By Mohammed Rashad Hussain, Managing PartnerPublished 4 min read
A wedding planner does not drive the cars, but the planner carries the blame when one is late. This guide covers what to send a chauffeur company, who speaks to whom on the day, and how to plan for the car that does not arrive. It is written for planners and DMC coordinators. For the couple’s side of the same job, start with the wedding transport planning guide.
What should a planner expect from a transport partner?
A good partner takes the movement list off your hands and gives it back as a confirmed plan. At minimum you should get:
- a named chauffeur and a confirmed vehicle for every row on your list
- a second-choice vehicle for the couple’s car
- a question about each venue’s gate, drop-off point and car park
- a message from each chauffeur when the car is in position
Assure is RTA licensed, runs its own fleet and adds partner vehicles, subject to availability. Every vehicle has a chauffeur. Our wedding car hire page lists what we arrange for the couple. For planners who send work regularly, the travel trade partners page explains how agents and DMCs work with us. Ask on WhatsApp for the terms that apply to you.
The run sheet: the one document that prevents problems
Send one sheet, not a chain of messages. Each row is one movement.
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Time | 15:30, car at the door |
| Pickup | Bride’s suite, hotel side entrance |
| Drop-off | Ceremony garden gate |
| Passengers | Names and a phone that gets answered |
| Vehicle | 3 rear seats for the couple, 6 for family |
| Flight | Number and terminal, for airport rows |
| Notes | Gate, dress train, elderly guest, child seat |
Send it a week ahead and send a corrected copy, with the date in the file name, every time something moves. Two versions in circulation cause more late cars than traffic does.
For airport rows, give the terminal. At Dubai International there is no pick-up area at Arrivals, so the car waits in the terminal car park and the chauffeur walks guests to it. Our guide to wedding guest airport pickups covers the meeting steps.
Put guest shuttles on the same sheet, with seat counts, so vans and coaches are matched to the guest list. The wedding guest shuttle guide shows how to size them, and our minibus rental page lists the options.
One on-site lead and one WhatsApp group
Ask for one named transport lead on the chauffeur side. You message the lead, the lead messages the chauffeurs.
Keep the group small:
- The planner, or one assistant.
- The transport lead.
- Each chauffeur, added on the morning of the wedding.
Do not add the bride, the groom or the families. If a grandmother needs her car now, she tells you and you tell the lead. A chauffeur who takes instructions from five people follows none of them.
Net rates, invoicing and payment terms
Agree these before you quote your own client, not after the weekend. Ask for:
- the vehicle, hours and runs each line covers
- how waiting time at the ceremony and reception counts towards the hours
- whether Salik tolls and venue parking are inside the figure (see our Salik guide)
- how extra hours are charged if the reception overruns
- one invoice for the whole weekend, or one per day
- the invoice details your accounts team needs, and the payment terms
Assure publishes no wedding price list. The planner receives a quote for the date on WhatsApp. Our corporate transport page explains how invoiced accounts are set up for companies. Planners who resell transport under their own name can read our guide to white-label transfers.
Backup cars and late changes
Cars fail, and ceremonies overrun. Plan for both.
- Backup car: ask for a spare vehicle and chauffeur held for the couple’s runs and the family runs. Partner vehicles are available through our partner network, subject to availability, so ask early.
- Buffers: add 30 to 60 minutes to each car’s booking. Speeches, signing and photos overrun.
- Late changes: send them to the group with the new row of the run sheet, not as a voice note. Name the row.
- Cut-off: agree when the list freezes, for example 24 hours before. Anything after that goes through the transport lead by phone.
The wedding car booking checklist gives the couple’s own version of this list, which is useful to share with your client.
Multi-day and multi-emirate weddings
A three-day wedding is three run sheets: arrivals, ceremony day and departures. Keep the vehicle and chauffeur for the couple the same across days where you can. They learn the venue gates.
Weddings that cross emirates need distances in the plan. Typical free-flow road distances from Downtown Dubai are about 146 km to Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and about 109 km to Ras Al Khaimah city, from a mapping service (OSRM on OpenStreetMap data). Add traffic and a buffer.
Trips that start in Dubai can run to Abu Dhabi or Ras Al Khaimah and back under Assure’s RTA licence. A run that starts and ends inside another emirate may need a partner licensed there. Ask us to confirm that for your dates.
If your brief comes through a DMC, our guide on what a DMC is explains who holds which part of the booking.
Photos in this guide
A blue Rolls-Royce Ghost parked at the entrance of the Bulgari Resort Dubai on a clear dayJohnathan Mark / Unsplash, Unsplash License
Sheikh Zayed Road, the E11, and its interchanges below the Burj Khalifa in low golden sunDavid Rodrigo / Unsplash, Unsplash License
Madinat Jumeirah waterways with the Burj Al Arab behind the palmsDiego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
