Your Garden
Why Use Your Garden? - because you can!
- Marquees provide the perfect solution to the age old problem of wanting to host your party at your premises but not wanting to (or not being able to because of size) use your house
- Ownership and control of the event. If you use a fixed venue, you are more than likely following in the footsteps of the last event that was held there. In your garden you control everything (except the weather!)
- Party how you want to party - don't be restricted by finishing times, maximum numbers, volume restrictions...so often drawbacks of a fixed venue
- Have the food and drink you want - do not be restricted by set menus and limited drink ranges
- Use the garden as the 'frame' for the marquee event. Your garden is as much a reflection of you as the party design - if it deserves it, show it off!
How can you use Your Garden?
Have some ideas, especially for ideal position of the marquee from your point of view, but be prepared to listen to the experts' advice. An experienced marquee operator will spot the opportunities in your garden quickly, and, providing the space is available, will usually be able to offer you a number of options.
It may be the case that your initial thoughts are unlikely to / cannot work, perhaps because the format of the event does not work with the desired position of the marquee, or because your budget has not taken into account the extra work involved in incorporating that favourite tree within the marquee or building a floor over that pond.
However, with some flexibility on your part, there is little that cannot be achieved. To a good marquee company challenging gardens are just that - challenging. Not impossible.
If you have a truly stunning flower border, or want to include that pond or that tree (or both!) as beautifully lit features within your reception area, incorporate them in your wish-list. Do not hold back. Start big, and reduce your plans if absolutely necessary.
If you have different levels in your garden, do not think of this as an immediate no-goer. Use them, perhaps the lower lawn as reception, with the upper lawn for dining and dancing.
If the most spectacular view is from a slope, do not count it out as a marquee site. Scaffold sub-structures can make the steepest gradient suitable for a marquee. Naturally the effect is dramatic, astounding guests!
Covered walkways from the house, or to the lavatories, are a simple, elegant and (given the British climate) practical addition to the marquee layout.
Make the most of the features that you haven't managed to incorporate within the marquee. Ensure that you have windows in your marquee, and well executed external lighting for trees, statues, garden art etc. Do not be afraid to use coloured lighting, but be sure to test it before the big night, in case the choice of colour does not do the feature justice.
Choose the style of windows in the marquee carefully. PVC openable windows offer excellent opportunity for receptions within the garden and for a more relaxed, spread-out feel to the party as guests can wander in and out at leisure. Solid Perspex windows are very good in Winter, as they offer better insulation. They usually have better clarity than soft PVC windows and generally look much smarter, but they do not open, so are only good for viewing rather than as alternative entrances/exits to doors.
What are the Limitations?
Very few. Temporary structures have developed at an incredible rate over the last ten years, and more adventurous requirements have necessitated more ingenious solutions. Let your marquee contractor advise you on limitations. The most likely restriction will be your budget!
Access to the site is an area often overlooked. Marquee companies are used to carrying heavy equipment some distance (it is not always feasible to get lorries right next to the site), but if in combination with a challenging garden that requires specialist (and often very heavy) equipment, difficult access can take the whole project to another level.
