Coach Hire Across Switzerland

Wedding Transport: Coaches for Guests, a Car for the Couple

Swiss weddings often move twice before dinner. The civil ceremony must come before any religious one, so many couples have two venues on the day, and the guests have to reach both.

Two ceremonies, two transfers

The marriage is concluded before a civil registrar, and a religious ceremony may only follow it. Couples choose the civil registry district they like, so the registry office may be in one town and the church in another. Count each move as a leg: hotels to the registry office, on to the church, then the reception, then back.

A coach for 40 or 50 guests keeps everyone together and means nobody drives after the dinner. For a smaller party, a midi-coach or minibus is easier at a narrow village church or a vineyard venue.

Stretch limousine, exterior
Stretch limousine, exterior

A car for the couple

The couple and witnesses often travel apart from the guests, in a car with a chauffeur. Up to 8 passengers count as a car. The chauffeur holds the permit for professional passenger transport or a D or D1 licence. Belts are worn in every vehicle where fitted.

Rules worth knowing before you book

  • In Switzerland a marriage is concluded before a civil registrar (Zivilstandsbeamtin or Zivilstandsbeamter), and a religious ceremony may not take place before the civil one (Art. 97 ZGB), so many weddings have two ceremonies and two transfers
  • A car has at most nine seats including the driver; a larger passenger vehicle is a Kleinbus or a Gesellschaftswagen (Art. 11 Abs. 2 VTS)

Timing the last run

Switzerland has no night driving ban for passenger vehicles, so a coach can leave the reception at 01:00. A morning start and a late finish make a long day for one driver, though, and the operator may plan a second one from the times you give.

Two departures often suit a mixed party: an early one for families with children and a late one for everyone else. Agree both times before the day, so the coach is not called back early.

What organisers ask us

Does the coach wait during the ceremony and dinner?

It sets down, parks nearby and returns at the agreed time. Where the venue has no room for a coach, the operator finds the nearest legal place to wait.

Can guests be collected from several hotels?

Yes. List the hotels and how many guests are at each. In towns with strict coach rules, such as Luzern, the coach may collect them at an official stopping place near the hotel rather than at the door.

What does the request need?

The date, both ceremony addresses, the reception venue, guest numbers per leg and the time of the last departure.

Destinations

Vehicles, each with a driver