A third of engaged British couples are being forced to get married on a shoestring. Financial crisis fears are forcing 43% of engaged couples to cap their wedding budget at £5,000, just a quarter of the average cost of a UK wedding in 2007. Most alarmingly, one in ten are scrapping their wedding plans altogether as the credit crunch takes its toll. This new research by Gumtree.com doesn’t paint a rosy picture for romance and weddings in 2008, but surely there are ways to have a stylish wedding, even when on a budget?

Probably the biggest slice of the wedding budget will be for your venue. There are many luxury wedding venues available, with luxury prices to match. However your local village hall, golf and rugby club could be hired for a fraction of the price. Gumtree say, “The trick is to see past the existing décor and imagine it sprinkled with hundreds of fairy lights or candles.”

A local wedding venue, you might think, would make the wedding transport costs a little easier to swallow too. However this is not always the case, most professional wedding car suppliers allow a reasonable amount of mileage in their quotations, the real cost of the hire is in the preparation. However if the distances are not too far, you could get your wedding car to make several trips, chauffeuring not only the happy couple, but bridesmaids and other important wedding guests too. Be sure to mention the number of trips you wish to take to your wedding car supplier when you ask for a quote though. Multiple trips would generally be fine for most modern wedding cars, but some vintage wedding cars would not be suitable for this purpose.

Great value wedding cars

A Rolls-Royce or Bentley wedding car would be the icing on the superstar wedding cake for many newly weds. These beautiful wedding cars come at a price though, a Rolls-Royce Phantom costs £300 000 to buy. A Mercedes-Benz S Class is significantly more economical and consequently a lot more reasonably priced to hire. Offering much of the room and comfort of the Rolls, but at a healthier price point.

Gumtree suggest asking a friend if they can chauffeur you to the venue to help reduce the wedding budget. Hiring a wedding dress or buying a pre-owned one will certainly help reduce your wedding budget. Getting wedding photos on DVD instead of expensive prints will again help cut the budget too. There are many good reasons why wedding cars are so expensive, it’s not just the cost of the carriage that needs to be quantified. Saving a bundle on the wedding car is fantastic, just as long as the vehicle actually arrives! As iChauffeur’s Andy Senior confirms, “It is very sad to hear from somebody who has been left high and dry on their wedding day. We get a surprising number of calls like this, sometimes from people we have even quoted for previously.”

Most companies are fine and reputable in the wedding car industry, but when someone is considerably cheaper than the rest of the competition. You need to ask yourself, how are they able to undercut the competition by so much?

Using some careful planning, it is entirely possible to have a stylish carriage, without breaking the bank. It’s nice to know it’s not how much you spend that matters, but rather how much love you put into your wedding celebration that really counts.

With your focus on the big day, you have probably got your sights set on a big car to match the occasion. You know you have just got to have that shiny Bentley or Rolls-Royce wedding car: but are you missing the most important element of your wedding travel arrangements?

Where would Ferrari be without Kimi, or McLaren without Lewis? If Ron Dennis suddenly lost his marbles and offered me Lewis’s seat for the Monaco Grand Prix, he would soon realise his error when the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes went straight on at turn 1, Sainte Devote. The corner named after the Saint, who was martyred by Barbarus, would be the resting place of both the beautiful McLaren and me. Legend has it as Sainte Devote was dying she heard these last words from heaven: “What you have asked for or wished for, you will obtain.” Which would make make a nice slogan for a wedding car hire business perhaps.

So what are you looking for? A certain shade of silver, or a specific interior hue to match your bridesmaids dresses? You want the resplendent look of the Rolls or the passionate drive of the Bentley. You know that one of these fine wedding carriages will be perfect for your wedding day. You have even agreed the exact hue of wedding ribbons and you know the Champagne will be the perfect toast as you depart for your wedding reception. Even more importantly you have found the right car, for a price you can actually afford. But like the best-laid plans of mice and men, there is one possible super-fly in the ointment.

Meet the driver

Your chauffeur is as equally important as the car. Given the choice I would always recommend the better driver than car. But how do you judge or rate your wedding pilot? Obviously Lewis Hamilton’s profession is quite easily measured. The thousandths of a second that separate the Hamiltons from the Alonsos do not really relate to the performance of your wedding driver. I would suspect that most Formula One drivers would make dreadful wedding chauffeurs. The last thing that you want from your wedding driver would be a full throttle get a way from your church. Think sedate, smooth and elegant rather than kick down, drift and wheel spin.

