Powered By Blogger

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Classy Transportation, LLC: Classy Transportation, LLC: The Mystery Wedding Dr...

Classy Transportation, LLC: Classy Transportation, LLC: The Mystery Wedding Dr...: "After completing over a thousand weddings, I have had four incidents where the bride has mysteriously developed an oil-like stain on the but..."

The Mystery Wedding Dress Stain

After completing over a thousand weddings, I have had four incidents where the bride has mysteriously developed an oil-like stain on the butt of her wedding dress. The first time this occurred, I notice the clear (wet looking) stain on the dress prior to the bride entering wedding car. My assumption was, it was hot outside and her butt had begun to sweat. Being a bit embarrassed, I didn't say anything. By the time they arrived at the reception, it had gotten worst and some of the stain had transferred to the groom's white jacket! I immediately started an investigate as to where the stain came from, since the car seat was being blamed for causing the stain. I swiped my seats with a white handkerchief, but nothing was on the seat. So, I figured what ever it was must have been all absorbed by the bride's dress. I soon forgot about the incident until it happened again about a year later. Each time I could not find any evidence of any oil anywhere on the seat. It wasn't until the fourth incident that I had enough information to figure out what was causing this problem.

All four brides choose very thin, white silk or satin gowns that fit very tight around the hips. They all choose to wear very thin under garments under the dress. And they all had applied baby oil or a oil-based cream to their body prior to getting dress. As soon as they sat down (anywhere) the baby oil (along with any perspiration on the skin) began to bleed through the dress leaving a wet-looking ugly stain!

But why didn’t brides with large multi-layered dresses have this problem? Simply because the oil (if used, by the bride) was absorbed by several previously layers of garment and dress and never made it to the outer-most layer of the dress fabric. Mystery Solved!

BRIDES, DON’T USE BABY OIL OR OTHER OIL-BASED CREAMS ON YOUR BODY IF YOU PLAN TO WEAR A TIGHT-FITTING WEDDING GOWN. OTHERWISE, YOUR WEDDING DRESS MAY BE RUINED BEFORE THE CEREMONY EVEN BEGINS!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Who's responsible for the wedding transportation?

It's getting close to the wedding day, so who's responsible for the wedding transportation? Well, this question can be answered in a number of ways. First of all, which part of the wedding will transportation be needed? Traditionally, the bridal party limousine transportation is often the responsibility of the bride's dad and the best man. Don't forget transportation for the bride and groom after the wedding. And most importantly (and often overlooked) transportation for the bride and groom after the reception.

As a standard rule...

1. The father of the bride makes transportation arrangements to the wedding and to the reception.
2. The best man makes transportation arrangement from the reception to get the couple to their honeymoon suite.

However, the father and best man should work together to get all transportation logistics synchronized.

Consider the following...

1. You will need transportation for the bridal party to the wedding.
2. You will need transportation for the bride and her father and/or mother to the wedding.
3. You will need transportation for the bride and groom after the wedding to the reception.
4. You will need transportation for the bride and groom after the reception to their honeymoon suite.
5. You may need shuttle transportation for some of the wedding guests as well.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Best Wedding Discounts

Too often, the first thing a couple will do after announcing their engagement is to set a wedding date. If you set your wedding date without doing the necessary research, "you will pay too much"! If you have an unlimited budget (like Prince William), then by all means, GO FOR IT. However, if you are like most young couples, you are definitely on a budget. So, before you set that date, do your homework. Here are some things to remember...

1. A Saturday wedding is the most expensive, so if you MUST pick a Saturday, try an early spring (March/April) or late fall wedding (November/December) wedding. You will get the best price on everything during this period.

2. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting married the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. You may already be the host of the family gathering anyway. This could save family members travel costs since they are already in town anyway. And the price for EVERYTHING will be DISCOUNTED!

3. If you must have that May/June wedding, consider Friday evening (7pm - 11pm) and consider having your wedding and reception at the same venue. You will get a great deal on MOST services.

4. Sunday weddings are always good if you are not getting married in church. Often churches will not allow weddings on Sundays as they interfere with Sunday service. If you can plan your wedding after Sunday church service, it may work out. Otherwise consider another wedding venue.

