- Multi-car bookings priced together
- Delivered to the getting-ready address
- Collected the next morning
Every couple starts by counting people and dividing by seats. That arithmetic is wrong, and it is wrong in the direction that leaves somebody standing in a driveway. A five-seat car carries five people in jeans. It does not carry five people in formalwear, and it certainly does not carry four plus a gown.
Tell us the numbers and we will size the fleet
How many in the bridal party, and how many gowns. We will work out the smallest fleet that genuinely covers it.
Why the Obvious Arithmetic Fails
Formalwear takes more room than clothes
Three adults across a rear bench is a normal seating figure and an uncomfortable
reality in suits, and an impossible one if any of them is in a structured gown. For
planning purposes, treat a five-seat car as a four-person car on a wedding day and a
seven-seat car as a six-person one.
A gown occupies a seat, sometimes two
A full bridal gown with any structure to it does not fold into a footwell. It travels
best laid across a rear bench or in a large flat boot, and either way it has taken space
you were counting on for a person. Plan the bride's car as carrying the bride, one
attendant and the dress, and no more.
Nobody wants to arrive creased
This is the part that gets dismissed and then matters enormously in photographs. A
bridal party packed to capacity arrives creased. The same party with one spare seat per
car does not. If you are between two cars and three, take three.
The count changes during the day
The party travelling to the ceremony is rarely the party travelling to the reception.
Parents join, photographers need a lift, someone's shoes have been abandoned. Build one
spare seat into the plan and it absorbs all of it.
The Real Seat Counts
From our own fleet, so you can do the arithmetic with actual numbers rather than
assumptions.
| Kia Carnival GT-Line | 8 seats, largest luggage space in the fleet |
|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz GLS | 7 seats |
| Audi Q7 Quattro | 7 seats |
| Land Rover Defender | 7 seats |
| Range Rover Sport (2020) | 7 seats |
| Range Rover Sport (2022 and 2023) | 5 seats each |
| Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon | 5 seats, tall doors and easy access in a gown |
| Range Rover Vogue | 5 seats |
Note the third row on a seven-seat SUV. It is genuinely usable for adults on a short
run to a ceremony and it eats almost all of the boot space when it is up. You cannot have
seven people and the luggage at the same time.
Worked Examples
Couple plus four attendants
Six people and one gown. Two cars comfortably: a five-seat car for the couple and the
dress, and a five-seat or seven-seat car for the four attendants. One spare seat in each,
which is exactly the buffer you want.
Couple plus six attendants
Eight people and one gown. Either three five-seat cars, which gives you the matched
convoy option, or two seven-seat SUVs, which is fewer cars and fewer drivers to organise.
The two-car version is cheaper and simpler; the three-car version photographs better.
Couple plus eight, and parents
Twelve or more. Two seven-seat SUVs plus a car for the couple, or the Kia Carnival for
the bulk of the party plus a hero car. This is the point where the people mover stops
being a compromise and starts being the sensible centre of the plan.
Large family wedding
Beyond about fifteen people, the honest answer is that a coach handles the guests and a
small prestige fleet handles the wedding party. Trying to move thirty people in hire cars
is a worse day than it sounds, and no fleet size fixes it.
What Else Is in the Car
People forget the cargo entirely, and it is what turns a workable plan into a tight one.
The gown, and often a second dress for the reception. Shoes, usually several pairs.
Flowers, which are bulkier and more fragile than anyone expects and should never go in a
boot that is being opened and closed all morning. A vanity case. Gifts and cards, if they
are travelling with you rather than meeting you. Signage, table numbers and anything else
being taken to the venue by the party rather than delivered.
That last category is the one that quietly consumes an entire boot. If you are carrying
reception items, say so when you book and we will size the fleet for it rather than for
the people alone.
Access Matters as Much as Seats
A number on a spec sheet does not tell you how easy the car is to get out of in
formalwear.
Tall vehicles with upright doors are far easier in a gown than low ones, because you
step out rather than climb out. That is a large part of why the G-Wagon is our most-booked
wedding car despite carrying only five: the ease of getting in and out matters more on the
day than two extra seats you were not going to use comfortably anyway.
Conversely, a low coupe is a genuinely difficult car to exit gracefully in a fitted
dress, and it will be photographed while it happens.
Children, Prams and Guests Who Need Help
The arithmetic above assumes able adults. Most weddings do not consist entirely of able
adults, and this is where a plan that looked fine on paper falls apart in a driveway.
Child seats
Any child requiring a restraint needs one fitted, and fitted correctly. Tell us at the
point of booking how many and what ages, so the right restraints are in the right cars
before the day rather than being sorted out on the morning. A fitted child seat also
occupies a full seat position, which changes your count.
