We often get asked if our marquees can be used in winter and the answer is always a resounding YES. Our marquees aren’t just for the warmer months, with the right additions they can be used all year round.
Planning your perfect day should be heaps of fun and exciting, but it can become stressful when trying to keep everything within a certain budget. It’s amazing how quickly everything adds up! Below are a few suggestions on wedding planning on a budget, and how to make some savings in certain areas. We hope it helps.
Use a Wedding Website
There are some really efficient and slick wedding websites available to use and through these you can send your Save the Dates and Wedding Invitations. This saves you the expense of stationery and postage. In addition, you can send general updates to your guests and they are also a great way to involve you guests in the lead up to your big day. For example, you can ask them to submit song suggestions for the party or fun memories they have of you as a couple.
Wedding Dress & Accessories
Depending on what you’re looking for from a wedding dress, there are various options you can consider to try and keep the cost down.
– Look out for either sample sales, end-of-season or display dresses at bridal boutiques.
– Simply ask if there is any wiggle room on the price! Especially if you are looking to buy multiple items from them (shoes, veil, bridesmaid dresses etc). There’s no harm in asking.
– Look on the high street or at online retail stores; Coast, Monsoon, Ted Baker, Phase Eight, ASOS – the list goes on. It’s likely that you’ll always have a preferred shop that you go to, so try there first.
– Vintage wedding dresses tend to have a cheaper price tag so it’s worth considering this option. You can find these as new or second hand.
– It’s not as common for people to hold on to their wedding dress for a keepsake anymore, meaning there are various ways of getting your hands on a second-hand dress. Ebay and other second hand websites, charity shops and there are also websites dedicated to second-hand bridal wear. Take a look at our suggestions at the end of this article.
Don’t forget that it’s likely you’ll need to adjust the dress and so it’s worth taking this cost into consideration from the start.
Bridal Party attire
There are some fantastic high street offerings for bridesmaids and flower girls; similarly to wedding dresses you can find some wonderful designs in Coast, Monsoon and ASOS to name but a few.
Alternative Dining Options
Whilst a sit-down three course meal will never go out of fashion, there are other options available that may be more suited to the style and theme of your wedding. To name but a few: the much-loved hog roast, a pizza van (everyone’s favourite), buffet style dining (you can choose any style or cuisine you like this way) or picnic boxes for a more DIY approach.
DIY / Affordable decorations
There are a gazillion ideas and tutorials online nowadays, that can guide you through how to turn a pinecone into a place setting, how to transform your empty gin bottles into gorgeous centrepieces or how to make your own confetti from the flowers in your garden.
This can also be a great way to enjoy wedding planning – grab a glass of wine with your other half or a group of friends and spend a couple of hours crafting away.
Fizz
Champagne is delicious, but it’s worth considering replacing this with Prosecco or Cava – you won’t find anyone complaining as long as they have a glass in their hand! Given it’s usually supplied at the reception before dining and for speeches and toast, it could prove to be quite a saving.
Make the most of your site
By using a marquee you can take advantage of the special features of your site. For example, in most cases you can make sure it is positioned to take advantage of any special views or features the surrounding area might have such as the rolling countryside or nearby woodland. Equally you can have the back of the marquee covering up anything that you do not want attention to be drawn to!
Friends & Family
Friends and family love to be involved and asked to help (well, most do anyway)! Whilst it’s important to make sure they are also able to relax and enjoy themselves on the big day, there’s plenty they could do to help with beforehand. Do you know a good baker who could help with the cake? Who has an artistic flair and could help with the table plan and/or place names? Does anyone have a fancy car that you could borrow to take you to the venue / reception?!
Speak to your suppliers
We are here to help and completely understand that planning a wedding can be stressful, especially when it comes to keeping within budget.
Resources that may be of help:
Wedding website suggestions: https://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-planning/fun/best-wedding-websites/
– Second hand wedding attire and/or decorations:
https://www.sellmywedding.co.uk
https://www.stillwhite.com/shop
Wedding Dress ideas:https://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-planning/bridalwear-articles/wedding-dress-prices/
– Pinterest is brilliant for DIY decoration ideas
Decoration ideas & inspiration come from many different sources. One of the many advantages of using a marquee for your event is that it provides you with a blank canvas to work with and to really make your own. We’ve seen some wonderful creations over the years and have a few tricks and ideas of our own to help with your event should you wish. Or you may be bursting with creativity, but either way, this article will hopefully provide you will a few additional pointers and some further inspiration.
Drapes and linings tend to be more popular in clearspan marquees as are they are particularly useful in covering up the framework. You can opt for the classic ivory lining which covers all framework and provides you with a neutral background, or you can choose a colour of your choice to have throughout the marquee. Alternatively, you can choose to drape the marquee yourself. Archers Marquees love exploring the various ways to line and drape the marquee and are always very happy to work with you on this.
