Illy Goodall
- Nov 29, 2021

Alternative Ideas for Lighting at your Marquee Wedding

If you are in the process of planning your own marquee wedding, but struggling with inspiration for your marquee lighting installations, then you've come to the right blog post! We are bringing you alternative ideas for lighting at your marquee wedding, with our favourite inspirational images that will help guide you in the planning process. As luxury wedding planners, we are highly experienced when it comes to the design element of your marquee wedding, which is why so many couples come to us to help them with their weekend wedding. So keep reading if you want some alternative ideas...

Ideas on how to light up your Marquee Wedding

An important part of lighting up your marquee wedding is going back to the drawing board and looking at the basics when it comes to the design concept. There are many types of marquees and quite often the style of the marquee can reflect what type of installation will suit the wedding design. If you are opting for a stretch tent marquee, then softer festoon lighting may suit the atmosphere more than perhaps chandelier lighting, which could be more suited to a clear span marquee. It comes naturally to us understanding what lighting works best where, whilst incorporating that with our clients visions. If it's your first time planning a wedding, then perhaps you may struggle with this, don't worry, we've done this a hundred times before so that's why we've put the inspiration together for you!

Floral Chandelier Lighting in a Marquee

Floral Chandeliers are trending as we go into 2022, especially with marquee weddings that feature a stretch tent style. The poles that centralise and hold up the marquee are perfect for holding these in place, normally your marquee provider will be able to provide the hoops that go with this. A lighting company will be able to provide different types of lights to go in and around the foliage. This can be festoon, fairy or simply filament.

Luxury Chandelier Lighting in a Marquee

If you're looking for more of a luxury feel to your marquee lighting then a luxury chandelier lighting concept might be best for you. They work well with your more traditional marquee style and clear span marquees. Complimenting them with fresh foliage really makes an impact to the ceiling aspect of the wedding design. Glass chandeliers can be very elegant, but you can get alternative types of chandeliers for your marquee such as vintage crystal chandeliers, metal chandeliers, contemporary chandeliers and even hoop chandeliers.

Floral Ceiling Installation Lighting in a Marquee

Floral Ceiling Installations are one of the most common requests we get from our clients when we are working with them to plan a marquee wedding. We often use them to bring the height of the marquee roof down, so it gives a more intimate feel to the space. Hanging Glass Globes are a great way of giving a modern feel to these installations, you can hire these in and place tea lights in them so when the evening comes, it gives that extra special touch.

Festoon Lighting in a Marquee

Festoon Lighting works great for a stretch tent or pole tent marquee, they give off more of a bohemian and relaxed feel. The festoons can be tied in with a pathway lighting, which is helpful for your guests to have visibility when walking towards the marquee itself when it comes to the evening. Most marquee suppliers will offer festoon lighting with the basic marquee package, however if they don't you can use any local lighting company to do this.

Filament Bulb Pendants in a Marquee

These work exceptionally well with floral ceiling installations in a marquee. Often the marquee provider can hire our ladders for which you can attach filament bulb pendants to create a more "urban luxury" feel to your wedding design concept. You want them to hang down slightly above the tables which brings in the roof of the marquee and gives a more intimate feel to the wedding itself.

Fairy Light Canopys in a Marquee

Whilst we love fairy light canopy in a marquee, you need to ensure the marquee that you have chosen suits this style of wedding light installation. The reason being, you need to ensure logistically there is enough space on the roof of the marquee in centre to work with this lighting concept. If you have a pole tent with two poles that are not centralised, you will more than likely need to have two separate fairy light canopy installations instead of the one. They add elegance and ambience to any style marquee.

Uplighters in a Marquee

Whilst most companies will offer uplighter in a marquee as part of their package, it's worth checking on this. Uplighter's can change a space with colour and ambience. They are normally positioned on the floor of the marquee and reflected along the fabrics of the marquee wall structure. You can change the colour and brightness of these at any time, which are perfect for a room-turnaround on your wedding day. Change up the colours when it comes to the evening!

Paper Lanterns in a Marquee

Less commonly used are Paper Lanterns in a Marquee, we are moving slightly away from this trend now but they are offered by many decor companies such as To Have and To Hire Weddings. They come in many colours and sizes, whilst giving a more festival vibe to your marquee design. Neutral paper lantern lighting such as white and nude work perfectly on the roof of any marquee wedding.

Special Effect Lighting in a Marquee

So you want to give your marquee an edge in the design, why not go for some effect lighting in your marquee? There are many alternative ideas for lighting your marquee wedding, this idea is definitely one that will make an impact. You can choose from disco balls through to strobe lighting, or even laser lighting that points towards the dance area of your marquee.

Ultimately, it is important to not feel overwhelmed when it comes to lighting at your marquee wedding. Just take a step back and look at all the options you can choose, then pick your favourites. Will this work logistically? How much time will it take to setup? As experienced marquee wedding planners we look at all these aspects when working with you to plan your wedding. It's one of the areas we find very exciting when it comes to the designing side of things! If you need help planning your marquee wedding, then you can contact us directly for a free consultation. We have hundreds of marquee lighting suppliers on our list and would love to help!