Marquee Hire Central Coast

A tent turns a paddock, orchard or back lawn into a reception room, and on the Central Coast that opens up properties in the hinterland and along the coast that have no hall of their own.

Matakata Hire & Events, based in Somersby, hires two styles of structure: Sperry tents made of sailcloth, and Scandinavian Kata tipis. The crew sets up the day before the event and takes everything down the day after, so the morning of a wedding isn't spent watching poles go up. Tipi layouts seat about 80 guests in each tipi, and two or three can be linked for a larger reception.

Inside, Matakata offers furniture, lighting and styling packages to finish the space, so the structure doesn't arrive as an empty shell. Hire starts from $4,599, and the business supplies corporate events and birthday parties as well as weddings.

Questions to settle with the property before you book:

• Ground: whether the lawn or paddock is level and firm enough for the structure you have in mind
• Footprint: how much flat space the tipis or tent need once they're joined
• Power and lighting: what the site provides and what the lighting package needs to cover
• Timing: whether the owner allows set-up the day before and pack-down the day after

Once the tent is sized, add seating from event furniture hire, or weigh it against built rooms on the wedding reception page.