Kate & Matt’s Wedding at The Tree Cathedral

A woodland setting. A working marquee build. And a couple who knew exactly what they wanted.

Kate and Matt’s wedding at The Tree Cathedral wasn’t about fitting into a venue — it was about building one around them.

A Venue With Its Own Challenges

The Tree Cathedral is exactly what it sounds like. A structured woodland space, with pathways, clearings and — importantly — trees exactly where you don’t always want them.

That was the starting point.

Rather than working against the site, the brief was simple: work with it. Keep the natural feel, but create something that could handle a full wedding day from arrival through to the last dance.

Building Around the Environment

The key to making this work was infrastructure.

We installed decking and platforms to create stable, level areas for the marquee and key guest zones. Ground conditions in woodland settings are rarely forgiving, so getting this right early on made everything else possible.

From there, we built out:

• Decking and platforms for the marquee
• Decked walkways guiding guests through the site
• Rustic handrails to define movement and keep everything cohesive
• A custom reclaimed timber bar as a central focal point
• Themed guest areas that felt intentional, not temporary

Every element needed to feel like it belonged there.

A Natural Flow

One of the biggest challenges with non-traditional venues is flow.

Guests need to understand where to go without being told.

The walkways became more than just access — they shaped the experience. Moving through trees, into open space, then into the main structure. Each transition felt natural, but it was all carefully planned.

By the time guests arrived at the main area, everything just made sense.

More Than a Marquee

This wasn’t a case of dropping a marquee into a field.

The entire setup was built around the idea of creating a temporary venue that didn’t feel temporary. The structures, the materials, the layout — all working together to create something with permanence and character.

It felt closer to a small woodland festival than a standard wedding setup.

From the Photographer

Photography by Matt Parry

“If you build marquees for a living then you better be on your game when it comes to your own wedding day marquee. Firstly where to put it. With Milton Keynes not being blessed with wide open spaces the space Matt had found (as it’s name may suggest) was somewhat interrupted by trees. So what to do? Well you could build your marquee around them.

So thats what they did.

A beautiful day in a wonderful secret hide away smack bang in the middle of town. Matt & Kate’s very own little wedding festival. Fun, sun, happiness and even a few tears of joy (or were they flies that were buzzing around Matt’s eye’s???)

Thanks for having me along K&M x Here’s your highlights:”

The Result

A wedding that didn’t feel staged.

Everything worked because it was built with the environment, not forced onto it. Guests moved easily, the spaces felt connected, and the atmosphere carried from start to finish.

That’s what these builds are about.

Not just putting structures in place — but creating something that feels like it was always meant to be there.