There are many marquee wedding venues in Essex to choose from, and in this guide, you’ll discover only the very best in a curated marquee venue shortlist. This Essex marquee wedding guide will also include a marquee wedding planning checklist, so you cover it all and enjoy an incredible wedding you’ll never forget!
So, if you’re planning a wedding and want to know the very best marquee wedding venues in Essex, you’re in the right place.
Marquee wedding venues Essex: what counts as a “marquee-ready” wedding venue?
So, what is a marquee wedding venue Essex? It can mean either of two things:
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- A dedicated marquee space or permanent set-up
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- A suitable lawn or hardstanding ground where you can bring your own structure
- A suitable lawn or hardstanding ground where you can bring your own structure
When it comes to choosing a permanent marquee vs hired marquee, it depends on the venue you want. In the case where you can bring your own structure, you have more choice regarding supplier, layout, and comfort upgrades. At the same time, you might have restricted access to generator power, portable toilets, the location of site access, flooring, and heating. Also, with a hired marquee, you would need to find a blank canvas wedding venue in Essex to place it.
Best marquee wedding venues Essex: 5 favourites to tour (and why they work so well)
Many marquee wedding venues in Essex serve unique purposes. When picking the perfect marquee venue for you and your dream wedding, take into account things like photo backdrops, guest experience, and whether the location itself is suitable for a marquee. Remember – you must always confirm each venue’s current marquee policy and supplier rules before booking!
That being said, here are the five favourite Essex marquee venues to consider for your big day.
Talbooth Restaurant & Marquee (Dedham/Colchester, Essex)
Undeniably one of the best marquee wedding venues in Essex is Talbooth Restaurant & Marquee.
What makes this Constable Country wedding venue stand out is its beautiful, historic listed building situated right next to the gently flowing river Stour. Trees surround this venue, making the space feel like it lives in its own little world – perfect for getting away from the hustle and bustle.
This Colchester wedding marquee venue is ideal for anyone looking for an idyllic and calming location, as you’ll enjoy a riverside marquee that lets you soak up the great outdoors. It melds both intimacy and a sense of community, with the venue being large enough for mid-sized wedding celebrations.
Marquees at this venue are available from April all the way through to October, and weddings are extremely popular here thanks to the fantastic backdrop of the river, trees, and the buildings on offer. The location itself is also ideal; it is along the A12 route, north east of Colchester, at the edge of Dedham Vale. So, anyone driving to the wedding will find getting there refreshingly straightforward.
The standouts: A historic listed building, a riverside location, a beautiful natural backdrop.
Who it is best for: Couples wanting a mid-sized River Stour wedding with plenty of nature in the backdrop for photographs.
To elevate the Talbooth Restaurant & Marquee wedding experience, choose Dynamic Marquees for a more premium venue feel, as you will have access to things like heating, high-quality flooring, a bar, and all the furniture you need to put on an amazing wedding.
Frasers (Wickford/Battlesbridge, Essex)
Another great marquee wedding venue in Essex is Frasers. Frasers offers the ultimate rustic marquee wedding experience thanks to its scenic, outdoor-friendly location. At Frasers, the romantic vibes will be at an all-time high, with the traditional, historic building offering on-site prep and overnight accommodations. The gardens themselves make the perfect outdoor celebration in Essex – ideal for any couple who enjoys the subtle sounds of nature and a green backdrop.
The Wickford wedding venue itself is conveniently located in the town of Battlesbridge, which isn’t far off the A130 and can be easily travelled to from anywhere in Essex, including Chelmsford, Billericay, South Benfleet, and places even further out.
The standouts: A romantic setting with a guest house for prepping and staying over.
Who it is best for: Couples wanting a boho wedding in Essex that embraces the great outdoors.
To make your Fraser’s wedding even more special – and to mitigate against things like poor weather – Dynamic Marquees offers a clean, modern marquee finish while keeping rustic styling. You will benefit from top-quality marquee flooring, marquee heating, and marquee add-ons that take your wedding to the next level.
Barnfield Weddings (Sible Hedingham, North Essex)
Some would say the best marquee wedding venues in Essex are those that offer a blank canvas, which is precisely what Barnfield Weddings, a lakeside marquee venue in Essex, is all about.
If you’re looking for a woodland wedding in Essex, this is the perfect venue. It provides not only a lakeside setting, but also surrounding meadows and woodland on a small family farm to create a picturesque backdrop for your special day. Plant a marquee in this venue and enjoy a North Essex wedding that feels like it could be part of a traditional fairytale.
The location is only slightly off the beaten path, offering a quieter, nature-focused location just south of Sible Hedingham. It has limited summer availability from May through to September.
The standouts: A gorgeous lake, plenty of nature, a black-canvas backdrop.
Who it’s best for: Couples who want a more relaxed or festival wedding in Essex.
If you choose Dynamic Marquees for your marquee hire, you’ll gain access to a dry hire Essex venue that provides all the provisions you need for ultimate guest comfort. That includes easy site access, a dance floor, heating, and a generator backup.
