Horse Drawn Carriages

The classic definition of a carriage is a four-wheeled horse drawn private passenger vehicle with leaf springs (elliptical springs in the 19th century) or leather strapping for suspension, whether light, smart and fast or large and comfortable. Compare the public conveyances stagecoach, charabanc, and omnibus. A vehicle that is not sprung is a wagon. An American buckboard or Conestoga wagon or "prairie schooner" was never taken for a carriage, but a waggonette was a pleasure vehicle, with lengthwise seats. The word car meaning "wheeled vehicle", came from Norman French at the beginning of the 14th century; it was extended to cover automobile in 1896. In the British Isles and many Commonwealth countries, a railway carriage (also called a coach) is a railroad car designed and equipped for transporting passengers. In the United States, a baby carriage is a wheeled conveyance for reclining infants (in English outside North America: perambulator or pram), usually with a hood that can be adjusted to protect the baby from the sun. In some parts of New England, a carriage (or shopping carriage) is sometimes a shopping cart.

Some horsecarts found in Celtic graves show hints that their platform was suspended in a frame, elastically [1]. The Romans in the first centuries BC used sprung waggons for overland journeys [2]. With the decline of the antique civilizations these techniques almost disappeared.

In the Middle Ages all travellers who were not walking rode, save the elderly and the infirm. A trip in an unsprung cart over unpaved roads was not lightly undertaken. Closed carriages began to be more widely used by the upper classes in the 16th century. In 1601 a short-lived law was passed in England banning the use of carriages by men, it being considered effeminate. Better sprung vehicles were developed in the 17th century. New lighter and more fashionably varied conveyances, with fanciful new names, began to compete with one another from the mid-18th century. Coachbuilders cooperated with carvers, gilders, painters, lacquerworkers, glazers and upholsterers to produce not just the family's state coach for weddings and funerals but light, smart fast comfortable vehicles for pleasure riding and display.

In British and French coaches, the coachman drove from a raised coachbox at the front. In Spain the driver continued to ride one of the horses, as also in the 1939 state visit procession in Canada From the 1860s, few rich Europeans continued to use their posting coaches for long-distance travel: a first-class railway carriage was the faster modern alternative. Then, in the 1890s, just as automobiles came into use, "coaching" became an upper-class sport in Britain and America, where gentlemen would take the reins of the kinds of large vehicles of types generally driven by a professional coachman.

Typically horse drawn carriages are used to bring the bride and groom to the ceremony, and then away to the reception. In order to keep travel time reasonable, most companies suggest a destination no more than four miles. The carriages travel at a relaxed pace of four miles per hour.

Most Vis a Vis (face to face) carriages hold four passengers comfortably. But a Surrey with the Fringe on Top is pulled by 2 horses and is perfect for the whole wedding party. There is a wide variety of carriage types and designs: white majestic, old fashioned black, open-air or glass enclosed. In winter and ski resort areas, horse drawn sleighs are very popular for weddings.

The couple may want to find a reputable horse and carriage rental company by asking friends, checking online and in the Yellow Pages. If the bride and groom have their wedding on a Saturday between May and September, they will need to call early for reservations. Other high demand times for carriage companies are Fridays in the fall months, on Valentine's Day, holiday weekends, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year's and Mother's Day.

Some companies allow you to rent the horse and carriage for wedding pictures only. There may be a fee (one online company charges $250.00), which includes the carriage, a coachman and a l5 minute ride. Other fees cover preparation, set up (decorations) and travel time. Prices are determined by date, time, location and the number of horses/carriages that are needed. The coachman and footman will be formally attired, some with Olde English or romantic Victorian costumes. What better or more romantic way to arrive at the wedding ceremony, than in a resplendent coach with loving family and friends waiting in anticipation.

Whoever said that planning a wedding had to be serious and stressful? With a western themed wedding, you can experience a whole new idea together while making it as unique as you want it to be.

For a western themed wedding, location is everything. Think about having your wedding in an "old west town", which are located throughout the Midwest and usually offer wedding packages at a cost. You can also find an open prairie and use tents and backdrops that you have designed yourselves. Or just decorate an old country church and reception hall. The important thing is to find your own style and preferences and then incorporate them into your wedding.

Decoration will be your visual focal point for this type of ceremony. To create the ambiance of a western themed wedding, use gold bows, which can be found at Christmas time. You can also use hay bales for guest seating, drive away in a horse drawn carriage and use country music or western movie themed music at your ceremony.

Once you have the ceremony details worked out and you know for sure this is what you both want, began thinking about your attire for your western themed wedding. Watch old western movies to see what brides wore, such as heavy fabrics, long sleeves and a lot of lace. For the groom you could go simple with blue jeans, a brown vest and a brown jacket, of course worn with a hat, boots and spurs. For the bridesmaids, western themed weddings are known for keyhole, dark dresses usually worn with lace up boots. Instead of having them hold a big bouquet of attendant flowers, hand-make headbands adorned with flowers and ribbon.

To decorate your guests' tables, use your imagination to create the western theme. Buy cowboy hats and line the insides with fresh flowers and baby's breath, or buy old cowboy boots at a thrift store and let sunflowers dangle from the tops. Adorn small items on tables with things like sheriff's badges or replicas of old medicine bottles.

Incorporate your western theme even on the dance floor by using kerosene lamps or lanterns hanging from posts instead of the usual string lighting. You can also hunt through antique shops and flea markets to find old wagon wheels and wooden trellises, which can be lined with wildflowers and rope.

Another original idea for guests to enjoy your western themed wedding is to have a corner of the reception hall set up for photos. Find western clothing at thrift stores or western supply stores. And instead of a dollar dance to raise money for the bride and groom, offer them black and white western photos of themselves to take home as souvenirs. You can pay your own photographer an extra fee to take the photographs.

While planning your western themed wedding, have fun and enjoy. The more fun you have planning your wedding as a couple, the more memories you'll be making that will last a lifetime.