These are an obvious choice when it comes to decorating the marquee and there are many ways you can incorporate them aside from on the dining tables and at the entrance. Flower balls, flower hoops, wooden ladders can all be hung from the middle of the marquee, or you can attach garlands and bunches of flowers around the eaves of the marquee.
These can be used with or without lights in them to add to the décor in the ceiling. Cream or white help create a light and airy feel to the marquee, or you can use them to carry your colour theme through into the ceiling.
Balloons, especially balloon arches are increasingly popular and are a great way of embracing your colour theme!
These are a really fun way to add a different dimension to your marquee – just take a look at these fantastic examples!
Bunting…choose between either the timeless classic or making your own; you can use photographs of yourselves as a couple or involving the guests!
Ribbons can be used in various ways; tie them to the back of your chairs to add colour to the ceremony and tables, or use them to tie up your favours, napkins etc
Depending on the size of your (traditional) marquee, you will have at least one upright pole that you can decorate. They can be wrapped in fairy lights, ribbons, greenery and/or your choice of flower. They do also look lovely and rustic by themselves so you’re a winner either way!
You also have the ridge (horizontal) poles that can be used to hang items from; we are able to attach pulleys for you so that you can hang the aforementioned flower balls/hoops/ladders etc from them
Above are some photos of a few more of our favourites!
Choosing the right site for your marquee is key. There are some gorgeous venues out there ready to host your event – and we’ve been fortunate enough to work with many of them. But if you’re lucky enough to have enough space available to you meaning you can host your own wedding or party, then sometimes there’s nothing more exciting than starting from scratch with just a vision and a dream! However, you may be unsure as to whether the site you have in mind is suitable, or you may just want to discuss through how it could work – that’s where we can help!
A site visit is a great way to get the ideas flowing but below are our initial suggestions as to what you may want to consider.
How much space do you have?
This applies more to gardens and enclosed spaces rather than open fields. Essentially do you have enough space to cater for the amount of guests you would like in attendance? Do you just need space for dining, or are you planning on having a bar and dance floor area? Archers Marquees can provide guidance on how much space is required for your event, but as an example we would recommend a marquee sized 12m x 24m for a wedding with 120-150 guests – this would allow room for a dining area, reception area and stage/dancefloor.
Don’t forget you may also need space for caterers and toilets.
Ground Condition
How long is the grass (can it be cut?) and how undulating is the ground? How well does it drain? These elements will affect the type of flooring we would advise you to have. For example, our options are:
Waterproof membrane: suitable for ground on the firmer side with short grass that does not undulate too much, and that is not susceptible to flooding.
Plastic event floor: suitable for softer ground that does not undulate too much, and is raised about an inch off the ground therefore providing some drainage.
Wooden flooring: suitable if the ground undulates a little and is raised off the ground therefore coping much better
Naturally, the waterproof membrane is the most economical option, followed by the plastic flooring and then the wooden flooring.
Gradient of the ground
How much of a slope is there? If you’re not sure if it’s on too much of a slope or not, it’s sometimes worth getting a couple of chairs (and a table if you can manage it) and sitting down on them as a test. This should give you an idea of how much the slope might affect your event.
Are there any obstacles in the way?
By obstacles we mean steps, over hanging trees, shrubbery..etc. Rest assured there’s usually a way around these if so, and often incorporating them into the marquee just makes it more exciting! However, a site visit is pretty important if this is the case. At Archers Marquees we love nothing better than a challenge of fitting a pond / apple tree / balcony steps into your marquee and will always do our upmost to give you the space you need.
Exposure to the elements
How exposed is the area you have in mind? As a general rule, we usually experience a westerly or south-westerly wind in the South West of England – is there protection from this? If not, you will probably have to think about having the entrance to the marquee on the side opposite to this, to minimise the amount of wind that can find its way in. Our traditional marquees
Proximity to power & water
Chances are you’ll need a generator to provide power for your event but a more economical option might be to hardwire into the fuseboard of a nearby house or building, therefore if this is a possibility, it could be a factor in deciding how far away you have the marquee. Some caterers require access to water so it’s also worth finding this out in advance as well (however, toilet units don’t tend to need access to water).
Access
It’s worth thinking about this from both the point of view of your guests and also your suppliers (marquee company, caterers and toilet supplier in particular who will all have larger vehicles to get in and out). How far will they have to drive on the grass and if it’s wet will it be a problem getting in and out? How is the turning in and out of the site, and what are the roads like to get there? Are there any overhanging branches or narrow sections?
Where there’s a will, there’s usually a way but it might be worth advising your guests of any tricky directions or access.