Prams eat boots
A single modern pram will fill a substantial part of an SUV boot on its own. If a pram is
travelling, it effectively removes that car from carrying anything else of size, so plan it
into a specific vehicle rather than assuming it will fit somewhere.
Elderly guests and mobility
Height cuts both ways. A tall SUV is easy to step out of in a gown and genuinely
difficult to climb into for someone with limited mobility. If a grandparent is travelling
with the party, put them in the lowest-sill vehicle in the fleet and give them a front
seat, which is easier to enter than a rear one in every car we run.
Say it when you book
All three of these change which car goes where. None is a problem if we know in advance,
and all of them are a problem discovered at eleven on a Saturday morning.
How to Size It in Two Minutes
Count the wedding party. Add the parents if they are travelling with you. Add one for
the photographer, who will need a lift at some point in the day whether or not it is
planned. Divide by four for five-seat cars, or six for seven-seat cars. Round up. Then
give the bride's car a maximum of two people plus the dress regardless of what the
arithmetic says.
That number is almost always one car more than the naive calculation, and it is almost
always right.
If the wedding fleet is booked
We never move you down a tier. If your dates are taken, these are the luxury cars we will offer instead, and we will tell you plainly if none of them is free rather than substituting something lesser on the day.
Two seven-seat SUVs
- 2 cars
- 14 seats
- Room for dresses
- AWD
A Mercedes GLS and an Audi Q7, or the seven-seat Range Rover Sport. Fourteen seats across two cars, with the boot space that a full gown actually needs.
One hero car plus a people mover
- 2 cars
- 5 + 8 seats
- Lowest cost
- Covers everyone
A G-Wagon or Range Rover for the couple, the Kia Carnival GT-Line for the other eight. The cheapest arrangement that still gets everybody there together and gives you one car worth photographing.
Booking more than one car?
Send us the party size and the venues. Multi-car bookings are what our fleet is actually built for.
Guide rates, weekday winter pricing. Longer hires taper; the exact total for your dates is shown before you pay.
The bond held on your card equals the excess of the cover you choose. It is a pre-authorisation, released after return.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we need a car for the photographer?
Not usually a dedicated one, but allow a seat. Photographers move between locations with the party more often than couples expect, and a fleet sized to the exact head count leaves them standing in a driveway with three cameras.
Do you supply child seats?
Tell us at booking how many children and what ages, and the correct restraints are fitted in the right cars before the day. A fitted child seat occupies a full seat position, so it changes your capacity arithmetic as well.
Where does the wedding dress travel?
Laid flat across a rear bench, or in a large flat boot. Plan the bride's car as the bride, one attendant and the dress, and nothing else. A structured gown does not fold into a footwell however optimistic the seat count looks.
Is it better to have fewer larger cars or more smaller ones?
Fewer larger cars means fewer drivers to organise and less to go wrong. More smaller cars photographs better as a convoy and gives more flexibility on the day. For eight people it is genuinely a choice; beyond twelve, the larger vehicles win.
How many people fit in a five-seat car at a wedding?
Four, realistically. Three adults across a rear bench is uncomfortable in suits and impossible with a structured gown. Treat five-seat cars as four-person cars and seven-seat cars as six-person ones for planning.
Does the wedding dress need its own space?
Effectively yes. A structured gown does not fold into a footwell. It travels laid across a rear bench or in a large flat boot. Plan the bride's car as the bride, one attendant and the dress, and nothing more.
Can I use the third row of a seven-seat SUV?
For adults on a short run to a ceremony, yes. But it eats almost all the boot space when it is up, so you cannot have seven people and the luggage at the same time. Decide which you need.
What is the best car for getting out in a gown?
Something tall with upright doors, because you step out rather than climb out. It is a large part of why the G-Wagon is our most-booked wedding car despite carrying only five. A low coupe is genuinely difficult to exit gracefully, and it gets photographed while it happens.
What do people forget to allow room for?
Reception items. Signage, table numbers, gifts and flowers quietly consume an entire boot. Tell us if the party is carrying anything to the venue and we will size the fleet for the cargo rather than just the people.
We have thirty guests. Can you move everyone?
Beyond about fifteen the honest answer is a coach for the guests and a small prestige fleet for the wedding party. Moving thirty people in hire cars is a worse day than it sounds and no fleet size fixes it.
What is the quickest way to size the fleet?
Count the wedding party, add parents travelling with you, add one for the photographer. Divide by four for five-seat cars or six for seven-seat cars, and round up. Then cap the bride's car at two people plus the dress regardless.