Sunday, March 13, 2011
Behind the scenes before your special event
My husband Rob has become more active in the staging of special events, and he wrote up this treatise.
Engaging a Horse & Carriage for your wedding is a decision to have luxury and display in your wedding.
Even in the days before the horse-less carriage (automobile), only the wealthiest were driven comfortably in a vehicle like the ones we use in our weddings. They employed horsemen with highly developed skills to drive. Stables employed yeomen to muck the stalls and clean the harness, grooms to ready and harness the horse, often footmen to accompany the carriage, and craftsman, such as wheelwrights, that maintained the carriages. Today we do all these trades and more to bring a horse & carriage to your wedding. They are the behind the scenes costs which deliver the one-of-a-kind luxury and memorable presentation we offer you.
Behind the scenes of a luxury Horse & Carriage:
§ Insurance
§ Board /food for the horse farm in Rockport
§ Regular Veterinarian costs
§ Farrier and shoes every six weeks
§ Licensure with the State and City
§ Garage rent to store carriages
§ Truck & Trailer and gas
§ Ongoing Education and Training for driver and horse
§ Employees
§ Carriage Maintenance
§ Advertising
Time involved: Wedding contract decisions: Prior to signing a contract we have to scope the lay of the land (hills, distances, parking traffic patterns).
Pre-wedding. 5 hours of preparation to hitch truck and trailer, get the horse, clean him (Limos do not roll in the mud), load him, trailer the horse from Rockport to your wedding site, polish the harness, water and groom him, pre-check the carriage for safety, harness the horse, prepare the carriage decorations in the desired wedding colors, prepare champagne toast, dress groom and driver with top hat and tails and arrive on time.
After the wedding. 2 hours average to un-harness, rub down, water and feed, load and trailer the horse back home to paddock, drop off trailer.
Labels: weddings and special events