By Sigrid Tornquist

Working with clients can sometimes mean sharing the job installation—at least for Bryan Loane, president of Loane Brothers Inc. When clients in Annapolis, Md., called him to discuss a 200-person home wedding reception, Loane arrived on site to find that the back yard was basically a 30-by-60-foot patio with a pool in the middle, and steep, forested hills on three sides. “There would need to be a floor built over it, which would be complicated and costly to install,” Loane says. “It would have required me to be on site all week to oversee the building of the floor.” The homeowner, a builder, suggested installing the flooring with the help of his contractor to keep costs down. Loane gave him instructions for building a level floor across the pool and extending over the sides, leaving holes for select landscaping. Atop the newly built foundation, Loane and his crew installed a 60-by-90-foot clear-sided clearspan tent. Lights suspended in overhanging trees illuminated guests as they enjoyed expansive views of the Severn River running along the base of the hill.

Sigrid Tornquist is a freelance author and editor based in St. Paul, Minn. She is also the associate editor of InTents magazine, a publication of the Advanced Textiles Association.