Don’t Fall Into These Traps When Planning Your Wedding Transportation
Wedding planning is among the most stressful things we do in life. From balancing the demands of a budget to finding the right venue, dress and caterer, there are hundreds of things to do in a (generally) small amount of time.
One of the elements of a great wedding that is often forgotten or put off until the last minute is luxury transportation. You deserve a great company, professional chauffeurs and beautiful vehicles on your big day, but you might have questions about how to find and procure what you need.
With those questions in mind, check out these easy-to-avoid, yet all-too-common wedding transportation fails.
Waiting Too Late to Book
If your wedding is scheduled for the summertime, congratulations! You’ve chosen the most temperate time of year to say your vows.
Unfortunately, it’s also the most popular time of year to say your vows. And that means more demand for transportation services in your area.
The general rule for booking wedding transportation is to make your reservations around three-to-six months before the big day. Generally, this allows you a large enough window to choose a great company, get the vehicles you want, and familiarize yourself with their policies and services long before the insanity of your wedding festivities come around. It will also give you enough leeway to make changes to your reservation if you need to.
If you’ve got your eye on the most popular, best-reviewed company, you might want to skew towards booking earlier rather than later. You never know how far in advance they allow reservations or how early other wedding parties are choosing vehicles and service days.
Booking Too Few Vehicles
This is a tough line to walk. You might want to provide transportation services for your wedding party, but what about your out-of-town guests? If they’re flying in from hours away, they likely won’t have transportation to get to your wedding venue and back to their hotel after the reception.
They might be planning on ride-sharing services or hailing a cab, neither of which are guaranteed to be available when your guests need them. Also, the expenses of flying are exorbitant; why not provide them with transportation to the festivities so they won’t have to worry about extra costs?
You want the people who attend your wedding to enjoy themselves and feel as if they are celebrating your day with you.
In addition to the limousines reserved for your wedding party, booking a sprinter van or mini bus could be a godsend for your out-of-town guests who need help getting around during your celebration.
Booking the Wrong Vehicles
If you choose the right company, you’ll have a diverse fleet of vehicles to choose from when planning your wedding transportation.
From sleek sedans to traditional limousines to larger buses, you deserve variety that fits the parameters of your day.
If you have your heart set on limousines for your wedding party and buses to shuttle your guests from your ceremony to your reception, don’t settle for less. Begin your search early and find the company that offers the vehicles you want.
Choosing the Wrong Company
This is perhaps the most important fail to avoid. Choosing the wrong company could be disastrous for your wedding day at a time when you’re already in chaos mode.
The wrong company might have non-existent customer service when you need it most. The wrong company might employ chauffeurs who have no stake or interest in providing you with punctual, efficient and friendly service. The wrong company might use old or badly maintained vehicles that have a chance of breaking down in the middle of your day. Each of these things is unacceptable; that’s why choosing the right company is so important.
Your research should begin with online reviews and conclude with a careful interview of each company you’re considering.
Ask questions like:
- How much insurance do you carry on your vehicles?
- What’s your policy for finding and hiring chauffeurs?
- Do you perform background checks, drug tests and driver history tests on your chauffeurs?
- How do you maintain your vehicles?
- Do you have membership in important national and local transportation or business organizations?
- What is your customer service policy? Will you be available when I need you?
- What is your procedure for ensuring that your chauffeurs arrive on time to each location?
You should also ask questions about billing, reservation policies and cancellation policies.
There is no reason to head into wedding planning without a firm transportation checklist. Know what you want and need, and find the company that can provide it.
Here’s to the wedding of your dreams, complete with the vehicles you need.
American Executive Transportations, stationed in Sterling, Virginia, has nearly 20 years of experience providing outstanding wedding transportation to those in the Washington, D.C. area and beyond.
Contact us today to begin planning your wedding transportation services.