Wedding Planning Information and Advice
Choosing The Right Wedding Cars Supplier
You need to hire wedding cars from a responsible, experienced wedding car operator, that you can trust with your wedding transportation. This is much easier said than done! Personal recommendations are always a good place to start, but if you don’t have this advantage there are alternatives. Try an internet search for 'wedding car hire your-area' or a local telephone directory listing under 'Wedding Cars'. When you have established that particular companies can supply the cars of choice, then you need to start narrowing down the options until you find the one that's right for you. The important thing to remember is to book your wedding cars as early as possible, as the most respected companies are likely to have taken bookings months, even years, ahead for their wedding vehicles.
How To Choose The Right Wedding Car Company
So how do you decide who to trust with your wedding transport? Compile a list of questions to ask each of the potential wedding car suppliers and you will be left with enough information from each of them to make your choice. Here are a few suggestions of what you may wish to ask:
- First of all, do they have the cars available for your wedding date?
- Age and condition of the cars you are interested in?
- The number of passengers each car will comfortably (and legally) accommodate?
- The chauffeur’s qualifications and experience?
- Are the chauffeurs uniformed?
- Type of insurance cover? (eg. Public liability, Passenger liability, etc.)
- What provision exists in the event of a vehicle not being available on your wedding day?
- What happens in the event of a breakdown during your wedding transport?
- Do they offer ribbons (and do you get to choose the colour) and floral arrangements in the cars?
- Is music provided in the cars, and can you supply it / choose it?
- Are each of the wedding cars equipped with an umbrella in case it rains?
- Do they offer champagne in the car for the bride and groom as they leave the wedding ceremony?
- Will the car(s) remain at the wedding venue during the service? (You don’t want them leaving for another hire and risking your delay afterwards)
- What about additional charges if the wedding over-runs the estimated time that you have booked the cars for? (Most operators will build in an allowance for minor delays)
Add your own questions into the list and then compare all of the answers that you have after speaking to everyone. This should give you a comfortable list of comparisons from which to make your decision on a suitable wedding car operator.
Having decided on your preferred supplier, confirm all of the booking details, times, addresses for collections / wedding venue / reception in writing. Confirm the agreed price if the wedding car company hasn’t sent you a written quotation.
Timing The Wedding Car's Journeys
If you wish to time the wedding cars schedule(s), it may be worth drawing up your itinerary for each car and then driving the routes that the wedding car will take on your wedding day. If you do this on the same day as you plan for your wedding, at similar times, you will get a good indication of the journey times involved. If necessary, allow for any local seasonal variations in traffic levels. Don’t forget to build in an allowance for unexpected delays when planning the journeys, for example possible road works, accidents, bad weather, sports events, etc (but your guests themselves are likely to create the delays by not being ready to leave when the car arrives!). If you are travelling by a particularly slower mode of transport, then make allowances for the speed of the vehicle.
Review the transport arrangements for your guests from the church / venue to the reception. The bride and groom will travel together in one car (and normally they are the first to leave), but wedding cars that have made a number of journeys to the church will have to be scheduled to shuttle people onwards to the reception – starting with the parents. Your best man is normally charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all the guests have transport to the reception, so he will be in the last car to leave the church / venue. It is worth noting that it is wise to advise your photographer of the time that you wish to commence moving to the reception – this is one of the main delays that are created after the wedding ceremony and is probably the single most cause of additional charges for over-running the allotted time for the wedding cars!
Final Checks and Confirmations
Before the wedding day itself, double check your guest list and make sure that everyone has some form of transport to your wedding. Ask the bride and groom's neighbours to leave sufficient access and parking space for your wedding cars (and turning space if necessary – a limousine is over thirty feet long). Re-confirm the transport booking arrangements with the wedding car company. Obtain the mobile phone number of the bride's chauffeur and ensure the best man also has it. Provide details of the route between the groom's home and the venue, the bride's home and the venue and from the wedding venue to the reception, although most companies won't require this, it’s a safety net in the event that a car becomes lost.
Finally, relax and enjoy your special day, leaving the professionals to do the job that you have asked of them. Good luck for the future!
Andrew Shaw has years of experience in supplying wedding cars to all kinds of weddings and wedding venues. Practical advice on planning, arranging and booking your wedding transportation. Details of his UK wedding cars can be found at Chariots Wedding Cars
Your own choice of wedding cars and transport for the wedding day will be unique to your wedding. The wedding car transport for your guests as well as the bride and groom is very important on your wedding day. Information on all types of wedding cars, wedding car suppliers and transportation, including luxury wedding cars and limousines, and the more exclusive forms of wedding transport such as a horse and carriage to the more unusual wedding transport, including London buses and taxis and even fire engines. We have expert advice on how to find, select and book your wedding car supplier that contains many useful hints and tips for approaching, choosing and booking the wedding cars.
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