Legally Wed: Falling For You: Baby You Can Ride My (Limo)

Attention: This is a monster of a post, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride (pun intended)!

Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married... walking to the limo

Some people view wedding day transportation as a luxury, but in our case, it was really more of a necessity. For starters, our ceremony and reception took place at two separate locations. Couple that with the fact that half of our wedding party came in from out of town, and we knew that we would have to ferry quite a few people around. We absolutely loved the look of antique cars, but since we were trying to save by only renting one vehicle, we knew we would be needing a limo to accommodate our group. Since I had always wanted to ride in a classic vintage, I was initially pretty bummed out by this, That is, until I discovered the Excalibur 8 passenger, which is basically a stretch version of the Excalibur. Oddly enough, it cost the same to rent as a regular limo!

Another thing we did to save money was negotiate multiple runs for free. Several companies that we spoke to were unwilling to do this. Why would they, when they could easily rent out two cars instead of just one? But after calling around, we were able to find a company willing to work with us since our hotel, church and reception venue were all in such close proximity. While I strongly recommend this strategy as a way to get more bang for your buck, please understand you're doing so at your own risk. Having only one car means that if it breaks down, gets stuck in traffic, or anything else happens, you'll be stranded. As long as you have a backup plan in place and take a few extra precautions, you should be good to go! In our case, I built in lots of extra time to allow for any worst-case scenarios, despite the fact that it was only a ten minute drive , given the short distance between the hotel and the church.

Ride #1 departed at 4 pm, carrying Mr. W, BM Tequila, Brother GM, GM of Doom, MIL Waterfall, Lil' Waterfall and BM Green Eyes' boyfriend, who didn't have a ride. Total occupancy: 7/8 seats filled. This allowed plenty of time for the boys to be dropped off and for the limo to come back to the hotel for ride #2 with plenty of time to spare. The guys also had to decorate the church (i.e. place the pomanders at the ends of the pews). Since there was a mass from 4 to 5 pm before our wedding, this couldn't be done ahead of time so I had no choice but to delegate this task to the guys. Since they arrived so early, Mr. W sat through an entire mass before our own full catholic service! I laughed at this when he told me later on at the reception, but he said it was actually very calming and allowed him to relax before the ceremony. Go figure!

Ride #2 departed at precisely 5 pm with me, MOH Long Legs, BM Green Eyes, Bm Tiny, both my parents and our two photographers in tow. Total occupancy 8/8! Boo-yah! Now, obviously you don't need to give your photographers a ride, but we had the space and it allowed for some great photos! Not to mention, it made everything simpler since they didn't have to worry about parking and such. I'm also really glad that we allowed for so much extra time because as luck would have it, we got stuck in traffic. At one point, I remember staring out the window and noticing a horse and carriage beside us, moving at a much quicker pace than we were!

The mood in the limo was infectious and the excitement was palpable... until Papi W's phone rang. It was my grandmother on the line and I could hear the desperation in her voice. She'd circled the block 10 times and there was no parking anywhere (never mind the fact that I made sure to point out on my website that guests should allow plenty of time to find parking in Old Montreal). At this rate, my grandparents were going to miss the ceremony. My dad tried to keep his voice calm, but I could tell he was worried.

Papi W on the phone with grandma/ photo by BM Green Eyes, paparazza extraordinaire

Everyone stopped talking and laughing, and one by one, they all turned to me, searching my face for any indication that I was about to go postal. I tried hard not to sweat-- no really, the A/C was broken in the limo, and I was hella sweaty in my huge dress, just keeping it rulll for you guys ;).

After racking my brain for a solution, I remembered that the church had a reserved parking spot for the bride and groom, which we hadn't used. Papi W, quickly relayed my instructions and hung up the phone. Somebody told a joke, and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief!

Love my dad's face in this one!

After a few more minutes, we arrived at the church, right on schedule. I'll always remember the feeling of stepping out of the limo while hundreds of onlookers clapped and stared. As if on cue, the wind picked up my dress. I felt like a celebrity! I was fabulous! I was finally about to see my groom!