Most of our clients have never planned an event under a tent, wedding or otherwise, and it can be hard to envision the final product. Luckily we fully understand, we are equipped to help, and most importantly we really enjoy doing so.
Here are the steps we go through together in order to size your tent, lay out your event, and turn your vision into reality.
1. Determine how many people you expect, what type of seating you prefer, and any extras you want under the tent (dance floor, stage, buffet lines, cocktail area, etc.). You do not need to know concrete answers for all of these decisions right now but a general “wish list” helps us recommend tent size, which is the first piece of the puzzle. For banquet tables, we typically recommend about 10 square feet per seated guest, and then for round tables we suggest 12-14 square feet per seated guest.
2. Using our lay out software we create a rough draft mock up of one or two possible options based on your initial “wish list.” All layouts are sized to scale so that all extras are represented exactly how they would fit in the given tent space.
Two examples of this are below.
3. We work through all the changes with you to fine tune the lay out. We can meet in person or pass emails back and forth depending on your schedule and what works best for you.
4. Once we feel we are close to the final product we use our advanced layout software to create a 3D image of the space. This software give us the opportunity to do a 3D walk through of the tent giving you the best possible idea of how you and your guests feel in the space.
A screen shot of the overhead view of this advanced layout software is below.
5. At this point we make any last changes needed, edit the layout, and finalize the plans. This would also be a great point to bring in any other event planners, decorators, or florists (if they haven’t looked at the layout already) to get everyone on the same page.
6. Turn all of our hard work and planning into reality.
One thing to always keep in mind is that we are here to help. Everyone’s vision and event is different and the great part about tents is that they work as a blank canvas for you to make your own. We love trying new layouts and are not afraid of something different or out of the box.
