The complete marquee wedding kit list
Eleven hire lines stand between a field and a wedding. Here is every one of them, with quantities, prices and the order to book them in.
A 120-guest marquee wedding needs around 11 hire lines: a 12m × 18m class marquee, 15 tables, 120 chairs, dance floor, festoon and lining lighting, 3 toilets plus 1 accessible (with a bar), a 40 to 60kVA silenced generator, trackway for the supplier route, a bar unit and glassware. Typical hire budget: £6,000 to £12,000 before catering.
The kit list, line by line
Worked at 120 guests. Every line links to the full category guide with prices.
| Item | Quantity logic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marquee (lined) | 1.4 sqm per guest + dance floor and bar zones → 30m-class for 120 | Book first: it sets everything else |
| Tables | 1 round per 8 guests + 5 trestles for cake, gifts, buffet, bar back | 15 rounds at 120 guests |
| Chairs | 1 per guest + 5% spares | Chiavari or limewash for weddings |
| Dance floor | 0.2 sqm per guest → 24 sqm (15ft × 15ft) at 120 | Needs level boarded base in a marquee |
| Lighting | Canopy + 8–12 uplighters + outdoor festoon + safety lighting | Rigs during the marquee build |
| Toilets | 1 per 50 guests with a bar → 3 standard + 1 accessible at 120 | Or a luxury 2+1 trailer |
| Generator | From load list: typically 40–60kVA with electric catering | Silenced set + distribution design |
| Trackway | Gate-to-drop distance + 15m pad, typically 40–100m | First delivery on the schedule |
| Heating (Oct–Apr) | 25kW indirect per 100 sqm of lined marquee | Book with the marquee |
| Bar unit | 1m of frontage per 35 guests → 4m at 120 | Staffed bars often free with min spend |
| Glassware & tableware | Place setting per guest × courses + 20% breakage margin | Return-dirty service is worth it |
Book in this order
The marquee comes first because its size, position and build dates set everything else: the generator position, the trackway route, the caterer's annexe, the lighting rig schedule. Confirm the marquee and the date, and the rest of the list has something to attach to.
Second wave: the site services. Toilets, generator and trackway are less glamorous than chairs but they run out of stock in wedding season just the same, and they need the same site visit answers: ground, access, distances. Booking them together, ideally from one supplier, is exactly the consolidation the EventSpeed optimiser exists to find.
Third wave: everything inside. Furniture, dance floor, linens, glassware and bar can all confirm once the marquee footprint is fixed, and most of it can flex by 10 percent as the guest list settles.
The three items first-timers miss
Trackway. The caterer's van, the toilet servicing tanker and the marquee lorry all assume they can reach the site. On grass, after rain, they cannot. Measure gate-to-marquee and price the route: the years you need it, it is the best money on the list.
Heating, if your date is October to April. A lined marquee without heat is a coat-check with a band. One 50kW indirect heater with a thermostat disappears into the background and saves the evening.
Safety lighting. Guests leave in the dark: the route to the car park, the toilets and the taxi point needs lighting the licensing world treats as required, not optional. It is a cheap line that prevents the only kind of memorable you do not want.
What it costs, honestly
For 120 guests, the realistic all-in hire budget (marquee with lining, furniture, dance floor, lighting, welfare, power, trackway, bar and tableware) lands between £6,000 and £12,000 depending on finish level, season and how much the site helps or fights you. The marquee is roughly half.
The consolidation saving is real: every supplier you remove takes a delivery charge, a minimum order and an invoice with it. Three suppliers covering eleven items beats seven suppliers covering the same list by several hundred pounds and about a week of email.
Marquee wedding: the questions that follow
How much does it cost to hire everything for a marquee wedding?
For 120 guests, £6,000 to £12,000 covers the full hire list (marquee, furniture, dance floor, lighting, toilets, generator, trackway, bar, tableware) before catering and drink. The marquee itself is typically half the total.
When should I book each item?
Marquee: 6 to 12 months out for summer Saturdays. Site services (toilets, power, trackway): 3 to 6 months. Furniture and tableware: 2 to 3 months, with final numbers confirmed 2 weeks out. Heating: with the marquee if your date is October to April.
Can one supplier provide everything?
Sometimes nearly: many marquee firms carry furniture, lighting and dance floors, and site service companies bundle toilets, power and trackway. Two to three suppliers covering the whole list is a realistic target, and it is exactly what the EventSpeed optimiser solves for.
What does the venue need to provide?
For a true field wedding: legal access, water if you are lucky, and permission for everything else. The kit list assumes nothing: power, toilets, shelter and ground protection all arrive on lorries. That is the point of it.
Not sure what you need yet?
Start with a free calculator: the same formulas the optimiser uses. Get your answer, then turn it into a full kit list in one tap.