What is your most memorable wedding?
It would have to be Lucy and Antony Bosaw. We always get satisfaction from what we do but Lucy and Ant amongst their friends and family truly displayed their creativity that weekend. Not only from the way they styled the domes but the love and warmth they brought to their big day. Their main objective was to keep it simple but focus on the floristry work led by Lucy's mum Jane. Jane and the family's usage of the amazing summer flowers and foliage twisted and turned up the aisle and almost burst into domes through the huge open doorways. It's something i'll never forget.
What about your business are you most proud of?
When Josh and I first started designing our domes for weddings we were always passionate about creating a completely unique space that maintained what we felt were all the best qualities that other marquee and event structures have. With our three configurations of domes, we are extremely versatile and can cater for both small and big weddings!
What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?
I would say try and keep it simple. Although the small things are what makes it special, it is too easy to get carried away with such things as table layouts, decorations, specific drink options and some super minute details. This often becomes the bride and grooms number 1 headache, while in the moment it seems really important I think its always good to take a step back and ask yourself, will it really improve the quality of your day?
What is your favourite personal touch you have seen at a wedding?
I think one of best personal touches I've seen was a couple who made a fairly simple tipi like archway that stood tall in the tunnel of our double dome. Although the couple were lucky with the weather that weekend, the wind picked up and they decided to have their ceremony in the tunnel. Using simple branches from a tree, wrapped in beautiful flowers it looked really affective.
Describe your typical process with a couple.
We have an amazing team at Baya! With years of experience, we will assist the clients in making the right choices for them and help consider some factors that might have otherwise slipped the net. Meantime we will arrange a free site visit not only to check the grounds in which we will be working with but to personally introduce ourselves and iron out any minor creases there might be and to ensure we've done everything in our control to help leading up to their big day. This includes things such as floorplans, layouts and lighting. It truly is the main objective to make sure the couple are happy before and after their big day!
How do you create an ambiance in a marquee?
We'd like to think the Domes do most of the talking really. Starting with our beautiful handmade furniture - no table cloths needed! The timber framed domes lend themselves to any style and naturally have a warmth about them. I would say choosing the right flowers and using lovely homemade bunting in the day goes a long way. We have an amazing range of uplighters, fairy lights and outdoor festoons which can really set the scene and create a lovely ambiance. The festoons are great at creating intimate spaces in large fields and leading people down walkways etc.
Where is the most exciting place that you have put a marquee?
We're based in North Devon and are surrounded by beautiful coastline and stunning venue opportunities. One that springs to mind is The Plateau which overlooks a long stretch of Putsborough beach. Sadly the family who owns the Plateau only allow one or two weddings a year but for the lucky devils that manage to look out to sea from this incredible location are extremely fortunate indeed!
What is your record time for putting up your marquee?
We have 3 very different configurations we offer and a complicated framework to assemble but if the weather was on our side we managed to build our single dome with all the flooring, lights and table layout in a little over 4 hours in our last season.