If you are in a position to be choosing a marquee venue in Dorset then that’s excellent news. Dorset is a great place to get married and has many different and varied venues available with a wide array of options. Many people opt to get married in country house style locations and grand hotels when shopping for a venue in Dorset, as it offers some extraordinary places, but as we move into the future more and more people are turning to marquees to host their perfect day.
Marquees offer many advantages but the main one is over permanent venues, and that is the ability to build your own custom floor plan all the way from the layout and orientation to the interior decoration and accessories, all according to your specific requirements. Some people will opt to choose the venue first but I would personally recommend getting your marquee specifications as the first job on the list. This is a logical idea because if you have a known number of guests you are going to be inviting then this will dictate the size of the marquee required. This information will mean you’re better equipped when scouting for venues as some may not meet these size requirements or lend itself to the ideal orientation for a particular sized marquee when considering factors such as views.
Breaking down establishments into grades is a good way to catalog the locations that are available for your consideration when hunting for a marquee venue. At one end of the spectrum you might have places offered by friends and family, these might be gardens, fields or in some cases car park style locations, if you have friends who own businesses like a pub for example. On the other end of the spectrum you have professionally run, top end venues, most likely including a stunning view either over open country side or a panoramic sea view. These top end venues would also be able to supply the necessary (water and electricity) utilities required for your event to run and most likely include ample car parking for your guests. The marquee venues within either end of the spectrum can cover every scenario thinkable, you may get outstanding views but no utilities offered by some, so you would then have the need to bring in generators and a water supply. On the other hand you may have an ideal venue without a breathtaking view, these are all options that will need weighing up. Toilets are a big area that sometimes gets overlooked and if the venue isn’t supplying any then you’ll need to think about mobile toilets or luxury toilet trailers.
Wedding Venue Budget:
The great thing about marquees is their ability to cope with all budget ranges because you can build a personalised package around your tastes and requirements to reflect on the amount you can afford to spend. Nine times out of ten you will save money when hiring a marquee over a permanent venue on a like for like basis. There are two ways of looking at this benefit; 1. You pocket the difference and still get your perfect day for a cheaper cost, or 2. You use then money saved to go for an even better marquee package and venue and really go to town.
Choosing a marquee venue that offers various packages from the outset will probably yield the best results in terms of value. A venue that has been created specifically for weddings will probably tick the majority of boxes on the checklist below and have a keener price when compared to you finding a field and building the package to include your marquee, generator, toilets etc. This is because a purpose made venue will be able to get product and labour costs down due to the quantity of weddings being held at the one location. Off site setup would require further planning and one of costs which are normally higher and have to be passed on meaning the client will end up footing the difference.
Finding Marquee Venues:
Searching for a marquee venue can be a lengthy process and is something you should take your time over. Allow time to compare whats on offer but be careful to compare on a like for like basis and also be aware of different locations including counties. A venue in Devon may be cheaper than Dorset even though they look identical on paper. This maybe due to demand, pushing the price up over time. Therefore my advice would be to compare within county or smaller still, a set area, like the Isle of Purbeck for example. Obviously you will come across factors such as the facilities and utilities available. These might be equal in price but don’t forget to look at the quality.
When you have found a qualifying venue add it to a short list. Revisit the short list once it’s complete and research them for reviews using the web. The criteria I recommend you check is 1. Try to gauge how long the venue has been established, although keep in mind if it’s a new venue. If so do background research on the company or companies involved to see if they are adding a new location to their portfolio, meaning they have plenty of previous experience. If not they could be totally new to the game so then it’s done to personal opinion. 2. Can you find any client reviews. Don’t just take the venue website testimonials as gospel, you want to try and find some on third party sites like Facebook for example. This will give the reviews credibility. 3. Is the venue booked up? A new venue will most likely not be, of course, but for an established venue you would expect to see clients on the book as weddings tend to book a good 6 months in advance. A good way to measure this is when speaking to the venue, don’t say what date you require to begin with. Ask them if they availability in the short term, even if you plan on getting married a year later. You want them to say they are very busy and only have room upon cancellations. This indicates a popular healthy venue which also means they have experience.
Marquee venue finding checklist:
- Whats the approximate size of marquee you require.
- How big is the venue – will it hold your marquee size?
- Does the venue have a view? If so to what extent and of what?
- Can your marquee be positioned to take full advantage of the view?
- Are there toilet facilities included?
- Is electric and water supplied on site or will you need to supply your own?
- Is there allocated car parking space within the venue grounds / or maybe close enough to the venue to be able to walk.
- Any additional services such as camping on site?
- Evaluate the cost of the venue against whats being offered and then compare with others on the shortlist.
Hopefully by now you will have a good idea of how to go about finding a marquee venue, what to look for and questions to ask. Once your venue is booked you can then move forward with the rest of your planning such as catering which is probably the next thing you should be thinking about.
If you are looking for a Marquee Venue in Dorset then click the link below.
Dorset Marquee Venues page
article written by Neal Hendes, Camelot Marquees Ltd
