportgolfclub.org.uk) where marquees of any size can attach to the clubhouse and look over the famous cliff-top course.  Further north there's Folke Golf Centre near Sherborne (www.folkegolfcentre.co.uk) which looks out over a small lake to Bulbarrow Hill and the Dorset Gap beyond.

There are many other venues we've visited that have their own charm (Upton Park in Poole, Honeybrook Farm near Wimborne, Dillington House in Ilminster (not Dorset I know), Breamore House near Fordingbridge (also not Dorset - bah), Symondsbury Manor near Bridport, Sherborne Castle) and we're always happy to help potential customers source the ideal spot. Just let us know your numbers, date, ideal location and off we go!

Oh, and don't forget there are plenty of cricket/football/rugby clubs, village halls and schools etc that have beautiful grounds for marquees too!

NOTES:
1) For those of you still reading, I'm going to add to this blog daily for the next couple of weeks so I can build up an archive of material and quickly learn the art. From then on, you'll  be relieved to know that I'll be posting weekly. 
2) I started a sentence with 'and' above which I always used to think was poor show, but I'm told this is an old yarn. Your thoughts?

www.oakleafmarquees.co.uk