Marquee size calculator

Marquee sizes by guest count

“Floor you need” assumes round tables of eight, a top table, a dance floor with a walkway round it, a DJ, one bar per 100 guests, and a cake table, gifts table and photo booth. “Drinks only” is a standing reception with a few poseur tables. The catering tent isn't included.

Why these sizes look bigger than the hire charts

Most hire company charts count dining tables and chairs, at roughly 1 m² per guest. By that measure a 9 × 18 m marquee seats well over 100. That's true for the meal, but it leaves no room for anything else.

The sizes here are worked out so the planner can actually lay everyone out: 1.5 m between tables so chairs can push back, 1.2 m walkways, about 0.3 m² of dance floor per guest with space to get on and off it, a DJ, the bar and the extras most couples want. That comes to about 2.5 m² per guest at 100 guests, and a little less as numbers grow. Expect your hire company's figure to be lower. If they suggest a smaller marquee, ask whether it includes the dance floor and bar.

How marquee sizes work

Frame marquees are built in 3 m bays, so lengths go up in 3 m steps: 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 m and so on. The width is fixed by the frame, usually 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 m. Adding a bay is the easy way to grow, which is why long, narrow marquees are common.

For a seated meal with a top table, go at least 9 m wide. Below that the top table, a row of guest tables and a walkway won't fit side by side. Very long marquees can feel like a corridor, so above about 150 guests a wider frame (15 or 18 m) usually gives a better room, with the dance floor in the middle and tables on both sides.

Things that change the size

• A band instead of a DJ. A five-piece band needs a stage of about 4 × 3 m. Tick “A band” in the calculator.
• A buffet. Allow a 3 m run of tables plus queuing room. The calculator adds it if you tick it.
• Ceremony in the marquee. If you're turning the room around between the ceremony and the meal, size it for the meal and plan where guests go while it's reset.
• Long trestle tables. They seat more people per metre than rounds, so you may get away with one size down.

The rest of the marquee

The main marquee is only part of the hire. Before you book, talk to the hire company about:

• A catering tent. Caterers usually want their own space behind the main marquee, with a covered link to it.
• Linings and flooring. Ivory linings and a proper floor (or coconut matting over boards) make it feel like a room. Flooring matters most if the grass might be wet.
• Heating and lighting. Even in June the evening gets cold. Ask about heaters, festoon or chandelier lighting, and a generator if there's no power nearby.
• The lawn's slope. A gentle slope is fine with a raised floor. A steep one may limit where the marquee can go, or what size fits.
• Access for the lorry. The crew need to get kit close to the site. Check gate widths and soft ground.
• A wet-weather walkway. Plan a covered route to the loos and the house, with lighting, so nobody crosses a dark lawn in the rain.

These are planners' rules of thumb. The hire company's layout and safety rules (exits, fire points, guy ropes) come first, so send them your floor plan before you sign.