How to set up a successful wedding vehicle business

We’re all familiar with the Hollywood scene of the newly married lovebirds tailing off into the distance to live happily ever after, with cans tied to the rear bumper jangling away and “Just Married” scrawled on the back of their vehicle. One thing you’ll notice is that vehicle in question is always a rather nice or unique one, which typically offers some sentimental or luxury value to the newlyweds in question.

While it’s only one detail in the larger wedding picture, the wedding carriage is a hugely important feature – and a costly one at that. Typically, one can expect to pay anywhere from £150-£1,500 for a single day’s use, and as such running a successful wedding vehicle business can be extremely lucrative.

However, making a success of such a business isn’t as simple as polishing up your current vehicle and declaring yourself a wedding driver. There are a number of key factors, and investments, to consider before you can really pitch yourself as a wedding vehicle business people will want to work with.

Have a roster of cars worthy of a wedding celebration

Unsurprisingly, nobody wants to get married in a car fit for your average Uber journey. Often, the wedding vehicle needs to be befitting of the wider wedding theme, or in some cases transcend that to become a centre piece of the celebration. It depends on the client and their priorities for their big day, but one thing is for sure: as a general rule – a run of the mill wedding car simply won’t do.

To get the punters in, your wedding car or selection of wedding cars needs to meet the high standards set out by every wedding party. Your traditional wedding roster will feature a selection of luxury classic cars – the Rolls Royce being the undoubted king of the sector. Your business might want to follow that route, or you may wish to go for something more out there like a supercar option for those newlywed petrolheads among us.

Whatever your niche is, know this: it will cost you an awful lot to fund the products behind your business. In virtually every instance, wedding car hire businesses will secure their vehicles via vehicle finance, allowing them to spread the cost of their investment over a number of years.

Hire drivers who will deliver

There are good drivers and bad drivers out there, and yes, while anyone with a driving licence can drive a Rolls Royce Phantom, not everyone should.

The art of chauffeuring is just that – a craft in its own right that needs to be respected. When you pay for a chauffeur service, you expect complete professionalism, an effortless drive and an absolutely flawless service. This is never truer than on your wedding day, when the last thing you’d expect with the luxury wedding car you’ve paid £500 for is a driver behind it that is a little clumsy on the clutch.

Vetting your drivers to ensure they will deliver a wedding-worthy service is a must if you want to have happy customers and vehicles that remain in pristine condition.

Make sure you’ve got all your bases covered with your insurance

No wedding business can get off the ground without the right insurance behind it. Your insurance must cover you in the instance of an accident or mishap, as an uninsured or incorrectly insured incident could very well mean the end of your business entirely.

There are a few points of nuance to think about with wedding car insurance. First, you are offering an unusual car hire and chauffeur service that involves low mileage and infrequent use, and as such you’ll need to choose the right coverage to reflect that fact. Second, if you’re working with classic cars, you’ll likely want to look into specialist classic car insurance to protect your valuable inventory. Third and finally, you need to think about the business element, and secure a policy that protects you and your customers in any scenario.

Once you’re up and running with a successful wedding car business, it’s more or less a case of watching the money roll in. However, the route to get there is a financially demanding and competitive one, so make sure you know what you’re getting into before you start. Just like the weddings you plan on catering for, everything in your business, from the cars your own to the drivers you hire, needs to be absolutely perfect.