Equipping Your Marquee Interior for Success
Equipping Your Marquee Interior for Success
Expo Hire supplies the furniture, catering equipment and tableware for marquee events — we don't supply the marquee structure itself. If you need covered outdoor space rather than a full marquee, we do hire gazebos. For the marquee structure, you'll need a specialist marquee hire company.
Once the structure is up, the equipment list typically covers seating, tables, tableware, bar furniture, catering appliances and heating. You can check prices and live stock online, build your order and book without waiting for a quote. Delivery is calculated by road distance from your nearest depot, starting from £40 ex-VAT.
Formal dining in a marquee most commonly uses Chiavari chairs or banqueting chairs. For barn or countryside settings, the oak Cross Back chair suits the surroundings well. Drinks receptions work better with poseur tables and bar stools to keep the space open. Every chair order includes our free Minor Damage Waiver, and we take no security deposit on any order.
Our 6ft round tables seat up to 10 guests and are the most common choice for formal dining. Rectangular trestle tables work for buffets, registration desks and long banquet rows. Product pages show exact dimensions so you can plan the floor layout before ordering.
Temporary kitchens at marquee events need cold storage, cooking capacity and hot-holding. Our fridges and freezers keep ingredients at safe temperatures. The cooking equipment range covers commercial ovens, fryers and hot cupboards for high-volume service. We test all electrical and gas appliances before dispatch.
We supply matching crockery, cutlery, glassware and linen for sit-down meals. After the event, our Send it Back Dirty service means you return glassware and crockery without washing — we handle cleaning at the depot.
Evening temperatures drop at outdoor events even in summer. Our patio heaters cover entrances and smoking areas. For additional covered space alongside your marquee, our gazebo hire range gives you pop-up structures for cloakrooms, food stations or walkways.
Marquee bars fail when the drinks point has no storage and no landing space. Give bartenders room to work with poseur tables, bar stools and a clear run behind the counter for stock crates and waste. Add enough glassware for the first service and the top-up. Wine service needs red and white wine glasses. Reception service often needs champagne flutes or cocktail glasses as well. If the bar team needs cold product close to hand, add fridges and freezers so staff do not walk back to the catering tent for every refill.
Many marquee jobs run across a drinks reception, a meal and late bar service. That format changes the mix of stock through the night. The order needs glassware for the welcome drink, water glasses for the tables and a second set for the bar after dinner. Our Send It Back Dirty service cuts the clear-down load at the end of service. Your crew packs used glassware back into the crates, and our depot team handles the wash after collection.
The back-of-house plan matters as much as the dining layout. Caterers need prep tables, hot holding and cold storage close to the service opening, not at the far end of the field. Our prep equipment gives chefs plate jacks, clearing trolleys and stainless tables for plating lines. Pair that with cooking equipment and cold storage to build a working marquee kitchen that can handle weddings, awards dinners and charity balls.
Access rules affect every hire list. A marquee site may have matting, ramps, grass or a long carry from the lorry to the entrance. You need aisle widths that take round tables, chair stacks and glassware crates without blocking the crew. Product pages show sizes and pack quantities, so you can check each item against the site plan before you book. That saves surprises on load-in day and keeps your labour plan under control.
British weather changes the operating plan for any marquee event. Guests still need space for smoking, arrivals and supplier access if rain moves in. Our gazebos extend the covered footprint for cloakrooms, walkways and food stations outside the main structure. Our patio heaters keep entrances, bar terraces and smoking areas in use after sunset, which helps you spread the crowd rather than forcing every guest into the same bay.
Cold evenings also change table service. Staff carry coffee, desserts and late food through doors that open all night. Heating near the threshold helps the service team keep that route working and gives guests a place to stand between courses. For summer jobs, the same covered overflow space protects cake tables, welcome drinks and supplier kit from sun and light rain.
Marquee events rarely sit on a loading bay with fixed access. Fields, estates and private venues need clear arrival notes, contact numbers and an unloading point that takes a van or lorry. Expo Hire runs from 11 depots across England and Wales, and delivery starts from £40 ex-VAT based on road distance from your nearest branch. On the day, we send an SMS ETA and a GPS tracking link, so your site manager can meet the driver at the gate and keep the schedule moving.
You can also collect from our Birmingham warehouse between 7am and 3pm, Monday to Friday. That option suits local planners, caterers and marquee firms that want to load smaller orders into their own vehicles. If your site has a narrow track, a timed gate or a set build window, put those details on the order before dispatch. Our transport team can then route the delivery against the real access conditions rather than guessing from the postcode alone.
Peak season marquee jobs need firm stock reservations, not a loose quote that expires. Our site shows live stock and live pricing across the whole range, so you can build the order around your floor plan, guest count and menu. You choose the dates, check availability and confirm the booking online without waiting for a sales desk. Orders above £500 can use a 25% deposit, which helps you lock in core stock while the seating plan and final covers still move.
Every order includes our Free Minor Damage Waiver. If a glass breaks or a table picks up a light mark during service, you do not face a dispute over small wear. That matters on marquee jobs where crews move stock across matting, gravel and temporary flooring. Add the items you need, book the dates and keep the rest of the planning moving.
