Be creative and individual with your transport plans for the day. You don’t need to stick with the traditional Roll’s Royces, stretch limousines or vintage cars. You might want to travel in matching utes, Volkswagon Beetles or ski boats instead. Creative transport choices can be linked in with the theme of your wedding or with your personal interests.
Have a definite plan for how your day will go and when and where you need transport. You may not actually need as many cars as you think, and you may be able to double up in some instances. For example, the car that the groom uses to get to the wedding can be used for the bride and groom to leave in at the end of the day.
The focus will be on the bride and groom, so it is not necessary to the rest of the bridal party to travel in exactly the same cars. If you want to splash out on a special car that will also look good in photos, restrict who you get them for.
Ask friends with nice cars if you can use them.
Do you have some friends with similar cars? Even if they are not flashy or exotic, having two or three cars that are exactly the same looking can be effective once you put on the white ribbon. For example, three silver sedans all dressed up with look fantastic.
Hire special cars from ordinary rental car companies, rather than from specialist wedding providers. If you live in Melbourne, you can hire a Porsche Boxter, Lotus Elise or Mercedes CLK convertible from a standard hire car company for less than $600 for the whole day – less than a wedding provider would charge for a few hours. As an extra bonus, you (or your friends or family members) get to drive the car, whereas specialist wedding hire companies will almost always provide the driver. We hired a Holden Astra convertible (for around $130 for the day), which we used to drive to the airport for our honeymoon, saving us on the cost of the taxi as well. For a comparison between rental companies, try www.drivenow.com.au. The main disadvantages with this approach are that the rental car company may not guarantee the make or model of car that you are hiring (check the conditions when you are booking) and they almost certainly won’t guarantee a particular colour of car or even that the cars that you hire (if you hire more than one) will be the same colour. You may also not be able to drive the car yourself if you are under 25 years of age, so check the rental conditions when you book.
Ribbon for cars needs to be special car ribbon as normal ribbon from a craft store can rub off the paint on your car as it flaps in the wind. Ask friends or family who have recently married if you can use their left over ribbon.
If you’re hiring speciality wedding cars negotiate the inclusion of the ribbon and accessories. You know they have them!
Buy car ribbon and car accessories (flowers, tule, cushions that are often placed in the back seat) second hand from wedding websites / papers etc. Even if you don’t like the thought of second hand items for your wedding there’s no need to pay full price for these small accessories.
Buy your accessories new, and sell them for slightly below cost price after your wedding. Or even better, buy them second hand, and sell them for the same price you paid.
Think about alternatives available in your area. My husband and I live in Melbourne, so we caught the tram between the church and the reception venue. It cost us $3.20 each, and our out of town guests (and the rest of the commuters on the tram) got a buzz out of it as well.
Contact a car club (e.g vintage car club or sports car club) to see if any of their members have vehicles that they would be prepared to hire out. Most owners will want to do the driving, but they will be proud of their cars and in most instances more than happy to have their pride and joy involved in someone else’s special day.
The thing that I remember most about Alana’s wedding was right at the very end of the night. Alana and Rick had their reception at a venue on the edge of a river in the city, so they hired a speed boat to take them up the river to their hotel at the end of the night. The sight of Alana’s veil trailing out the back of the boat into the night was spectacular.
The Wedding Dress
The Bridesmaid Dresses, The Groom & Groomsmen’s Attire
Hair, Makeup & Jewellery, Shoes
The Ceremony & Music
The Reception Venue, Catering & Drinks
The Flowers, Cake & Bonbonniere (Favors)
The Photos
The Transport
Invitations, The Bridal Shower, Hen’s Night & Buck’s Night
The Gifts & The Honeymoon
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