Wedding Buses

Wedding buses are a popular way of transporting guests from the church to the wedding reception, seating up to 72 guests on one bus. Not only do they create a fun atmosphere for your guests but they enable your guests to start mingling with each other before the real party starts. If you are going to book a traditional red London bus for your wedding, here are some tips to remember which will make the whole process a lot smoother:

• Driver contact details: Make sure to have all the drivers names and mobile numbers so you can contact them if they are late or you need to change timings at all.
• Walk the route: It’s a good idea to walk around the venue and make sure there is space for the bus/buses to pull up and wait for your guests to board. Check for one way systems and narrow roads to ensure buses can actually pull up outside. If they can’t you will need to think about a nearby location which they can pull up and wait. Make sure they are not going to block any traffic. Buses could be fined in excess of £1,000 for waiting in bus bays and this fine will come back to you to pick up. Not a bill you want to receive when you’re back from your relaxing honeymoon!
• Maps: Use Google maps to help you create a route map that you want the buses to follow, this could include stops for you to have photographs taken or a route that your guests will enjoy if they’ve travelled from afar and haven’t seen the area before. For example, at a London wedding its good to go past the famous landmarks, guests will enjoy taking pictures and it sets a good mood for the rest of the day. Send your map to the bus company ahead of the day, but also print off enough copies for each driver to give to them on their arrival. We find from experience, that drivers are allocated to your wedding the day before and won’t necessarily have seen your beautifully organised map. Therefore by having copies with you, the drivers can be shown the route and you can be sure they will go the right way.

• Beverages: If the journey is going to be long, think about supplying your guests with drinks and nibbles for their journey, something that won’t cause a mess or get the guests too merry before they’ve seen the hard work you’ve put into the venue. A good idea is Marks and Spencer’s plastic glasses of wine with peel off lids, this controls the amount of alcohol being consumed and is much easier than trying to pour from a bottle while on the move. Remember though that there are no loos so keep your bus journey down to a maximum of 30mins if you can.
• Personalisation: Ask about changing the destination blind to a personalized message. Most bus companies will use “Wedding Special” but for around £50 you can get this personalised to something that suits you.
• Booking: Always over estimate the time that you will need the buses for, allow 30 minutes of time before you really need the buses to arrive. This allows for bad traffic, road works, buses getting lost etc. Hopefully none of the above will occur but its better to have the buses waiting then have your guests waiting, especially in the unpredictable English weather!
• Organisation: Its good to book your buses well in advance of your wedding day as popular dates can get snapped up quickly, also think about any sporting events that may effect traffic on your date.
• If you would like to go for a different colour bus or style, these are a lot more rare to find and will take some research. Because of this they are therefore a lot more expensive. Most red buses are situated in London and more unusual colours and styles are located in the North.

It always helps to have at least 1 person on the day co-ordinating the buses, so you can enjoy your wedding day without the worry of whether your guests have all been picked up and transferred to the wedding reception on time.

Photo credits [Image 1: Lawson Photography, Image 2: Gary Lashmar, Image 3: onefabday.com, Image 4: Clarissa Lum & Lalisa Kim from Clarzzique, Image 5: David Scholes Photography, Image 6: Gracie May Photography, Image 7 & 8 Pavone Photography, Image 9: Lisa Devine Photography]