The first and most important piece of advice when it comes to wedding car hire is to make sure you look for and book your perfect car at the very least six months in advance. Wedding cars are always in demand and you don’t want the frustration of your first picks being unavailable. Make sure that your car is not booked for any other business on the day – it is unacceptable for the car to have to leave for another booking if you need an extra hour yourself. Take the advice of friends and family if they have any particular recommendations and if they do, be sure to mention it when approaching a company as they know that word-of-mouth business is a priceless asset. Shop around a little if you have the opportunity and get some quotes.
If you are looking to book more than one car then don’t hesitate to ask for a discount – many companies offer one as standard on such bookings so this will help keep down costs. With multiple bookings you also need to be very clear about car capacity – never underestimate how much extra volume some of those delightful dresses take up.
To stay on the topic of saving costs, there are a few obvious points. Firstly, search for a local company – you are paying for the chauffeur and for fuel and the further they have to travel, the more your prices rise. Ask yourself whether you really need a limo loaded with features, as these always come at a premium. Do you really need a stretch limo or a Humvee? Not to suggest you arrive in a Trotter’s three-wheeler (fun though that may be) but the spectrum of wedding cars is very broad indeed and the top options cost a great deal more. What you should NOT do is try to scrimp on the booking time and try to get away with booking with a bare-minimum time in mind. You never know how long the photography and well-wishing queues will take; you’re sure to want to speak to more people than you imagine; and you certainly don’t want activities on your special day curtailed by trying to keep booking hours low. Try and leave yourself a good hour more than you think necessary, as you will almost certainly need it.
When you have the details in place, you should also ensure that the path you’ll be taking (including such aspects as pick-up points for bridesmaids and the bride’s preferred route) has already been driven so that there will be no surprises.
Hopefully these tips will help you establish a little more clearly the sort of planning necessary to help your day of getting hitched go without any additional hitches. Don’t be reticent about asking the company’s advice either, as their experience can help you a great deal.
Danny Goldman has years of experience organising various aspects of weddings. This article on wedding car hire tips was written on behalf of http://www.millennium-chauffeurs.co.uk