News
Events Under Canvas Through the Pandemic
This year has been tough for a lot of people and businesses, including the team here at Events Under Canvas. However, we are a tight team and we have pulled through.
We have still had the opportunity to provide our tents and tipis for our wonderfully supportive customers, and we have found new and exciting ways to get our equipment out there safely, ensuring that our business survives despite the restrictions on events right now.
Even though there have been many postponements and cancellations for events in 2020, some events have still been taking place throughout the difficult times of 2020. So we have still had the opportunity to bring a bit of joy, happiness and magic to our customers by creating their perfect outdoor covered space.
Our structures – Re-purposed!
The Weeping Willow
One of our tipis has been attracting attention at The Weeping Willow in Barrow, Suffolk, for their new magical winter garden restaurant and bar area.
We are delighted to have partnered with The Chestnut Group to create toasty, idyllic winter garden spaces in many of their restaurant venues across our region.
By using our finishing touches such as fairy lighting and furniture, we can create the perfect setting in pubs and bars with a seasonal setting and atmosphere. The Weeping Willow is also the first venue to use a wood burning stove inside the tipi! See below some of the images taken by The Chestnut Group for The Weeping Willow.
The Crown Stoke by Nayland
Another venue of the Chestnut Group – The Crown in Stoke By Nayland, saw a late summer tipi providing cosy additional dining and drinks space, and was converted a few weeks ago to a beautiful heated winter Stretch Tent on their terrace.
Stretch Tent Weddings
Despite a lot of 2020 weddings unfortunately being cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19, we still have had the pleasure of planning and hosting a few weddings this year for some lovely couples.
Grace and Barney hosted a beautiful outdoor wedding this September, using a stretch tent and additional extras such as fairy lights, dance floor and dining furniture. We can supply three different sizes of stretch tent; small 10 x 6 metre, medium 15 x 10 metre or large 21 x 10 metre. The canopies can be opened or partially closed depending on the time of year and weather, and they are erected swiftly and easily by a small crew.
Sadly Grace and Barney had to change their venue last minute, and were kindly and professionally accommodated by Shotley Vineyard. Here is what Grace had to say about her experience ….
“We were really blown away by the service provided by Events Under Canvas, it was fantastic and we cannot recommend this company enough. From day one they were responsive and flexible, during a period of such uncertainty they gave us reassurance which was really needed. We had a nightmare when our original venue cancelled just three weeks before our big day and Jenna and the team went above and beyond to find a suitable alternative for us which actually turned out to be better than our original plan. We really couldn’t have done it without them”. Grace & Barney September 2020
Even though this year has seen constant changes in guidance and rules, we can still help provide you with the perfect option for your outdoor event needs. One of the most recent announcements which has affected weddings and outdoor events was Boris Johnson announcing that “the number of attendees at wedding ceremonies and receptions in England would be further reduced from 30 to 15, in a move that came into effect from Monday 28 September.” – Source: Independent
More people are looking to plan their events for next year including planning for outdoor weddings. Due to a lot of increased demand for outdoor events and social distancing, this may be the new ‘wedding norm’ for the upcoming months/years.
On the 3rd September last month, BBC reported that: “Proposals to allow couples in England and Wales to marry outdoors or inside family homes have been put forward.” Therefore, the demand for outdoor events such as weddings is truly increasing in the process of legally making it possible to get married outside.
Looking Ahead
We appreciate that committing to a social gathering of any size is pretty daunting right now, and so we have created some simple terms, which supersede our standard booking terms and conditions, to outline where you stand if you need to postpone or cancel your event. These terms are
valid until the end of October 2021 for any booking made with us.
Short Notice Bookings (events taking place within 12 weeks of booking):
If you book a short notice event and due to Covid-19 you are unable to go ahead, we will offer you a full refund or free postponement (and price fix), as long as you cancel/postpone 48 hours before the set-up date (third party subcontracted items could incur a cancellation charge). We want to encourage last minute bookings and do not want to penalise people if circumstances or restrictions change at the last minute.
Planned Events (booked more than 12 weeks ahead):
Our business relies on advance bookings, as we gear our costs, equipment and staffing around these planned events. As such we cannot be as generous in our terms for these types of events. However, we feel our standard cancellation terms are too restrictive in light of this pandemic. As such, the following terms apply should your event not be able to go ahead due to Covid- 19:
● You can postpone to any available date within two years of your original date and
prices will be unchanged. All money paid already will be credited to your new date.
● If you cancel entirely then 25% of your total booking cost will be the cancellation fee.
However, you can book with us at any stage in the next two years and we will credit
that cancellation fee against your new booking with us.
Despite the harsh disappointments of events being cancelled this year, us here at Events Under Canvas remain positive for the months and years to come including what awaits for 2021. We already have a great number of different events lined up, providing our customers with the
perfect outdoor event experiences, and in the meantime our tipis and tents can be enjoyed across our region at the following venues:
- Chestnut Group (Stoke By Nayland Crown, Weeping Willow, Packhorse, The Globe, Eight Bells, Three Blackbirds)
- Snape Maltings
- Crown Plaza Gerrards Cross
- Royal Academy of Music in Central London
- The Sun Inn at Feering
- The Swan in Southwold
- Stoke Place Hotel – Buckinghamshire
- Birch – Herts
- Hare and Hounds – East Bergholt
- The Regent – Balham London
After a year in which we have been denied a lot of celebrations, parties, and good memories, we will come back more positive and rejoin once again in the future to fight through these harsh times and continue to party and dance the night away.
Stay safe, and contact us if you want to start planning your event for 2021 and beyond.
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