What to do in lieu of a limo.

rb30966

We are having a semi-formal afternoon fall wedding in late October of this year and I am wondering about what to do for transporting the bridal party. I am not willing to pay a couple thousand dollars for a limo, especially because I don't think a limo would fit the style of our wedding anyway. Does anyone have any ideas? I thought about renting a 15 passenger van and writing "just married" on the windows with window chalk/doing the whole tin can tied to the back thing, but I wasn't sure if it would come across as retro and cute, or if it would just look hillbilly-tastic. :]
Thoughts?

Mrs.B6302007

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_lieu-of-limo?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:0c2961b2-51aa-4f5c-a8cb-43c1c33ff67bPost:f40484a4-867a-46fd-9cfd-35cbd5ef4817">What to do in lieu of a limo.</a>:
[QUOTE]We are having a semi-formal afternoon fall wedding in late October of this year and I am wondering about what to do for transporting the bridal party. I am not willing to pay a couple thousand dollars for a limo, especially because I don't think a limo would fit the style of our wedding anyway. Does anyone have any ideas? I thought about renting a 15 passenger van and writing "just married" on the windows with window chalk/doing the whole tin can tied to the back thing, but I wasn't sure if it would come across as retro and cute, or if it would just look hillbilly-tastic. :] Thoughts?
Posted by rb30966[/QUOTE]

You're not required to provide transportation for them so I would just let them arrange for their own. A van could also be difficult for the girls in their dresses as far as climbing in and out. Then there's the logistics of getting them back to their cars.  Are you going to pay for the driver to stick around the whole reception to take them back to the original pick up site?  It's easier just to let them meet at the ceremony venue or wherever you're doing pics.  I've been a BM in several weddings and I always appreciated being able to transport myself rather than forced to ride with the group.

rb30966

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_lieu-of-limo?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:0c2961b2-51aa-4f5c-a8cb-43c1c33ff67bPost:de7004b4-cde0-4efe-98eb-23b832747ece">Re: What to do in lieu of a limo.</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to What to do in lieu of a limo. : You're not required to provide transportation for them so I would just let them arrange for their own. Posted by Mrs.B6302007[/QUOTE]

I know I'm not required to, but I thought it would be nice for us to all ride together that day. I have been to a couple weddings where we had to arrange transportation for ourselves and it always felt kind of like mass mayhem. Also one of the husbands of the ladies in the bridal party volunteered to drive so that wouldn't be an issue. I hadn't thought about the van being difficult to get into and out of though. Do you think it's much different than an SUV limousine? The girls are wearing short dressies, so I'll be the only one with a longer dress to worry about anyway.

mary9449

I wouldn't do a van. I feel like it would be difficult to get everyone in and out and everyone would be crawling over eachother. Could you do a party bus? In my area they seem to be less expensive than a limo and are larger and easier to get in and out of.

aegrish

I would just let people drive themselves.  A van isn't necessary and if you're going to get a van why not spring for a limo.  I would do all or nothing in the case of transportation.  Personally, I do not mind driving myself to and from wedding events at all if I'm in the bridal party.  At least you can come/go when you need too and don't need to worry about cars being in the right place, forgetting something and not having a ride, etc. 

rb30966

Thanks for the advice aegrish! And congrats on your big day- 2 weeks is so soon! Yay!

lzmac

We rented an SUV (a Ford Explorer) plus used a friends truck.  Between the two vehicles we had a ton of room and had a blast.  The only person who had any issues getting in and out was me with the dress!!  My girls had short dresses and it worked out well with the type of vehicles that we had.  

