Watch this video - it's fun.....http://youtu.be/p7gJxXxpHKU

Morris Minor

Do I or don't I??Would this very cute 1969 Morris Minor be an asset to the Vintage Marquees hire stock? Do I need a wedding car (or indeed a car just to pose in front of a vintage marquee?) What would you pay to hire this? Any feedback gratefully received (via caroline@vintagemarquees.co.uk or facebook!!)

Clothes rail

More new stock for hire!
Due to popular demand we now have a (lovely wrought iron) clothes rail. This will be £40.00 to hire and will be complete with old wooden coat hangers.

Bar Work!

 David Taylor and I have created a tailor made (hahah!) bar!
We are very proud of our latest creation. It is about 7'6" long, made from oak with an aluminium top. Ready for hire from now!

We have some lovely bar staff too, all you need to provide is the drink!

Sadly I can't seem to upload photos at the moment! But Holly has created a Facebook page for me and I am trying to post updates on that regularly, so check it out!
But there has been lots of action for our new Paris marquee this summer and lots of bookings lined up for next year, especially for the Paris and Essex.
One more month of our busy season and then it will be time to consolidate and check stock, web site, contacts etc, etc..there is always something to do! I will be looking for more crew again next year, so if you live near Chippenham and are interested, let me know.

Yogi!

DON'T WALK ON THE CANVAS!!
Our no 1. rule being blatantly ignored by Yogi, David's new Jack Russel puppy. He really is very cute though..when he isn't shouting at Ruby and Flossie to play!! Floss just looks the other way and Ruby either shouts back or hides behind me shaking!! To use John's oft repeated line..."it's like a bloody circus!!"

Frenetic Activity!

We are well into the marquee season now, with three to six events on every week! From big weddings hiring everything from the marquee, furniture etc, down to table linen, napkins and garden games, cushions, milk churns and so on.... Then there are the little hires, just decorative items, maybe a few hay bales, a gift cart, some cushions... every order and enquiry is different (and often challenging!) The latest order just in today..four Jester tents to go off to London for a photo shoot!
We do our best to help everyone, even the last minute enquiries...last week I was instructing Daisy where to find and how to pack crockery and linen as I was on my way to Bristol airport to go on holiday!

Here is one of our Vintage marquees dwarfed by the rather grand house behind! This hire was for delightful Phoebe's eighth birthday party.
There are pictures of the fabulous Paris marquee on the web site now..this stunning marquee (made especially to my specification!) really was worth the wait.Watch this space for the expanding gallery of the Paris in action!
Now..gearing up for this week.. the Three Peaks is at a birthday party, the Essex off to a Young Farmers anniversary gathering, the Big Top at a wedding, the Brixworth at a birthday party, the Vintage at a small gathering, and lots of other bits and pieces off to a wedding in Hungerford!
All to be collected next week and we start all over again with another four weddings, a few 50th birthdays and a few other parties too..all before the end of the month!

We diversify!

Weddings, parties and now funerals!
The little Vintage marquee sat very well in the stunning little church yard at Slaughterford Church.
Complete with rows of our old and rustic wooden chairs, it was perfect for extra numbers that the church could not accommodate.

More action last weekend!

As well as the wedding at Stowford Manor, our Big Top was at Bridges Court, Luckington for a wedding, and pictured below, the Pavilion sat beautifully on the decking at Wick Barn, Bradford on Avon for another wedding!

May Mayhem!

A few pictures of our lovely Essex marquee at Stowford Manor near Bradford on Avon last weekend.
We worked at Kate and Ollie's wonderful wedding and the sun shone for everyone!!

Vintage Marquees rugs and deck chairs in use..and it was actually warm enough to take the sides off the marquee!

Pom poms above, and tables ready for picnic hampers…

I would like to adopt this car..the colour and style fit so well with our 'look'!!
I feel a vintage vehicle must be the next step!

