Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Marston Events is a system designed to make the administration of a graduation ceremony as easy as possible.
We are sorry to hear thar you are not able to attend your graduation. Please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Cannot Attend” and confirm in your message your order number and refund request.
Please note that ticket refunds are subject to the policies set by your institution.
We require 5 working days’ notice from the start of the first ceremony to action a refund on gown hires i.e., if your ceremony is on Wednesday and the first ceremony for your institution is on Monday, we would need to receive your request a minimum of 5 working days prior to Monday. We can refund photography packages within 30 days of the graduation.
If you have attended the graduation but wish to cancel any photography products not yet manufactured or delivered, you have 30 days from the graduation date to request a refund.
Please note that an admin fee will be applicable, and this will be deducted from your refund due.
If you are not able to complete your transaction online, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Payment Problem” and confirm in your message your order number and whether you would like to pay via a payment link or bank transfer and our Customer Care team can advise you further.
Alternatively, please use our Live Chat for assistance, our operating hours are Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm.
Your institution provides us with the list of graduates including student ID and ceremony date and times to allow you to book on our website. If you are getting an error and your details are not recognised, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Pre Event Booking Issues” “ and confirm in your message your full name, student ID, name of the institution and date and time you are trying to book for and our Customer Care team can assist you further.
We require 5 working days’ notice from the start of the first ceremony to action a refund on gown hires i.e., if your ceremony is on Wednesday and the first ceremony for your institution is on Monday, we need to receive your request a minimum of 5 working days prior to Monday.
Unfortunately, we are not able to process refunds for gowns after this time as the gowns are prepared in advance of the event with the student’s information and are shipped to the ceremony location ready for collection.
If child tickets are not available for purchase, please check this information with your institution as there may be restrictions set for your ceremony.
Your institution provides us with the list of graduates including student ID and ceremony date and times. We are not able to amend the information provided on this list without their approval therefore we are not able to allow you to book for a different ceremony date and time unless confirmed to us by your institution.
The deadline is set by your institution, and we are not able to make further adjustments once this has passed. If the waiting list option is open on our website, please fill in your details, this information will be passed to your institution, and you will be contacted with further details if successful. If this facility is not available on our website, please contact your institution directly with regards to this.
Orders are not rolled forwards and should be cancelled/refunded and re-booked in the case of a deferral, unless specifically stated in agreement by your Institution and ourselves in relation to your Ceremony. If you are not able to attend your ceremony, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Cannot Attend” and confirm in your message your order number and refund request for further assistance.
Eligibility for a full refund is dependent upon the timing of request being made and may be subject to an administration fee.
Passwords must be at least 8 characters in length. They must include at least 1 UPPERCASE character (A-Z). They must include at least 1 lowercase character (a-z). They must include at least 1 numeral (0-9). They must include at least 1 of the following special characters (!#$%^&*).
We require your full height, chest and head measurements to provide you with the correct sized gown and hat. We always carry spares on the day if you are unsure and all hats are fitted by our staff.
Traditionally most graduands wear dark clothes with light or white shirts or blouses.
As this is a formal occasion smart attire should be worn.
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We will have a team available to help you dress on the day. If your gown/hat doesn’t fit, please speak to the gowning team and they may be able to provide you with an alternative size.
You are able to opt for extended gown hire on the day if you have not pre-ordered for this option. Please speak to the team when you collect your gown, a £35 fee will be applicable, and you will be provided with a pre-paid returns label, and you can return the gown after one week. Please note this service is not available for all institutions.
If you do not pre-order, we should have spares available to hire on the day, please note a £10 surcharge applies to orders made on the day; we cannot guarantee we will have the full and correct items available but will always do our best to help. To ensure that you have the correct sized gown, please pre-order this item prior to your ceremony.
Academic gowns are compulsory to graduate, you may not be permitted to go on stage to receive your diploma if you do not have the correct attire.
You may be to wear your own gown, please contact your institution for confirmation as this must match the specifications and colour set by your institution. If you have a gown and only require the hood/hat, you can hire these items on the day. Please contact us prior to the ceremony and we can ensure that these extra items can be available on the day.
If you have opted for the extended gown hire, you will be issued with a returns bag with a pre-paid returns label. Please return your gown hire one week after your ceremony. Please also ensure that you obtain a certificate of posting from Royal Mail as you will incur the full cost of the gown if this is lost in transit, and you do not have proof of return.
If you are not provided with a returns label at the time of collection, please visit Please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Other Enquiries” and confirm in your message your YG order number and our Customer Care team can advise you further.
If the price of the gown is not listed, please visit please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Pre Event Tickets and Gowning Queries” and confirm in your message the name of the university, the award and faculty and our Customer Care team can advise you further.
Gown, hood and hat colours differ depending on your award, it is best to do an online search for your award and validating institution to find out. If you are not able to locate information about your gown, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Pre Event Tickets and Gowning Queries” and confirm in your message the name of the university, the award and faculty and our Customer Care team can advise you further.
Our gowns are made from polyester. As of 2023, all new black robes will be made from 100% recycled fabrics to minimise our environmental impact.
