Five Top Tips for a Marquee Beach Wedding

Marquee beach weddings are uniquely special as no two days by the sea are the same.  Weather, tide and waves all contribute to an amazing sea vista which becomes very much part of your day.  In our last blog we homed in on the best beach wedding venues in Devon and in this post we are going to make sure that you get the right marquee to make your day really spectacular!

So read on for our five top tips for a tip top marquee beach wedding!

1. Make sure you can see the view from your marquee!

If your venue has amazing sea views, make sure that you can see them from inside your marquee!  It sounds simple, but many styles of marquee don’t enable you to easily take in your surroundings as they do not have windows.  Frame marquees can have as many windows as you like, meaning you and your guests get to enjoy the setting and have an ever changing coastal backdrop all day! Choosing ‘clear’ or ‘panoramic’ windows will give you the maximum amount of clear window and these can be rolled up during the day if the weather allows or remain down with out interrupting the view.

2. Make sure your marquee is secure.

Beach weddings are usually fairly exposed to the weather so make sure you have a quality marquee that can cope with windy conditions.  Frame (clear span) marquees are designed to withstand strong winds and give you the security that you will be cosy inside if a breeze picks up.

3.  Clear roof marquees

We are big fans of clear roof marquees, especially when there are lovely beach or sea views on hand.  They really allow the light to flood into the marquee putting you in the heart of the landscape.  We also often use them to define an area of marquee, such as over the dance floor or over a bar/chillout area and on a coastal or beach wedding venue they really come into their own.  Take a look at our blog, clear roof marquees- quite simply they look awesome, for further information…we are pretty sure you will love them too!

4. Now for the fun part…decorating your marquee for your beach wedding

Of course you don’t have to go down the beach themed route, it is totally up to you, but we have seen some great ideas over the years.  A beach them connects your day with its surrounding and you can have lots of fun doing it!  Here’s just a few ideas to get you started;

a) Bunting – great for a seaside feel and you can choose to coordinate with your theme.  Simple to make, you might like to take on the challenge of making your own. Alternatively, there are companies which can hire or make bespoke bunting for your day, take a look at Funky Flags Bunting.

b) Paper Lanterns – brilliant for decorating the roof space and also work really well with bunting.  Selecting a range of sizes can add additional interest and small led battery lights can be used to illuminate the lanterns.  Again choose colours to match your colour theme.

c) Beach Flags – large festival style beach flags look amazing and add atmosphere to the area outside your marquee.  They can line a pathway , frame a view or just go wherever you fancy. Take a peak at Big Wave Flags for more information.

d) Table Decorations – use deck chair striped material as tables runners to add a beach style flourish to tables.  Beach buckets can be used for serving bread rolls, shells or pebbles used to create individual name places. Get creative!

e) Table Plans – surfboards, driftwood signs, old doors and much more can be used to create a unique and personal table plan to direct guests to their table.  One of our clients used coloured lollipop sticks to create her beach theme table plan – brilliant!

f) Bar – use a rowing boat, kayaks, lifesaving rings, buckets filled with ice to chill drinks for a self service bar.

So if this has got you thinking about how you might dress your own marquee beach wedding take a look at our beach weddings board on pinterest for further inspiration!

5. The little extras!

If you want to maximise your beach location and enjoy the outdoors why not have a few beach style bits and pieces on hand.  Deck chairs could be an alternative to the more usual outdoor furniture and for guests who want to kick off their heels, why not have a basket of flips flops so they can get sand between their toes!  During the evening it can be nice to have a few blankets available so guests can gather and enjoy the sea air.

 

Whatever you do, enjoy the planning and build up to your day and make sure that the marquee you hire enables you to get the beach marquee wedding you are dreaming of.

For information and advice on arranging a marquee wedding take a look at our blog ‘Marquee Weddings – is there a lot to arrange’ or for more information on marquee hire in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset visit Hatch Marquee Hire, specialists in wedding marquees.

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