Such a great day, a lovely 'festival' atmosphere and games such as welly throwing, beer pong etc etc!!




The Aunt Sally game in action! This was a joint creative venture! Ollie explained what an Aunt Sally was to start with!! Basically a wooden dolly on a pivot post and you throw batons at it to knock the dolly off! So with batons made from old tent poles and an adapted steel pin and a modified tent wall..here we are!

Always preview first!!

This is the picture that was hidden! Less haste …!

Sarah's winter work!

 Thank you to Sarah! What a feat, hauling heavy canvases around her workshop to sew logos on to every roof and many walls! Now we are a brand!!
Also to John Collins who despite telling me that he has actually retired, was wonderfully helpful and diligent in sorting and sourcing printing for me to rather exacting specifications!

                                                   We now have toggles all round the 
                                            top of the walls of every tent so we 
                                               can hang bunting and fairy lights with ease. A nod to Nick for that suggestion, and of course to Sarah for innovative ideas, as always. A mention for David too, who has been busy sleeving poles and inventing pin pullers!! What a team!

Motley Crew!

Here we are, sporting our new Vintage Marquee fleeces! From left, David, John, myself and Josh.
The first Vintage Marquee to go up this year was erected yesterday in a gale!! 

Sunshine!

At last the sun is shining! Here I am, sewing needle in hand, loving a bit of canvas wall maintenance!

These are the walls for the new (old ) Bristol marquee which have all had a scrub and look pretty fine.

Pics of the new tent to follow as soon as David has made the main poles!

Wick Barn

My favourite job, decorating a venue!

Last weekend I spent four hours at Wick Barn near Farleigh hungerford, adding the Vintage Marquees  touch! A clear span frame had been attached to the barn and my remit was to make it pretty in time for the wedding party reception. The bistro sets were perfect in be bar area, the vintage cushions softening the look. The bunting matched the table cloths and country flowers in vintage glass vases looked very sweet. I added rose garlands and ivy to the main barn which complimented the florist's displays on the tables.

April antics! how corny!!

Much activity at Vintage Marquees HQ recently. 

     I have been shifting around stock, buying and selling tents to hopefully end up with the optimum selection and a perfect and comprehensive collection for all events.

     Lovely Olivia has bought one of the 4m Indian Pagoda tents, Emma and Sam now have the 30' x 40' Indian Raj marquee for their wedding later this year and Stephen has just collected the double to our Essex marquee to use at his garden centre (check out www.stydd.com) which will now be a wedding venue. Then Philip from Wales kindly collected some great old wooden tent poles for my Bristol marquee and left with some tent roof sections for the bike club tent that they use for their annual rally.

    I love all this! And I think the last two Pagoda tents are going to Emily at Durham university! All this will mean that I funds towards some of my new expenses, especially the Paris marquee, the queen of the collection, coming soon!

    I must mention a MASSIVE thanks to David who has sleeved 25' marquee poles, helped sort and measure miles of canvas walls ( a seemingly never ending task as we are going methodically through every old tent, adding logos, cleaning, mending etc) hand made giant wooden dollies and even made a tent peg puller for the 3' steel pins we secure the tents with!

     I am very busy with quotes and enquiries for the summer (and taking bookings for next year too). Bookings start next weekend, through to mid September at the moment, with May, June and July busy every weekend. There is still fairly good availability though, as I have so many tents now!

I have twenty of these lovely jubley deckchairs..straight from the sea front!!

I am investigating buying uplighters now..and Topsy in chippenham is busy making up 100+ 

new ropes!!! Tis quite a business!

Billy One Horn

Lovely Amanda bought two of my 4m Jester tents a few weeks ago and here they are, joined at the hip! They were used for a hen party at Amanda's venue near Milton Keynes. I am sure they will earn their keep as these little tents are so (lovely and) versatile!

Meanwhile I am shifting stock around a bit, advertising a couple of Indian Pagoda tents for sale, as well as a spare 40' x 60', to make room for the new 30' x 50' …. 

