Double or Nothing!

Out of town guests are going to make up about 50% of our guest list, so Mr. C and I are brainstorming ways of getting them from their hotels to the reception site or vice versa. Though we're having the ceremony and reception at the same venue, we want to provide our guests with a way to get there since many of them may not be that fluent in English and most family members will be preoccupied with wedding events so it'll be difficult to coordinate rides, plus, we know we've got a bunch of heavy party-ers among the crowd, so we want to make sure everyone gets home safe.

What's an effective, yet fun way to transport our guests? I was inspired while strolling around Manhattan...

I would never pay for a tour on one of these any other day, but for my guests, it'd be a quintessential New York experience and for the cheese-phobes, they could just blame it on the bride and groom. Right now, i'm imagining our drunk friends from college hanging off the top railings... yikes!

My research led me to Gray Line Bus Tours (which Miss Peony recently mentioned here) their site even has a section for weddings (which i'm always wary of because i think they'll charge more). I called instead of emailed and got rates. It would cost about $800 per transfer. If it's roundtrip, it would be about $1600. Whoa...

But the good part is that it can seat up to 82 people which would be great... except if it rains, it can only seat 29/standing 15 downstairs. And they can't guarantee a secondary bus. Soooo... for the price... Mr. C and I are going to have to really explore other options.

They also have a trolley in the fleet, but that would seat only 28 people and cost about $600 per transfer. At that rate, i'd rather get the double decker and hope that it doesn't rain!

We don't want to resort to the standard coach bus. but for efficiencies sake, we may have to.

Mr. C and I also want a classic NYC getaway car for ourselves so we have to prioritize... no 21 seater stretch Hummer for us...

Here's my dreamboat...o how about a classic new york checker cab!

image from filmcars.com

The only company in New York that seems to have these is Film Cars. The staff here is fantastic, but unfortunately because of some disagreement with the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission, they're unable to drive the cab around with passengers in it. But, they can rent it out on an hourly basis as a prop. I know it's not the same as riding around in it, but it'd be fabulous for pictures! The hourly rate is pretty reasonable as well.

A new New York tradition, the pedicab, would be an awesome getaway option. Alas, it is hard to find vendors for this. If you know of any in New York, please send along!

Image from www.flickr.com

Check out this awesome Kate Spade designed cover on the pedicab!

Mr. C and I may end up getting around by subway. That's not so bad... it'll definitely be classic New York though.

Other creative getaway ideas:

Image from www.shutterbugzphoto.com

A Vespa! Super European. But I think we'd get run over in New York.


Image from www.beetledriveuk.com

A vintage VW Bus. I think this would be cute and borderline hysterical.

Image from www.taipeitimes.com

The eco-friendly option, just bike it! You can even do tandem.

How did you get your guests to the wedding? Are you planning on doing something special for a getaway vehicle?