The number one priority should be safety. After that, you want someone who is experienced, prompt and reliable. She and your chosen wedding car should be properly licensed and insured and depending on your style of wedding dressed for the occasion. Normally this would mean a smart suit, shirt with tie or perhaps the more traditional chauffeur cap and attire for a vintage wedding car.

What about the service?

It can sometimes be the little things that separate great service from average. A friend of mine was delighted with their hotel stay. The food and amenities were excellent, but he was wax lyrical about one thing in particular. “They even had a man to clean your glasses!”. This impressed him more than anything else. This was something he didn’t expect nor did he have to pay extra for. It is this kind of thing, like the style of driving which is hard to quantify. A good wedding chauffeur will do a lot more than what you pay for. He will do a reconnaissance run before the wedding journeys if he hasn’t driven to that wedding venue previously. She will arrive at your collection address an hour before the appointed time. Relaxed and unhurried the car will then be prepared with ribbons if applicable in preparation for the first pick-up.

The chauffeur can then help make the passengers relax and enjoy the journey. iChauffeur chairman, Andy Senior said, “A good wedding chauffeur can really help cut the ice and help the bride in particular relax and enjoy the day.” The last thing anybody would want is a comedian on their wedding day. Knowing when to speak and when to keep quiet is an art. “On a recent wedding, the father of the bride said to his very nervous daughter ‘you look wonderful darling’. I replied, - ‘ Thank you very much, Sir’. With that the bride’s bubble burst, her nerves disappeared and she enjoyed the rest of the journey. I didn’t say another word till after the ceremony. I didn’t need to.”

Booking a wedding car can be expensive but if you have a great chauffeur included, then you have a bargain. You might save £100 on the cost of the car, but if the chauffeur gets lost, is late or is just downright rude and unhelpful you have wasted your money, and also potentially ruined your wedding day.

“Is this car for a wedding?”, asks the chauffeur company. “Erm, yes it is” one replies hesitantly. What difference does it make? It seems like all you have to do is mention the “W” word and everyone wants to add a nought on the end of your quotation. Why is this? Are we being ripped off?

Why does the price jump when you mention wedding?

It might seem like the car hire company are just trying to milk you for all your worth. Their minimum charge is £50, the wedding venue is just 2 minutes away, but they want to charge £150, just because its for a wedding!

At first glance it would appear that chauffeur companies do mysteriously hike the prices up for wedding travel. Compared to an airport transfer the cost of a wedding hire might seem extortionate. However when you examine this further, then this price difference might seem reasonable.

Generally a wedding car will be an significant investment for a chauffeur. A Rolls-Royce Phantom for example costs £270000, not exactly small change. Only the very well-heeled can afford to hire this calibre of car. For your wedding, you might have planned to hire a Rolls-Royce for your wedding car. Even if your wedding venue is within confetti throwing distance of your house, finding a Phantom for your wedding will never be a cheap option. There are remarkably few chauffeurs available to hire with this exclusive car. What often compounds matters further is that chances are your wedding will be on a Saturday. A June wedding maybe everybody’s preferred wedding date, because of this your wedding car will never be cheap. Your wedding chauffeur knows that in order to stay in business he or she will have to recoup much of the investment during these valuable wedding Saturdays. The chauffeur will also be very aware of his obligation to your wedding. In contrast to his day job chauffeuring clients, the wedding clientele are a lot more exacting.

Most chauffeurs enjoy driving wedding cars. Weddings are generally a joyous occasion, a happy time, which a good chauffeur will enjoy too. However, the stakes are very high. The car will need to be valeted, ribbons and floral decorations prepared and the Champagne chilled. Many people do not understand the lengths a good wedding chauffeur will go to make sure everything is perfect. This preparation is what separates the good from the bad in the chauffeur industry. The good chauffeur will have planned the route, and in some instances have driven a “recce” run first, just to check for the unforeseen and to plan the perfect route. A regular chauffeur driven journey is generally a lot simpler. Most chauffeurs keep their vehicle clean, but there is a difference between the clean required for a regular chauffeur run, and the valet necessary for a wedding car. The wedding car will not only be under scrutiny of the bride and groom, but also of the wedding guests and of course the wedding photographer. The wedding car needs to be gleaming in order to look great in the wedding photos and video. Similarly, the chauffeur will need to be of matching attire, again another differential between the good and the not-quite as good in the trade.