bellebride116

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_lieu-of-limo?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:0c2961b2-51aa-4f5c-a8cb-43c1c33ff67bPost:72c51407-1811-48ba-acb6-24156f66898a">Re: What to do in lieu of a limo.</a>:
[QUOTE]I would just let people drive themselves.  A van isn't necessary and if you're going to get a van why not spring for a limo.  I would do all or nothing in the case of transportation.  Personally, I do not mind driving myself to and from wedding events at all if I'm in the bridal party.  At least you can come/go when you need too and don't need to worry about cars being in the right place, forgetting something and not having a ride, etc. 
Posted by aegrish[/QUOTE]
 <div>This. I would either spend for a limo or just pocket the money and use it towards something else. </div>

aegrish

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_lieu-of-limo?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:0c2961b2-51aa-4f5c-a8cb-43c1c33ff67bPost:d1ba4da5-07a3-4a59-a418-d986725dd95f">Re: What to do in lieu of a limo.</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks for the advice aegrish! And congrats on your big day- 2 weeks is so soon! Yay!
Posted by rb30966[/QUOTE]

thank you <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" />  It goes by fast!

futurepivko

we did a party bus and it was a HUGE hit

lalaith50

a couple thousand dollars on a limo? Wow, I thought you could get them for like $600 for a few hours.

Or, a party bus. Several weddings I've been in have had those, and I think they came out to like $300 for a few hours.

AngieB6

We're just using some friends with vans.  I'm sure that no one would mind driving, as our venues are minutes apart, but we want to be able to shuttle everyone back to the hotel so they can drink if they want to.

futurepivko

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_lieu-of-limo?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:0c2961b2-51aa-4f5c-a8cb-43c1c33ff67bPost:45cf3553-7e81-4b29-beb1-59c1741ac7f3">Re: What to do in lieu of a limo.</a>:
[QUOTE]a couple thousand dollars on a limo? Wow, I thought you could get them for like $600 for a few hours. Or, a party bus. <strong>Several weddings I've been in have had those, and I think they came out to like $300 for a few hours.</strong>
Posted by lalaith50[/QUOTE]

i wish ours was that cheap

aegrish

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_lieu-of-limo?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:0c2961b2-51aa-4f5c-a8cb-43c1c33ff67bPost:052e4f17-a58b-4461-ab8f-a518957bbb33">Re: What to do in lieu of a limo.</a>:
[QUOTE]I've been in...oh, about a bazillion weddings, and in none of them was transportation provided.  Honestly, I'd really rather drive my own car.  I might have all kinds of stuff I want to stash in the car. <strong> I might get a migraine and need to leave earlier than the rest of the WP.  All kinds of things can happen.
</strong>Posted by LucyHC[/QUOTE]

haha I feel the same way!  I hate the trapped feeling of group transportation especially when you're only miles away from your own car and home!

schadbourne

well i would def do some research. Here in maine Trolly's are super popular. My fmil is renting a limo so that is what we are doing. A Party bus is nice because of its large size.

if someone wasn't paying for the limo i would have had everyone drive their own cars.

jsparks11

I was in the same situation - shopping around at bridal shows it seemed the cheapest limo package I could get was $800 - still too much considering we just needed transport for pre-ceremony photos (ceremony and reception in same location), a max of three hours.  We wanted to drive everyone together, though, for various reasons.  My FI shopped around via the yellow pages for airport transport, so we found a limo without any of the red-carpet rolling, champagne serving frills for just over $300.  Might be worth a shot. Many of the bigger companies (who do the wedding advertising) are unwilling to drop their package deals.

sunshine4485

Just a thought, I was just in my best friend's wedding this past September and she rented out a party bus. According to her, the bus was cheaper than renting a big fancy limo and it was actually really nice b/c everyone was able to stand and therefore noone's dresses got mashed up. I'm not sure how many are in your wedding party but there were 7 BM and 7 groomsmen as well as one flower girl and one ring bearer. We all fit nicely and weren't cramped at all. Just a suggestion....

RivelAmy

My father owns a 15 passenger van for work (it's olive green, to boot!) and he is sending someone to pick myself and the BP up at the hotel that we will be getting ready at. We will be decorating "The Pickle" to make it look wedding-ish, and it is going to suit our needs without having to rent a limo! So OP, do whatever you can afford and screw anyone who thinks it is tacky or not good enough!