Marquees for weddings

So you’ve decided to get married! Congratulations! But now the real work starts…planning it.  Many people like the idea of a wedding in a garden, park or at the beach so need to find out about marquees.  Marquees are fantastic for creating the romantic atmosphere that couples desire at their wedding.

Here are some quick tips to help you start working out what size marquee you will need and what information you will need to provide to your supplier when hiring a marquee.

Marquee size

Marquee sizes vary from quite small (4m x 6m) to extremely large (30m x 120m).

In order to work out what size you need for your wedding, you will need to know the number guests and whether they will be standing only, seated theatre-style or seated at tresle tables or round tables.  We’ve prepared a Marquee Size Calculator to estimate what size you will need.

If the marquee is 100m2 or over you will need to contact the council about a siting permit.  For more information on this see our previous article on Permits. Your event hire company should also be able to assist you with this requirement.

You may also need a permit if you are erecting a marquee in a park, foreshore area (beach) or other public space. Contact the relevant local council to see if they issue permits for the area or if it is controlled by Parks Victoria or a Foreshore Committee of Management. 

Weighting requirements

Marquees are subject to council regulations for temporary structures and must be erected by approved suppliers. This means they should be pegged to the ground to ensure that they are stable and secure in all weather conditions.  If you are planning to have a marquee on a hard surface (eg concrete, asphalt or a surface that cannot have pegs put in such as a tennis court) then the marquee will need to be weighted to meet building regulations.  Make sure your event hire company is aware of these requirements and inspects your site to check what equipment is required to safely erect the marquee.

 Clearance from other structures or trees

A site inspection will also ensure that the marquee can be safely erected in the designated area and have appropriate clearance from other buildings, trees or other structures.

 Underground services

Similarly, depending on where the marquee is going, you may need to provide a map of underground services such as water and gas pipes and drains. If your wedding is happening in a public space then the local authority (see above) should be able to assist with plans of underground services.

Your Event Checklist

With so many events on in the coming months, we thought it would be useful to create a checklist of the areas you need to consider and potentially manage for any event big or small. 

Site requirements

Have you done a site inspection to ensure that your venue or intended site:

• can hold the intended number of people for your event
• has appropriate exits, toilet facilities, emergency service access
• does not have noise or access restrictions which may affect setting up or running your event. 

Take a look at the  Pre-event Site and Venue Assessment article for more details on these issues.

Rules, rules, rules

Have you organised any necessary permits required for your event: liquor licensing, POPE permit? Are any of your marquees over 100m2 and therefore require siting permits from your local council?

Are you complying with all regulations for food safety, fire safety, first aid  and emergency procedures.

Who else do I need?

Will you need other services or contractors:

• security for equipment outside event hours
• security during the event
• food & drink vendors
• first aid officers
• entertainers
• audio/visual services
• volunteers/staff.

And if something goes wrong…

Have you organised insurance for your event?

Does your venue have public liability insurance or do you need to organise that for your event?  Do you need personal injury insurance for volunteers or workcover for staff employed for the event? Do your contracted security services hold their own public liability insurance? Should you consider other types of insurance relating to fund-raising events/entertainment.

And finally…

Not all of the above may apply to your event but some of these things will need to be managed to ensure that your event is as successful, trouble-free and enjoyable as possible.