Black Cab Central

Black Cab Central

Good morning 

Congratulations on your engagement and best wishes on your wedding day.

Please visit our website for a free (no sign-up required), comprehensive, guide on how to plan your wedding transport which includes some hints and tips on things to consider and ways to save money.

To answer your questions:

1. Do I hire 1 car (limo) to take the guys and then wait for it to come back and pick us up and take us?

Yes, you can absolutely do this. The groom normally arrives at the ceremony 30 minutes before the bride so he is in position and appropriately panicking by the time you make your grand entrance. Locations dependent, there should be time to transfer both groom and bride.

I’m not sure where you are lgetting married or what car you have in mind but you will likely find most dedicated wedding transport providers have a minimum number of hours or a large cost for the first hour which decreases the more time you book. This is to cover the costs of paying drivers a set amount to make the job worthwhile and all the preparation time and costs (detail/fuel/tolls/insurance etc). 

You may wish to utilise the full hire time by requesting your car to wait until the ceremony concludes to take you to an alternative photo location. Your photographer should  be able to suggest local, diverse locations. Alternatively, you could consider a “first look” and pics before the ceremony which some couples favour and then travel to the ceremony together.

1. Can we add on a price to the end to take just the bride and groom back to the hotel?

Yes, this is usually referred to as a “getaway car” and you should be able to get a bit of a discounted rate as the car will be cleaned and prepped from the earlier day hire. For fun and to add variety to the pics / experience, you may want to hire a different car for this task.

It affects our profits but we generally advise against the getaway booking and suggest to clients to ask their hotel what transfer options they have available as some will use this as an incentive to book with them. Experience suggests that it is often too dark for good photos and many couples are too tired/other to remember the getaway car. I would suggest this money would be better used elsewhere such as on your honeymoon or anniversary transfer/joy ride in your wedding car :) 

Best wishes 

James

p.s some tips:

- always use dedicated, experienced wedding providers who can handle the stress and challenges that a wedding presents

- always check reviews and speak to your providers to ensure a good fit

- read terms and conditions. Deposits are generally non refundable

- consider wedding insurance thay covers bush fires, pandemics etc 

Black Cab Central

Good Day Bride

To best answer this question I'd need to know the key addresses and times along with number of passengers and preferred vehicle type as some vehicles are bigger than other vehicles and some vehicles can fit more passengers than other vehicles... This is a bit of a guess but I've tried to answer your question for you. We have a free wedding planner document and transport planning guide on our website which may provide additional help and I am happy to discuss with you on the phone if you want to give me a bell. 

Step 1: Write down significant times
(Use Google maps to work out approximate travel times at that time of day on the wedding day. Consider possible delays like sports games / roadworks/ weather etc)

Step 2: Write down how many people need to be transported

Step 3: Work out how many cars would be needed to transport all the people to and from each destination (some cars seat 4, some cars seat 6, minibusses seat 12 etc). If the locations are all nearby, maybe one car can do multiple trips or you could hire a larger vehicle that can fit lots of passengers such as a vintage London Bus.

Possible itinerary: 

?pm: Bride depart Home/Hotel to First Look
?pm Groom depart HomeHotel to First Look
3pm: First Look
?pm: Depart First Look to arrive at Ceremony in time
4.30pm: Ceremony
- - -
5.30pm: Depart ceremony to photo location? or Reception
?pm Depart photo location to reception
6pm? Reception 

Considerations
- Groom usually arrives at ceremony 30 mins before bride (so he is in position and stressed, wondering if you will turn up)
- Photographers seem to prefer to drive their own cars (so they have all their equipment to hand)
- Most wedding car companies have a minimum 3hr booking period (we have 2hrs) with additional time available at an extra cost.
- Most people get photos with the wedding car at pickup (getting in), arrival at ceremony and maybe at another venue which has good access, light and a nice backdrop.
- Unless the cars have significant meaning to you (e.g, you met in London or have always dreamt of you and your besties being driven around all day in luxury or in classic minis like 'The Italian Job') then you could possible save yourself some money and book the wedding car for the minimum time to transport everyone around in stages before the ceremony, have some pics with the car then and post-ceremony, get a minibus, uber xl or hitch hike if needed.

Best wishes on your wedding day! 

James
Black Cab Central