The Park Weddings & Events (Saffron Walden, Essex)
If you are looking for a true blank canvas hire for your marquee hire in Essex, then The Park Weddings & Events is perfect for you. This Saffron Walden wedding venue offers a large manicured lawn with natural surroundings for perfect landscape photos. There is more than enough room for a tipi or a marquee, so you can get creative and find bespoke suppliers wedding to create a backdrop that matches your vision.
This wedding venue is located just south of Cambridge and is easily accessible via the M11 or A11.
The standouts: A vast lawn, a true blank canvas.
Who it’s best for: Couples wanting a larger wedding with room to explore different styles and layouts.
The best and safest choice for marquee wedding venues Essex is Dynamic Marquees. With Dynamic Marquees, you can turn an open field into a polished reception space with a clear-span marquee, marquee lighting, marquee carpet, and even a large wedding dance floor!
Crooked Barn – Lake View (Ongar, Essex)
Crooked Barn is one of the best marquee wedding venues in Essex because of its photogenic lake backdrop and tailored trapeze marquee approach. It truly is the image of a premium wedding marquee venue – it offers idyllic backdrops of lakes and bridges, alongside plenty of space for a large marquee. This Ongar wedding venue works well for a range of wedding styles and themes thanks to its picturesque and rural setting. So, whether you want a traditional wedding, a fairytale wedding, or a boho wedding, you can make it work for your big day.
The location is nice and convenient while still being away from the hustle and bustle. It’s just outside of Chipping Ongar and is easily accessible via the A113.
The standouts: Lakes and bridges, a luxury marquee experience
Who it’s best for: Couples wanting a premium marquee experience with an ample space and gorgeous natural surroundings.
If you love this location for its wedding photo backdrops in Essex and want a premium wedding experience, choose Dynamic Marquees for comfort-led installations. You’ll have access to bar hire, dance floor, high-quality flooring, heating, and much more for true guest comfort.
How to choose an Essex marquee venue that actually works on the day
When it comes to choosing the best marquee wedding venue in Essex, you need to start with the guest count. The number of people at the ceremony, wedding breakfast, and evening event will lead every other decision you make.
Once you have a number, start mapping the essential zones to ensure you have enough room in your wedding marquee layout, including the entrance, dining area, dancefloor, bar, and toilets – the key here is to prevent bottlenecks. Also, consider revenue restrictions on guest numbers.
Be aware that there are specific venue rules that change your budget, including curfews, noise limits, supplier policies, corkage, access times, and power policy. It’s best to loop your marquee supplier in early, so you plan all of this in advance.
Venue checklist: what a marquee needs (ground, access, power, toilets)
When it comes to a marquee hire in Essex, you need to ensure your guests can access the venue easily.
You need to assess the ground you are working with – for example, a hardstanding vs grass installation. If you are working on grass, it’s typically best to choose a flat area that has lawn protection and easy vehicle access. However, there are marquee flooring installations that can work with less-than-perfect marquee grounds. Here’s what to remember to ensure you cover all bases for guest comfort:
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- The right flooring: This depends on the ground. It’s best to conduct a site survey in advance for this. Keep in mind the season and ground conditions, too – you may need a raised floor if it’s a wetter time of year, or if you are working with uneven ground.
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- Power: When it comes to a smooth-running marquee wedding, power is everything. If you want winter wedding heating, you’ll need power for that. Likewise, you’ll need power for catering purposes and lighting – it simply wouldn’t be a wedding without it! A generator hire is important for all this.
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- Water: Whether you want simple or luxury toilets, water access is essential. This should never be just an afterthought, but instead an integral part of the planning process.
If you want to receive a recommended marquee size, a site visit, and a marquee quote, visit Dynamic Marquees. They can take on board details such as your venue, guest count, and wedding date to ensure you receive the right professional marquee hire in Essex.
Marquee styles that suit Essex wedding venues
When it comes to choosing wedding marquee styles, there are two options available.
One is a clear span marquee (or frame marquee), which offers premium modular structures with open interiors. This gives you plenty of flexibility, with the uninterrupted layout providing plenty of freedom when it comes to décor and zoning.
Then, there is the traditional pole marquee. This offers a more classic, romantic atmosphere, but be aware that the poles will affect the layout and sightlines. So, you may be restricted in some areas, such as reception zones.
It’s best to plan your marquee wedding venue in Essex in modular zones for a connected marquee space. For example, you may have reception zones, a dining area, a ceremony area, and a dance floor, each as its own area. This is key for guest flow and wet-weather flow, as it will mean seamless transitions from one area to the next.
For example, you may begin with the reception area at the front – perhaps this is the big, open, welcoming space that guests first arrive at. From there, you may have an entrance to the dancefloor, which then links to the dining area. It’s best to have more than one entry/exit to minimise bottlenecks within the marquee.
What to hire with your marquee (so it feels like a real venue)
Of course, your marquee hire in Essex is only the beginning to make it a proper wedding venue; there are extras you’ll need to hire.
