BUSES  FOR  WEDDINGS & CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS

What a treat!  A journey on a Classic Bus on your special day.

There's lots to think about when planning your Wedding Day,  but this should be an exciting time too.  This is your one special day and a time to include the things that will make your day a memorable one for everyone.  To help you with your planning we have included some of our recent days on this page, but also throughout this website.  Here's just a selection from our vast portfolio.

To start this page of Weddings and Civil Partnerships, here are a selection of slides showing some of our recent celebrations.

Midland Red is a name that conjures up pleasant and bygone memories, and our vehicles are absolutely ideal for your special day.

The addition of a Midland Red classic bus  or coach will certainly add a very memorable treat for you and your guests, around your ceremony and on to your reception venue.  Our heritage fleet of classic British-made buses and coaches and our experienced staff with uniformed Staff (Drivers and Conductors), all go to make your journey with Midland Red a very memorable day.

The Festive Season has brought us Midland Red Weddings in the Birmingham area.

The three photos below show Deb & Mark's enjoyable Wedding Day.  They joined their guests for the Ceremony in the "Singing Caverns" at Dudley, entering the tunnels in narrow boats.

The photo on the right shows Vikki & Stewart on their Wedding Day.  After their Wedding Ceremony in Little Aston they departed by Midland Red to Drayton Manor Park where their reception was held - another memorable day.

We operate throughout most of the Midlands area. Ask us if you are unsure whether we cover your area or check on our main coach hire page where our area of operation is more clearly detailed.

email us: buses@wheels.co.uk

Creating a little bit of  'Midland Red'  Magic... Mark & Deb met when working at Fujitsu's plant near the NEC. Their wedding day was delightful. Our Midland Red D9 bus picked up guests and couple and travelled to the Singing Caverns in Dudley, where everyone boarded canal boats for the journey deep into the Caverns and to their ceremony. Then it was back home for a marquee reception, via a quick visit to work to say "Hi" to all their work colleagues who couldn't go to the wedding.   Mark planned the day very thoroughly - it's easy to forget such things as where the bus will stop, and ensuring that there is adequate space for the bus to park and pick up safely. Mark also went the extra mile by  reserving space outside the house completely free of guests cars, and even made a bus stop on its own post outside the house too. This not only made the stopping place very visible, but the bus stop was also very authentic in its appearance to an original "Birmingham" style bus stop - yet it was made completely from things which could easily be found lying around at home.   All together, these things made the day extra special. Below is a letter received from the couple just back from their honeymoon. “Please accept this letter as a huge and sincere thank you to Chad and yourself. We had a fantastic wedding and the bus and you guys played a huge part in that. Everyone was thrilled with the trip and it gave a real 'old fashioned' family day out feel to the day which was exactly the atmosphere we were trying to achieve.  Our guests were entertained and engaged in Chad's anecdotes, and most remembered the D9 from its 'hey day' with great fondness. Our colleagues at our employer Fujitsu were both surprised and thrilled at the sight of your lovely bus and it proved quite a talking point even after we got back from our Honeymoon. If  you ever want an endorsement, please don't hesitate to use this letter, or ask us for a personal reference. We are sorry that we didn't thank you in person on the day, but we were whisked away. Thank you very much and as soon as we have the official photographs we will forward them on to you. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a healthy and presperous New Year.” Kind Regards, Mark and Deb M.

Let Midland Red Coaches transport you in style on your special day.

Our heritage fleet of classic British made buses and coaches and our experienced staff with uniformed Drivers, all go to make your journey with Midland Red a very memorable day.

We operate throughout the Midlands area. Ask us if you are unsure if we cover your area.

email us: buses@wheels.co.uk,

It's always rewarding to hear from our customers after their big day, and we often receive letters of thanks.

Here are two letters we received recently - we will be adding more in the coming weeks.

See more customer testimonials on our Bus Driver Experience Days and Buses for Business pages.

Midland Red - making your special day personal and unique
Some Recent Special Weddings
 
Picture 1: May Weddings included Faye and Anthony's Wedding at Aston Parish Church to The Pavillions in the Midland Red D9 double decker. After the ceremony Faye and Anthony pose in the doorway of the D9 for one of their pictures.   Picture 2:  Stefan and Becky's Wedding  included local pick ups to a Cafe in Evesham for Breakfast, then to the Ceremony in nearby Wickhamford, followed by a steam train ride at the Country Park where Becky's family are volunteers. The day concluded with an arrival at The Seagrave Hotel for the evening reception.   Picture 3: shows our Classic Bristol Coach standing outside the Booking Hall at the Evesham Vale railway station.

