Wedding Car Traditions & Etiquette

Your wedding car will arrive decorated in ribbons and bows, this dates back to the wedding couples friends and family decorating the marital bed with flowers and ribbons, Well-wishers would escort the couple to the wedding bed and they would leave once the newlyweds were in bed together, symbolising the importance of procreation. Thankfully, new couples do not have an audience, but the decorating of the wedding car is thought to stem from this ritual.

The ribbons & bows on the wedding car will predominantly be coloured white or ivory, but some couples like to run with the colour of their wedding theme, perhaps the groom’s tie or the bridesmaid’s dresses. The decoration of the car is included in the hire price of the vehicle. Here at Silverline we also like to lay an array of petals on the carpets of the wedding car.

The practice of tying on cans is thought to date back as far as Egyptian times.

Back then women were still the properties of their father’s, and when a man and woman wed it was customary for the father to hand the new son-in-law a pair of his daughter’s sandals.

This symbolised she now belonged to him

The significance of shoes continued over the centuries, but people would throw shoes at the carriage and it was deemed lucky if the footwear hit it. These evolved into them being tied to the back of the car and then eventually changing to tin cans for the noise appeal.

In recent times the tin cans are rarely seen as they could possibly damage a vehicle or bystander.

When Prince William and Kate Middleton wed in 2011, the couple left Buckingham Palace in an Aston Martin, the newlyweds drove down the Mall in the car with a “JUST WED” plate and balloons and ribbons streaming from the back.

We are often asked the wedding car order of arrival and traditionally this would be the schedule but of course it is up to the couple if they wish to follow it

1) The ushers are first to arrive at the ceremony

The ushers arrive first to direct guests to the correct seating, hand out orders of service and be on hand to assist with any other issues that may come up.

2) The guests start to arrive

3) The groom and best man arrive

4) The bridesmaids and mother of the bride arrive

The mother would proceed to sit as the bridesmaids await to attend to the bride’s arrival.

5) The bride and father (or person giving the bride away) arrive.

It is a frequent occurrence of the groom’s party arriving together these days and the bride arriving with her bridesmaids.

After the ceremony on the way to the reception:

The bride and groom travel together, toasting their committal with a glass of bubbly after photographs at the ceremony.

The rest of the bridal party should depart and aim to arrive at the reception ahead of the guests.

The newlyweds arrive last to a fanfare from all their guests.