‘Get me to the church on time’
One topic that seems to cause confusion and some stress involves when the happy couple should arrive at their wedding venue. To a degree it depends on the type of service and the venue.
Church weddings
We ensure we arrive at the Bride’s departure address at least 15 minutes before the agreed leaving time to allow time for wedding photographs of you with one of our vintage wedding cars. Invariably, we will have carried out a trial run a few days before the wedding to check on road conditions, parking arrangements and to time the journey. We will have e-mailed the wedding organiser (usually the bride or groom) to let them know our findings and to confirm departure times for those involved.
We at Linara Classic Wedding Cars recommend that those organising the wedding check with the Vicar or Priest to clearly establish when they are expected to arrive and whether being ‘fashionably late’ is acceptable. We find that these days lateness tends to be frowned on, so do check. We heard from one church official recently of a Surrey wedding where the Bride was over an hour late and her wedding was postponed to the end of the day, resulting in the reception taking place before the wedding!
Our suggestion is to aim to arrive about 5 minutes early to allow time for photographs at the church and to ensure the guests are seated and waiting in anticipation for the Bride’s entrance. But, of course, the choice is down to the bride and groom.
Registry Office weddings
Timings at Registry Office weddings are equally important, particularly on Saturdays and popular week days when several weddings are likely to be taking place. Registrars sometimes have slightly different requirements as to when participants arrive, so again it is wise to check. Generally, they expect Grooms to arrive about 30 minutes early to allow time for their interview and then be out of sight of the Bride when she arrives. Brides are usually asked to arrive about 15 minutes early. It is our practice to suggest the Bride waits in the car to ensure the Groom is in fact out of sight before she alights and has any photos taken.
Venue weddings
Registrars tend to have similar requirements regarding timings and whilst it is likely that only one wedding is taking place at the venue, it is possible the Registrar has commitments later in the day, so again it is important to try to keep things on time.