The single biggest factor in the cost of the wedding car hire, is that it is not normally possible for a chauffeur to do anything else on your wedding day. You might have booked him for the 3 hours hire, but practically speaking he can do nothing else. He can not chance taking any work before your early afternoon wedding. Just in case he gets caught in traffic, or for any other problems that might arrive in this pre-wedding job. Similarly a good chauffeur will not book a job after the wedding incase the wedding goes into extra time, which sometimes can occur. So although you only want the car for 3 hours, it is a complete days work for a chauffeur. When you factor in his time to get to the venue, valet and prepare the car, plus return to his garage after the event, clean confetti from out of the seat pockets, it is a full days work whatever way you look at it. A very enjoyable and rewarding days work, but a days work never the less.

You might expect a new Rolls-Royce or Bentley to be expensive to hire, but even more sensibly priced cars like a Mercedes-Benz are a considerable investment, normally circa £70000 for a long-wheelbase S Class. Sure you could fit in an E Class Mercedes or even a Toyota Prius, but when you factor in your huge bridal gown, that extra legroom is priceless! Anybody can buy a flash car, but it takes a lot more than that to being a good chauffeur. The car is the tool of the trade but the craftsman is the driver. His attitude and professionalism can make or break a wedding journey.

iChauffeur’s Andy Senior said, “yes, the chauffeur is more important than the car. We get a surprising amount of frantic calls on Saturday afternoon. ‘Please help, our wedding car has not arrived’. In some cases this will be from people that we have even quoted for, but decided that they would go for a cheaper quote from someone else. I would say that price should not be the priority in booking a wedding car.”

He would say that, but why wouldn’t you go for the cheapest quote? Well, if you have three or four wedding quotations for the same car, and one is dramatically cheaper. How are they providing a car so much cheaper? Do they actually own the car? Are they properley insured?

So, what you are looking for is a reputable wedding chauffeur company. One key point to remember is that if the wedding car companies main concern is the price, then you can see how they are driven. Finding a company that focus on what you actually want, and not how much they are getting paid is very important. For example, did they ask you about your preferred ribbon colour?

You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on a wedding car, their are many affordable and professional wedding chauffeurs. Not all will have a shiny new Rolls-Royce, but many can provide a very nice car to your taste. You might like a vintage car, a wedding taxi a huge pink wedding limo or even an “Only fools and horses” three-wheeled wedding van! Their are as as many styles of wedding cars, at a multitude of different price breaks. No matter what your wedding budget is the principle is the same. The chauffeur can make or break the day. Do the company inspire you with confidence or will they leave you waiting even before you make it to the aisle? Ask what the chauffeur will be wearing, what time will the car arrive for a booking? Will it be there at the agreed time or do they allow a little bit of time before the appointed time?

How to get the wedding car service you want

Do your homework and you will be able to find a wedding carriage supplier that ticks all the right boxes. Don’t try and mislead them by saying that the job is not for a wedding. Don’t try and get a one way hire, and then ask them to put ribbons on the car! You might find yourself without that all important ride to the church as the chauffeur company can’t find anybody to actually do the job for that price. Just as bad is if they do find a driver who will do the job for such a cheap price and what will the quality of his service? Will he be on time? Will he be smart? Will the car be smart and clean? Will the driver work with the photographer? Will he be co-operative and helpful or will he be watching the clock so that he is not late for his next job?

Wedding Car Checklist

• Give accurate times and locations including postcodes - don’t try and cheapen the price by giving misleading information, this can often backfire.
• Can you see a picture of the actual car or are you being shown a library image?
• Ask friends if they have had any good experiences with chauffeur companies and wedding car firms.
• Go with your gut feeling, if that quote seems too good to be true - it possibly is!
• Remember if you need the car to drive you to the airport after the wedding are they licensed to do so? - Wedding cars do not need a special license.
• Are they insured for Private Hire journeys?
• What are their contingency plans if their is a problem with the car or driver on the day?
• Get an email or written quote.
• If possible get married on a Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday.

