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Emma's Wedding Diary: Wedding Transport

The wedding transport has to be right for two reasons; firstly we need to be able to get to the church on time and in one piece. Secondly, my arrival in the wedding car will be the first point where photos will be taken, so I want to arrive in something really special.

Joe and I don't have to travel in the same type of car, he's been talking about one of these huge jeeps that you can get, which I think suits the Groom more than the bride! As long as he doesn't go for some off-road fun on the way I don't mind. He could even get a flash sports car for him and the best man.

Romantic wedding transport options

For me, there are a couple of factors to bear in mind when choosing the wedding transport. I want it to be a romantic wedding theme rather than ultra modern, so I'm thinking more along the lines of a Rolls Royce or Bentley. The other factor to consider is that my dress is quite full, so it needs to be roomy in the back to make sure Dad won't crush it!

He would like us to have a classic car like something from Jeeves and Wooster. Whilst they look gorgeous, we wouldn't be able to have one without a roof or my tiara and veil will be all over the place by the time we arrive. If it were a shorter journey it would've been fine, it being a summer wedding the lack of heating in these kinds of cars wouldn't have been an issue either.

Mum asked about a horse and carriage which is very romantic. The only problem is that the reception location has a cattle grid over the drive so the horses wouldn't be able to go over it. One solution might be to have a separate car that could pick us up halfway between the two so we can still have the carriage for the first part of the day. I'd have to make sure it has a canopy in case it rains.

We'll need to have a wedding car for Mum and the bridesmaids too, and that could be in a similar style to mine. Of course when we leave the ceremony Joe will be in my car with me so we mustn't forget that Dad needs a space in the other car!

All of the other wedding transport logistics

Joe has done the route with Dad a couple of times to be sure of how long it takes - they did it at the ceremony times on a Saturday as traffic is often worse at that time anyway. Whilst the hire companies might know this kind of thing through experience, it's still good for us to know so that we can adjust the day's timings accordingly. We've marked out all the routes on copies of a local map to send out with the invites so everyone will know where they're going.

I'm also going to look into the hire of a minibus to transport guests without cars between the different points of the day. Some reception venues have one that can be hired for that purpose, I'll have to ask. It will just make everything go much more smoothly but if it isn't possible to get one we'll have to make sure that the best man knows he has to make sure everyone is sorted at each stage. He has a list of local taxi firms and knows who the tee-totallers are too just in case of emergencies.

Leaving the reception is a different matter as we'll be going onto our honeymoon so we'll be leaving in our car. We've told the best man to make sure they don't go too crazy with the decorations as we have to get to the airport hotel!

Journey itinerary - notes for wedding transport company

1st to arrive: Joe and best man

2nd to arrive: Mum and Bridesmaids

Last: Me and Dad!

After wedding:

Joe and I leave together

My parents next

Then rest of wedding party and all the guests

Best man leaves last making sure that everyone knows where they're going and has transport to the wedding reception.