An email will be sent ahead of your ceremony with the gowning collection location. This will also be clearly signposted for you on the day.
Gowns are to be returned on the day, the location will be clearly sign posted if different from the collection point. All gowns are tagged with your name, and this is used as proof of return; all hired items must be returned and are chargeable at retail price if lost or damaged.
If you have kept your gown and not opted for extended gown hire, please contact us and confirm in your message your order number. If you keep the gown for less than one week, the returns fee will be at your own cost.
If this is kept for longer than a week, a £30 fee will be applicable for every week the gown is kept. We will provide you with a returns label. Please also ensure that you obtain a certificate of posting from Royal Mail as you will incur the full cost of the gown if this is lost in transit, and you do not have proof of return.
Should you require extra tickets you can request them, however this is not guaranteed. All limits and restrictions are set by your institution (not ourselves) and therefore we follow their instruction at all times; we are unable to allow ticket sales outside of this.
The number of guest tickets you are able to purchase is set by your institution, this is dependent on the size of the venue and all limits and restrictions are set by your institution (not ourselves) and therefore we follow their instruction at all times; we are unable to allow ticket sales outside of this. You may be able to register your interest for extra guest tickets at the time of ordering.
Once the booking closes, we will be able to evaluate the extra guest tickets requests. You may be contacted via email should extra tickets become available. Extra tickets are not guaranteed and all limits and restrictions are set by your institution (not ourselves) and therefore we follow their instruction at all times; we are unable to allow ticket sales outside of this.
The refund policy for tickets is set by your institution and can vary.
If you require a carer ticket, please contact your institution directly for further information.
You will be notified by your institution, they may be collected on the day, posted out in advance, or emailed.
You have 2 opportunities to order:
1. On your original order at the same time as ordering your Gown and/or Tickets (if applicable)
2. Logging back into your account prior to the deadline, usually one week prior to the Event start.
You are still able to visit our studios on the day without a pre-order unless advised otherwise. Please note that you will incur a £15 studio session fee. This fee is to have as many images taken of poses of your choice; all images will go into an account for you to view and order after the event.
This charge is non-refundable and is not a credit, therefore we strongly recommend pre-ordering if you are wanting to have professional photographs taken on the day.
Our photographer will automatically take a photograph of every single graduate during the ceremony and if you have pre-ordered a package which includes this pose, this will be automatically allocated to your account.
Whilst all care is taken on the day to capture the moment graduates are walking across the stage, please note that this photograph cannot be guaranteed as this is taken during a moving ceremony. If you would like a professional photograph to capture your achievement, we strongly recommend visiting our studios on the day to have portraits taken.
You are able to have photographs taken in our studios either before or after your ceremony, the location will be signposted on the day. We would recommend allowing enough time to have photography prior to your ceremony.
Any photograph chosen for printing will undergo our standard editing process which covers cropping, colour correction and optimising for printing.
If you require specific editing or cropping, , please contact us after the graduation via
Contact Us, select the subject
“Editing Request” and confirm in your message the photo reference number and what you would like amended and our Customer Care team can pass your request to our editing team and advise you further.
Please note that this service will be at an additional cost depending on the complexity of the request and the number of images.
Links are issued within 5 working days from the date of your ceremony. If you have not received an email with your login details after this time, please check your junk and spam.
If you still have not received it, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Not Received My Photo Link” and confirm in your message the email address used to register on the day, your order number if you know it, the name of the institution and the date of your ceremony and our Customer Care team will be able to advise you further.
You are able to reset your password by clicking on “Forgotten your password?” in the login portal.
If you are still encountering issues, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Can’t Login/Invalid Credentials” and confirm in your message the email address associated with your account and our Customer Care team can reset your password and issue updated login details.
If you are missing studio images from your online selection, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Missing Images” and confirm in your message whether these images were taken at the same time with the same photographer or at a different point during the day and our Customer Care team will be able to advise you further.
All of the ceremony photographs taken on the day are available for you to view and order from the
Event Gallery section on our website. If you could please visit
Event Gallery and select the month, organisation, ceremony and photo type and you will be able to view all of the images taken on the day.
You can add this to your account by clicking on “Add to Gallery” and place an order for this image or select it within your photo package.
The photographs shown on your account are the previews of the original unedited photographs as they have been taken. Any photograph chosen for printing will be cropped, colour corrected and optimised for printing.
Digital downloads are provided as unedited files to enable customers to edit these in any way they wish.
If you would like any changes done to the images which are not covered by our standard editing process, please visit
Contact Us, and select the subject
“Editing Request” . Please confirm in your message the photo reference number and what you would like amended and our Customer Care team can pass your request to our editing team and advise you further.
Please note that this service will be at an additional cost and the price is dependent on the complexity of the request and the number of images.
Once logged into your account, proceed to the
Post-Event Portal and proceed to "Select Image" and click on “Choose Image” next to the relevant product. If you need more time to choose, click on “Confirm Later”, your selection will be saved and you can amend this at a later date.
Once you are happy with your image selection, click on “Confirm Image Choices”. You will receive an email confirming your image choices and your order will shortly begin production.
