Booking your wedding car: how early should you book?

How far ahead should you book your wedding car?

The wedding platform trouwen.nl advises booking your wedding car around 6 to 12 months ahead, especially for a popular classic car on a Saturday in peak season. Rental companies themselves often quote a shorter period for the wedding season: 3 to 6 or 4 to 6 months. If you want a sought-after car on a Saturday or Friday between May and September, go with the longest period. Confirm the booking as soon as your wedding date and ceremony time are fixed.

Getting married in 2027? Then this autumn is a good time to start looking into it seriously.

Why the advice varies so much

If you search for how to book your wedding car in good time, you will find advice that is months apart. The rental company JS Trouwauto's advised in January 2024, in the FAQ on its website, at least 3 to 6 months, especially in the wedding season. According to Trouwpakketten.nl, 3 to 6 months is ideal. The rental company Limo Rental quotes four to six months for the wedding months of May to September inclusive, particularly if you marry on a Friday or Saturday. Trouwen.nl is a good deal more generous, at half a year to a year.

The difference probably comes down to who is giving the advice: a rental company mainly looks at its own diary, while a wedding platform looks at the most sought-after cars on the busiest days. According to trouwen.nl, the most beautiful cars are booked up half a year to a year ahead from May to September. Where you fall within that range depends on four things.

The day of the week

Friday has been the most popular wedding day for years. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 29 per cent of all weddings in 2023 took place on a Friday. Monday (18 per cent) and Tuesday (16 per cent) followed at a distance. That report gives no figure for Saturday, but Limo Rental mentions Friday and Saturday in the same breath as the days when you need to be early. Even so, Monday and Tuesday were the busiest days after Friday that year. So ask about your car in good time even if you have a weekday date.

The wedding season

It is no coincidence that Limo Rental ties its period to May to September inclusive, and JS Trouwauto's ties its advice to the wedding season. If you marry outside that period, there is more room.

A rare or in-demand car

According to trouwen.nl, special models often exist in only one or a few examples. If you want that one particular car, only that one rental company's diary matters. If you would rather choose a type, such as a classic car or a convertible, more cars may be available on your date. You can find help with that choice in how to choose your wedding car.

Photo: Mercedes-Benz Pagode from Trouw Porsches

Few wedding days per car

A wedding car with chauffeur is often tied up for a large part of the day: pick-up, ceremony, photo session and the drive to the reception. Every Friday or Saturday that is hired out is then gone for that car. The sports car rental company Passion Without Limits gave a similar reason in 2015 for its advice to book at least 3 months ahead: they only hired out their cars for weddings on a limited number of days, usually on a Friday or Saturday.

First your date and ceremony time

Booking a wedding car without a fixed time makes little sense: the whole journey revolves around the moment of the ceremony. Limo Rental puts it the same way: the time to arrange transport for good is as soon as the wedding date and ceremony time are fixed. According to trouwen.nl, once you have chosen, you confirm the date and times, usually with a deposit.

You can only give notice a year ahead

According to the Dutch Civil Code, a marriage that has not taken place within a year of the notification may only be solemnised after a new notification. So you can give notice a year ahead at most. In Den Haag and Deventer you reserve your date at the same time as giving notice. There is also a lower limit: according to the Dutch government (Rijksoverheid), you must give notice of your intended marriage at least 2 weeks before the date. Each municipality handles this in its own way. Two examples:

• In Den Haag you give notice at most 1 year and at least 12 weeks before the ceremony. You reserve the date and venue there through the Trouwloket (the wedding desk).
• In Deventer you give notice at least 14 days and at most 1 year before the wedding day, and you reserve the wedding date with that notification.

The wedding website Monet & Mine also writes that you can only give notice of marriage from one year before the wedding date. That site puts the wedding venue in the planning at 18 to 24 months ahead, and booking transport at 6 to 12 months. Always check your own municipality's website to see how it works there, and ask when the municipality and venue will confirm your date and time.

What that means for your wedding car

Say you are marrying on a Saturday in May 2028 and you want a rare classic car. You cannot yet give notice for that date at the municipality. According to trouwen.nl, such a car can already be booked up half a year to a year ahead in the wedding season, so right around the time you can only just fix your date. In that case, go about it like this:

1. Ask the rental company now whether the car is free on your date.
2. Ask whether you can take an option, and how long it lasts.
3. Confirm the booking as soon as the municipality or venue confirms your date and time.

What you then arrange period by period for your wedding car planning is covered in the wedding car checklist.

Getting married in the summer of 2027? Then your date is already within a year. Fix it now with the municipality or venue and book your car straight afterwards.

Photo: Austin FX4 S Plus from RDH Vervoersdiensten

Special dates in 2027: a quiet day can get busy

Special dates attract couples, even on weekdays. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has some hard examples:

• On Tuesday 22 February 2022, according to provisional figures, almost 1,200 couples said "I do", comparable to peak days in May, June and September. That is from a CBS report from 2022.
• On Thursday 20 February 2020, more than 750 couples married, well over ten times as many as on an ordinary Thursday in February. That is from the CBS publication Nederland in cijfers 2020.
• On Valentine's Day 2022, a Monday, 345 couples married, compared with an average of 136 on an ordinary February Monday.

For 2027, wedding stationery and wedding sites are already naming their favourite dates. Kaartje2go mentions 27 February, 2 July and 20 July 2027, among others. Monet & Mine mentions Friday 7 May 2027, because guests are often off work then. 7-7-2027 stands out for its numbers; that is a Wednesday. How many couples will actually marry on such dates, nobody knows yet: these are lists, not measurements. But 22 February 2022 also fell on a Tuesday and still became a peak day. So a special weekday date is no guarantee of a quiet day.

Kaartje2go recommends fixing a date you have your eye on with the municipality as soon as possible. And according to The Perfect Wedding, everything fills up sooner the more popular the date is. If you choose such a date, ask about your wedding car as early as you would for a Saturday in peak season.

Running late? How to still find a wedding car

Did you start late, or have you only decided shortly before your wedding that you do want a beautiful car after all? It can sometimes still be done: JS Trouwauto's writes that it is possible, but that the choice may be more limited. Here is how to improve your chances:

1. Ask several rental companies at once. Put the cars you like in your favourites and request a free quote from several rental companies at the same time. That way you are not waiting for one reply after another.
2. Be flexible on the type. If your dream car is already taken, look through the whole range of wedding cars for something with a similar feel. A wedding bus or an electric wedding car can be a surprisingly lovely alternative. You will find ideas in 10 special wedding cars and in the wedding car trends for 2027.
3. Ask whether a shorter journey is possible, for example just from home to the ceremony.
4. Take another look at your date, if it is not yet fixed. Most couples marry on a Friday, and outside the wedding season there is more room. A different day or month can therefore help.
5. Drive yourself. That is an option too. Read what you need to arrange in wedding car hire without a chauffeur.

Photo: Citroën 2CV from We Love Oldtimers

Your next step

Do you want a sought-after car on a Saturday or Friday in the wedding season, or a rare model? Then ask about availability now, even if your ceremony time is not yet fixed. Want to know what to budget for? Then also read what wedding car hire costs.