Triple R Luxury Car Hire has been supplying classic European Cars to brides and grooms for over 34 years. We spoke with company owner, Alex, about his experience in the wedding industry.
How many cars do you have in your fleet?
We have 34 currently in the fleet and extras that we are restoring. We update the fleet here and there depending on what’s out there. Generally we’ll add about one car on average per year. We specialise in classic cars – no limousines.
What is currently most popular with brides?
Our most popular cars are the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith and Bentley Dawn, they are always quick to book out.
There are couples that might love Mercedes so they might go for those but generally it’s a mishmash of what’s available vs their taste.
How many cars do brides generally book out when they make a booking?
On average brides will book out one or two cars. However, some couples with bigger bridal parties might stretch it to three or four.
What are some current trends that you are noticing in the wedding car industry?
The biggest thing we’ve noticed this year is couples are leaving their bookings much later. Before it used to be 6-12 months ahead and now it could be a only few weeks.
Also, now many weddings are at one venue so brides and grooms are just booking the cars for the minimum amount of time. Just to get there and they will stay on site the entire time.
In terms of cars that’s really it. It’s not affected as much by style as say dresses or something like that. Wedding cars tend to be more timeless. They’ll still be popular in quite a few years.
I did notice that you had a cool sound system though so there must be some things you need to upgrade?
Yeah, there are some minor things that we haven’t kept original. Radios and other little things like that.
What do you love about running a wedding car business?
I get to combine my passion for cars with work and have made that into a business. I get to work with my family so we’re all on the same page. We all bring hard work and all want to succeed. It’s fun driving, meeting new people and seeing different parts of Melbourne.
What do you love about weddings in general?
I love that you get to see everyone at their best. All dressed up and stylish. My favourite aspects of a wedding as cars (of course) and also great photography.
Do you have any advice for wedding businesses in general at the moment?
Google, your website and Easy Weddings are your biggest source of leads. Get to them as fast as you can -that’s the most important thing. And give them as much information as you can. Your website is like a physical store. If it’s looking tired and daggy then it’s going to give brides and grooms a bad first impression. It has to be looking schmick, so upgrade it every few years. And it has to be easy to use too.
It’s also important to research and look at what other people are doing and being aware of the trends and styles at the time.
