Marquee dressing includes four things: draping, lining, flooring and lighting. Furniture finishes — upgraded chairs, linen, runners — are usually quoted alongside them. Each is priced separately from the tent.
The four elements
Draping
Fabric swagged across the roof and down the walls to hide the frame and soften the light. Quoted per metre at R45–R90, so the cost follows the tent's perimeter and roof line rather than its floor area. The most visible change per rand of anything on this list.
Lining
A fitted inner skin rather than swagged panels — a finished ceiling instead of a covered one. It hangs tighter, hides more, and costs more. Worth it on formal functions and photography-heavy weddings; unnecessary on a daytime function with the sides open.
Flooring
Raised timber deck or carpet at R60–R120 per m². This is the line that decides a budget. Full coverage on a 150 m² marquee is R9,000–R18,000; flooring only the dance area and aisle is a fraction of that and is what most weddings actually do. Full flooring earns its cost on uneven or wet ground, and where guests are in heels all evening.
Lighting
Fairy-light canopies from R850, festoons, or uplighters against the walls. An evening function without lighting is a dark tent — this is not optional after sunset, it is just a question of which.
What each adds on a 100-guest marquee
| Element | Rate | Typical spend | Skip it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draping | R45–R90 per m | R1,800–R3,200 | Daytime, sides open |
| Lining | per structure | above draping | Informal function |
| Flooring (dance + aisle) | R60–R120 per m² | R2,500–R5,000 | Firm dry level ground |
| Flooring (full) | R60–R120 per m² | R9,000–R18,000 | Almost always |
| Fairy-light canopy | — | R850–R2,500 | Daytime only |
| Tiffany over plastic | +R28–R48 each | +R2,800–R4,800 | Casual function |
Where dressing is worth the money
Draping and lighting change the room; flooring mostly changes your comfort. If the budget is fixed, draping the roof and lighting the canopy will do more to the photographs than flooring the whole footprint — and floor only the dance area with the difference.
The exception is ground. On a sloped, soft or recently wet site, flooring stops being decoration and becomes the thing that makes the function work at all.
Dressing in Durban
The metro range these figures come from is at tent hire in Durban. Humidity is the local factor: coastal functions in summer want airflow more than they want a fully closed lined marquee, so open sides with a draped roof is the common eThekwini build. Rates sit in tent hire prices in Durban, furniture at tables and chairs for hire in Durban, and wedding builds at wedding tent hire in Durban.
Common questions
What is the difference between marquee draping and lining?
Draping is fabric swagged across the roof and walls to cover the frame. Lining is a fitted inner skin that hangs tight to the structure — a finished ceiling rather than a covered one. Lining costs more and reads more formal.
Do I need to floor the whole marquee?
No, usually not. Most weddings floor the dance area and aisle only, which is a fraction of the R9,000–R18,000 full coverage costs on a 150 m² marquee. Full flooring earns its cost on uneven, soft or wet ground.
How much does it cost to dress a marquee?
On a 100-guest marquee, draping runs R1,800–R3,200, partial flooring R2,500–R5,000, a fairy-light canopy R850–R2,500 and a chair upgrade about R3,000. Dressing typically doubles the cost of the bare structure.