Enjoy your wedding journeys!

At the end of your wedding day. You may have taken your last journey with your father before he gives you away. You will have taken your first journey as a married couple. You will have the pictures and video to prove it. Whatever you expected and wanted from your wedding travel is now history too. I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Newlywed couple, John and Laina Tauranga were enjoying their chauffeur driven journey from their wedding reception. Kissing on the back-seat, they thought they might have been driving a little bit fast, but as they came up for air they realised that they had been pulled over by the police for drag racing!

The Australian couple realised just how fast, when police stopped them and arrested their chauffeur for drag-racing a provisional driver at 130km/h in a 60km/h zone.

An unmarked police car had been travelling behind the wedding car, a Holden Caprice, and allegedly caught it speeding 70km/h over the speed limit. The wedding chauffeur was allegedly drag-racing a provisional driver before being pulled over by the cops.

Penrith police station officer Hamed Baqaie said, “They were driving at high speeds, revving engines, tyres squealing and they travelled quite a distance before police managed to stop them.”

Probably not what the couple ordered when they booked their wedding car…

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When Stanley Holloway sang “Get me to the church on time” in My Fair Lady, he managed to wonderfully identify one of the most important aspects in booking wedding transport - time. Time, and in particular the date of your wedding is more important than you might first imagine.

Before you trawl the net for a wedding car, ensure you know the correct date and time for your wedding hire. The date of your wedding is extremely important. Midweek wedding hire can often be found at a cheaper cost than a Saturday, especially in the busy months. So you might find that picking a date in the week will allow you to hire the Rolls-Royce Phantom that you have set your heart on. Obviously this is not always practical, and a weekend is generally easier to schedule for most of your guests, however your wedding may be an intimate affair, and your guests may find it easy to attend in the week. If so then you may grab yourself a bargain!

You don’t have to get married in June

The traditional wedding month, need not be your date of your ceremony. It is a wonderful time of year to get married. The beginning of summer, rainy spring fading to reveal flowers in bloom. A beautiful time of year and a fitting start to such an important day. London does really shine in June, it may not be the driest month, July has that honour. Choosing to get hitched in the summer months may be a safer bet in terms of weather, but the savings from booking wedding venues and cars in the less active months may be significant, effecting not just your wedding car hire, but also honeymoon costs as well as many wedding suppliers.

A bride’s prerogative - not the chauffeurs

It may be the bride’s prerogative to be 10 minutes late for the ceremony, but make sure your wedding car supplier is on time. You don’t even need to hire a wedding car, you could use public transport. You could even use your regular mini cab, but make sure they know that this is for a wedding, so that they can valet the car!

A wedding date

Once you have found the right date for you, your guests and of course the wedding venue. Then you can begin your search for the right wedding car. When hiring, make sure you have allowed enough time for the journeys, some pictures of your wedding carriage, and added a few minutes for luck. It is often better to negotiate a booking for the full amount of time rather than be billed for additional hours by your chauffeur after the event. It is good practice to ask for the charge for any additional hours in advance too, to save any nasty surprises in the event of the wedding overrunning.

Check your prospective date against any sporting or social events, marches or anything else that might affect your (and your guests) journey times.

Have the time of your life

Remember, this is your special day. Take your time to enjoy it!

With so many things to organize for your wedding day, the last thing on your mind, would be trying to save the planet. A few years ago a horse drawn carriage might have got you to the church. But these days, it is more normal to hire a chauffeur driven wedding car. The Eco Chauffeur™ service from iChauffeur may be the right vehicle for your eco-friendly wedding.

Why is it Eco-friendly?

The Eco Chauffeur car is a hybrid powered vehicle. It uses a combination of electric and conventional petrol engines to create a car that will run on electric power at a standstill and up to about 20 mph in slow moving traffic. It is particularly kinder to urban environments, and is favoured by Transport for London, who have made it exempt from the London congestion charge, because of it’s low carbon footprint.