Midland Red Provide Transport  for Nicola Humphreys and Neil Stacey's Christmas Wedding

Seasonal Celebration
Picture 1: A Welcoming seasonal sight, Birmingham Council House, the venue for Nicola and Neil's Wedding Reception. The Bus Conductor chats to a passer-by about this special Christmas occasion.  Picture 2:  Wedding guest transport was by Midland Red D9 double decker, and a twilight drive through the City Centre was great fun.  Picture 3: A closer view of the Midland Red bus after dropping passengers right outside the Council House and opposite "The Floozie in the Jaccuzzi".  Picture 4: Fairytale Wedding Scene - Victoria Square.  Picture 5: The Council House -what a wonderful location for a special Wedding Reception!  Picture 6: Posing on the Platform! 

 Picture 1-3 Midland Red Coaches, Picture 5 courtesy of BCU, Pictures 4 & 6 Wedding photographer

We operate throughout the Midlands area, Leicester and all of Leicestershire, Coventry, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick and Warwickshire, Birmingham and the Black Country, Tamworth and Staffordshire, parts of Shropshire, Worcestershire, North Oxfordshire, and Northamptonshire

We offer you the most extensive range of classic and special vehicles for your Wedding or special occasion in the area. So before you arrange Wedding Cars  or Limousines, and consider how to get to the Church in style, and how to get your guests from the Church to your Reception, do email us about your transport requirements and our unique Midland Red service.

See the slide show at the bottom of this page to see how a Wedding Day  can look when you hire a  Midland Red  classic bus.
Please discuss your individual ideas with us..... we can usually make it happen !

If you are planning a Wedding and really want to attract attention, or  a Civil Partnership to take special guests along with you, email us about using one of our vintage buses or coaches, perhaps decorated with ribbons and floral decorations of your choice (or plain if you prefer).  We have a number of Wedding Packages involving just the Bride or Groom, or for Guest Transport, or a combination of both. There are so many opportunities these days for a Wedding or Civil Partnership Ceremony venue - a traditional church wedding or perhaps you choose to enjoy the ceremony at a particular favourite venue, Stately Home or Hotel. Or maybe go for something completely unconventional - a preserved steam railway, a football club, or ....? In the majority of cases you will need to consider getting the guests to the ceremony on time, and transport by WHEELS / Midland Red will ensure they all arrive together. And after the Ceremony everyone will certainly want to get to the Reception venue - and you'll also need to fit in those memorable photographs of your special event travelling by Midland Red bus. We can personalise the front destination board or destination blinds of the bus to show the first names of the couple - this is a great extra if you plan to use the bus as a backdrop to some of your special  photographs. We can even arrange for a traditional Chimney Sweep to attend your ceremony too,  or how about a horse drawn carriage to lead our Charabanc - a wonderful sight!  With a Midland Red classic bus your special day will be fabulous, fun and remembered by you and your guests for years to come.

Vintage bus and coach hire for Weddings and Civil Partnerships

We welcome your enquiries for hiring our vehicles - Here are some important tips:

When you email us with your enquiry, please give us detailed information on all of the points shown below. At this stage your enquiry is just that, and we do not act upon any information at this stage - apart from accurately costing your requirements, so dont worry about giving us dates, addresses and times, we do need them so we can carefully schedule our diary.  But we do like to get everything just right, so we may need to ask you any specific questions to ensure everything happens to plan.  We also want to give you a realistic cost so we need to calculate mileages, routes (especially important for double deckers being used in locations out of our normal area),  calculate fuel usage, and times. And of course we have to consider Drivers Hours Regulations, so the start, finish and break times during the work are particularly relevant. All of this needs to be thought about when we give you a response which you can trust, and which you know has been put together with just your circumstances in mind.

Please give us the following information - it helps us to get costings and details worked out accurately for you without having to get back to you for more information.    We do appreciate the need for your particular hire to be smooth-running and planned using our best experience, so we do need all the information available.  Its rather like a Jigsaw - we need to know all the peices so that we know where we fit in !   If we know how we fit into your plans for your special day, we can better understand the time we spend with you and perhaps give you better peace of mind, knowing that your plans are in good hands.

