This glossary is packed with essential marquee wedding terms, event styling phrases, and insider knowledge to help you plan an unforgettable in a stunning pole and canvas marquee by Wills Marquees, brought to you by Peacock and Bow, certified providers for marquee weddings and events in Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, London, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
Aisle runner
A decorative fabric or carpet placed down the ceremony aisle to add elegance and prevent dirt from marking your wedding attire.
Backdrop
A statement decorative feature behind the top table, ceremony space, or photo area—often made of florals, fabric, or neon signage. Backdrop can also refer to the natural surroundings, the venue or the marquee structure itself.
Banqueting tables
Long, rectangular tables used for luxury marquee wedding receptions, creating a stylish alternative to traditional round tables. Also known as trestle tables.
Black tie
A formal dress code requiring dinner jackets for men and evening gowns for women, sometimes chosen for luxury marquee weddings, although in the UK, formal, cocktail or morning dress are more common for weddings.
Blackout linings
Marquee fabric linings that block out natural light—ideal for creating a dramatic, candlelit atmosphere or enhancing lighting effects. These are often used in clear span marquees to hide the frame. They're not recommended for pole and canvas marquees, which radiate a soft luminosity naturally.
Boutonnière
A small floral arrangement worn by the groom, groomsmen, and key family members, pinned to the lapel. Also known as button hole.
Breakdown / de-rig
The process of dismantling your marquee wedding after the event, including furniture removal, lighting takedown and waste disposal. When you hire Peacock and Bow, you can rest assured our team will take care of everything, leaving no trace.
Buffet reception
A meal service style where guests serve themselves from a selection of dishes, often offering more variety than a plated meal.
Call sheet
A detailed schedule given to suppliers and vendors, outlining arrival times, setup instructions, and key contacts for the day.
Candlelight reception
A wedding dinner lit primarily by candlelight—ideal for luxury marquee weddings with a warm, intimate ambience.
Catering tent
A separate marquee or enclosed area where caterers prepare and serve food during a luxury marquee wedding. P&B provide catering or service tents that can be connected to the main marquee and are supplied with lighting and wooden boarded flooring as standard, we supply 6 x 6 or 9 x 6 metre sizes.
Celebrant-led ceremony
A bespoke wedding ceremony conducted by a celebrant rather than a religious or registry official—ideal for marquee weddings on private estates.
Charger plate
A decorative base plate placed under dinner plates to enhance the tablescape at a luxury marquee wedding reception.
Clear span marquee
A type of modern, frame-based marquee with no internal poles, offering an unobstructed interior—different from the traditional pole and canvas marquees we provide at Peacock and Bow.
Corkage fee
A charge imposed by the venue or catering service for serving alcohol you supply yourself. Some marquee wedding venues allow you to bring your own drinks free of charge but make sure you ask about this before you commit to anything.
Crew catering
Meals provided for your suppliers and wedding team, often required for photographers, planners, and band members at longer events.
Dance floor hire
A separate dance floor that can be added to your marquee, often in finishes like oak, black and white chequered, or LED starlit for added glitz. Our marquees are supplied with our Auckland oak dance floors as standard.
Day-of coordinator
A professional who ensures seamless execution of your wedding timeline, managing vendors, seating plans, and last-minute changes. Usually an employee of the venue. Day-of coordinators don't provide as full a service as wedding planners and their fee is usually included in the hire price.
Destination wedding
A wedding held in a location away from home—within the UK, this can mean hiring a marquee on a private estate or countryside venue.
Dry hire
A venue or marquee hire option where you book the venue or an empty marquee structure and source everything separately, from lighting to catering and décor.
Elopement
A small, intimate wedding with few or no guests, often held in a scenic location without the formality of a traditional wedding. Our seven metre marquees seat up to 30 people and are perfect for intimate gatherings.
Escort card
A card that directs guests to their assigned table at the reception, often used instead of a large seating chart. More widely used across the pond but gaining in popularity here in the UK due to the opportunity for personalisation that they offer.
Event insurance
A policy covering unexpected cancellations, supplier failures, or weather-related disruptions.
Festoon lighting
Strings of warm, globe-shaped lights that create a romantic atmosphere, often used for marquee receptions and outdoor spaces.
First look
A private moment between the couple before the ceremony where they see each other for the first time, often captured by photographers.
Flat lay photography
A styled arrangement of wedding invitations, accessories and florals, professionally captured for wedding albums and social media.
Flower rings
Tubular steel ring shaped structures that sit around the king poles of a pole and canvas marquee. They are dressed with flowers and foliage and raised up on a pully system to decorate the overhead space of your marquee.
Garland
A decorative floral arrangement, often used for marquee wedding head tables, entrance arches, and staircases. Lush green foliage garlands against the crisp white of our Will's Marquees' cotton canvas canopies is an enduring obsession of ours here at Peacock and Bow.
Gazebo
A small, open-sided structure used for outdoor ceremonies, drinks receptions, or as a chill out marquee with laid back acoustic entertainment. Our pavilion marquees do this job beautifully.
Ghost chairs
Famously designed by Philippe Starck for Italian furniture company Kartell in 2002, these transparent chairs fused modern plastic material with traditional Louis XVI design and became an instant classic. Ghost chairs add visual intrigue to marquee wedding receptions without overwhelming the space.
Golden hour
The hour before sunset, ideal for cocktails with guests and romantic wedding photography due to its warm, flattering light.