What is particularly interesting about this Lexus Hybrid, is that it is the world’s first truly luxury hybrid car. The soft cream leather interior and luxury appointments make the car a very comfortable vehicle. It is almost silent in use, particularly when running off electric power.

Where can one hire the Lexus Hybrid wedding car?

The hybrid Lexus GS 450h is currently only available in the Greater London area, and wouldn’t be suited for a wedding in Aberdeen, because of the mileage involved, which would negate any environmental benefits. However, for a London Wedding, the Lexus is in a class of it’s own, and will no doubt be the car of choice for an ethical wedding.

Learn more about the Eco Chauffeur Car Service from iChauffeur Ltd.

The Mercedes-Benz S Class has for many years been a industry standard for the chauffeur industry, and with good reason. The S Class has been the class leader in engineering excellence. It was the first car to introduce diagonal seat belts, and anti-lock brakes and many other now common safety features.

The 2007 Mercedes S Class again sets the standard for safety and engineering excellence. The new Night View Assist feature, is a special monitor using infra red lights to brighten up even the darkest of roads, way beyond the reach of the headlights.

The car uses radar to also determine if the car is likely to have a collision. If a car in front suddenly hits its brakes. The S-Class’s emits a warning sound to indicate a potential crash situation. Then, if the brakes are applied quickly, the Brake Assist Plus system recognises the emergency and adds as much braking as necessary, up to 100 percent to help stop the car as quickly as possible.

The 2007 S Class is also slightly wider, taller and longer than the previous generation, offering 42 inches of rear legroom. Which makes the S Class comfortable for even the largest of wedding gowns. Soft, leather interior with heated/cooling seats all help to make your journey to the church comfortable and luxurious.

Soft ambient lighting creates a warm glow throughout the cabin, helping to create the right ambience for your special day. These lights will also make any car interior wedding photographs spectacular.

Some S Class cars have a panoramic roof (as shown above), which also makes the car extremely photogenic, as most photographers struggle to take interior car shots, due to the lack of natural light. This light floods the car helping to create natural and romantic wedding shots.

Is the S Class perfect for your wedding day?

In many different ways the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz fleet is the ideal wedding car. It is stylish, safe and reliable, especially when compared to some vintage wedding cars. It has plenty of legroom, and will make any wedding journey comfortable and relaxing. Some may prefer a Bentley or Rolls-Royce, but the S Class is hard to beat in so many ways making it a fantastic wedding vehicle.

Many thanks to iChauffeur for the images shown of their Mercedes S Class Wedding Car

A guide to hiring a Rolls Royce Phantom for your wedding

The Rolls Royce Phantom is quite simply the king of the road. It continues the legendary Rolls Royce traditions of unsurpassed luxury and finesse and makes a very grand and impressive bridal vehicle for your wedding.

Rolls Royce Phantom Features

This quarter of a million pound monster will ensure a magical entrance to your wedding day, and one that you will stay with you for the rest of your life. It is a large and imposing vehicle, and features backwards opening rear doors to help you remain dignified as your enter and exit the vehicle especially while wearing a large wedding dress.

Designed and built by BMW, this Phantom is reliable and incredibly silent. It is almost impossible to hear if the engine is running while stationary and really is an amazing feat of engineering excellence. Nice touches include Rolls Royce emblems on the wheels which always remain vertical, and instead of a rev counter a "e;Reserve Power Meter"e; which tells the chauffeur how much power is available, which in normal use will be over 90 percent! It has an incredibly powerful engine, that gives this mammoth car sports car like performance. It glides on custom large diameter rubber tyres which helps keep road tyre noise to a minimum. In the event of rain, umbrellas pop out of the rear doors to help keep the rain from ruining your hair do.

Hiring a Rolls Royce Phantom for your wedding

This is not a cheap car to hire for your wedding day. Because of the huge investment, chauffeur companies tend to charge a considerable amount of money to hire the Phantom. If you are getting married to a tight budget then you might want to look elsewhere, but if you have the budget, there is not a car on the road which comes close to the Rolls Royce Phantom for status and presence. The Phantom is a Great British car, albeit owned by BMW, that continues Sir Henry Royce’s tradition and legacy for engineering excellence, and if you want the best car to take you to the church, then the Rolls Royce Phantom is the car to take you in the ultimate of style.

