People ask us, sometimes, what Uncle actually does before a wedding. The answer is more than you might expect. The car ride is the visible part of his morning. The five hours before it are not. This is what a typical Saturday looks like for him, written so couples can picture the person who will be behind the wheel of the car they have booked.
If you have read our earlier piece on how he came to do this work, this is the companion. That was the why. This is the what.
5 am
He wakes before the alarm. He has done this for almost every wedding since he started, even when the pickup is not until nine. He boils water for coffee, stands at the kitchen window for a few minutes, and reads the address one more time on the printed itinerary he keeps on the counter.
He has a printed itinerary for every wedding. He does not trust the phone for the morning of.
5:45 am
He goes downstairs to look at the car. He does this the day before too, in the afternoon. The morning check is shorter. Fluids, tyres, the small flag holder, the white ribbons if the couple has asked for them. He wipes down the dashboard with a cloth, even though it is already clean. He likes the smell of the car to be neutral when the bride gets in.
A bride mentioned to us last year that the car smelled like nothing, in a good way. He took that as a high compliment.
6:15 am
Breakfast at the coffee shop downstairs. The same kaya toast and half-boiled egg he has eaten on every wedding morning since he started. He does not vary the routine. He says it keeps his mind quiet, which is what he needs before a long day.
6:45 am
He leaves the coffee shop and walks to the car. He always walks the long way around, so he can see the car from a distance first. He says he wants to see what the bride will see when she steps out of the lift.
If anything looks off, he has time to fix it.
7 am
He drives to the petrol station even though the tank is already full. He tops it up, checks the tyre pressure one more time, and uses the kiosk to wash his hands. He does not eat or drink in the car after this. Not even water.
7:20 am
He sets out for the bride's home. The route is one he has driven three times in the previous week, twice in daylight and once at the same hour as today, to learn the traffic. He has scribbled small notes on the printed itinerary about which lanes to take at the junction, where the morning shadows fall, which side of the road to wait on.
If the couple has booked a 9 am pickup, he aims to be parked by 7:45. Always an hour and fifteen minutes before. Never less.
7:45 am
He arrives at the bride's block. He parks where the photographer will be able to compose the arrival shot, even though the photographer has not yet been briefed. He calls the bride's family contact, usually the chief bridesmaid, to confirm he is there and ready. He does not buzz the unit.
Then he waits.
7:45 to 8:30 am
This is the longest stretch of his morning. He sits in the car with the engine off, the window cracked, listening for any car that might want to use the loading bay. He stays awake by reciting the rest of the day's route to himself. Sometimes he opens a small notebook and reads through the names of the elders at the tea ceremony so he can greet them by name if they walk past.
He keeps two unopened bottles of water and a fresh packet of tissues on the back seat. He has done this on every wedding.
8:30 am
The groom's convoy arrives. He gets out to greet them, gestures the other cars where to park, and exchanges a quiet nod with the photographer. Some photographers he knows by name now. Some are new and grateful for the small kindness.
He goes back to the car and waits.
9 am (approximately)
The door opens. The bride steps out of the lift with her father. Bridesmaids streaming behind. He moves to the back door of the car, opens it, and waits for her to settle in. He does not speak unless spoken to. He has learned this is what most brides want in the first minute.
When she is seated, he closes the door gently, walks to the driver's side, and begins the day's drive.
He'll be your chauffeur, if you'd like him to be
Uncle still drives most of the weddings we take. If you'd like to meet him before the day, we'll set up a short call.
Get in touchThe rest of the day
The morning is the part of the day that takes the most preparation. Once the bride is in the car, the rest of the day flows from her timing, not his. He drives, he waits, he opens doors, he steps back into the shadows. He does this for ten or eleven hours, and at the end of the night he drives home, parks the car, wipes the dashboard one more time, and is in bed by midnight.
The next Saturday he does it again. Some weeks he does two weddings in one weekend. He has been doing this for long enough now that the morning routine has become its own kind of small ritual. Ours and his.
Closing
Couples often ask us what our chauffeur is like. The honest answer is that he is the quietest part of the day. He arrives early, prepares carefully, says little, and disappears between events. That is the job he wanted when he stepped out of retirement, and it is the job he still does every Saturday. If you book us, you book him too. We thought it was worth letting you meet him a little.
