Transportation on a Budget

Cape Cod Groom and I lamented over what to do regarding our wedding transportation.  We considered renting a traditional limousine, but the prices in our area to transport us and our wedding party were outrageous.  Plus, given that Cape Cod Groom loves cars, he wanted something more flashy than a typical limo.

Given that we were also having a vintage theme to our wedding, I suggested renting an antique car for the day.  My groom was pleased with this suggestion, until I looked at renting the antique cars through valet/limo companies.  They were just as expensive, if not more costly than renting a limo, and held far fewer people! I was beginning to feel a bit discouraged, but, knowing that Cape Cod has lots of wealthy retirees with car fetishes, I decided to post an ad on Craigslist to see if I could negotiate a price with someone who owned a vintage ride.

I still had plenty of time until my wedding, so I wasn't worried about taking my time to find the right vehicle.  I got a few responses right away from the Craigslist ad, but they were muscle cars and convertibles at that, which would not do for my December nuptials. I was beginning to think that old men with nice antique cars probably do not have any idea what Craigslist is, nevermind frequenting the site regularly.

At the suggestion of my friend at Cupcake Wedding, I contacted a local antique car club on the Cape to see if any members would be interested in renting me their ride for the day.  To my dismay, I got no response from them! Now I was starting to panic, because there was not much time left until the big day, and I feared that I would end up riding to the ceremony in my father's Buick.

Miraculously, about 8 weeks prior to our wedding, I got an email via the Craigslist ad from a man who owned a 1948 Dodge.  He said he had chauffeured a couple of weddings before, sent me tons of pictures, and after seeing the car in person, my groom and I knew this was it! It was way cooler than any limo we could afford, and about 1/3 of the cost!

Here are some pictures of our ride, taken on our wedding day by our photographer Seth Kammueller.

Car with a view of the Chatham Lighthouse in the background:

 The grill!

 Waiting for the bride:

In the end, we were really happy with our decision. The car fit with our vintage theme perfectly, I loved the color, and my groom loved riding inside an antique car.  Plus, since we saved money on not having to rent a limo, our parents decided to rent a couple of large passenger vans to transport guests to and from the reception.  While it is by no means necessary to provide transportation for your guests, I will say that this gesture made guests really happy since that they could drink as much as they wanted without having to have a designated driver.  Plus, the cost of the vintage car plus the two vans was still lower than renting a limo for the day!

I highly recommend doing something similar if you are in a similar situation and have a tight budget. My only advice would be to start your search earlier than I, to avoid the stress of all of the last minute negotiation and planning!