To start with, cover the comfort trio of:
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- Lighting: Marquee lighting is essential for two reasons. First, because you and the guests need to be able to see once the sun goes down. Second, the right kind of lighting can add incredible ambience to the area. You can choose the type of lighting you want based on the wedding theme you have – for example, fairy lights work well for boho or fairytale style weddings.
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- Flooring: There are different types of flooring depending on the ground you are working with. It helps to work directly with both the venue and the marquee supplier to find the right flooring for the job. It is crucial to choose marquee flooring that mitigates against wet weather conditions.
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- Heating: Whether it’s summer or autumn, thinking about marquee heating is important. Cold snaps happen in Essex all of the time, so you’ll need to ensure every zone has heating to keep guests comfortable.
Once you have covered the comfort trio of lighting, flooring, and heating, it’s time to move on to key hire items like tables, chairs, and chinaware, which Dynamic Marquees supplies. You will also need to add toilets and water access.
To upgrade your marquee wedding, consider a bar and dance floor hire. Remember that, when you’re hiring your bar and dance floor, the evening guest count matters! You want your guests to have plenty of room to dance the evening away and truly enjoy your special event.
Budget: what drives the cost of a marquee wedding in Essex?
Naturally, when you are planning and looking into marquee wedding venues in Essex, you will want to know how to stick to a budget. Weddings aren’t cheap, after all. So, how much does a marquee wedding cost in Essex? Here are the most significant price drivers:
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- Guest count: The more guests you have, the more space you will need. Naturally, this will lead to a higher price. If you want to keep the budget tight, fewer guests are key.
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- Season: The summer months are the most popular, which means they are also the most expensive. You can choose shoulder months for lower prices.
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- Site complexity: The more complex the site is to place the marquee on, the more expensive the installation will be.
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- Comfort add-ons: There are many comfort add-ons that will significantly drive up the price. For example, floor heating, bar hire, and high-quality furniture throughout the whole marquee will cost extra on top of the marquee hire.
Be aware that marquee venues offering “from prices” should be taken with caution, as this price often excludes comfort and logistics essentials like power, flooring, heating, toilets, and lighting. Always avoid hard price promises from venues, and instead look for tailored supplier quotes that take your specific wedding plan into account.
When to plan your marquee wedding in Essex (weather, ground conditions, daylight)
So, what’s the best month for marquee weddings? Essex wedding planning means taking the rainiest and coldest seasons into account. Most marquee weddings take place in spring, summer, or autumn. Summer gets the most daylight, spring has a high rain risk, which can affect ground firmness, and there are serious temperature swings during the autumn. Good contingency planning can mitigate any type of bad weather – for example, installing heating for the colder months, or making sure you use covered walkways and good flooring for potential rain and soft ground.
The best time of year for a marquee wedding in Essex tends to be the peak season dates during the summer. If you want to save money, though, some seasonal wedding tips advise picking shoulder season weddings, which is a period between peak and off-peak. For example, March rather than April or September rather than August.
Marquee wedding pros and cons (so you can choose with confidence)
So, what are the marquee wedding benefits and marquee wedding drawbacks? Before making up your mind whether a marquee wedding is right for you, it’s best to weigh up the pros and cons first.
The pros of a marquee wedding
Layout freedom: You don’t have much layout wiggle room with a fixed venue, whereas with a marquee, you can adapt the layout to meet your vision of your wedding.
Styling control: A marquee is like a blank canvas, which means you have far more control over how the venue looks in the end.
Guest capacity scaling: Whether you have 50 guests or 500, you can find a marquee to accommodate that.
The cons of a marquee wedding
Planning complexity: With a fixed venue wedding, you may have limits, but you’ll likely have things like a bar and a dancing space already there on hand. However, a marquee wedding requires more thought with planning, as you’ll have to think about everything, from installing a bar to ensuring there’s enough dancing room!
Weather: It is harder to plan for different types of weather with a marquee wedding. However, there are ways to mitigate this, such as providing heating for weddings held during the colder months.
Utilities: Utilities planning for a marquee wedding can be quite extensive. In some cases, you may need to go to separate suppliers to ensure you have all the utilities you need on hand.
Of course, whether a marquee wedding is right or not depends on your exact wedding vision and needs. If you need more help, check out these more in-depth advantages and disadvantages of marquee weddings.
Planning timeline: when to book your Essex venue and marquee supplier
Your wedding planning timeline should be mapped out well in advance, and you should know when you’ll get started on supplier booking, especially if you’re planning a wedding during peak dates in Essex, such as a Saturday during the summer months.
Aim to book your marquee around 12 to 18 months before the wedding date, as this will leave plenty of time for site surveying, supplier coordination, and mapping out an installation schedule.
Then, around 3 to 6 months before the wedding, finalise your plans with the final layout, organising a power plan, and finishing your hire list. It’s also a good idea to get a professional to complete a site visit in advance to ensure everything is as smooth and risk-free as possible.
