How to hire
Match the structure to the job first. A clearspan frame has no centre poles, so it suits a larger wedding or corporate event where you want an open layout for tables, a dance floor and a bar. A traditional pole marquee gives the classic canvas look but needs extra ground for guy ropes and stakes. A stretch tent fits sloping or awkward ground and smaller parties, with a relaxed modern feel. Tell each supplier your guest numbers, your date and what the ground is like.
Check trade membership before you book. MUTA runs the member directory for the marquee, tent and structure industry, searchable by postcode or structure type [1]. Members sign a code of practice, must maintain adequate insurance, follow an industry best-practice guide and submit to audits [2]. Membership can't be sourced for any of the four ranked Telford firms in this round, so treat the directory as a live check to run on any shortlist, not a badge to assume.
Insist on a site visit before anyone quotes. The supplier should walk the ground, check slopes and drainage, look for overhead cables and buried services, confirm vehicle access for the build, and decide between stakes and weights. Ask what happens in high wind: who monitors the forecast, who calls off the build, and where that promise sits in the contract. National safety guidance covers good practice in putting up and taking down temporary structures [6].
Get the quote itemised in writing. It should name the structure size and style, the delivery, erection and breakdown dates, flooring, lining, lighting, furniture, heating, power and toilets, crew arrival times, the VAT position, the deposit and cancellation terms, and the damage arrangements. Published guides price each extra separately, from lining to generators, so a single headline figure tells you little [3]. Compare two or three quotes on the same written scope.
Confirm cover and identity in the same pass. Ask for the public-liability insurance detail in writing and check that the name on the policy matches the name on your quote. If the firm is a limited company, look it up on the Companies House register to confirm it is active and at the address you were given [5]. File the insurance note alongside the quote so both documents travel with the booking.
Sort licences and paperwork before the build. A Temporary Event Notice from the council is needed for alcohol, entertainment or late-night hot food on unlicensed premises, for events under 500 people, applied for at least 10 working days ahead [4]. Keep the notice where it can be seen at the event, keep the signed contract, terms and itemised invoice together, and ask for the fire-exit and assembly-point plan for the finished structure.
Telford settings vary street by street, so describe yours early. A Wellington terrace reached down a shared alley needs a different build plan from a semi in Dawley or Madeley with room for a lorry, a new-build in Lawley with a small plot and tight parking, or a Gorge cottage in Ironbridge with steep lanes and nowhere to wait. Parts of Wellington, High Ercall, Newport and the Severn Gorge sit in conservation areas, eight in total across the borough, with extra controls inside the Gorge itself [8]. Where the ground is sensitive, mention trees, slopes and access in the enquiry and check with the council before stakes go into protected ground.
Council ground changes the paperwork. Telford & Wrekin Council hires out parks and open spaces for events, including Telford Town Park, Southwater, Bowring Park in Wellington, Hartshill Park in Oakengates, Broadoaks Playing Fields in Donnington, Malinslee Playing Fields and Dale End Park in Coalbrookdale, booked through an application form with terms and conditions [7]. The form alone confirms nothing until the council has the documents it asks for, and the organiser carries the legal responsibility for safety, licences, insurance, first aid and risk assessments [7]. Start that application before paying any marquee deposit, since permission can shape the dates and the layout.
A typical booking runs in five stages. First contact sets the scope: dates, guest numbers, the site postcode and photographs of the ground. Then comes the site visit, where the supplier walks the plot and fixes the structure size, the access and the anchoring. The written quote follows, and this is the point to compare two suppliers on the same scope. Paying the deposit books the date, so use the build week to confirm crew arrival times and the wind plan. On the day, keep the signed contract, the itemised invoice, the insurance note, any council notice and the fire-exit plan together, and agree the breakdown date before the crew leaves.
Close the job on paper as well as on the field. Photograph the ground with the crew present before they leave, agree any damage there and then, and get a receipt for the final balance showing what was paid and when. Keep the signed contract with its terms, the itemised invoice, the insurance note, any council notice and the fire-exit plan in one file for a few months after the event. If anything failed on the day, write it down while the detail is fresh, with times and photographs.
Pricing
As of summer 2026, the published national guide we found puts a wedding marquee at £650 to £3,000 per event, with a small marquee from around £650, a mid-size one at £1,400 to £2,000 and a large one at £2,700 to £3,000 [3]. The guide notes that price moves with size and season. Treat these as starting points for Telford, not quotes, since none of the four ranked firms publishes prices.
Extras add up fast. The same guide prices a lined interior at around £485 on a mid-size marquee, lighting at £165 to £400, heating at £150 to £650, a generator at £480 to £840, toilets at £140 to £1,100 and a dance floor at £100 to £2,000, with chairs at £4 to £12 each and round tables at £8 to £10 each [3]. A dressed wedding marquee can easily cost more in extras than in canvas.
Three things move the price most: guest numbers and the structure size they demand, the season, since guides note prices move through the year [3], and how much of the extras list you need, especially power and toilets on a site with no mains or plumbing. Awkward access and sloping ground add crew time. Say all of this in the enquiry so the quotes come back comparable.
Ask whether VAT is included or added on top, and get the scope, the deposit, the cancellation terms and the damage arrangements in writing before you pay anything. Agree payment stages tied to the build rather than a single upfront sum. Keep the quote, the invoice and the terms together where you can find them on the day.
A wedding with a dressed marquee is the biggest common job. Canvas size follows the headcount plus tables, dance floor, bar and catering tent, while lining, flooring, lighting and furniture turn the shell into a venue [3]. Power and toilets decide the rest on a field or garden with no mains or plumbing, with generators and heaters priced per event in the national guide [3]. Send the shape of the guest list, not just the number, so the supplier sizes the whole site.
Smaller parties, christenings and fetes usually mean a compact marquee, a pagoda or a stretch tent, where furniture and a dance floor matter more than floor area. Corporate and long-term hires run on their own terms, priced by duration and specification rather than by guest count. Guides note prices move through the year, so a peak-summer Saturday costs more than a shoulder-season Friday [3]. Whatever the job, compare like with like on one written scope.
Red flags
Quotes for a wedding-sized structure without visiting the site or asking for photos, measurements and access detail.
Claims trade-body membership you cannot find on the member directory when you search it yourself [1].
Will not put the structure size, dates, extras and total price in writing before taking a deposit.
Dodges questions about what happens in high wind or who calls off the build.
Names no insurer and shows no cover detail when asked.
Asks for full payment in cash before the structure goes up, with no written terms.
Leaves power, toilets and waste off the quote with no named supplier for any of them.
Talks through high wind on the visit but the written contract says nothing about who calls off the build.
Presses for a deposit to hold the date while the scope, price and terms are still unwritten.
Names no breakdown or removal date, leaving the clear-up open-ended.