What should we do if the car has not arrived by the agreed time or breaks down on the actual wedding day.
Although very unlikely, vehicles as we all know can break down at the most inopportune moment or can be held up in traffic congestion, a fact of life in today’s modern world, and although vehicle owners will have their own ways to deal with situations such as this we would strongly advise that you also prepare beforehand and have a back up plan to put into action.
On our part at Premier Carriage we automatically build in a 15 minute safety margin into all bookings at the start of the hire, the vehicle therefore should arrive at the collection address 15 minutes before the first planned departure. If the car arrives on schedule then all is well however if it is running late due to traffic or other problems en-route there is the comfort of the built in 15 minute leeway to play with before the planned departure. However, in the unlikely event the car has not arrived at your collection address by the chauffeur’s arrival time shown on your confirmation, do not wait the 15 minutes or waste valuable time phoning the offices of Premier Carriage [closed Saturday & Sunday], instead immediately telephone the chauffeur and/or owner’s numbers directly as time will be crucial so ensure you have their contact details to hand at your collection address just in case, these are shown in ‘red print’ on the confirmation and itinerary we send you but please remember contact with the chauffeur on the day is by mobile phone and subject to signal reception and mobile phone driving laws. If you have only advised of a mobile number for the collection address and not a landline number, ensure the mobile is switched on and is able to receive calls. Where possible keep lines free until the car has arrived in case the chauffeur needs to contact you.
We would like to offer one piece of valuable advice, as time will be at a premium and for your own peace of mind we would advise you to nominate a friend, neighbour or a wedding guest [who perhaps has a nice car] to be your rescue vehicle in the event of a last minute problem and who will be prepared to collect the Bride at short notice. They will need to be contactable by phone until they know the Bride has arrived safely at the church. The object is to get the Bride, and Bridesmaids if using the same car, to the Church as soon as possible as any delay to the start of the ceremony could have a knock on effect throughout the day, even a local taxi company may not be able to provide a car as quickly as your nominated friend or neighbour who has been pre-notified and briefed. The best option for your rescue vehicle would be to nominate someone who is closest to your collection address as this will ensure the minimum delay to your departure and therefore the minimum delay to your arrival at the ceremony venue as this will be the tightest part of your schedule to try to maintain.
As mentioned above, your contracted vehicle owner/s will have their own ways to deal with such situations and they will base their actions on the particular circumstances on the day however if it means using a replacement car this vehicle may be based some distance from where your original vehicle has encountered it’s problem or where your collection address is and therefore may take some time to arrive so you will then need to decide whether to wait for the replacement car and possibly arrive at the Church later than scheduled, or put your own back up plan into action and alert your pre-notified friend/neighbour. In the interim after the Bride is finally on her way the replacement vehicle [if available] or the original vehicle [if the problem has been rectified] can then proceed to the ceremony venue so it will be waiting for the Bride & Groom’s onward journey to the reception. If the original car [or it's replacement] has not arrived by the time the ceremony is completed we would then suggest you advise the best man to contact your own rescue vehicle and arrange for it to collect the Bride & Groom, as if the hired vehicle is not there by this time then it is safe to say something very disastrous must have occurred. As timing is not quite as crucial after the ceremony, we advise before you contact your rescue vehicle you try phoning the chauffeurs mobile number for an update of the situation as understandably the chauffeur would not have been able to call you while the ceremony was taking place, and the ability to send text messages is not always a skill mastered by all.
Traffic congestion is out of everyones control and breakdowns thankfully are very rare, but we must not forget after all that vehicles are simply machines. Although a breakdown is not caused by the owner/chauffeur it is understandable in such a situation to vent frustration on the poor old chauffeur so it would be a very kindly gesture to remember in the unlikely event of a breakdown your chauffeur will be just as distressed as yourself while also trying to remedy the situation for you to the best of their ability and under very tight time schedules. Please do not worry though, 99% of weddings go exactly according to schedule so we are more than confident yours will proceed as planned, but to have your own back up plan prepared beforehand is not only a sensible precaution but will also help take some of the anxiety out of what could otherwise be a stressful and emotive time.
For that final peace of mind, about two or three days prior to the wedding day we advise [as per our terms & conditions] you make direct contact with the vehicle owner/s who will actually be providing the service. Their contact numbers are highlighted in red print on your confirmation, this is especially important if there have been changes or amendments to your booking since it was originally made, you can then together go over the final details and timings for your special day and should a problem come to light this can be rectified before it occurs, also at this time you can re-confirm the name and mobile phone number of your chauffeur in case you need direct contact on the wedding day as the vehicle owner may not always be the person driving, and/or the chauffeur/s originally allocated to your wedding may have changed. Once you have done this you can then relax and enjoy the time remaining to your wedding day. Premier Carriage is a forward thinking company and believes in giving sensible advice even though it may never be needed.
Simple CHECKLIST for the Collection Address
1. Have a copy of the itinerary with you, this shows the vehicle owner/chauffeurs contact details [red print].
2. Car not arrived by 'Chauffeur's Arrival Time' on itinerary, phone owner/chauffeur direct [Not Premier Carriage].
3. No response from owner/chauffeur, call your pre-notified rescue car to alert them.
4. Approx 5 minutes later, if still no car or contact from owner/chauffeur, instruct your rescue car to collect you.
5. Do not depart the collection address earlier than scheduled, as the chauffeur may arrive by this time.
6. If you gave a mobile as a collection address contact number, keep it switched on until you reach the church.
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