1. Date of your event:
2. Start Location. (The address where you want the bus to report):
3. Start Time. (We will amend this if there is not sufficient time):
4. What you plan for the bus to do during your hire - include all planned stops with times
   e.g.:  If your hire is for  Wedding or Civil Partnership transport, then Pick up point, Ceremony location, 
   Ceremony Time (Register Office 30mins; Cof E 40mins; RC up to 90 mins), and Reception location. Include information of any special photographs you plan to have taken - at the start, at the Ceremony location, or at the Reception venue.
   Include postcodes for the locations if you have them.
5. Time the bus will be finished with and free to return back to our depot - or go onto its next hire.
   The above information is needed for us to cost and plan mileage, drivers hours, fuel usage, etc.
6. Any other information you have which may help us. (for example, if you plan to stop at local gardens to take some additional photographs etc)
   

Remember at this stage there is no obligation. We will then send you our "Email of Costing document". This will detail your requirements as requested and amended, and show costings for each vehicle available at the times you require our service. Lots of information is given on our service, regulations, and business terms, and there's information on How to Make a Reservation.   If you decide to go ahead and make a reservation for a WHEELS / Midland Red bus for your special day, you simply return a full copy of the document, signed, along with a vehicle holding deposit. Then when your booking is accepted, your chosen vehicle is held against your booking date and times.  A straightforward, easy, and fail-safe system.    

Do email us as soon as you decide that you want to have transport for the Groomsmen, Bridesmaids, the Bridal Party, and / or Guests.  We have only one of each type of special vehicle, and a reservation means that you can place a tick against Guests' Transport  and/or  "Getting Groom to Church" on your Wedding "To Do" list.

We don't usually offer our costings for wedding or civil partnership transport more than one year ahead - this is because it is often not possible to book the ceremony over one year ahead, and lots of things can change in the interim period. We also don't operate late night or post-reception transport with our classic and vintage buses, as we use them to and from the ceremony venue and on to the reception venue when they are best seen and appreciated by both those on board and by onlookers too.  We can offer suggestions and advice for return transport if requested.

Before you email us with an enquiry or booking,  it may be helpful to check our Fleet List on the Our Vehicles page.  Try to have a couple of choices of vehicle in mind.    You can email us at:   buses@wheels.co.uk

Your Ceremony, Your Day, Your Way !

One of our first weddings in 1990.

Have creative input into your special day  make the day your own. The world has changed - and so have Weddings, Civil Ceremonies and Civil Partnerships.

Of course Church ceremonies are still a very popular choice for Weddings, and now you can even chose a Church outside the location of where you both live - but the prettiest locations are having problems to accommodate everyone.  Always check with the Vicar or Priest as they can give you the benefit of their past experience.

If you don't want a Church ceremony but still want to include your faith, then your plans can involve having a blessing at a place of worship after a civil ceremony.

The ceremony with the lowest cost is a Register Office ceremony. It is the simple and legal basic answer. Nowadays, you can often add to the proceedings, even adding to the legal vows - this can be a very touching addition to the ceremony really making it personal and your own.  You can include Poems, Readings and sometimes Music, but do check with Registrars for individual conditions or restrictions at the place you are considering. 

Civil Partnerships can take place at many locations of various shapes and sizes. Everything about your special day should reflect your own individuality and personality.  This fantastic day is when you both have the opportunity to publicly express your love and devotion for each other, making personal vows and creating special long lasting memories that you will cherish and remember for a long time.

For your ceremony, you can choose from a range of buildings including Stateley Homes, Universities, Hotels, Abbeys, Theme Parks, Football Clubs ... Throughout our Midlands operating area there are thousands of locations. Make sure that your suppliers will provide you with the detailed level of service you wish for before you go ahead.

The Civil Partnership Act applies to all residents within the UK. Registering under this Act will offer same-sex couples similar legal benefits as heterosexual married couples. For details on the registering process, contact your local council or register office, or visit: www.gro.gov.uk. After you have legally registered your partnership, you will be known as "Civil Partners". There is no stipulation that you automatically take your partner's surname, so if you would like to change your last name you will need to make changes by deed poll. For further information, please visit www.stonewall.org.uk.

Make your day really special to reflect both of your interests and include readings,  message of love, or reflective poems. Think about your music theme and include it to reflect your tastes from classical to modern. Use flowers to complement your fabrics, moods, or the seasons, or choose flowers with special meanings to you both. Oh yes, and don't forget to consider using our classic buses and coaches to get your special friends, family members and guests to your ceremony and on to your reception venue.With our special service and destination names your photographer will get some great shots for the album.

Making the Arrangements - Make a plan

If you have very personal ideas about what you would like to happen on your special day - make sure that you investigate the possibilities of including them into the day - you are planning to only do this once!

