September 27, 2018

Have you ever thought about what to bring while traveling around the city for pictures on a trolley or shuttle? We have some words of advice for you, all deriving from a story we will never forget. If you don’t want to read the story that ever girl has nightmares about, feel free to jump to the bottom where there are tips for drinking on trolleys.

This “horror story” as some may call it, came from a wedding that happened a few years back. It’s a memory I will never forget, and I’m sure the wedding party won’t either. Let it be known that we are not sharing any pictures from that wedding for privacy of our client.

I was at Germania Place setting up a the place card display when I got a call from a bride in panic. Luckily during the phone call there were no tears shed so it was easy to understand what happened. Here’s how it went down….

“When we left the hotel an hour ago, I grabbed a fresh cup of coffee and brought on the trolley. We took pictures for 45 minutes at the beach and I was getting tired. When we got back on the trolley, I began to drink the coffee to feel better. Apparently someone cut off the trolley because we all went flying to the front because of a sudden halt. The entire cup of coffee spilled all over my dress. I don’t know what to do…..”

I want to point out that I could not ask for a better bride to deal with this issue. She was being extremely logical and needed to know how I could help her and the coffee-filled gown. Davis Imperial is a fabulous dry cleaner in the city that specializes in wedding gown cleaning, restoration, and more. It was safe to say that was my first call for advice.

What to do if you spill on a wedding gown?

Grab two large bath towels that can absorb a lot of liquid. Soak the first towel in water while keeping the second towel completely dry. Place the dry towel underneath the fabric of the dress, resting the stain directly on top. Slowly push the wet towel above the stain, down into the dress. Do NOT move back and fourth, rather continue to firmly press the water into the dress. You must be patient and keep an eye out on the stain.

From this process, the water can pick up the stain on the gown and push into the dry towel. This does not help with all stains, nor all dress materials. Her dress was lace so it helped with this process.

Guess what, it worked! The stain was gone, but unfortunately the bride could not get it out of her head that there was an entire cup of coffee soaked within her white wedding gown. She was persuaded that her guests would notice so she had to make another move. This is when we called BHLDN and asked to pull every size 2 dress they had in stock. It was very fortunate that the bride had a killer body so she did not have to worry about getting a ton of alterations. Clearly she would not have time for any alterations because at this point, the ceremony started in an hour.

The bride began trying on all the dresses with her bridesmaids by her side, and the gentlemen all waiting in the trolley. The fourth dress happened to be absolutely beautiful and fit her like a glove, so she quickly purchased the dress and walked out of the store with the dress on!

With 30 minutes to spare before the ceremony, the bridal party arrived at Germania Place. They relaxed to get their mindset in the right place. We still managed to start the wedding exactly on time, without a single guest knowing the drama that just took place (until it was mentioned in the speeches later on that night!).

What did I learn from this experience? Check out my suggestions for anyone taking alcohol on a trolley or shuttle on wedding day.

What alcohol should you bring on board?

If you want liquor, try to stick to vodka, clear gin or tequila. I understand that there are going to be some bourbon drinkers, which is fine but you have to be careful (typically that is a sipping drink anyways). Beer is fine because it’s easier to hold. We also know people don’t get tipsy as fast with beer so we want to promote that. Hard alcohol adds up fast. Many of our clients are purchasing hard seltzer water (such as White Claw or Truly) because it’s clear, alcoholic and yummy. They come in cans that you can trash at the end. Highly recommend! Please remember, NO coffee!

How do you get the alcohol on board?

We highly recommend purchasing foam coolers for all transportation. This way, when you’re done with it, you can just throw it away. Typically at the end of your pictures, everyone is ready to jump off the trolley or shuttle and forget they are responsible for the leftover cooler and alcohol. Some venues do not allow you to bring anything in, so you have to portion the alcohol correctly so you don’t waste too much. But also think about how it’s being carried off. Hence why we think foam coolers are the best.

Do you need to bring cups to drink with?

If you are popping champagne, we recommend bringing plastic champagne flutes. It’s not as classy or enjoyable drinking champagne out of a red solo cup. For beer, stick to cans! You don’t want to deal with empty bottles at the end, and also if you broke a glass bottle you have yourself a mess. If you’re making mixed drinks, some sort of plastic cup will be necessary so you’re not taking handle polls (millennial term) before the reception begins.

Anything else we need to bring on board?

Water!! Not everyone drinks alcohol and even if you do, you need to stay hydrated. You can never have enough water. It’s also always smart to carry on some paper towels and wet wipes in case there is an emergency.

Getting married in Chicago? You will need security.

This is a new law that was put in place fall of 2017. All vehicles over 14 passengers must have a security guard on board if people are drinking. You can typically add on security through the shuttle rental companies for an hourly or flat rate. Make sure you are clear to your transportation company that you will be drinking because by law they need to stop your partying if you did not pay for security. Talk about a buzz killer on wedding day!

We love when a bridal party has fun while taking pictures around the city, but please be careful. A lot of accidents can happen on a moving vehicle so we’re happy to hear you read through our transportation advice. #1 rule – no coffee!!!

-Danielle Kuhn, Ohana Events