Styling inspiration for a marquee wedding

From tipis and stretch tents to marquees, celebrating under canvas makes for the ultimate personalised party space. Here are some dazzling ideas for a creating an unforgettable setting for a wedding

Choose a beautiful location
Skybar Weddings / Photography WSD Productions

Whether you’re drawn to rolling countryside, wooded glades or sweeping views across the ocean, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to naturally stunning locations here in the South-west. Set up your tent in a sublime spot, like this stretch tent from Skybar Weddings, perched within touching distance of the sea in West Cornwall.

World Inspired Tents / Photography Kirstin Prisk

Go all-out for greenery
Tipi Spaces / Photography Luna Wedding Photography / Flowers Brompton Buds / Plants & trees Fuss Pots

From a back-to-nature vibe to high-octane glamour, foliage is as versatile as it is impactful. The combination of fresh greens and crisp white florals look particularly striking against the ivory canvas of this Tipi Spaces tipi.

Photography Laura Dean / Flowers Emma Hewlett Floral Design

Draw the eye up
World Inspired Tents / Photography Yeti Photography / Flowers Emma Hewlett Floral DesignHatch Marquee Hire / Photography Lee Maxwell / Flowers Unique Designs by Tina

Hanging floral installations are trending – and it’s not difficult to see why. Not only do they look beautiful, hanging pieces create a sense of height and can free up space on your tables. Think dreamily romantic clouds of gypsophila, dried flowers for a boho feel or foliage dotted with blooms and suspended with floating tea lights.

Photography Hannah Wilde / Flowers Fare of the Field
World Inspired Tents / Photography Lyra & Moth

Fill your wedding with florals
Hatch Marquee Hire / Photography Nova Wedding Photography / Flowers Simon Nickell Design

Whether you’re envisioning a sophisticated scene, styled with an abundance of crisp white roses, or a wildflower meadow feel with colourful stems dotted everywhere in mismatched vessels, flowers are key in creating a so-you space. We love how these tree centrepieces create height and a gorgeous statement in this marquee.

Sunset Tipis

Dress your space with drapes

Photography Nina Wernick / styling Rebecca Marie Weddings & Events / flowers My Lady Garden / draping drap.d

Play with soft draping to add instant luxe to your tent, while making it feel intimate and cosy. Whether you opt for swathes of sheer white fabric or colourful draping to add to your palette, it can be used anywhere in a range of styles to create the aesthetic you’re seeking, from ethereal to glamorous.

World Inspired TentsPhotography / Photography Maxi Photography / styling Knots & Kisses / Flowers Brompton Buds

Light up the night
Absolute Canvas / Photography Thomas Frost 

If you’re planning on celebrating into the small hours, it’s important to carefully consider your lighting throughout your tent. It might be string lights, large bulbs, fairy lights or festoon lights to create a magical feel as evening turns to nightfall.

Hatch Marquee Hire / Photography Maxi Photography 

Create a festival feel
Sunset Tipis / Photography Katie Goff 

If you have plenty of space and a large guest list, then a series of structures – perhaps including a bar, chill-out tent and kids’ tent – will create a festival vibe where guests can mingle and roam throughout the course of the celebrations. Add colourful flags, a glitter bar and live music for a party to remember – and how about a naked tipi for the ceremony?

Skybar Weddings

Think about your seating

Sunset Tipis / Photography Katie Goff 
Skybar Weddings

Your choice of seating can have a big impact on the way your wedding looks, as well as how it feels for your guests. Wooden cross-back chairs blend effortlessly into a range of styling schemes while wooden benches bring a laidback vibe. We love these stylish seating booths from Skybar Weddings, while these striped deckchairs are ideal for a seaside celebration.

Skybar Weddings

Sunset Tipis / Photography Katie Goff 

Prettify the poles
Absolute Canvas

Don’t overlook your tentpoles. Make them part of the design by decorating them with foliage, flowers, fairy lights, ribbons – or you might even make them look like trees by adding branches.

Absolute Canvas / Photography Taylor & Porter

Add fun touches

Tipi Spaces / Photography Emma Stoner

Inject fun into your party space with playful details. These colourful paper lanterns pop against the canvas of this Tipi Spaces tipi, while these combinations of streamers, lanterns and glitterballs scream party!

Hatch Marquee Hire / Photography Maxi Photography
The Cornish Tent Co. / Photography Yeah Mike

Work with nature’s palette
World Inspired Tents / Photography Kirstin Prisk

Embrace the natural beauty of your location. This foliage-filled installation picks up on the lush colours of the surroundings at Caerhays, while the hues of this tipi wedding blend beautifully with the coastal location.

The Cornish Tent Co. / Photography Jessica Apps / Flowers Anna’s Flower Barn / Styling Rebel & Anchor

Up the elegance

World Inspired Tents / Photography Claire Kinchin / Styling Knots & Kisses  / Flowers Brompton Buds

Choosing a tipi wedding doesn’t necessarily mean you have to opt for pared-back  styling. You can still embrace an elegant aesthetic, as this World Inspired Tents tipi illustrates, with its crystal glassware, tapered candles and romantic blousy florals.

World Inspired Tents / Photography Clare Kinchin / Styling Knots & Kisses  / Flowers Brompton Buds

Create chill-out spaces
Tipi Spaces / Photography Luna Wedding Photography / Plants Fuss Pots

Your guests will thank you for creating a comfortable zone to take some time out during the celebrations. Consider snug sofas draped with cosy throws and piled with plump cushions; add tables and potted plants for a relaxed living room vibe.

Tipi Spaces / Photography Luna Wedding Photography / Plants Fuss Pots
World Inspired Tents / Photography Yeti Photography / Styling Knots & Kisses

TYPES OF TENTS
From stretch tent to tipi, we’re crushing on these cool canvas options…

Traditional marquees 

It’s difficult to resist the elegance of a traditional marquee. Its classic style combines wooden poles, natural canvas and large Georgian arch windows to usher in views across the Cornish countryside for a timelessly beautiful celebration.

Stretch tent

Versatile, contemporary and super-stylish, stretch tents are made from an incredibly strong and stretchy waterproof material to give a fabulously freestyle structure that can be erected in a variety of locations and spaces.

Clear-span marquees 

Offering brilliant flexibility, the clear-span is a top choice for hard ground and trickier-to-get-to locations. Its framework of aluminium poles and white PVC presents unrestricted space inside, as well as strong weatherproof credentials to boot.

Tipis

As visually stunning as they are brilliantly flexible, tipis can be linked together to create the perfect sized space for your event. You can lift the sides on a summer’s day for an open-air celebration or cosy up amidst firepits and fairy lights in the winter.

Main image Tipi Spaces / Photography Luna Wedding Photography / Flowers Brompton Buds / Plants & trees Fuss Potts

words Rebecca Matthews