The 12-Week Planning Countdown
Start from the bottom (furthest out) and work toward your event date. Marquee hire is always the anchor — everything else fits around it.
Lock in your date, size, and pack. Pay the 40% deposit to secure your booking. Without this confirmed, all your other supplier bookings are conditional. Peak season dates (December–January) go fast — 12 weeks is the minimum, 6 months is safer for a Saturday in December.
If your event is in a council park or requires a temporary structure permit, start the application process now. BCC takes 10–15 business days for standard approvals. Give yourself buffer time if documentation is still being gathered. We can supply wind rating and insurance certificates immediately on request.
Finalise what goes inside the marquee. Add flooring, lighting, and dancefloor to your hire quote at this point. These affect setup timing and site preparation requirements — knowing early means no surprises on installation day.
Book tables, chairs, and any linen hire. Confirm your caterer, photographer, and entertainment. Let each supplier know the marquee is the first structure on site — their access timing comes after our handover. Share the site plan with each supplier so they know where to set up.
Send us your final guest count. If numbers have grown significantly, this is the time to upgrade the marquee size without penalty. Final payment is due 30 days before the event — check your invoice and pay on time to avoid complications.
Walk your site with fresh eyes. Mark where underground services are (call Dial Before You Dig if needed). Confirm truck access from the street. Mow the grass if applicable — the crew can install on uneven grass but fresh long growth can tangle in anchor systems. Clear any permanent fixtures inside the marquee footprint.
We will confirm your delivery day and approximate arrival window. Make sure someone is available to show us the site — even 15 minutes on-site at the start saves time and avoids positioning mistakes. Confirm parking and access for the truck.
Our crew arrives, builds the structure, installs flooring and lighting if included, and hands you over a clean, secured marquee. Typical setup is 2–4 hours. Once we're done, you and your other suppliers can begin dressing the space.
Enjoy the event. The marquee is there, it's rated to 80km/h, and we're contactable if anything unexpected comes up. Don't let guests prop open wall panels in strong wind — keep all panels fastened in windy conditions.
After your event, remove your own items from inside the marquee. We return at the agreed time, dismantle everything, and remove all equipment. The site is returned to its original state. You don't need to be present — just ensure the space is accessible.
Site Preparation Checklist
Most installation problems — delayed setups, site damage, unstable structures — come from inadequate site preparation. Run through this checklist before setup day:
- ✓ Measure the full marquee footprint plus 1m clearance on all sides
- ✓ Mark the four corners with pegs or stakes
- ✓ Confirm the orientation — which end faces the entrance
- ✓ Call Dial Before You Dig (1100) for any site with unknown services
- ✓ Mark the location of septic tanks, irrigation lines, and power conduits
- ✓ Tell us at booking if any stakes cannot be used — we'll ballast instead
- ✓ Mow grass to below 50mm in the marquee footprint
- ✓ Clear rocks, garden stakes, sprinkler heads, and debris
- ✓ Level the site if possible — sloped sites can be worked with but affect floor appearance
- ✓ Ensure a vehicle access path of at least 3m wide and 3m overhead clearance
- ✓ Remove any temporary fencing, gates, or vehicles blocking the path
- ✓ Alert neighbours if shared access or tight driveways are involved
Day-of Tips
A few things that make setup day go smoothly and event day go better:
A 6×9m Pack 1 marquee takes around 2 hours. A large 8×12m Pack 3 with flooring and lighting can take 4+ hours. Don't schedule your decorator to arrive at the same time we start — allow for handover first.
During setup, keep children, pets, and non-crew adults outside the marquee footprint. Aluminium beams and anchoring equipment need space to be placed safely. A 5-metre safety buffer during frame erection is standard practice.
Lighting and audio require power. If you don't have a mains power point within 20m of the marquee, you need a generator. Discuss this when booking — not on the morning of setup. We hire silent diesel generators if needed.
It's tempting to open up the walls on a warm evening. That's fine in still conditions. But if there's forecast wind above 40km/h, keep all PVC panels fastened. An unfastened wall acts as a sail and increases structural load on the frame.
Working with Other Suppliers
The marquee is always first. Every other supplier — caterer, florist, photographer, entertainment — enters the site after we've completed setup and handed over a standing structure. This is the single most important rule of marquee event logistics.
Tell your caterer when we're expected to hand over, not when you want them to start. A caterer who arrives while we're still completing flooring will be standing in the way, slowing the install, and getting frustrated. Set the cascade: marquee first, then caterer setup, then decorator, then entertainment tech setup.
Your photographer benefits from arriving before the decorator has finished dressing — the clean marquee structure makes for great pre-event detail shots. They'll also need to know the direction of natural light relative to the entrance opening.
For pack-down, give your caterer and decorator a clear-by time that's at least 2 hours before our scheduled return. The site needs to be clear of all third-party equipment before we start dismantling. We are not responsible for items left inside the structure during pack-down.
Marquee Event Planning FAQ
How far in advance should I book a marquee in Brisbane?+
For peak season events (October to March), book at least 12 weeks in advance. Popular Saturdays in December and January are often booked 6–9 months ahead. Off-peak bookings (April–September) have more availability, but 6–8 weeks minimum is still recommended to allow time for site planning and permit applications if needed.
How long does marquee setup take?+
Typical setup time for a 6m or 8m clearspan marquee is 2–4 hours depending on size, site access, and what extras are included. Larger setups with flooring, lighting, and staging may take 4–6 hours or need a two-day install. We'll confirm timing when you book so you can schedule your other suppliers accordingly.
Can my caterer and decorator arrive while you're still setting up?+
Ideally, we complete the marquee structure before other suppliers arrive. The marquee is always first on site — everything else works around it. We give you an estimated handover time when we confirm your booking so you can schedule your caterer, decorator, and entertainment from that point forward.
What happens if there's bad weather on my event day?+
Our clearspan marquees are engineered to 80km/h wind rating, which covers typical Brisbane storm gusts. In extreme weather (forecast severe storms, cyclonic conditions), we may advise additional ballasting or, in rare cases, delay setup for safety reasons. A marquee event is always significantly safer than an open outdoor event in rain or wind.
Get Your Free Quote
Tell us your guest count, event date, and venue — we'll recommend the right setup and send you a quote. Usually same day.