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  • Writer's pictureKatharine Snowden

Sit on it! Chair options for your marquee wedding

"The details are not the details, they make the design" were the wise words of king of chairs, Charles Eames. The often overlooked marquee wedding chair deserves some serious consideration. Not merely an insignificant detail, chairs are often there for the ceremony through to the reception, they appear in all your wedding photos. They take up a lot of marquee real estate. They can be a joy to park your derriere on or torture for your back and they have a huge impact on the tone of the day by evoking great style and design...or not.


That's why we're inviting you to take a seat, grab a glass of fizz and imagine yourself gliding into your wedding marquee as a radiant newly wed, cheered and applauded by your adoring family and friends, emotions run high as the beauty of the ceremony sinks in and the excitement of the culinary delights and good times to come bristle in the air. You make your way to the head table, find your place, arrange your attire and gracefully lower yourself onto...what? Here are the options.


Our guide to the marquee wedding chairs on offer at Peacock and Bow

A bride is walked down the aisle by her father whi is wearing a kilt. The congregation stand by their cross back chairs under the canopy of a pole and canvas marquee.

Wooden Folding Chairs

If you want versatility and practicality paired with style and comfort, look no further than the wooden folding chair (well, we want you to look a bit further, at least to the end of the article). The folding chair really should be up there with sliced bread and penicillin. They date back to the Nordic Bronze Age, making them the earliest known example of Skandi chic. Even Tutenkhamun was apparently a fan as a folding chair turned up in his tomb!


More recently the folding chair has played a significant role in popular culture as the pro wrestler's weapon of choice, however, chair shots are now banned in WWE and we don't recommend trying this move at your wedding.


Easy to move about, rearrange or stack out of the way, our solid wooden chairs are great for an impromptu game of musical chairs and they look fabulous paired with long trestle tables for a laid back look.


Hire cost £6.00 each


Folding chairs are set out next to trestle tables inside a Peacock and Bow pole and canvas marquee.

Cane Back Louis Chair

For luxury, opulence and chic design you really ought to take inspiration from the ruler who built the Palace of Versailles. Our elegant and timeless French Vintage Louis XIV style dining chairs have caned oval backs and upholstered seat cushions, supported on graceful carved legs.


These beautiful chaises offer a luxurious design with a wide and comfortable seat on which to park one's derriere. Classic style and period charm abound and this elegant French-inspired chair with its rattan back will add a pretty and decorative touch to your marquee wedding.


Hire cost £8.50 each


A cane back louis chair available to hire from Peacock and Bow for marquee weddings and events.

Dark Bentwood Chairs

Bring a touch of Parisian bistro style to your marquee wedding with this icon of both historical and modern decor. Bentwood chairs were first designed as antidote to the stuffy-Victorian heavy pieces of the era, the rebel of chairs let's say. These light and fashionable chairs were fresh and appealing with their minimal and modern design and their versatility and comfort. This chair offers an organic silhouette with its curves and sweeping back, which emulates the soft lines of the marquee. They allow their occupiers to rest naturally and enjoy a long dinner or morning after coffee in complete comfort.


Inspired by the timeless design of Thonet chair, more on that soon, our dark bentwood chairs feature a curved solid elm wood structure. Like its name suggests, this style is defined by its unique bending of wooden rods. These comfortable and elegant pieces are lightweight and versatile making them perfect for your marquee wedding.


Hire cost £8.00 each


Dark bentwood chairs and rustic trestle tables inside a Peacock and Bow pole and canvas marquee.

Cane Back Wooden Chair

In 1859, German cabinetmaker Michael Thonet created what would come to be the quintessential restaurant chair. The Era chair (sometimes called a Thonet chair) is lightweight and durable, making it ideal for commercial settings and marquee wedding alike.


Its round seat and bentwood structure have attracted many notable fans including Le Corbusier, who said 'This chair has nobility" and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who did most of his paintings in cafe's and presumably found the simple design easier to paint than its predecessors.


Our Thonet style chairs have a cane back and natural wood finish, which makes them warm and inviting for you and your guests.


Hire cost £8.50 each


A cane back chair available to hire for weddings from Peacock and Bow.

Chiavari Chairs

A popular choice for all sorts of events, the ​traditional gold or silver Chiavari chairs that spring to mind, often seen on the red swirly carpet of a working men's club function room, are not exactly in-keeping with the Peacock and Bow aesthetic. But, we recognise the Chiavari chair as the timeless and elegant classic it is.


Originating from the Italian Riviera town of Chiavari, their slender frames present a delicate yet supportive design. The Chiavari has a glamorous history, including gracing the dining halls of Queen Victoria's Buckingham Palace and seating over 1200 guests at the wedding of JFK and Jackie O.


Yes, you may be put off by the plastic moulded gold versions you see stacked up at every conference and training event you attend, but our lime washed, beechwood, strong and comfortable classic Chiavari Chair will show you just why this iconic design has been so popular for the past 200 years.


Hire cost £6.00 each



Cross Back Chairs

Get those rustic French provincial bistro vibes all wrapped up in one charming chair. The warmth of the natural wood textures and lines of the chairs complement the swooping cotton canvas and wooden poles of our marquees perfectly.


The unique crossed high backrest not only looks gorgeous but also offers plenty of support for you and your guests for the duration of your laughter filled dinner, right through to those late night deep and meaningfuls with your besties.


Our cross back chairs are constructed from solid wood, making them sturdy, durable and perfect for that moment when the bride and groom are lifted up above everyone's heads for an airborne chair disco.


Hire cost £8.00 each

Seat pads £3.80 each


Wooden cross back chairs and dressed table inside a Peacock and Bow pole and canvas marquee

Only the best for your booty on your special marquee wedding day

All the chairs we provide at Peacock and Bow have been hand selected and meet the same high standards of quality as our stunning pole and canvas marquees, so you can literally rest assured that whatever style you choose, it will be stable, comfortable and packed with style, just like a good marriage.


If you would like to discuss your marquee wedding and find out more about the marquee furnishings we have to offer, please don't hesitate to give us a call.




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