Need a Lift?

With our church uptown and reception downtown (right about a five mile distance), I figured from the beginning that we would need to rent some vehicles to shuttle us around for the day.  One of my first thoughts was to charter a classic New Orleans streetcar to take us to the church.  

Pretty bride inside the streetcar./Found on Munaluchi Bridal/Photo by Erik Umphery

Posing on the neutral ground with a streetcar uptown./Photo by MQ Photography

However, there's a lot of construction going on around the streetcar lines over the next year or so and they aren't booking private rides for the time being.  That's probably all for the better, since they cost a pretty penny for a one-way ride.  I'm rather relieved that the idea was shut down for me, so I couldn't even attempt to make it happen. 

So a big part of the transportation booking is knowing where you need to go and when. Well geez, limo companies, I don't have all those details figured out a year in advance! So I procrastinated on transportation for a while until we made some more decisions.  Our hotels will be downtown, near the Board of Trade, so that we won't have to travel far once the reception is over and they're nearby anywhere that we want for an after party.  We would need round-trip service to go from the hotels to the church and back to the reception.  This is what most limo companies offered under their wedding packages.  However, these places only allowed two hours for their wedding package services.  This is just enough time for picking up, getting to the church a little early, the ceremony, pictures in the church, and the ride back.  I realized that this would mean we would have to get ready at the hotel and stay in the downtown area until right before the ceremony. 

But that means that the pre-ceremony pictures would all have to be around the hotel, and I just wasn't sure I was ready to commit to that!  I definitely wanted a picture with a streetcar and trees on St. Charles Ave like the one above and some in Audubon Park by the zoo, but with the two hour time limit I wasn't sure if we could fit that in!  

When I asked the limo companies I was checking out about adding on hours, they were hesitant.  Not really sure why, since I was offering to pay, but I didn't take that as a good sign.  Also - did anyone else find it very hard to judge limo companies by reviews?  I guess because they're so subjective - depends on your driver, the exact route, the type of traffic/construction on that day, etc.  Everywhere I turned, it seemed like every company had a few reviews that said "OMG! Never ever use this company, they ruined my wedding day!"  

So I considered plenty of companies and options, to see about getting us some more time for transportation, but they started getting really complicated, really fast, so I'll just tell you what we're doing!  

We're working with the company Limousine Livery, who come recommended by BM J and his wife, M; for their wedding last year the service was great, and they have a package that has everything that we need.  We'll be getting a Rolls Royce, a stretch limo, and a trolley bus.  

When I started looking for transportation Momma P asked "Are you going to get a vintage car for you and your dad to ride in? Those pictures always look so nice."  Well you don't have to tell me twice - Rolls Royce was on the list.  Technically Limo Livery doesn't list it in their fleet, but it is in their Platinum Wedding Package so I assume they'll make one appear from somewhere.  Famous last words, right?

I love how her dress is flowing out!/Photo found on Style Me Pretty/Photo by Mak Photography

Photo found on Style Me Pretty/Photo by Mak Photography

So my dad and I will ride from the hotel to the church in the Rolls, and then Sphinx and I will ride back to the reception in it together.

The other parents will ride to the ceremony in the stretch limo, and my dad will hop in with them on the way back.  My mom said they didn't need anything special, but I thought this would be something nice for them, and will be a little quicker since we'll be trying to squeeze in plenty of formal shots after the ceremony.  This way no one has to worry about bringing their personal vehicle back to the hotel and get it parked.

Stretch limo from the Limousine Livery website.

So technically the package included a mini bus, but they were able to switch it out to a trolley bus for us when I asked!

Cute trolley bus from Limo Livery's website.

It doesn't travel on tracks, but the inside pictures will give us the same effect as the streetcars, and it holds a few more people than the mini bus.  I was especially influenced by Mrs. Treasure's awesome pictures on her trolley!

Mrs. Treasure's Wedding Day Trolley//Photo by Andrew Collings Photography

And the best part - since the trolley is a "premium" vehicle, you're required to book them for four hours instead of the standard two.  So that means we can jump on the trolley from the hotel early (about 4:30 pm) with our wedding party, get some pictures wherever we want to around town, and make it back to the hotel in time to meet up with the Rolls and stretch limo to head off to the ceremony (at about 6:30 pm)!  Hopefully that's not a recipe for disaster on the wedding day, but at least we have the flexibility when we're scoping out places for photos.  Also this means I get to ride in the trolley, since for the rest of the trips I'll be practicing my queenly wave from the Rolls.  Just kidding. Maybe.

If you're trying to save money on your day, transportation is a good place to do that.  You can cut it out completely or try to find another option that works for you.  The trolley fits a lot of people (we're going to open it up to the dates of the bridal party on the way to and from the church), so you could just get one and be done.  Or you could see about chartering a one-way trip if that's all you need. Those tend to be cheaper than the options when the driver will be waiting around for you.  In our case, exactly what we needed (the round trip with the waiting during the ceremony), was exactly what we needed so I went ahead with getting the wedding package that is offered.  The extra hours of the trolley was just a perk that we would have worked around if we didn't have it.  If you don't need all that though, try to negotiate something that will work for your wedding.

Did you use any special transportation for your wedding? Did you find it hard to find good reviews for limos in your area?