With the wedding transport likely to set you back several hundred pounds (if not more!) it's always good to know there are ways to get hold of a cheap wedding car or two.
This article provides some handy hints and tips for shaving pounds off your wedding transport budget.
Choose your cars carefully. If you simply have to have a particular make, model and colour you could be limited and end up paying over the odds. Be more flexible and you'll increase your chances of picking up a cheap wedding car for the big day.
Whatever you may have heard in the past, size really does matter. Put simply, why hire two cars that seat 3 or 4 passengers each, when you can hire one car that seats 6 to 8?
A number of wedding car firms will charge you a flat fee regardless of how far you plan to travel (within reason of course!). If you do plan to travel more than a handful of miles, tracking a company down offering this could save you a small fortune.
It may be tradition to ferry the bulk of the wedding party around on the big day, but it's certainly not the law. To save some cash, why not ask the bridesmaids to make their own way to the wedding and just arrange a cheap wedding car or two for the Bride, Groom, Best Man, Chief Bridesmaid and Bride's parents?
Book all your wedding transport with the same company. You'll find that firms will be much more willing to offer you a discount if you hire multiple vehicles from them.
If the venue isn't too far away, a brilliant tip for lowering costs is to double up journeys. For example, rather than the bridesmaids and Mother of the Bride travelling in one car with the Bride and her Father in another, simply get the same vehicle to make a return trip and save a small fortune!
Shop around. You'll find there are hundreds of wedding transport providers operating in your region so get in touch with as many as you can to track down the cheapeast prices.
Haggle and barter wherever possible. By playing one company off against another you may be able to negotiate free champage, wedding car flowers, pull bows, perhaps even a sizeable cash discount!
Stick the word 'wedding' before a hire car and prices soar. So why not get in touch with your local vehicle rental firm and hire one of their vehicles for a day - this way you'll bag yourself a cheap wedding car that'll save you a fortune.
Most folks are proud of their motor, so why not turn yours into the ultimate cheap wedding car? A few ribbons, a couple of bows and some flowers on the back parcel shelf and, Bob's your Uncle, the ultimate wedding auto!
Numerous taxi firms offer 'executive' cars for travelling in a little more comfort - this can be a great way of getting hold of a prestige, yet cheap wedding car to arrive in.
If you know someone who owns a nice car, why not ask if they would be prepared to drive you to the venue? You may need to buy them a small gift as a token of your appreciation, but self drive wedding cars are of the best ways to get hold of a cheap wedding car!
If the venue is nearby (and by this we mean 'really nearby') why not walk? It may sound a little odd but it's the most environmentally friendly form of wedding transport around and, believe it or not, you wouldn't be the first Bride or Groom to arrive at the wedding this way!
If it's a civil wedding you're planning, why not consider staying overnight at the venue the night before. OK, so it will still cost you about the same in hotel fees (if not a little more) but think of the fun you can have!
If you've got any great tips on getting hold of a cheap wedding car, please do get in touch and we'll pass your words of wisdom onto our other readers.
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Related: We've a host of wedding transport articles on the site packed of of helpful ideas and advice, not to mention our wedding transport directory that's filled with suppliers of wedding cars, limousines and more. For help and friendly advice from like-minded couples, be sure to check out our weding transport forum.