Please note that you will not be able to amend your image selection if your order has begun production or if you have accessed the digital file of the current chosen image.
Orders are processed and dispatched within 28 working days from the date of image confirmation.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to split your package, most of our packs are designed for multiple copies of the same image printed in various sizes. You are able to purchase single 10x8s, these are priced at £25 per image.
You are able to place an order for additional items via your account on our website. Please click on the tab "My Account" and select
New Order and this will take you to our products page.
If you place a new order before your initial order begins production, you will not be charged additional postage.
Your photographs will remain available for you to view and order for one year from the date of your graduation.
The £15 sitting fee paid on the day is for the cost of the studio session as you did not have a pre-order for photography prior to the event. This fee is non-refundable and is not deducted from your photography order.
We strongly recommend pre-ordering before the closing date to avoid this fee on the day.
If you have purchased a digital download, you can access the file chosen via the “Download Images” section of the
Post-Event Portal . You can also download your file by selecting “My Account”, “My Orders” and clicking on the download icon next to the relevant order.
Please note that once downloads are accessed, we are not able to provide a return or exchange as stated in the pre-download warning.
If you would like to change your image selection, please login to your account and proceed to the “Select Images” section of the
Post-Event Portal . Click on “Amend Image” under the photograph you would like to change and make a new submission.
Please note that you will not be able to amend your image selection if your order has begun production or if you have accessed the digital file of the current chosen image.
If you wish to amend your package, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Amending My Order” and confirm in your message your order number and what you would like to change and our Customer Care team can assist you. Please note that once you have confirmed your image selection and your order has begun production, we cannot alter your images or packages therefore we would advise contacting us prior to selecting your images if you wish to make any amendments.
Please send us a scanned copy of your certificate to
merchandise@marstonevents.com and include your order number as the email subject. Please note we require a good quality copy/scan of your certificate. Please ensure that your scan/image is Hi Res, not distorted, creased, faded or blurred as we are using your attachment to produce a brass.
The better quality of the scan provided the better the quality of the final product. Furthermore, please ensure that there are no restrictions/permissions applied to the file as we will be unable to open the document and this will delay the production of your order.
If you have pre-ordered a Brass Certificate, this will be processed and dispatched after your graduation.
You can change your delivery address on
Post-Event Portal under the “View Orders” section in your account. Please note that this will not be possible once your order has begun production.
For any queries regarding address changes, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Change of Address” and confirm in your message your order number, your old delivery address and new delivery address and our Customer Care team will be able to assist you further.
Alternatively, you can contact us using the Live Chat function to amend your delivery details. Please note once the order has been dispatched we are unable to change the address.
Orders are processed and dispatched within 28 working days from the date of image confirmation. You are able to check on the progress of your order by logging into your account and you will receive email updates throughout the production of your order.
If you are yet to receive your dispatch email after 28 working days from the date of image confirmation, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Not Received My Order” and confirm in your message your order number and our Customer Care team will be able to advise you further.
You will receive an email once your order has been dispatched with a tracking number. The email will state which service is used, our shipping providers are Royal Mail and Parcelforce. Please allow up to 24 hours for the tracking information to update.
We are sorry that your order has not arrived as expected. To enable our Customer Care team to resolve this for you, please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Missing/Damaged Items” and confirm in your message your order number and what you are missing or damaged.
Any requests received after 14 days of delivery of your order will not be processed.
We are sorry to hear that you are not happy with the items you have received. To enquire about our returns policy please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Return Request” , confirm in your message your order number and the reason for return and our Customer Care team can advise you further.
Should you choose to keep any items provided as part of a package, the individual cost of this item will be deducted from your refund due.
Please note that if you have purchased and downloaded a digital add-on as part of your package and no longer wish to proceed with the printed item, the full charge of the digital image download is applicable to your refund as the digital price is only discounted if purchased as part of a package.
Please note, we are only able to accept returns within 14 days of receiving the goods and frame returns are only accepted if they are returned wrapped in the original sealed film packaging. Digitals are exempt from returns as once they are downloaded, we are not able to provide a return or exchange as stated in the pre-download warning. Please note that if you have been advised to return your order to our office, this must be completed within 10 working days of being advised by our Customer Care team.
Our company doesn’t handle certificates as they are documents issued directly to the students by a different provider and diplomas are usually confidential paperwork that require specific shipping requirements. Our certificate frames are provided with a mount and you can insert your certificate within it once received.
All orders containing a Studio Session only or gown and tickets are marked automatically as dispatched by our system as the service for these items has been provided on the day of your ceremony.
If you have received a dispatch notification, please contact us within 14 days of the scheduled or marked delivery date and our Customer Care Team can advise you. Please visit
Contact Us, select the subject
“Not Received My Order” We cannot guarantee that any requests received after this time frame will be approved. Please visit Contact Us, select the subject “Not Received My Order” and confirm in your message your order number to log your request.
MarstonEvents.com is a portal through which you can order your graduation ceremony services for your institution. To start your order, enter the name of your college, university or institution above or login to find your existing order.