5. Find an experienced Wedding Planner that has lots of connections with different wedding services. A GOOD wedding planner can get you great discounts on just about EVERYTHING! Calculate the possible savings your wedding planner can provide. They should be 20% or greater.

6. Finally, DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR DISCOUNTS or special consideration based on time. Often a different start-time or end-time can change the pricing without affecting the wedding experience.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Wedding Transportation By the Mile?

Wedding Transportation By the Mile? - As a limousine service, we get a fair amount of calls from brides and grooms regarding the need for "Just a quick pickup and a short drive to their wedding/reception venues". Of course this is their way of saying, "I don't have a lot to spend on transportation". Although many limousine companies will vary from their 4 hours minimum on specific cases, many couples just want "an hour worth". You can't buy one hour worth of limousine service. It often takes longer than that to make the trip to/from the pickup location.

We conduct about 300 weddings per year and it's the largest part of our business, so we know how long it will take to complete the entire process without running out of time. Therefore, we have price several packages to accommodate the "frugal" bride and groom. So I am still amazed when I hear "It's only a short distance". It's not about the distance. It's about the huge wait-times, waiting on the bridal party at the hotel for 30 minutes and waiting on the photographer for 45 minutes. On average, a limousine spends two hours waiting and one hour transporting and one hour traveling to/from the Limousine Company garages. This is why there is a four hours minimum.

Case Study: Mary has twelve people in her bridal party. Her wedding is at 2pm, so Mary wants to make sure everyone is at the church on time, so she requested a 12:30pm pickup from the hotel. The limousine time started when it left the garage at 12:00pm. Everyone is at the church by 1pm. The ceremony started at 2pm and lasted ½ hour. Afterward lots of wedding photos are taken, which take ½ hour inside and 15 minutes outside the church. It is now 3:15pm and the bridal party is headed for the reception site, which is ½ hour away. With loading and unload, the bridal party arrives at the reception venue at 4pm. The limousine heads back to the garage and arrives at 4:30pm. The entire process takes 3.5 hours to complete. This assumes everything is on schedule. Mary has ½ hour of additional time she didn’t use. Anything less than four hours and Mary is paying a premium for over-time.

What If… The limousine had to make two trips (one of the guys and one for the ladies)?
What If… The photographer had trouble getting everyone in place and took longer for pictures?
What If… There was a traffic delay getting to one of the venues?

If a couple can streamline the above Case Study into three hours, then most limousine companies are flexible. Anything less and they are just fooling themselves and will end up with sub-standard quality, being pushed and paying a premium for extra hours.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

What Brides & Grooms Wedding Transportation

1. Don't impose on your friends or family to drive you to your hotel. You can select from a stylish vintage get-away car or just a standard sedan to get you to your destination safely. All at an affordable price.

2. If you are following tradition, then you will need a car to get the bride & groom to the wedding venue on time. The groom may opt to ride with the bridal party, but the bride will need separate transportation for her and one or two others. Often the groom and best man will need their own transportation, as they will need some time to sure up their game plan and settle nerves.

3. Keep in mind, the only opportunity the bride and groom gets to be alone on the wedding day is the ride from the wedding to the reception. Its always a good idea to have that time to reflect after the ceremony and it is the first opportunity for both of you to relax a little before the big reception festivities begin.

4. You may want to consider a short detour to a favorite spot to take some memorable photos, which will give your guests plenty of time to arrive at the reception before you. A botanical garden, park or historic site is a great spot for photos.

5. If you wish to make a grand exit at the end of the evening, a little exit planning will ensure a grand get-away. Your guests will be of all ages, so planning an early exit is a good idea. A 9pm to 9:30pm exit is a great time to end the evening for the young and older guests and will ensure everyone is still there for the grand get-away. Don't forget how long the wedding is (6am - 10pm non-stop * 16 hours).

6. If you are flying out on your honeymoon the following day, make sure your airport hotel is only about 30 minutes from your reception venue. Driving several hours to get to your hotel late at night or early in the morning may cause you to over-sleep and miss your flight!

Classy Transportation, LLC: What Wedding Planners Should Know About Classy Tra...

Classy Transportation, LLC: What Wedding Planners Should Know About Classy Tra...: "1. We are the largest wedding transportation provider in North Carolina. 2. We specialized in vintage wedding cars and stretch limousines. 3..."