Saltcote Place is an award-winning wedding venue in East Sussex, offering magical, far-reaching views, formal gardens, and exclusive use. We give you the time and tools needed to create your perfect day. Late checkout, early check-in and more!
You've made a great choice to get married in North London. Long gone are the days of flimsy party tents and tacky decorations - these days, marquees are a seriously stylish wedding venue option. They can hold any sized wedding, from a small family gathering to huge receptions of over 500 guests.
If you're hoping to have a small, intimate ceremony in your chosen venue in North London but wish to invite lots more guests for the reception, marquee venues are ideal for you, as lots of smaller venues tend to offer space for a marquee reception outside. It may be that your venue has a permanent marquee on their grounds, or there’s simply space for you to choose your own to hire. In this case, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from in North London. Will you hire a classic English marquee with roll up sides, or maybe a festival-style yurt or tipi? Many venues or marquee companies allow you to add your own personal touch to your chosen marquee to put your own stamp on it.
If you’re choosing a wedding venue that offers marquee weddings as an option, you’ll need to ask them directly whether the hire cost includes the marquee itself. In some cases, the venue will only charge you for the hire of the grounds, and then you’ll have to arrange the marquee separately with a marquee hire company. If your chosen venue doesn't have their own marquee, they will often have recommended suppliers that you're required to use. Get in touch with them to ask about this before you research and find your own marquee supplier.
In other cases, your wedding venue in North London may have a permanent marquee in the grounds, or one that is in use throughout the summer month, for example. This may be a simpler choice if you don’t want to arrange your wedding marquee directly.
Some venues that offer their own marquee will charge extra for the use and setup of it. Please make sure you check with them beforehand if they will add an extra cost for this.
If you're getting married in one of the winter months, this is still an option! The difference is that you won’t be able to roll the sides of the tent up (which is generally an option in the warmer months), and that you’ll have to provide extra heating for your guests to keep your marquee warm. Getting married at a marquee wedding venue in winter gives you the option to decorate it how you wish and make it as wintery as possible. Adding fair lights and lanterns is one of many ideas.
Most marquees in North London should be able to withstand wind and rain. However, you will want a second plan for if there's storms on your wedding day. It's likely most venues will have an indoor area for you to have your wedding reception. Discuss your wet weather plan with your wedding venue to ensure you’re prepared for any poor weather conditions.
Even in marquees that are permanent throughout the whole year, it's law that you can't have your civil ceremony in a marquee as it needs to be in a permanent and fixed structure to be legal. One way to get around this is to have your ceremony over the threshold of a doorway. This way, your guests can be seated in the marquee while you are technically indoors. Alternatively, hold your wedding ceremony in another licensed part of your wedding venue before moving into your marquee for the reception.
The great thing about marquees is that they’re a blank canvas to add your own wedding theme to. Hanging decorations such as pom poms, lanting, fairy lights and seasonal bunting are a great choice. Lighting options such as fairy lights and chandeliers can also help set the mood for your evening reception. You will want some decor for the tables. In a marquee, it's best to go for more extravegent centre pieces to fill up the large space available. You could go for a tall vase with flowers in to match your theme.
Elaine has over 8 years of experience working with wedding venues, and advises many of the top hotel and venue brands on their wedding marketing. She has a deep understanding of statistics that can accurately predict the online populaity of a particular venue and she is happy to share that knowledge with wedding couples and venues.
