Wedding car timings: how long you actually need
The schedule most couples get wrong, and the buffer that saves the photographs.
Wedding transport is the part of the day most couples underestimate, and it is the part that quietly determines whether the photographs happen in good light or in a rush.
Book the car for the day, not the trip
The single most common mistake is booking a transfer — ceremony to reception — rather than holding the vehicle. A held vehicle means the chauffeur waits through the ceremony, the photographs and the delay nobody planned for. A transfer booking means the car leaves and has to be re-booked.
A schedule that works
- Arrival at the bridal preparation address: 60 minutes before you intend to leave.
- Bridal party departure: 45 minutes before the ceremony start time for a city venue.
- Ceremony to photographs: allow 20 minutes more than the map says.
- Photographs to reception: 30 minutes, plus 15 if the light is good and you want more.
Those buffers look generous written down. On the day, they are the reason nobody is standing on a footpath at 4pm making a phone call.
Multiple vehicles
If the bridal party exceeds three people, a second vehicle or a V-Class is cheaper and calmer than two trips. Convoys leave together and arrive together, which matters more than it sounds when the ceremony has a fixed start.
What we do before the day
- The vehicle is detailed the morning of the wedding, not the day before.
- Ribbons and decoration are fitted to your colours if you provide them.
- The chauffeur drives the route in advance and confirms parking at each venue.
- Dispatch holds your schedule and calls if anything upstream slips.
Book early
Saturdays between October and March go months in advance. If your date is fixed, the vehicle should be too.
