10 Things to Think About Before Planning a Marquee Wedding in Cornwall
There is something pretty special about a marquee wedding in Cornwall.
A beautiful stretch of countryside. A sea view in the distance. Long tables, hundreds of candles, incredible food, music that carries into the evening and everyone you love gathered together under one roof.
And one of the things I love most about a marquee wedding is that you aren't starting with someone else's idea of what your wedding should look like.
You have a blank canvas.
But here's the thing about a blank canvas... someone has to work out what goes on it.
Because while you're thinking about the flowers, the tables and the dancefloor, somebody also needs to be thinking about where the generator is going, where the toilets will sit, how the catering van is going to get in and out, where the band's equipment is going to live and what happens when 120 guests arrive wearing soaking wet coats.
I've planned enough weddings in Cornwall to know that the beautiful bits are only half the story. The really good marquee weddings are the ones where all the practical details have been thought through before the pretty stuff starts.
So, if you're considering a marquee wedding in Cornwall, here are ten things I'd want you to think about before you book anything.
1. Where is the marquee actually going?
This sounds obvious. It isn't.
Finding a beautiful field, garden or private estate is one thing. Finding somewhere that actually works for a marquee wedding is another.
The ground needs to be suitable and, ideally, reasonably level. There needs to be enough space for the size and shape of marquee you're considering, and your marquee company needs to be able to get their vehicle onto the site. Then there are all the things you might not notice when you're simply standing in a beautiful field: trees, walls, buildings, overhead cables, access points and the position of the sun.
You also need to think about how the marquee sits within the wider landscape. Where will guests arrive? Where will the ceremony happen? What will they see when they walk into the marquee? Where will the parking, toilets and catering go? How will suppliers get in and out? And what happens when it rains and everyone suddenly needs to get from one part of the site to another?
A field can look enormous when you're standing in it. It can look surprisingly small once you've drawn an entire wedding onto it.
This is why I always want to see the whole site, not just the bit where the marquee is going.
2. How does the catering actually get in and out?
Your guests might never think about this.
Your caterer absolutely will.
Professional caterers arrive with a lot of equipment, and they need somewhere practical to work. Their van needs to be able to get where it needs to go, there needs to be enough room for them to set up and, depending on the catering style, they may need a separate catering tent or workspace.
Then you've got deliveries, washing up, rubbish and, at the end of the night, the small matter of getting everything back out again.
It's very easy to design the perfect guest-facing marquee and then realise you've forgotten that there is essentially a working kitchen happening behind the scenes.
The catering setup needs to be part of your Cornwall marquee wedding planning from the beginning, not something you squeeze in afterwards.
3. Where are the toilets going?
Let's talk toilets.
Not particularly glamorous, I know.
But they are one of the first things I would consider when looking at a marquee wedding site.
The number you need, where they're positioned, whether the toilet company can actually get their vehicle to them and what happens if it rains all need thinking about before you've decided where the flowers are going.
You don't want guests trekking through mud every time they need the loo, and you definitely don't want the toilets to be the first thing everyone sees when they arrive.
Think about lighting after dark, the route from the marquee and how visible they'll be from the main wedding spaces.
It's another example of something that sounds small but makes a huge difference to how a wedding site works.
4. What's happening with the power?
This is one of those things that can be very easy to forget until you start talking to your suppliers.
A marquee doesn't automatically come with electricity.
Your caterer needs it. Your band or DJ needs it. Your lighting needs it. Your bar might need it. Your refrigeration certainly does.
Suddenly, the generator you vaguely imagined hiding behind a hedge has become quite an important part of the wedding.
Before you book your suppliers, establish what power is available on site and what you'll actually need.
If you need a generator, where will it go? Can it be accessed easily? Will it be powerful enough for everything you need? And have your suppliers actually communicated with one another about their requirements?
This is where having someone look at the wedding as one complete event, rather than a collection of individual suppliers, becomes really useful.
5. Where does all the supplier stuff go?
This might be my favourite question.
Because nobody puts it on Pinterest.
Your florist arrives with buckets, boxes and flowers. Your stylist has crates of candles, stationery and décor. Your photographer has camera bags and equipment. Your band has instruments, cases, cables and everything else they need to perform.
And suddenly you've got quite a lot of stuff.
It all needs somewhere to go.
Maybe that's a dedicated storage area. Maybe some things stay safely in supplier vehicles. Maybe you've got a room or outbuilding nearby.
But it needs thinking about, particularly if those vehicles are parked halfway across a field.
Your florist having to walk across a field every time she needs another box of candles might sound like a tiny detail when you're planning your wedding.
On the day?
It really isn't.
The behind-the-scenes logistics deserve just as much thought as the parts your guests will see.
6. What about the people actually working at your wedding?
Your suppliers are people too.
They need somewhere to work, wait, eat and sometimes change.
Your band may need somewhere to get changed before they perform. Your musicians might need somewhere to wait. Your catering team needs enough space to work, and suppliers need somewhere sensible and secure for their equipment.
None of this needs to be particularly glamorous.
In fact, your guests probably shouldn't notice most of it.
And that's the point.
When a marquee wedding has been properly planned, all of these little logistical details happen quietly in the background.
Your guests simply experience a wedding that feels easy.
7. What happens when Cornwall decides to be Cornwall?
Ah.
