What Size Marquee Do I Need for a Wedding with 100 Guests?

09/09/2022

If you're in the midst of planning an outdoor wedding with around 100 of your closest family and friends in attendance, then you may well have turned your attention to the marquee and what size you might need.

The truth is that the specific size you need won't just depend on the number of wedding attendees. You'll also have to think about the features you might want to be contained within it, such as a bar, tables and chairs, and perhaps a stage and dance floor. Each element will influence your marquee size.

What Size of Marquee Do I Need for My Wedding Reception with 100 Guests?

For a wedding celebration with a banquet seating arrangement, a bar, an event stage, and a dance floor, you will need to hire a 12m x 20m marquee to ensure there is ample room for you and your guests. Wedding receptions with long table seating and less in the way of event production equipment can get away with a 9m x 18m marquee size.

The size of the marquee you need to hire for your wedding event will depend heavily on the seating layout and space for event production elements such as a bar or event stage.

What Seating Layout is Best for a Wedding Marquee?

The two primary seating arrangements for weddings are long tables and banquet-style round tables. There's no question that banquet layouts are the most popular choice, with this arrangement said to encourage social interaction among guests. That said, they do take up more real estate within your marquee footprint, increasing hire costs.

Long tables are much more of a traditional seating layout, and they are making somewhat of a comeback. In many cases, this is a result of wedding couples ditching the traditional wedding dinner to free up extra space for other elements such as stages and dance floors.

What Elements Are Likely to Take Up Space Within a Wedding Marquee?

While your primary space considerations such be given to your seating arrangements, dance floor, and any event stage, you also need to think about the following elements and how much space they will fill, respectively.

While not exhaustive, these are some of the features you might want to squeeze into your wedding marquee:

Catering
Reception area
Bar
Entrance vestibule
Cloakroom
DJ booth
Event lighting
Sound Equipment

To reiterate, this list is by no means exhaustive, and there may be many other features you need to include within the marquee space requirements.

So, what are some of the most common marquee sizes for 100-guest wedding marquees?

Wedding Marquee Sizes Based on 100 Guests

Below are some guideline sizes based on a range of features:

Wedding marquee and bar for 100 standing guests - 9m x 15m
Wedding marquee with long table seating for 100 guests - 9m x 18m
Wedding marquee for banquet seating for 100 guests - 12m x 18m
Wedding marquee with banquet seating, bar, dance floor, and stage - 12m x 20m
Wedding marquee with banquet seating, bar, dance floor, stage, catering section, and cloakroom - 12m x 24m

As you can see, the more features you add, the bigger you need your wedding reception space to be. It's a good idea to sit down with your event supplier and talk through your options so that you can make an informed decision and ensure there is enough room for everything.

Of course, you also need to make sure that the agreed-upon size fits within the footprint provided by your venue.

What Size Marquee Will I Need for My Wedding?

The size of the marquee you need will depend on several factors. The number of guests, the seating arrangements, the features you wish to install within the marquee (such as a bar or an event stage), and the available space provided by your wedding venue will all influence your decision.

Before sitting down with a marquee supplier, make sure to write down everything you want to have inside the marquee so they can adequately assess what size you will need. They will be able to help you to maximise space and can help you make informed decisions if you need to make any compromises.