If you’ve ever dreamt of having a classic car transport you to your wedding, you really need to know about Triple R Luxury Car Hire. That is, if you don’t already! Their name is synonymous with car hire in Melbourne. Triple R is a family business with over three decades of experience and have provided wedding cars to over 20,000 couples! Plus, there are some absolutely stunning cars in their fleet (scroll through the interview to see some of these beauties stealing the show in real weddings). Today we chat to Alex Jovanovic who shares how his father started the business, how it has grown over the years, and what bridal couples can expect when booking their wedding transport through Triple R.

How long has Triple R been in the luxury car hire game?
Triple R started way back in 1982, so over 37 years ago now. Back then, my father Micky bought an old Bentley to compliment his wedding photography business, as he would offer it to couples as a package and up-sell. The business really just blew up from there and in the late 1980s and early 1990s, we had as many as 50 cars in the fleet and as many as 20 wedding photographers. Although the fleet has changed colour over the years we actually still have the first car that Micky bought for the fleet, a 1951 Bentley Dawn Sedan. Still to this day, it is one of our most popular cars going out on weddings almost every weekend.

You’re a family owned and operated business. Which family members are on board and what are their roles?
We certainly are a proud family owned and operated business. At the moment it’s Manuela, her sister Pia and myself in the office looking after all the enquiries, sales, bookings, appointments, logistics and marketing. Being a small business, we all wear many hats and all share the workload. Down in the workshop is Micky, who now spends most of his time maintaining the cars, and restoring and tinkering with some projects. It’s a team-based effort and each and every one of us brings our own set of skills to the table.

Images: Immerse Photography

Where are you based?
Our showroom is based in East Brunswick, just 6kms straight up Nicholson St from the Melbourne CBD by the number 96 tram.

Do you travel further for weddings?
Yes, we do. We are often travelling to the Yarra Valley, Dandenong Ranges, Daylesford area, Geelong and Mornington Peninsula for weddings. We tend not to travel too much further out than this as these cars are all over 60 years old and we like to keep them somewhat close to home base. So weddings that are 200km plus from the CBD we tend to not take part in. For weddings 30+kms outside the Melbourne metropolitan area there is a travel fee.

What cars do you have in your fleet?
We specialise in classic European luxury cars with an emphasis on Classic British marques. The bulk of our fleet consists of vehicles from 1949 to 1960 with a few either side of those years. The marques we carry are all premium luxury brands, including Rolls Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz and Daimler.

Image: Lovers Narrative

Which one is your personal favourite?
My personal favourite is the 1958 Mercedes Benz 220S Convertible. Such a beautiful looking machine and is lost of fun to drive. It just oozes Hollywood glam.

What cars seem to be the most popular with weddings this year?
They have always been very popular and the backbone of our fleet but even more so than ever are our Rolls Royce Silver Wraiths. We have three of these and they are always booked out in advance. These cars are our flagship vehicles and a grand sized hand built machine that really stands out and makes an impression on the big day.

What are the steps involved in booking a car through you?
We try to make the booking process as easy as possible. Most couples send us an email enquiry with their wedding details, we then provide a quote based on their needs. If they are happy to proceed we require a $150 deposit (per car) to lock in their vehicle for the day. This deposit can be paid via direct deposit, over the phone via credit card or in person at our showroom. The final balance is due two weeks before the wedding and we will confirm all the details around 1-2 weeks before the wedding.

Images: Duuet, Warren Photography, Tori and Sal, Yervant Photography

Do you give suggestions to bridal couples as to what car will go best with their style of wedding?
Yes most definitely, we want our couples to be happy with their car choice and choose a vehicle that suits not only their basic transport needs but also their style and budget. We will make suggestions on travel times and also suggest utilising the car(s) to make several trips to the venue if their locations permit. We will also recommend other companies that we like to work with who specialise in modern limos if the couple do want a large limo for their bridal party. We will assist in any way possible to make choosing your wedding day transport as easy as possible.

How far in advance should a car be booked for a wedding?
Like many other suppliers for your wedding day, the earlier you book the more choice you will have (and less stressed you will be). This is never more important than on the very busy Saturdays between October to April. Saturdays are the most popular day to get married and our popular Rolls Royce and Bentleys are always the first to go.

We suggest at least six months before your wedding to lock something in, however some well organised couples will book up to a year ahead (while other less organised couples will book just a few weeks out, which may leave them disappointed as there is a lack of cars available). Many dates are actually booked out well in advance and we have to break the bad news to couples that we are fully booked and won’t be able to help them.

Image: Immerse Photography

Can couples view your cars prior to booking?
Certainly, we encourage couples to make an appointment to view our cars at our showroom. This way they can sit inside and make sure the car will suit their needs. It also gives them a chance to see all the cars side by side. Many coupes will have their hearts set on a traditional white Bentley however upon inspecting our fleet will end up falling in love with our 1949 Black Rolls Royce Wraith instead. I can’t count how many times this exact situation has happened.

What’s a typical wedding day look like for your chauffeurs?
A typical wedding day for our chauffeurs will be collecting their car from our depot, then arriving at the bride’s accommodation. In most cases, we will then transfer the bride and her father (with the bridal party in a car following) to the ceremony. After the ceremony we usually have a few hours for photo locations, and after that we will then drop them to their reception venue. This is a typical wedding day, however this is changing as the normal traditions and timeline for weddings has evolved over the years. Many times now we will just collect the bridal party from an Air BnB in the country and then take them to the venue for the ceremony, followed shortly after for the reception celebrations which all happens on site.

Images: Tori and Sal

Do you work closely with wedding photographers on things like timing of photos (on location)?
As we have been around for 37 years, we have a lot of experience with Melbourne’s numerous wedding photographers. We do like to get an idea of where we will be heading to on the day so our drivers can prepare the most efficient route. Sometimes on the day plans change so our drivers will always liaise and discuss the next steps/locations. Working together with all the other suppliers on the wedding day is essential to make the day run as smooth as possible.

Can you share any funny stories from past wedding days?
One of my personal favourites was from the wedding of Paula and Adrian back in 2014. The bridal party was in the city taking photos near Pelligrini’s when out of nowhere a random lady walked her pet pig down the footpath right in front of the bride, groom and photographer. The opportunity was too good to miss so I snapped a few photos on my phone of the bride Paula, taking the pig for a walk.

Best testimonial you’ve ever received?
Mmm, that’s a tough one to answer. We have over 100 hand written thank you cards here in our office and over 440 online reviews. There have been so many beautiful testimonials written by our lovely couples that we really cannot choose.

Images: Joseph Koprek, Yervant Photography

What do you love about your job?
We love providing our couples a taste of yesteryear luxury and old-world service by keeping these classic cars on the road and accessible for everyone to enjoy and experience. We take great pride in dealing with couples on the happiest day of their lives and we are so fortunate to be able to play a small part and experience that day.

Personally, I also enjoy the different roles we have to play in the business especially the business development and marketing side of things. Although it’s very basic work, I do enjoy cleaning the cars and getting them ready for the jobs. There’s something therapeutic about cleaning while listening to an interesting podcast and getting away from the computer and phone for a few hours.

Thank you Alex for sharing Triple R Luxury Car Hire’s story with us today! Your fleet is beautiful, and your dedication to your clients and making sure their weddings run smoothly is admirable. To find out more about Triple R Luxury Car Hire and to find the perfect car for your wedding, head to their website or check them out on the Polka Dot Directory!