The weather.
You're getting married in Cornwall, so we probably need to talk about it.
Not the weather forecast you screenshot twelve months before your wedding.
The actual weather.
A good wet-weather plan isn't about expecting your wedding to be a disaster. It's about thinking ahead.
If it rains, where will everyone go? Is there somewhere covered for your drinks reception? If it's windy, is the marquee and everything around it properly considered? If it's 28°C, have you thought about ventilation and shade? Can your suppliers still access the site if the ground is saturated?
And what happens if the weather changes halfway through the day?
Some of the most memorable marquee weddings I've worked on haven't had perfect weather.
You just need a plan that works with whatever Cornwall throws at you.
A good wet-weather plan isn't expecting disaster; it's making sure the weather doesn't dictate the entire day.
8. What happens to everyone's coats, bags and shoes?
This sounds ridiculously specific.
It isn't.
Imagine 100 guests arriving at your marquee wedding in Cornwall and it's raining.
That's 100 coats, potentially 100 umbrellas, quite a lot of wet shoes and a lot of handbags.
Where does everything go?
Because “just put your coat over the back of your chair” doesn't exactly work when you've spent hours creating a beautiful tablescape.
Think about whether you need a coat rail or cloakroom area, where it will go and whether guests can find it easily.
Then think about the journey from the car park to the marquee.
Do you need lighting? A walkway? Some kind of flooring?
These are tiny details.
But they're the details that make guests feel like somebody has thought about them.
9. Think about the whole site, not just what's inside the marquee
This is the bit I love.
Because you're not just designing a room.
You're designing an entire wedding experience.
Think about the journey your guests take through the day.
What do they see when they arrive? Where do they have their first drink? Where does the ceremony happen? How do they move from the ceremony into the drinks reception? Where will they eat? Where does the dancing happen? Where will you take photographs? Where does the sun set? And what do guests see when they step outside later in the evening?
A marquee wedding gives you an incredible amount of freedom here.
You can create spaces for different parts of the day rather than simply putting everyone in one room and hoping it works.
And in Cornwall, you've got a pretty incredible landscape to work with.
You don't necessarily need to compete with it.
You just need to make the most of it.
10. Choose your marquee supplier carefully
Once you've found your site, you'll need to think about the actual marquee.
And this is where I would always recommend looking beyond the photograph.
Different marquee hire companies in Cornwall offer different structures, styles and services, so think about what will work best for your site and the kind of wedding you're creating.
Maybe you're drawn to a traditional canvas marquee. Perhaps you want something more contemporary. Maybe a sailcloth structure is much more your thing.
You might also need to think about flooring, lighting, furniture, power and everything else that sits around the structure itself.
Two Cornwall suppliers I'd have on my radar are Absolute Canvas and The Cornish Tent Company.
The important thing isn't simply finding the prettiest marquee.
It's finding the right structure for your site, your guest numbers and the atmosphere you're trying to create.
And ideally, your marquee supplier should be involved early enough that the practical side of the site can be considered alongside everything else.
And if you're still looking for somewhere to put it...
There are some seriously beautiful marquee wedding venues in Cornwall, from private coastal estates to historic houses and working farms.
These are five of my personal favourites and for very different reasons.
Roscarrock
Beautiful, wild-feeling, private and surrounded by some seriously spectacular Cornish countryside and coastline.
Place Manor
Historic, relaxed and completely gorgeous, with the sort of setting that lends itself to a wedding that feels more like a weekend with your favourite people.
Just Above the Helford
Tucked away on the Helford, with that wonderfully relaxed, rural Cornwall feeling. Perfect if you want your wedding to feel connected to its surroundings rather than overly formal.
Porthilly
The Camel Estuary, the beach and that incredible sense of being properly by the water. The landscape really becomes part of the wedding here.
Beacon Crag
Wild, coastal and a little more contemporary. The setting is incredible, and there is so much potential to create something completely personal around it.
I've written more about my favourite Cornwall wedding venues here if you're still venue hunting:
READ: My Top 5 Cornwall Wedding Venues →
So, is a marquee wedding in Cornwall right for you?
If you love the idea of having more freedom over your wedding, the layout, the food, the music, the lighting, the styling and the overall atmosphere, a marquee wedding can be incredible.
But don't confuse freedom with simplicity.
A marquee gives you a blank canvas.
And a blank canvas means someone needs to think about everything.
The generator.
The toilets.
The caterer's van.
The supplier storage.
The band's changing space.
The guest coats.
The muddy field.
The weather.
The lighting.
The sunset.
And, of course, where you're going to put all those candles.
That's the part of marquee wedding planning I love.
Because while everyone else is looking at the flowers, the tables and the view, I'm probably somewhere in the background thinking:
“Where's that caterer parking?”
And honestly? That's exactly where I want to be.
Planning a marquee wedding in Cornwall?
If you've found the field, the view or the venue and you're now realising there are approximately one million things you hadn't thought about, that's where I come in.
I plan, style and coordinate design-led marquee weddings across Cornwall and beyond, bringing together the creative side of your wedding with all the practical details happening behind the scenes.
You don't need to become an expert in generators, supplier access and toilet placement.
You just need to know what you want your wedding to feel like.
I'll help you work out the rest.
Planning a marquee wedding in Cornwall? Let's talk.