Limousines and other transportation

[selflove]

I am just wondering how you all went about securing a limousine or other transportation for your bridal party and/or OOT guests. I dont'' have any recommendations (anybody got any in LA?) and i''m a bit leary about just booking with a company I fing via google.

Add to that, that May 6 is a huge prom night, so a lot of them are already telling me 5 hour minimum is required, which is way more than we need so that narrows the contestants a lot.

I wish my FI would do this...doesn''t it fall into the realm of "men''s work" since it has to do with cars? LOL!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

can you ask for a suggestion from your venue, hotel, or married local friends? Our reception and ceremony are at the same location so we are not doing limos. I am not sure what our "get away" car will be yet.

 

[FireGoddess]

My advice is to definitely do some homework - references if possible or at least something other than picking someone out of the blue. We booked based solely on price quoted. On the wedding day we had a detour to pick up the marriage license and they tried to charge DOUBLE what they quoted me. Big runaround with them promising to refund some of the cc charges when I called to ream them out and them promptly dragging their feet. I ended up having to dispute with my cc company because the limo company was giving me the "check is in the mail" type runaround. This could have been difficult because there''s no "receipt" or anything when dealing with limo companies, but thankfully the jackass limo company knew I would fight to the death and they refunded the money back to the cc company eventually. Tale of woe but I learned that it pays to do some more homework and not to just go with the cheapest quote.

 

[monarch64]

Selflove, I think it is totally up to the groom-to-be to handle the transportation aspect of the wedding. That should be one thing he''s actually interested in controlling!

Our hotel was so close to our wedding site that a limo wasn''t completely necessary, but we got one anyway--we ended up paying the one hour minimum of $80 plus tip to ride approximately one mile in it, LOL.

 

[aljdewey]

I''d check on the local Knot board in your area.....I''m sure others have used many of the companies and have feedback that you''d find useful.

 

[njc]

We let everyone fend for themselves!

Are you deadset on a limo? Something else might be more fun and/or cheaper.

For us, we rented a London Taxi from a local bed & breakfast which was decked out in flowers and had the CUTEST little old man driving it!!! Total cost:$60 for 2 hours that was split between the church and reception and reception and hotel. No minimum time, just what we needed them for. They even gave us a goodie bag complete with glasses and a bottle of champagne!

Also where we got married there is a trolley that a lot of people rent.

 

[saturn]

I think that we are going to forgo the limo and instead rent a cool car (I''m shooting for the Jaguar Xk8 convertible) for the two of us. We''ll either rent a larger vehicle for the bridal party or we''ll just have them fend for themselves.

FI thinks limos are creepy.

 

[AmberWaves]

I think I''d do what NJC did, although we have no trolleys here in L.A. Stupid Los Angeles.

I''d have them fend for themselves. I''m also having the reception and the ceremony in the same place, to make it easier. I think my boyfriend really wants a cool ride, though. I used to know a girl whose dad restored old cars, like a Woody. Now I guess we''ll have to use my dad''s Mid-life crisis car: a Hyundai Tiburon. You should see my boyfriend in that baby, like a sardine in a can. Um, I can ask around for limos here. Around where is your wedding going to be?

 

[selflove]

Thanks Amber! Wedding is in Palos Verdes and reception is in South Redondo.

Tacori--all the referrals that I did get are local and since a lot of the local proms are that night, the lowest minimum quote I got from any of the referred companies was 5 hours. So 5 hrs X $65/hr = $325 + 15% tip = $374. More than I would spend and more than I expect my parents to cough up.

Firegoddess--that is exactly the situation I want to avoid! I''m so sorry to hear it was such a hassle for you. Thanks for sharing your story, makes me more determined to do more research.

Monarch--yeah, I would insist that FI do this but considering that his job is 60+ hours a week and mine is about 20, I just end up doing this stuff to pass the time...

Al--good advice--thanks!

NJC--I would looooooooove that trolley! And what a price!! That''s exactly what I want, enough room for the wedding party (6 people) to all ride together after the ceremony so we can stop at some scenic spots for sunsetting-over-the-ocean photos. We only need the car for an hour but all the companies I''ve called (12 so far!) have at least a 3-hour minumum. It doesn''t even have to be a limo but just a vehicle big enough to fit all of us.

Thanks for your feedback everyone!

 

[flopkins]

Try calling a regular car rental company and seeing what the cost might be to rent a nice car or SUV....

our wedding party''s going in FI''s family suburban to the pics, while we''re going to be chauffered by a friend...

 

[FireGoddess]

I want to throw in two more cents and just mention that, irrespective of the drama I had w/ my limo company, it was SO NICE to be able to just relax during the ride and to NOT be the one driving! I think everybody''s suggestions about fancy cars and all that are great, I just wanted to add that we had a 45 min drive and it was so nice to relax and not worry about traffic, etc. So my other advice is whatever you do, it''s much more relaxing if neither the bride nor the groom is driving, esp. if there''s even a possibility of traffic!!!

 

[njc]

Date: 2/8/2006 1:28:58 PM
Author: selflove
NJC--I would looooooooove that trolley! And what a price!! That''s exactly what I want, enough room for the wedding party (6 people) to all ride together after the ceremony so we can stop at some scenic spots for sunsetting-over-the-ocean photos. We only need the car for an hour but all the companies I''ve called (12 so far!) have at least a 3-hour minumum. It doesn''t even have to be a limo but just a vehicle big enough to fit all of us.

We didnt use the trolley, its just something a lot of people do in the city where we got married. My mom called them, and if i remember correctly it was a couple hundred dollars for like a 1 or 2 hours. A limo would have cost just as much, but you could fit like 25-30 people on the trolley.

DH and I rode in a London Taxi which was $60. Another nice thing about it was there was LOTS of room for me to climb in/out with my dress.

That totally stinks that you are competing against proms and they are making you buy a min number of hours. I hope you find something really cool and affordable!!! And agree with FG--whatever you do, DONT DRIVE!!!