Wedding transport fails in predictable ways. Almost all of them are timetable failures rather than vehicle failures.
Size the convoy honestly
Count the people who must be moved, not the people you would like to move. A lead car for the couple, one vehicle for immediate family on each side, and a bus for the bridal party covers most weddings. Guests generally arrange themselves, and planning as though they will not is how budgets get destroyed.
Build in the buffer everyone skips
The gap between the ceremony ending and the reception starting is where days collapse. Photographs always overrun. Add forty-five minutes to whatever your planner has written down, and tell the drivers the padded time, not the optimistic one.
Nominate a contact who is not the couple
Someone has to be reachable from 8am. It cannot be the bride and it should not be the groom. Give the transport company one name and one number, and make sure that person has the full running order.
Brief the drivers on the whole day
A driver who knows he collects the couple at 2pm and where he waits until then will be in position. A driver who only knows the pickup address will be somewhere else when you need him.
Book earlier than feels necessary
December and January Saturdays go first, and they go months out. If you want a specific vehicle for the lead car, six to eight weeks is the minimum.
