How did we get into wedding cars - Dec 17, 2010

Apart from my wedding car company I also run a corporate chauffeur service – Dunwoody Services Limited. One day when in my London office I was given a copy of the Classic Car magazine. Just casually flicking through I found an advert for a 1925 Oakland motor car for sale near Maidstone. It looked interesting so, off I went to deepest darkest Kent to meet a man in a barn. In the corner of the barn was a front wing and a headlight sticking out from under a grubby white sheet. I knew before the sheet came off I was going to buy her. After some serious negotiation she was mine and a few days later was trailered back to my home just outside Guildford. Needless to say a deep valet was required to get her looking her best. When I took out the front seat I found a small chrome sign saying ‘Maude’, it had two mounting screws on the back and these lined up with two holes in the dashboard. I believe like a ship it is bad luck to change the name of a car, so Maude she has remained. Subsequent research showed she was named by her previous owner in California, who spent nearly thirty years restoring her, after his late wife when she passed away.

After a year Maude had severe engine problems that necessitated a total rebuild. How to pay for that was the next problem until my father suggested hiring her for weddings, problem solved or rather problems multiplied by eight!!! But at least we had a new family business loved by everyone supplying beautiful wedding cars in Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and West Sussex.

Since the arrival of Maude I have added Rebecca (1962 Bentley S2), Esther (1930 Essex), Olivia (1923 Australian Buick), Dawn (1934 Sunbeam) and Harriet (a 1982 Daimler DS420). I also market for two very close friends Bonnie (1959 Pontiac Bonneville Coupe), Clyde (1959 Ford Skyliner Retractable) and Cathy (1959 Jaguar Mk II).

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