Wedding Transport – Chartering a Train

Wedding transport etiquette does say that guests are responsible for their own means of transport from the ceremony to the reception.  However it is not unheard of for the happy couple to take their vows in one part of the country and have their celebrations in another, especially if their respective home towns are quite some distance from each other.

In this instance you may want to lay on transport for your guests and what could be better than chartering your own private train for your wedding guests!

Hiring train carriages

Most major train companies will allow you to hire a carriage or even an entire train for your journey! If you are reserving a train carriage or two you can usually decorate these carriages with a wedding theme and serve your guests with champagne during your journey.

However you do need to be aware that your train will be a scheduled one subject to all the usual delays and hold ups. If it runs smoothly then it’s a great way to get everyone to the reception but if it goes wrong then you’re left without much of a back-up plan.

Chartering an entire train

If you want to make it a memorable occasion then perhaps you should consider hiring an entire train for your wedding party. The advantages of this are that the train will travel to and from any city in the UK even if it’s not a regular train journey – you could even travel to Europe! The train will be yours in every sense of the word, from the interior layout, decoration and even music so that once guests step inside they know they have been invited to something very special.

You could even make it your wedding breakfast venue, giving guests the chance to wine and dine before they hit the reception dance floor. Many private trains have a licensed bar and catering staff who will serve up your chosen menu.

For many wedding parties the wedding transport is just a way to get from A to B, but with private chartered trains the mode of transport is an extension of the wedding celebrations and provides guests with some magical memories. It also helps to bridge that gap between where you want to get married and where you want to hold the reception.

So if the groom is from Scotland and the bride from London there is no reason why you can’t have your celebrations in both parts and if you get married in Devon and fancy having a romantic, atmospheric reception in Paris you could do that too! Distance certainly didn’t stop newlyweds Suzanne and Tom from taking their wedding guests to Brussels via Eurostar for a party with a difference!

So forget the usual forms of wedding transport such as limos, horses and cart and classic cars, get on board the train instead and have the ride of your lives!

More Information on Train Chartering

Trainchartering.com are a company specialising in providing train hire and also offer private carriages in scheduled trains and private rail cars that are attached to regular train services for all manner of events, not just weddings. The image above (top) is from an event organised by them from a wedding at London’s Southwark Cathedral to the reception at a stately country mansion in the English countryside. The guests were expecting to have to travel all the way to the reception by coach and the charter train was a well-kept secret.
The second image is taken aboard the Majestic Imperator – a luxury train service operating from Vienna and available for private bookings throughout Europe.

Virgin Trains also offer a bespoke train and carriage charter service across the UK rail network. You can hire a single carriage or an entire train with your own custom timetable (budget allowing)!

Steam Trains – are a romantic and nostalgic way to transport guests from the wedding. Most steam train services are run by local volunteers and rail enthusiasts. There are numerous steam train services up and down the country with many of them offering some form of wedding service. The Bluebell Railway near Brighton , for example, is licensed to hold civil wedding services in two of their stations and also offer the option of hiring the First Class Lounge Car for your Wedding Breakfast.