Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives?

Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives?

22nd January 2025

Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives?

By Henry Richardson

This very much depends… and therefore is tricky to give a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ straight away. We’ll explore those factors below and delve into the costs involved. Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives?

Do companies add on cost when they hear it’s a wedding?

Some may, however we don’t. However – does a wedding marquee typically cost more than a party marquee? Yes, it does. But that is due to the spec involved. A party marquee, unless it’s a black-tie party might be fine with just the grass garden surface inside. A wedding is almost guaranteed to have guests in heeled shoes and fancier frocks, so you will need a floor.  Every individual component of your marquee is priced the same . It might just come down to the fact that a wedding needs more ‘stuff’.

Marquee Weddings

We love them! They are so fun and different every time.
A marquee wedding often involves setting up our structures in a field, potentially in the middle of nowhere which can make it very versatile and stunning. But don’t always have the right facilities. These can be brought to you! Generators & Mobile Toilet Trailers can be delivered to almost anywhere making any field the perfect venue. Equally, you may have a paddock site with a barn or similar which not only has power, but maybe toilets and maybe even space for caterers to work their magic. So its factors like these that can have a bearing on cost.


Marquee Wedding Costs vary according to

 

  1.  Location: It has been the case before that a customer who was offered an almost free site, decided to book a stately home venue we recommended due to the fact it had toilets on site, power and also access was a bit easier thereby reducing our setup charge. So the stately home actually became very similar price wise when all things were considered. But these need looking at on a case by case basis and that is another good reason to get in touch with us and get us out for a site visit. We will tell you whether any power on site is different or whether any barns van be used as catering areas etc.
  2. Guest numbers: The more guests, the bigger the marquee, the more tables and chairs, the larger the toilet facilities required, the bigger the dance floor etc. All factors which affect costs.
  3. Marquee: We offer two types of marquee, clearspan and sailcloth pole. Both are priced very similar, however if costs are a big concern then it really pays to take our advice. For example the frame marquees come in smaller sections so can be really honed to the size you need. Whereas the pole marquee comes in bigger sections. So although we can and do tailor sizes to suit a customers needs you might end up with spare space in a pole marquee. Never a bad thing we’d suggest as it can be used as chill out areas, wet weather plans, bar areas etc but its something to bear in mind if costs are trying to be kept to a minimum.
  4. Customisation: Marquees offer a blank canvas, you to personalise the wedding space extensively. The more intricate the customisation, the higher the cost. Whether you chose to decorate yourself or hire in help will also have an effect on budget.
  5. Season and Date: The cost of setup and takedown is roughly the same for us all year round. Its perhaps true that in very busy summer weeks we have to take on lots of extra staff, which has a cost. Whereas in winter we are not so busy so our core team can take care of jobs solely without extra staff.  But roughly the costs remain the same and sometimes any costs saving might be negated by the need to hire heaters. When all is said and done, winter weddings can be cheaper but by the time they are heated and perhaps extra walkways or covering to build the toilets undercover the savings are replaced and you’re back to a similar cost.
  6. Additional Services: We always say we are happy to do as much or as little as you would like us to do. We can do extra light, fairy light canopies for example, but equally if you would like to do that yourselves then we will happily let you do so and even offer you advice as a to how best to do it. Equally if you have a lovely patio furniture set that you want to use as a chill out area inside the marquee then go for it!
  7. Facilities on site: Generator power may be needed. Toilets too. Catering marquees to provide the caterers space etc. All things that have a bearing on cost.

 

Typical Cost of a Marquee Wedding

You’re probably getting the gist now that it’s hard to give accurate figures without more information, but on average a customer may spend £4k – £8k on a wedding marquee with us. However we have done basic marquees for weddings for as little as £1,500 and as much as £25,000, it really does depend.


A Rough Guide to Costs

Venue Cost:


This could be your own land/garden (so free!) or you may have to hire a site. It’s worth pointing out that we are experts at fitting our marquees into not massive gardens. We’ll always try and make things work but equally be realistic and offer genuine advice. If you are hiring a site expect to pay anything from £500 for a friendly neighbour’s paddock or similar to £3000 to a marquee site at a stately home with a licensed reception room, toilets on site etc. And lots of options in between!

Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives?

Average costings for Marquee Structures


Basic marquee (frame and covers as we refer to it) (excluding furnishings): £1,500 upwards
Marquee with furniture (tables, chairs, dance floor, etc.): £4,000 – £8,000
Marquee with all the extras, options and perhaps some custom parts or built on a tricky (fun!) site £10,000 upwards
These costs are just a guide of course.

Catering:

Often one of the biggest costs in any wedding no matter the venue. Menu/food choice can be a way to save the big and still have a special day.
You can expect to pay maybe £10-£20 per head for pizza or hog roasts that sort of thing. Or, around £60-£100 per person for a 3 course wedding breakfast. Substantial costs when you start thinking about guest lists. 


You can appreciate that these costs are really variable depending on guest numbers and style of food etc. It should also be a consideration that weddings are often long and you will almost certainly need to feed them the wedding breakfast but then ‘evening food’. Other suppliers working on site such as photographers and planners it is good etiquette to feed them too. Some suppliers put this in their terms and conditions, others don’t, but it is good to be clear on their requirements from the outset. We work with a host of caterers like Kings Catering, Home grown hospitality, Purple Chilli, and Nomads by James Brown.

 

Catering Tent:


Your caterer may require a designated space for preparation. Sometimes they have their own popup and such like (usually hog roast/pizza people) but if you need to source one costs are normally around £400-1000 depending on size. Its normally the 3 course dinner type caterers who will need a catering tent to give them the space they need for cooking equipment and also plating up such a lot of food.

 

Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives?

Luxury loo hire:


Lesser quality toilets can be hired, such as pink and blue ‘party toilets’ to bring down cost but usually for a wedding a luxury loo trailer is chosen. Remember when we said weddings aren’t more expensive for the sake of it/money isn’t added on for no good reason.  Examples like this can explain the difference sometimes.
We will happily arrange luxury loo hire for you.  




Generator:



For simplicity we offer our own Generator package. Our super silent generators are perfect for going unnoticed at your wedding. This package includes power for the marquee, caterers, band, lighting, any fridge or food trucks as well as delivery and collection. They are well on top of the job at hand and we offer 24hr support.

Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives?


Advantages of Marquee Weddings

  1. Flexibility: Marquees provide the flexibility to choose your wedding location. It might be where you first met, your first scenic walk together, a paddock next to your home where you grew up or anywhere! So much flexibility to create a stunning wedding backdrop right where you want it.
  2. Personalisation: Not one marquee we have done is identical to the last one. Every customer has their own unique ideas for decoration, or their own site where they want it.
  3. Location, location, location: exactly where you want it!
  4. Tailored to your specific Wedding: Ceilidh’ s, Open Flames & other unique traditions can all be accommodated.   

 

Summary

Are Marquee Weddings More Expensive than alternatives? Like hotels etc? It depends! It depends on all the above factors equally although you’re likely to focus on just a couple. Marquee Weddings are budget friendly. It is your budget that will determine whether they are in fact more expensive or not.

With the freedom of an outdoor wedding, you can really go to town on what you “bring in”. Mini Festival themed weddings have taken place in our marquees you can achieve whatever look or style you’d like. 

Please do get in touch with our team. It only takes 5 minutes to give us the information we need to guide you. We will happily give you as much or as little help as you like.