Sarah is doing a fantastic job working her way through my miles of canvas, repairing tiny holes, sewing toggles into roofs (to attach bunting and fairy lights.. a much more sophisticated system than safety pins! ) and sewing Vintage Marquee logos onto roofs and walls.

Lots of enquiries coming in, both for 2013 and 2014. 
I am now considering taking the plunge and investing another £2-300.00 in uplighters and heater!! It is never ending!

Still kind of trying to get to grips with Facebook ..and I haven't yet even attempted Twitter!! Meanwhile I am doing the fun stuff, meeting great like-minded folk at vintage fairs etc (great one in Devizes last Saturday, the next one is in Frome on 20th April)

Spring sorting!

Well at last the weather is not quite so cold and miserable..the birds are singing and every now and then we see a ray of sunshine!!! So much activity is going on at HQ! We are sorting canvases (piles and piles of them..very exhausting work!) and I am shifting stock. 
I realised the desperate need for a 30' x 50' marquee (the optimum size I think as many weddings and parties are for 100+) I keep saying I will buy no more marquees, but this is it!! So I have taken the plunge and am having a beautiful new marquee made to my specifications. 'Paris' will be ready for action by the end of May.
I will also be able to offer an alternative 30' x 50' marquee as I am 'creating' a vintage one!! I have the canvas and side poles, now just need king poles, dollies and ropes and we will be ready to roll!
My stock rooms are now bursting so I am selling some of the smaller tents..it is great to be getting organised for the season, and after five years I feel I am well on my way to having exactly the right variety and number of marquees to offer. I do not want to compete with the 'big boys' but want to provide a great service for my 'vintage' niche market!...roll on long hot summer days!!!???

Billy One Horn!

Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet Amanda who runs a delightful vintage caravan hire business called Billy One Horn (www.billyonehorn.co.uk) based near Milton Keynes. Having had many email chats about our exciting vintage inspired businesses, it was brilliant to meet at last and discuss ideas (particularly social networking which I have to confess is rather an enigma to me!!) Amanda now has a couple of lovely shabby little tents to add to her vintage paraphernalia (very impressive ratchet strap work in the snow, attaching poles to the roof rack...just as well she doesn't have a mini like me!!!)
I am really looking forward to working with Amanda, I know we are heading to MK with tents for a wedding next year..lets hope it is the first of many!

Onwards!!

I can't believe we are already a month into 2013 ...and I still have such a long 'to do' list before Vintage Marquees is ready for the next season! But..some progress has been made! The crew now have very stylish (!!?) polo shirts and jackets and I have also had logos printed to go on all our marquees (thank you Sarah and your sewing machine!) In that vein, I am in the throes of buying 25 lovely old deckchairs which will be covered with beautiful thick cream canvas and the VM logo to boot!! and will be available for hire this season.

I am shifting my stock round a bit. Due to popular demand I am hoping to buy a 30'x 50' marquee; traditional like all the others, but new and beautiful with windows like the Big Top. So I will be looking to sell some of my Indian pagoda marquees, and some of the little Jester tents, as well as the lovely
Raj marquee. Just contact me for any info... I will only be asking for what I have paid for any of these tents, all the old ones are genuinely old and much loved (ie kinda tatty!!)

Meanwhile, the bookings are coming in! July is looking busy already and due to the logistics of long distance travel, I am going to try to only take one long haul (!!) booking per week. Definitely more local advertising is needed..Bath, Marlborough, Malmesbury, Tetbury, Frome...here we come!

more plans..more ideas!

 Check out the new Cath Kidston spring/summer catalogue!


Here is our little Vintage marquee, the star of the show!! The theme of the shoot was 'village fete' so the (vintage trestle) tables in the tent were decked with entries for the plant show, miniature gardens, and best of all..cakes!! John, David and I joined the crew in a  cake feast when everything was 
dismantled at the end of the shoot!!!