Where to hire?

• London Rolls Royce Phantom Wedding Hire
• Manchester Rolls Royce Phantom Wedding Hire

Planning your Great Escape

Your wedding day has been a complete success, now all you want to do is enjoy your honeymoon. So how do you get to the airport or honeymoon location in style?

Safe Honeymoon Travel

Your London wedding car may have been perfect for your wedding day, but it may not be the right vehicle for your honeymoon. In London, you can legally hire a wedding car, from pretty much anyone with the right insurance. But for the ride to the airport, to take off on your honeymoon, you will need a PCO licensed driver. It could be that your wedding car chauffeur is registered with the PCO, who are part of Transport for London, but many London based wedding cars are not. Click here find a list of registered PCO drivers and operators. The PCO state that “Illegal cab drivers commit 10 sexual assaults each month. Don’t become a statistic, know what you’re getting into by always booking through a licensed private hire operator.”

Who will carry your bags?

A good private hire driver will be more than happy to carry your bags and liaise with hotel and airport staff to make sure that all your needs are catered for. No matter how good he or she maybe, if you didn’t inform her that you planned to go on a skiing or scuba diving honeymoon, then you might not be able to squeeze your luggage into the vehicle. If you do have lots of luggage, then a chauffeur driven Mercedes Viano would be a good choice. It has ample luggage space for most travellers, but if you have special requirements always mention these before you book your journey.

For most airport runs a Mercedes S Class will be perfect, they are very comfortable and have a fair sized boot for your luggage.

Returning to London

After the honeymoon, try and arrange a chauffeur driven airport collection from a PCO registered hire company. Ask about their airport transfer procedures, will they be waiting for you at arrivals with a nameboard? How much do they charge for waiting time and do they monitor your flight, so that incase of delays, you won’t be charged copious amounts of waiting time.

Plan for a successful honeymoon escape

Do not assume that your wedding vehicle is large enough for your needs, ask the supplier if it will take your 14 trunks and 27 suitcases! Ask if they are PCO registered, and about their airport transfer procedures. Careful planning will help you escape in style, and all you have to do is enjoy your honeymoon…

Honeymoon Travel Resources

• Luxury Travel Directory
• London Chauffeur
• PCO - Find a Ride

Advice on hiring a wedding car for your wedding day

Picture the scene, the drive of your life awaits. Months or even years of planning your wedding day have led to this point. Then ten minutes before your arranged collection, you get a call that your hired bridal car is stuck in traffic or even worse broken down!

This nightmare scenario is not common within the wedding car hire industry, but it can and does happen. So what to do? How do you make sure that when you hire your wedding car, you get exactly what you imagined?

Careful Planning

Even the best made plans can go wrong, but with a little bit of thought, you can help take away any wedding car hire blues.

• Use a reputable wedding car hire company. Do not go for the cheapest option. Do they install confidence when you call?
• Create a contingency plan with your bridal car service, if the car broke down or had an accident, would they be able to provide a swift alternative?
• Make sure you give the car hire service accurate address and time details - double check those postcodes!
• See if it was possible to view the car at another wedding, so you can see the presentation of the bride’s car and of the chauffeur - are they both clean and smart and is the driver amicable?

Vintage Wedding Car Hire

Classic and vintage wedding cars are a popular choice for weddings but they do have an Achilles heel - reliability. Vintage Bentley and Rolls Royce wedding car hire brings an air of glamour to any wedding day, but unless they are properly maintained they can’t compete with the reliability of a modern wedding car.

The lovely 1964 vintage Bentley Silver Cloud as pictured above, is lovingly maintained and even kept in a protective “bubble” within a garage to make sure that it is kept at the correct humidity! Not all vintage wedding cars are cared for in this way, so ask your wedding car hire provider how often the car is serviced before you part with your money.

Wedding Car Hire Summary

Whatever car you choose, do the company install confidence? Do they have any contingency plans? Are they helpful on the telephone and answer your e-mails promptly and efficiently?

Get it in writing and you can then be assured that you have done all you can to make your wedding day wonderful and one you will always care to remember.

There are no guarantees in life and you have no control over the weather but using a little common sense and some careful, detailed planning, you can be assured that you will get to the church on time.