Getting to Know - E.H. Events & Marquees

Company Name: E.H. Events & Marquees

Interview With: Harvey

Location/Coverage: Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk

Who are E.H. Events & Marquees and what do you do?

We provide stunning and unique marquees for weddings and other events. We’re a group of young and enthusiastic event professionals with an extremely high quality of work!

How and when did E.H. Events & Marquees start?

We have been operating for just over two years and have just finished our second successful ‘Summer Season’.

What does E.H. represent in your company name?

Originally we were ‘East Hertfordshire’, but we dropped that in order to not restrict ourselves to one area.

Who works at E.H. Events & Marquees and what are your roles?

There are three of us full time. Me (the boss). My role primarily is picking up projects from the start, working with the customer and seeing them through to completion. I’m on-site for every build to ensure the company’s high quality of work is always maintained.

Charlotte (my better half (and the real boss)) mans the office and accounts to ensure we keep on running smoothly and are always in the right place at the right time.

Dave (real name Marcus) is my right-hand man and the Mr ‘can do’ within the company. I have the ideas and Dave makes them happen. Dave also manages the warehouse and keeps our equipment in tip-top condition.

My parents (and grandfather) also have a hand in the company, having run their own successful businesses for many years, making us a true family business of three generations!

We have a whole host of regular team members who are all experts in marquee building and work with us to ensure our customers’ visions become a reality.

What wedding services do you provide?

Primarily we are a marquee company, but we offer a significant range of services alongside that, including furniture, lighting and power. We specialise in marquees though so we like to stick to and focus on what we are good at.

What different types of marquees do you offer for weddings?

Currently we offer Frame, Traditional and Stretch Marquees for hire. But we are always open to expanding our horizons and we never say no to a challenge. We are always happy to listen to a customer’s requirements and see what we can do to provide for them.

What furnishings do you offer for your marquees?

We have a significant stock of furniture with a huge range of chairs, tables, sofas, bars, coffee tables, poseur tables. The list is huge. We own all of this and keep it to the highest standards, meaning we can assure quality equipment to our customers.

Do you offer lighting and sound equipment?

Yes, we started (many years ago) as a sound and lighting hire company and ended up falling into marquees by accident. But we still have a significant stock of our equipment meaning we can provide not just the marquee, but the entire production inside the marquee ourselves.

That’s yet another phone call the customer doesn’t have to make and another supplier the customer doesn’t have to deal with.

Do you have packages for weddings or are all your bookings individually priced?

We treat every project differently. Every customers vision is different and it often takes us two or three meetings to pin down exactly how that marquee will look. We design our marquees from the ground up and so it’s hard to put this across in a package.

There is a place for a ‘standard marquee package’, but we don’t want to be standard, and we don’t want your wedding to be standard either.

Please can you give us an idea of the cost of hiring a marquee from E.H. Events & Marquees

This is our number one asked question — and my least favourite. We have completed Marquee weddings from £2,000 up to £20,000 and beyond. Every marquee is different.

We are competitive for what we offer and you will always get good value for money from us as well as an extremely high level of service.

Can couples have their wedding ceremony in one of your marquees?

Absolutely. You can use our marquees for anything, within reason!

Why do you think marquees are so popular for weddings?

Marquees offer an opportunity for total creativity. You effectively start with an empty white room and customise it any way you like to show off your personality.

We completed a project earlier this year with bright green carpet and pink walls — what fixed venue would allow you to do that?

You can also set a marquee any way you like, rather than being tied to a venue’s set plan. You can place the marquee wherever you like, whether at home or somewhere special to you. It’s a unique opportunity to show off who you are and create a truly special day that nobody else can replicate.

What sets E.H. Events & Marquees apart from other wedding marquee companies?

Without doubt our passion and enthusiasm for every project. We absolutely love what we do and this shows in our work. Second to that, we have a significant amount of our own stock. Many other marquee companies will take a booking and sub all of the furniture, lighting and other equipment out. In my mind this allows for a lot of room to be let down. I couldn’t face letting a customer down, so I invested so we could provide everything in-house and keep this well maintained.

What type of wedding styling do you think works well in marquees?

2016 was the year for traditional and festival style weddings. My personal opinion though is that you cannot beat a modern looking wedding. Something truly special with clear PVC over the dance floor so you can dance under the stars!

Do you have a favourite wedding that has taken place in one of your marquees?

Off the top of my head, no; they’re all my favourites. We put a huge amount of work into each project and don’t stop until both we and the customer are happy. I, personally, have a seriously high level of finishing detail and will not leave a job until I am proud of our output and the customer is too.

Where can your marquees be used?

Within reason we can generally pitch our marquees anywhere — even on hills (although this does require a bit of extra work!). We look at every project with a positive ‘what can we do here’ mindset and, where we can, we will make it work!

Random question… If you could pitch one of your marquees anywhere in the world, where would it be any why?

That’s a tough one, and something I’ve never really thought about. I think I’d like to spend two weeks building the ultimate marquee on a desert island, fly all my friends and family out and have a weekend-long party!

Describe a standard day in your life at E.H. Events & Marquees

There is no such thing as a standard day in the events world! Over the summer we start at 6:30-7am, load our vehicles for the day’s work and head out to either start or continue a build. We generally head back for 5-6pm depending on how we are progressing.

It’s rare to get a day off in the summer months, but from October to February our workload generally drops so we get a chance to take some time to recover. During these months we do the majority of the planning for the following year’s projects and maintain and service all our equipment.

What are your top tips for couples looking for a wedding marquee?

Always, always, always check out your marquee company’s current work. Most will be more than happy to invite you to a current site to see their standard of work. Also ask to speak to some of their previous customers for references. We always offer this and it’s often one of the main reasons customers choose to book with us.

Pictures can often be manipulated to look good, but that’s not possible when you’re there in the flesh.

Getting to Know — E.H. Events & Marquees