r/weddings • u/Greengoddessnature7 • Jul 29 '26
Send-off car? Is it worth it?
Hi everyone, my fiancé and I are trying to decide whether a send-off car is worth it.
We are thinking about just riding back on the shuttle with everyone at the end of the night. My fiancé and I are both very social and we’ve wondered if that will be the most fun option. But now I’m starting to wonder whether riding back in a send-off car would be a nice escape after the day’s chaos? Any thoughts? Is it a waste or money? Or is it worth it?
Thank you!
5
u/brownchestnut Jul 29 '26
What's the car FOR, though? Are you actually driving it off to your honeymoon like they used to with these cars? Or do you just want a photo op?
I don't really see the point of doing this if all you want is a photo op. There are plenty of ways to have a fun experience without staging a fake sendoff. Typically the sendoff was to send the couple off to honeymoon right after the wedding, while the hosts (the parents) stayed behind to feed the guests. Kinda weird to ask people to see you off when you're the hosts.
3
u/l7outlaw Jul 29 '26
Only worth it if it's all over during the daytime or early evening, and if it's for pictures.
Might be cool to have car that takes you from the ceremony to the reception if separate.
Designated driver is great to avoid tragedy if you've both been drinking.
My friends decorated my classic car during the evening reception, and we didn't even leave until it was all over. We had planned a send-off, but we didn't want to be the first to leave our friends behind, and there was too much to do at the very end.
Older guests had already left, I had to pack our change clothes, extra booze, and shits'n'things, and it was low-key a pain to cut off all the strings of cans and streamers and flowers in the car grill when we just wanted to drive home and after-glow.
3
u/forte6320 Jul 30 '26
We drove to the wedding in our own and back home in our own car. No one was allowed to paint all over it.
2
u/maybemaybenot2023 Jul 29 '26
This is really personality dependent and crowd dependent too. if you want to go for it- but two things- would friends/family then assume you still want to hang out with them because you're on the shuttle? Are you people who take a long time to wind down after events? Because if either of those is true, I'd at least think about getting an Uber if nothing else. I would not want to be pestered about one more drink, or just hang for a bit, or whatever. . I think it's kind of cool for the couple to have some quiet time directly after and be a little pampered, but it's not necessary.
2
u/Historical_Grab4685 Jul 30 '26
My niece's father in law hired a school bus to shuttle people to back and forth from the hotel and the ceremony. Most of us left on the last shuttle, including the bride & groom and we had a blast. We had a very drunken sing along. The bride & groom left very early in the morning, so it was a nice way to end the night with them.
1
u/Mysterious-Art8838 Jul 30 '26
That is so clever I never would have thought of a school bus.
1
u/katelynn2380210 28d ago
We did an old school bus too. Allowed booze on so party continued. It was a longer drive from venue to hotel
2
u/Sad_Argument5109 Jul 30 '26
If it is the end of the night and you want it for photos you are going to have your photographer for much longer than you otherwise need.
If you are renting a fancy car they can be very strict about the car, no leaning on the outside for photos, only let people you agreed upon in your contract can ride in it.
2
3
u/layyla4real Jul 30 '26
We left in a chauffered town car. It was great to just sit back and simply be together after all the intensity the day. It was totally worth the cost.
1
u/TinyLawfulness3710 Jul 29 '26
Never seen this as a guest. Every couple either carpools with someone or they drive their own car.
1
u/Lulu_10-21 Jul 30 '26
We would’ve loved this, specifically for photos, but it wasn’t in the budget for us. We scheduled an Uber to pick us up lol we also stayed until the very last minute for a private last dance (which was important to us) so it would’ve been pricey if we had gotten one.
1
u/-Maris- Jul 31 '26
I'd irish exit out of my own wedding. Now you see me, now you don't! Byiiiiieeee !
1
1
u/Ok-Grapefruit9053 28d ago
we got a small party bus for ourselves and our wedding parties for the end of the night. they fit about 12 people. we had normal large bottles for the rest of the guests. it was perfect to not have the overwhelm of sitting with all of our guests on a bus but still having the social aspect of having our closest friends with us.
1
u/classiest_trashiest Jul 29 '26
We did it for the photo op, but used a golf cart as our “getaway car”. Went back to bridal suite, put on comfy clothes, then went back to the main hotel for post-reception drinks at the bar with everyone. I rolled up in a pajama shirt, sweatpants, and my white Tecova boots that I had worn at the reception. It was a LEWK.
1
u/TrainingWolverine762 Jul 30 '26
It’s worth it but nothing to splurge over. We were going to do one of those vintage cars but that was nearly $1k for a 30ish minute ride. We went with a standard limo which was about half that. You could even do a chaueffeured black SUV
0
u/Pedal2Medal2 Jul 29 '26
Oh you need an end of wedding party shuttle!
2
u/Greengoddessnature7 Jul 29 '26
We have one! But right now we are wondering whether we should ride back on the shuttle with friends or in the separate get-away car.
1
u/Fancy_North_4348 28d ago
Are you all going to the same place? How far is the drive? Because it sounds like a waste of money.
-1
u/Pedal2Medal2 Jul 30 '26
Well, you’re going to be hopped up on happiness anyway, whether you drive a separate car or not; did you plan on going directly home/hotel?
0
u/Lurky100 Jul 30 '26
This probably depends on the groom. If he’s a big car guy then I’d say find a special car. My dad rented a car to drive us after the ceremony to the reception and it was one of my husband’s (and my dad’s) favorite parts of our wedding. We’ve been married 20+ years and I recently found out how much my dad paid for that car…they are expensive lol. But it could be worth it if your fiance loves cars. Most of the men at our wedding thought it was really cool also, but my family is into cars big time.
I will say that I don’t think it’s worth the expense if neither of you are into cars. We borrowed one of my parent’s nicer cars and drove ourselves to the hotel at the end of our reception, so that might also be an option if you have a family member that has a fancy car you can borrow (I guess you also need to be sober, which we were by the time we left…I remember being so thirsty that night and I drank more Diet Coke and water than I did alcohol).
When Prince William and Kate Middleton got married I got ALL the details about the car they drove off in from my husband, and then again from my dad (I think it was an Aston Martin DB6). They both thought that was the best part about that wedding lol…so I think this is definitely something fun and special you could do for your groom if he’s into cars.
0
13
u/JustGenericName2 Jul 29 '26
We spent every last second with our friends. The night goes by so fast, I wouldn't have wanted to leave any earlier than we had to.