Handfasting
An ancient tradition where the couple’s hands are bound together with ribbon or fabric as a symbolic gesture of unity.
Hard flooring
A solid, level floor added inside a marquee to provide a stable surface, especially useful for formal dining and dancing. Usually, it is covered with a carpet in your choice of colour.
Head table
A long table where the couple and their wedding party sit, typically facing the reception guests. Some couples opt for a sweetheart table, which is just for the two of them.
Heating for marquees
Luxury pole and canvas marquees can be fitted with discreet heating solutions, ensuring comfort during cooler UK wedding seasons.
Lined marquee
A marquee interior fitted with elegant fabric draping, creating a polished, high-end aesthetic for weddings and private events. Linings are a must with clear span marquees to hide the metal frame. But, pole and canvas marquees, with their natural fabric, rope and wooden poles, look stunning with nothing on.
Luxury loos
Upscale portable toilet facilities often required for marquee weddings on private estates, featuring running water, mirrors, and premium toiletries. Converted shepherd's hut loos are a popular choice that we provide here at P&B.
Minimum spend
A requirement from some wedding venues or caterers to ensure a minimum amount is spent on food, drinks, or hire services.
Naked cake
A wedding cake with minimal or no outer icing, often adorned with fresh flowers or fruit for a rustic marquee wedding aesthetic.
On-the-day styling
A service where a professional team arranges marquee wedding décor, including table settings, signage, and floral installations.
Open bar
A wedding drinks package where guests enjoy unlimited beverages, often recommended for luxury marquee receptions.
Pallet bar
A rustic-style wedding bar setup, popular for outdoor marquee weddings, often featuring handcrafted wooden structures. If you want something more refined than rustic, take a look at our bespoke hand built oak panelled bars in crescent and round shapes. Or go for our show stopping customisable round flower bar for the ultimate wow factor.
Pet-friendly weddings
A growing trend allowing dogs or other pets to be part of the ceremony or reception—easier to accommodate at private estate marquee weddings.
Pew ends
Decorations placed at the ends of church pews or ceremony chairs, usually floral or ribbon-based.
Place cards
Individual name cards placed at each seat to indicate assigned seating.
Plated meal
A formal dining service where each guest is served individual courses at their seat, It's still the dining style of choice at high-end marquee receptions, although more casual street food stations and grazing tables are becoming more popular.
Pole and canvas marquee
A luxury wedding marquee with traditional wooden poles and a cotton canvas top, offering a timeless, elegant look for country estate weddings. Will's Marquees, are considered the gold standard in traditional marquee manufacturing and with good reason, you simply can't beat the quality and attention to detail that they offer.
Portable power supply
A generator or power system ensuring all marquee lighting, catering, and entertainment function smoothly at remote wedding venues.
Processional and recessional
The processional is the order in which the wedding party enters the ceremony, while the recessional is the order in which they exit.
Receiving line
A traditional way for the couple and their families to personally greet each guest after the ceremony or at the start of the reception.
Rigging team
The professionals responsible for marquee setup. When you hire a marquee with Peacock and Bow, we guarantee our experienced crew will blow your socks off with their professionalism, friendliness, helpfulness and general loveliness. Just check out our reviews to read all the wonderful things our clients have to say about the team.
Room flip
The transition of a space (or marquee) between the wedding breakfast and evening reception, often requiring a complete furniture and décor reconfiguration. If you want to keep that fourth wall firmly in place, our hand sewn reveal curtains are perfect for keeping the logistics behind the scenes.
Seating chart
A displayed guide showing guests where they're seated, ensuring a smooth transition from cocktails to marquee wedding breakfast. Well, that's the idea anyway.
Soft play area
A designated children’s entertainment zone at the wedding, usually featuring games, crafts, or small play structures.
Stretch tent
An alternative to a marquee, offering a laid back modern look for outdoor events and festivals. They can take the form of a floating canopy or some can have sides. Peacock and Bow don't provide stretch tents for hire.
Sweetheart table
A small, private table for just the couple at the reception, instead of a traditional long head table with the wedding party.
Tablescape
The artful arrangement of wedding table décor, including florals, linens and tableware, for a luxury marquee wedding reception.
Tipi wedding
A relaxed, festival-style alternative to a traditional wedding marquee, often featuring fire pits and open sides.
Turnaround time
The critical time window for reconfiguring marquee layouts, such as transforming a ceremony space into a dinner reception.
Uplighting
Lighting placed around the edges of a marquee to enhance ambience, highlight floral arrangements and set the mood.
Vow renewal
A special ceremony to reaffirm wedding vows, often celebrated in luxury private marquees for anniversaries.
Wet weather plan
A backup strategy for outdoor weddings, ensuring guests remain comfortable inside the marquee if rain occurs. Here at Peacock and Bow we have this down to a fine art.
Whispering angel effect
A humorous term for the rapid disappearance of high-end rosé at a wedding reception—be sure to stock up.
Plan Your Luxury Marquee Wedding with Peacock & Bow
Understanding marquee wedding jargon makes planning easier, especially when hiring a luxury pole and canvas marquee. Whether you’re hosting an elegant estate wedding or a private countryside celebration, our bespoke marquee hire services provide the perfect setting.
Planning for 2025 or 2026? Contact Peacock & Bow today to discuss your marquee wedding hire in the UK and create a truly unforgettable celebration.
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