Still being creative!

 A day working with Sarah mending and altering marquee sides. This was the highlight of the day, using the hole punch for the first time!!!

The skittle alley is finished at last!         

    Both Ruby and Yogi are obviously impressed!

Spring!

The first sign of Spring in my garden, I love it!!

more games

 So exciting!!
Poor John, roped into demonstrating limbo!!
I haven't yet broken the news to the crew that they will be doing a trial run with my new sack race sacks this week!!

Ruby isn't that taken with naughts and crosses!
Poor dog! She is quite good at posing though!


The last game is called 'smite'. You throw a baton and add up the numbers of the pieces you knock over.

news

 SOO much going on!!
I have just had 3 40' walls cut down to make 6 20' walls, each with four large windows.
These will be available for use with our Essex and Bristol marquees.

Dolly decorating!
Just painting 100 wooden dollies..for fun!!
Filling in creative time between coconut shy activity and skittle alley creation!

Seriously of course a coat of paint and varnish will protect them from the elements.


And they do look better green.
Ruby just doesn't understand though!!

lots going on!

 A busy busy weekend!
Funeral tea catering for 85 on Friday.
Then a full day on Saturday planting 700 little hedge plants  (not easy when feeling decidedly shabby after a heavy night at 'the local!)!! A fantastic sunny day out in the fields (followed by horrid rain again today! Oh joy!)

 The first major marquee activity of the year this coming week, four marquees going up for a shoot for the clothing company Joules. Praying for another good day...and so the season begins!

New venues

Wow! Check this out! Last week I visited Will at Greenfarm, Urchfont, near Devizes. He has a lovely farm with a pretty little meadow, the perfect site for a relaxed country wedding. The old milking parlour would make a fabulous drinks or dance area (in front of a beautiful canvas marquee of course!). There is a wood fired hot tub and even a yurt to stay in on the wedding night. Will can provide all the electrics, heaters etc and he also has a hog roast company so can provide a feast too!

Just contact me if you are interested and I will forward details on to Will.
Between us we could offer a complete (and budget!) wedding package.

Garden game production!

Spring is here!! (for today anyway!) and we are busy with garden game production now.

Here is our fab coconut shy!!

I will soon be adding giant naughts and crosses games,
sacks for sack racing, wellies for welly throwing and a limbo set!

Watch this space for more fun and games!







I have been rather neglectful with the blog because I now post on the Vintage Marquees Facebook page. Holly has just set up Pinterest for me too (another challenge for me!!) so I will be creating pinboards now.

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!