Lisa Baker from Just Bespoke wedding planning navigates us through the various types of temporary structures available to Brides and Grooms.
Types of Structures
Marquees
These are the most well-known of all the structures available and tend to be the most versatile.
There are two main types of marquee:
Pole marquees
These are traditional structures which have poles inside to hold them up and are held upright with guy ropes and pegs.
Frame marquees
These offer a more modern take on the traditional marquee and use an aluminum structure to create the walls
Best For: their versatility; they can be dressed up or down to suit the occasion but ultimately, they work really well for more styled and classic celebrations
Season: They work well all year round – particularly frame marquees, which are built to withstand most weathers
Tipis
Tipis are large canvas pyramid tents which can be joined together to create one large space depending on requirements. Generally, for a wedding of around 100 guests, you would be looking to have 3 giant hat tipis all joined together, with perhaps a smaller tipi – a Kungsornen – attached to the end which could serve as the bar / chill out area.
Best for: rustic or festival celebrations
Season: Spring and summer
Chinese Hats or Pagoda Marquee
These are identified by their peaked roofs which look great when lit up at night to create a visually appealing feature.
They are very rarely used on their own in the UK as you are quite limited by their size – the biggest size tends to be 6m x 6m.
Best for: more intimate occasions or used to create undercover walkways, smoking areas or even children’s crèche areas.
Season: All weathers
Big Tops
Big Tops are usually associated the circus, but you can hire them for weddings also and they are essentially traditional canvas pole tents with round ends. Very similar to yurts, they can be customized depending on your requirements and the overall look and feel of your celebration. They are great for larger wedding parties or smart festival style weddings.
Best For: larger wedding parties or smart festival style weddings
Season: Spring, summer
Yurts
These tend to be a lot smaller than Big Tops but look relatively similar in the sense that they have round edges. The great thing about yurts is that you can join them together to create a larger event space with possibility of different zones throughout the day.
Best For: guest accommodation at a festival style bash
Season: Spring, summer
Tents
There are a number of tent options available:
Indian Tents
These are essentially pole marquees with canvas walls and a more stylized exterior
Best For: Pretty English country garden affairs
Season: Summer
Stretch Tents
These are good value, flexible, waterproof and very versatile unstructured structures made from a stretchy fabric
Best For: their versatility to suit any occasion and style of wedding
Season: Spring, summer, autumn
Images from Wasing Park Secret Walled Garden and Woods
Bell Tents
Small, cone-shaped tents, supported by a central pole and guy ropes
Best For: guest accommodation at a festival style wedding
Season: Spring, Summer
Featured Real Weddings:
Tipi – Emily & Brandon by Guy Collier and Yvette & Andy by Babb Photo via Festival Brides
Marquee – Katie & Dan by Paul White and Emily & Justin by Sim Canetty-Clarke
Indian Tent – Anna & Adam by Lucy Davenport
Big Top – Katie & Thomas by CG Weddings via Whimsical Wonderland Weddings
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