Marquee Events: Everything you need to know

Marquee hire offers a price-competitive and sophisticated alternative for hosting a corporate event. It offers greater flexibility than traditional venues, as you have full control over the décor, suppliers and the space you want to create. This equips you to create a unique impact on your attendees, which can emphasise either your brand, or your values, or your vision for the day.

The versatility of marquee hire makes it a great choice for a variety of events including:

• A showcase for partners in your sector.

• A marketplace to sell goods and establish networks with local vendors.

• An employee celebration for your company.

At Jubilee Events, we have substantial experience in hosting a variety of marquee events throughout Nottinghamshire and the Midlands. To help with your planning, we've outlined some key points to consider when hiring a marquee.

Marquee Hire for a Celebration Event hosted by the University of Derby, in collaboration with Derby City and Derbyshire County Councils (Credit: Richard Richards Photography).

Location, location, location

Hosting a marquee event can provide great flexibility with location as, essentially, all you need is a piece of land to pitch it. This means you can make use of charming, scenic places that are more remote. Or, for convenience, pitch it by your main building or your back car park!

When considering where you want the marquee for you event, it's a good idea to consider:

• The size of the area. It needs to be large enough for the size of marquee you need, and other facilities such as toilets and car parking for guests, caterers, and other service providers.

• If the area is is uneven or on a hard floor (such as concrete). This will affect the way the marquee is set up, and can incur additional costs.

At Jubilee Events, we do a site visit for new locations, and satellite mapping software to work out the best position and orientation for the marquee. Our consultation process ensures that all these questions are resolved before your event.

Utilise rural landscape to create a fresh and inviting space for a networking event. (Credit: Richard Richards Photography).

A blank canvas for your corporate event

Whether it's creating an impact with a product launch, or celebrating colleagues, marquee hire provides the perfect blank canvas. Most marquees are minimalist colours (ours are a soft ivory), which can be enhanced with decorations and furniture to create a professional, sleek ambience.

You can also capitalise on hiring caterers and other suppliers which align with your visions. For example, you could source local suppliers, or hire organisations which aim to reduce their impact on the environment.

Whilst creating a vision for your corporate event, it is worth considering what you will need to make the event functional:

• Seating and furniture - Even in a space such as a drop-in exhibition, there needs to be some seating available for an event. For larger showcase events consider creating a table plan, and the aesthetics for the furniture you will need.

• A generator - Whilst there may be access to electricity onsite, we would recommend having a backup generator to ensure your day functions smoothly.

• Decorations - It's sometimes the finishing touches that bring an event to life, such as some simple wildflowers in vases, or vibrant and funky table cloths.

• Crockery and tableware - Even if meals are not provided, it is likely that you will need some simple refreshments on hand. This could be water jugs and glasses, tea and coffee cups, all the way up to plates and cutlery for dining.

Here at Jubilee Events, we will assign an event coordinator to guide you through this thinking process. We know how and where to source what's needed for the day, and we can provide various types of lighting and furniture layouts to suit your vision. We can also provide the finishing touches with our beautiful decorations, which you can find out more about in this blog.

A collection of marquee events we've helped bring to life.

The logistics on the day

As with all events, marquee events require operational planning to ensure the day runs as smoothly as possible. We've highlighted some of the key logistics to figure out for the day:

• Set up and set down: Time needs to be allocated to set up the event, and to pack it down. This can be on the same day, or on a day before or after, but it might need coordination to ensure the site can be accessed as and when is needed.

• Weather: Unfortunately, British weather isn't always reliable. However, you can prepare for it! If it's warm, consider renting some fans, and using an open panel marquee to ensure adequate ventilation. If it's cold or the event runs into the evening, consider getting some heaters to keep your attendees toasty. And, if it's stormy, ensure there is ample indoor space so your event can operate uninterrupted. At Jubilee Events, we provide water butts where necessary to weigh down the marquee, and ensure it is secure in windy weather.

• Delegating tasks for the day: Assign some individuals to escort attendants as and where is needed, to be around to troubleshoot any issues on the day, and know the running order and required setups for the event.

At Jubilee Events we have a lot of experience in planning marquee events, and can assist in preparing for the day, as well as providing onsite support from a coordinator at the event.

Interested in hiring our marquees for your event?

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