Wedding cars & hired limousines

I have watched the accumulation of interesting vehicles in various thematic threads (some started by me; some started by others): ambulances, fire appliances, food-vendor vans, wooden (and old aluminium) caravans, buses converted to campervans, fire appliance, moving bags, taxis, hearses, more? For some time I have been accumulating wedding cars for a new thread, and with two 1950s beauties at the Sun.9.11.14 HCVC Yarra Glen display, the start comes now. Any car can be used as a wedding car, but most firms have either stretched limousines, or matched pairs of classic vehicles. Way back (in b&w tv days) one episode of 'Life of Riley' was based on Babs heading to her wedding in Riley's motorcycle sidecar after the booked car failed or didn't show. I have only just scanned and cleaned my parents' wedding photos, so that all children and grandchildren have a full family album. The bridge arrived in what seems to be typical USA 1930s or 40s family saloon owned by somebody in the town. The couple left in my father's cousin's Citroen: a useful vehicle, as the front-wheel drive resulted in a very roomy rear seat.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

A ~1956 Chrysler Royal stretched limousine. Still in active use today, and probably appreciated even more now than when built.


The running mate Cadillac, but I can't guess the model. A couple of tractors too (Fergie grey?):

I would think both those cars are recent stretches.

Back in the day if a car was stretched it had additional doors to carry more passengers as against two rear doors to carry minimal passengers.

Most old stretches were used to ferry people to/from airports.

If you look at the side lights behind the front doors they are the same on both cars which would be unlikely if they were stretched 60 years ago.

I think the Cadillac is a 1959 model.

Here is some excess.

This one is real - not photoshopped!

As with most of my hearse photos (funerals which I have attended), most of my wedding-car photos will be of weddings which I have attended.
These two Mercedes were from a Melbourne hire service, taken in 1997. I am not good with models. I suspect that the leading one is a 1950s 300D (but can't get the year; it has been reregistered); the rear once should be a 1950s 220SE (still on original registration).

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

if youve got a huge wedding party theres always a bus! not exactly a stretched limo but about the same size!




then theres this splitty kombi getting around sydney as well

Vid of above Kombi limo:


$300k for a rat rod!

What great finds. The video answered my question re the Kombi: a V6 Commodore engine. I often wonder why stretch limos are so popular: they look strange, and have restricted headroom. For the same length, a proper bus has headroom too. Further ahead in my photos for this series is one of a very young wedding (most guests were under 18); the bride's parents hired a Toyota minibus and decorated it with white ribbons: a very practical gesture. Also way back (M&MTB?) put an ad in the papers, pitched at the year 12 formal market, with one of their regular street buses as 'the ultimate stretched limo'. When my senior students went for an end-of-year dinner at a distant function place, school council chipped in to supply a chartered bus to ensure safe travel with economy.
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Roderick, I realise you are a number bus enthusiast (amongst other things) but the popularity of stretch limos came out of Hollywood et where the importance of the stars was stated by the size of the cars they turned up in.

So people identify stretch limos with a sense of occasion and buses with every day life. The majority use stretch limos a couple of times in their lives, not as daily transport.

For those who can't find the distinction between a limo and a bus, Sydney has this to offer:
www.bigmummer.com.au/

Bugger stretch limos, I'd rather hire that old clipper any day.

Grant.