The planning should be a romantic time, but can so often end up being very stressful, perhaps because you are not armed with the right information or didn't allow quite enough time to do everything or didn't get enough help.

Firstly discuss the budget arrangements, your day can be as expensive as you make it. Prioritise your wishes, and agree early on who will pay for what.

Next check your options on dates - you don't want to clash with an all-important national date.

Then make sure all the key people who you need or want to attend are available.

Think about the Ceremony and Reception Venues. Visit a number of locations and check which best meets your requirements and ideas.  Ideally get written quotes so you can see what is being offered and for how much. Venues can get booked far in advance and the favourite ones disappear first.  If you love it - it's likely that others do too!  So it's important to book early.

Gradually put together the Guest List and ideally split the list in two parts - those who you would most like to attend and those who you would invite if you needed to add to the final list.

The Catering arrangements depend greatly on how your special day is arranged.  If you have a morning or an early wedding, then consider a special Breakfast. You could split your day by assembling again for a more informal evening event. A buffet is often a good option - it's also cheaper than a sit-down meal, so with larger numbers of guests it is worth considering.  Always discuss food with the experts who can come up with great advice, variations, and solutions to any difficulties.

You will notice that we have left the Transport Arrangements until well down the list - well, we don't want to steal all the limelight!  But of course you are here on our website already so we are pleased that you are already thinking of using a classic bus or coach as part of your day.

When deciding on which vehicle you want to use, don't just consider the number of guests you need to transport, but choose the bus which appeals most to you both.  Even if the bus you like is too small for the total number of guests you need to carry, if your locations are local, then we can often arrange an additional journey.  Take a look at the Our Vehicles page and see which vehicles you like - and you can see how your wedding day will look with one of our buses by viewing the slide show at the bottom of this page.

Don't forget the Photographer - another important part of your day which will enable you to look back at the day's events in an album or on disc. We have worked with some good and indifferent "snappers" over the years, and a few outstanding experts behind the lens. One of these is a fashion, magazine and press photographer by trade - and you can tell with the 100's of shots taken from every angle and pose. He is Tony Scott and we have no hesitation in recommending  that you ask him for details of his service - you can see a slide show below of some of his fabulous work when we recently worked with him to provide a great wedding day for Laura and Peter.

The Wedding Dress, the Grooms and Best Man's outfits, and Bridesmaids dresses all need careful thought and early attention, as will the Flowers,  but will depend entirely on your choice of Colour Scheme for the day.

A month before the big day - everything should be in place, most things paid for, and time to take a big breath and relax.

Midland Red's stylish vehicles - for those of you who are looking to provide something unique.
Please discuss your individual ideas or wishes with us..... we can usually make it happen !

Midland Red - as individual and as special as you would like it to be

Picture 1: Mallory Court Hotel, Royal Leamington Spa with our D9 picking up the special guests of Euan and Pina departing for St. Marys Church, Warwick.  Picture 2: shows Euan and Pina after chatting with their guests aboard the Midland Red bus for a tour of Leamington Spa on the way back to the reception.  Picture 3: shows our D9 double decker  outside Sutton Cheney Wharfe, near Hinckley, Leicestershire, at the reception aboard a canal boat.

Midland Red - making your special day personal and unique

Picture 1: Our truly unique Charabanc, always gets everyones attention. This one was at a Wedding Reception on board a steam train departing from Severn Valley Railway Kidderminster Station.   Picture 2: shows our "Wheels Pioneer" coach outside Stafford Register Office.  Picture 3: shows our Charabanc - this time near Droitwich at Caroline and Jonathans reception venue.

The friendly Midland Red - please discuss your requirements with us as soon as possible and we will do all we can to help.

Please email us with all your details so we can help you further, please give us the date of your proposed ceremony,  an itinerary of exactly what you would like the bus(es) to do, start address, ceremony location address, ceremony time and length, Reception venue address, and time the bus will be free to leave the hire. We will then send you our email of costing document, a very comprehensive document which gives vehicles available at the time you require, costs, lots of useful and very important information which you and your guests will need to be aware of if you decide to have a classic bus.  It also is the document you sign and return to us if you wish to make a reservation.

email us at: buses@wheels.co.uk

Here is a slide show of one of our Weddings 

Pictures were taken by Scott Gilbert of Scotts Photography. Scott is very easy to work with and is sure to provide you with a vast selection of exciting photographs to choose from. You can contact Scotts Photography on 01954 250125.

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