Article by Gavin Burnham
Here are some tips on the points you should consider when booking your wedding car hire.
Book early. As you would expect, wedding car hire companies are bombarded with requests for their services, particularly on Saturdays and during the summer months. Therefore it is extremely important that you book your wedding car well in advance of your wedding, ideally 12 to 18 months ahead or as soon as you have set the date.
Think about the journey you will make and who will be in the wedding cars. It is important that you think about where the pick up points are and exactly who you would like to be in the cars. How many bridesmaids, flower girls and pageboys will you be having, this will determine how many cars you will need.
Look for a well established full-time professional company because this will be the company that is still in business when the wedding day comes round. There are many hobbyist car owners out there that do not operate as a proper business. One easy way to sort through these is to check for wedding hire insurance and public liability insurance, it is an expensive cost.
Choose a firm who knows the area well and that has supplied many wedding cars, they will have knowledge of many of the churches and reception venues. The company should plan the chauffeurs schedules, and each chauffeur should have a full briefing and undergo a dry-run of the route prior to the wedding. The cars should be prepared a couple of days before the wedding to ensure they are in tip top condition and decorated in accordance with your requirements.
Viewing the cars and a personal discussion of your requirements is recommended. Older cars can vary greatly in their condition, if the cars are garaged all year, they are likely to be of a higher standard and better maintained. You can check that it is the actual car you will get for your wedding, and a reputable company will be happy to invite you to their showroom to view the cars. Don’t take it for granted that a car with a famous name automatically guarantees perfect condition! Maintaining and operating classic and vintage vehicles needs professional expertise.
Ask if you get exclusive use of the car, to make sure the wedding car hire company only book one car, per wedding, per day. This means that the car is not double booked and the service is focused on your wedding day only. Some firms only have one or two cars and will try to make as much money as they can during the key wedding season. They may also have to leave for another wedding or charge by the hour with hidden additional costs if your wedding should overrun.
