Get to the church in style
Meet the family-run wedding car rental business with a difference
Family-run wedding car rental firm with a difference
WHEN TOM and Sophie Waters were planning their wedding little did they know that it would spur a fledging wedding car hire company. Fast forward two years and it’s grown beyond their wildest dreams, despite making no effort to push it very hard beyond word of mouth. Tom takes up the story: “When my wife and I were looking at wedding cars we couldn’t find anything we wanted; we certainly didn’t fancy the archetypal vintage white Rolls-royce or Bentley. We’ve always had Land Rovers in the family, and when we got engaged we thought it would be nice to restore a Series I 80 inch that my father bought at an agricultural show in the early 2000s.
“It wasn’t in a good way, but after a full nut-and-bolt restoration at classic Land Rover specialists John Browns 4x4, it looks better than new. The chap who sold it to us asks if he can buy it back every time he sees it. As well as the 1950 Series I we also had a few Defenders and a Range Rover Vogue, to take family members from the church over the North Yorkshire moors to the reception at Helmsley.”
After the wedding, Tom and Sophie were beginning to get enquiries from guests about the vehicles they used and whether they would be available for hire, and that’s when the newlyweds had the light-bulb moment and set up Yorkshire Vehicle Hire in their home village of Great Ayton. The only traditional thing about this company is the couple’s dedication to making the experience memorable – they’re not your average wedding car hire firm, that’s for sure. The Yorkshire-based family run company deal in anything Land Rover, which is what makes them unique and equally they like weddings that are a little more unusual. The beauty of hiring out 4x4s also means they can cater for winter weddings. “For anyone who wants to add a bit adventure to their big day, that’s what we’re all about. We like to do things a bit differently,” adds Tom.
While Tom has never worked in the vehicle hire sector, he has grown up in the transport and service industry. His grandfather ran a bus company, while his father runs a fleet of vacuum tankers, which he co-manages. During the weekends, however, he can usually be seen driving one of their armada of Land Rovers helping couples to celebrate their wedding in style. Sophie takes care of the admin and marketing, as well as looking after their ten-month old son.
The interest in Solihull’s finest is also in the blood. “We’ve always had Land Rovers; it stems from my grandad. He’s a big shooting man so he always had a Range Rover, Defender or Discovery. I learnt to drive in Land Rovers and my first was a Defender 110 pick-up. We’ve never not had a Land Rover in the family. There’s no other 4x4 with the same history, nostalgia and character. I can’t think of any other vehicle where fellow owners wave to you, and I think that says something.”
As you can imagine they’re always expanding their fleet and adding new and unique vehicles. To which end they have a 2015 Twisted Automotive Defender 110 Station Wagon (which replaced a less-than-practical two-seater Defender 90 from the same specialist, which is very local to our couple); a standard 2014 Defender 90 (which Tom and his father bought when Land Rover announced the end of Defender production); the aforementioned SI and another later 88-inch example (1958). They’ve also got a 1952 eightseater Bedford K Type, which Tom’s father got restored to carry Tom’s sister’s bridesmaids in a few years ago at her wedding and now plays an important part of their fleet.
Tom personally owns a 2016 Discovery 4, which he was
hiring out together with his grandfather’s Range Rover, but they soon learnt there’s more demand for the older models.
Yorkshire Vehicle Hire pride themselves on going above and beyond, without meaning to coin the well-known Land Rover phrase, and offer handmade accessories to go with their vehicles from bunting to personalised drinks hampers and ribbons, and if a couple has an idea in their head they’ll happily work with them to try and realise it.
They also use the cars for promotional shoots and events, where companies want to showcase their products. Last year a German-based gin distillery found them after searching ‘vintage Land Rover Yorkshire’ on the internet. They had a stand at the Harrogate Wildlife and Safari and Travel Show and wanted something classic but also slightly rustic to showcase their award-winning handcrafted premium gin products. The 88-inch Series I was perfect and the couple dressed the stand, using a load of grasses, to help make it look like it was on safari as a nod to the company’s South African roots. It was very successful and they’re looking to do the same thing again this year. At the moment they’re quoting for an outdoor clothing provider who wants to do a shoot with the Twisted Defender in the Peak District.
With bookings into next year, the couple are extremely pleased with how business is doing, but not one to sit still they’re constantly looking into new ventures and ways to diversify and expand. “We’re currently getting a Series II done up that we bought from a farm on the North Yorkshire coast; it’s had a new chassis and it’ll be going for a MOT soon. My father’s latest acquisition, after he found out my sister was having a baby a few months after Sophie and I, is a Toylander – it’s an exact replica of our 80-inch. It got me thinking maybe we could rent out something similar at weddings for children to play in.
“Besides that, we’re also thinking of launching self-drive Defender hire so that people can explore the Yorkshire Moors and Dales. It’s amazing, really, what started off as a hobby has grown into something a lot more successful than we thought it would be. Not to mention it means the vintage vehicles are being used rather than just sat there.”
It’s great to see yet another British business grow and develop out of a lifelong passion for Land Rovers, there can’t be many other car brands that inspire so many start-ups and delight and amaze its customers in equal measure. To be honest we can’t think of any other vehicle that we’d like to celebrate the biggest day of our life, so it’s no wonder that Yorkshire Vehicle Hire is going from strength to strength.