Prom Night: Timings, Etiquette and Planning the Car

Schools and venues usually publish an arrival window rather than a single time. Start there. Decide when you want to pull up, allow for the journey and a margin for traffic, then add time for photographs at home. That gives you the collection time to put on the enquiry. If there are several pick-ups, add a few minutes for each address and list them in the order that makes geographic sense.

Arriving in the middle of the window is often best. Too early and the entrance is empty; too late and the photographers may have moved inside.

Families almost always want pictures with the car, and that is worth planning for. Ask the chauffeur to arrive a little before the collection time so the car is parked in a good spot. Choose one location, take the group shots, then the individual ones, and let the chauffeur know when you are ready to go. A clear ten to fifteen minutes is usually plenty.

Long dresses, heels and fitted jackets make car doors trickier than usual. Let the chauffeur open the door and wait a moment before moving. Sit first, then bring your feet in together; reverse the process when stepping out. In the Rolls-Royce Phantom the coach doors make this easier, and in the seven-seat Mercedes V-Class the sliding door and captain's chairs give plenty of space.

At the venue, stay inside until the chauffeur opens the door. It keeps everyone safe on a busy drop-off road and gives photographers a proper moment.

A chauffeured car is a shared space for the evening, and a little courtesy goes a long way. Seat belts are worn by everyone. Food and drink are best left until the venue, which also protects outfits. No alcohol is supplied, and the chauffeur will follow our booking terms on conduct. Music and conversation are fine; the chauffeur is there to drive, not to supervise, but they are responsible for everyone's safety.

A thank-you to the chauffeur at the end is always appreciated, and it is a good habit for a first formal occasion.

Decide early whether you need a return journey. Some families book a one-way arrival and collect their children themselves; others want the chauffeur back at the finishing time. If you do book a return, agree the exact pick-up point, because venue exits can be crowded. The chauffeur's contact details are shared with the lead booker, so the group can find the car easily.

Every prom is different, but a typical plan might look like this. Around an hour before the venue's arrival window opens, the chauffeur pulls up at the first house. Photographs take a quarter of an hour. The car then collects any other passengers in a pre-agreed order, allowing a few minutes at each address, before heading to the venue with a small buffer for traffic. The group arrives comfortably inside the window, steps out one at a time, and heads in.

For a return journey, the chauffeur is back at the agreed pick-up point shortly before the finishing time and waits there. Passengers message the lead booker when they are coming out, and everyone is dropped home in the reverse order they were collected.

Write your own version of this schedule and send it with your enquiry. It is the quickest way to get an accurate fixed quote.

Prom season is compressed into a few weeks, and multiple schools can hold their evenings on the same date. Enquire as soon as the date is announced, especially if you want the Phantom or the V-Class. Send the date, venue, passenger count and addresses and we will reply with a fixed quote, usually within the hour. Call 07977 407474 between 07:00 and 23:00 or message on WhatsApp. We cover Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and London.