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"Our wedding was certainly a day when we wanted to look and feel like a million bucks, but also make sure everyone got to where they were supposed to be and got there safely," says David.
"We knew from talking to friends that good limousine services are always booked well in advance and we really wanted our family to travel together comfortably on our special day."
And with wedding season just starting and prom season in full swing, it's not a stretch to say limousines in London are in high demand.
"Our phones are usually off the hook with requests starting in early May and the calls and bookings continue non-stop until the end of February," says Jim Heron co-owner of Grandeur Limousine, the city's largest limo provider, at 1255 Brydges St. in east London.
"Besides proms and weddings, our drivers are also taking people to sporting events, concerts, dinners, the theatre . . . it's a very busy time and business is good," says Mark Goyette, Grandeur's other owner.
Their 12-vehicle fleet includes stretched Lincoln Town Cars and SUVs that can hold 10 to 16 people, plus a chauffeur, and rent for between $350 and $800 for five hours.
Limousine buses that fit up to 28 people -- basically posh living rooms on wheels -- start at $150 an hour.
All are decked out with plush interiors, custom-built bars, thumping audio systems, LCD TVs and fibre-optic lights. Some even come with their own disco ball.
Their newest and most sought-after vehicle is a 16-person Hummer H2 (base price $73,000) that took Heron and Goyette a year to stretch and customize with about $30,000 worth of high-end and high-tech interior goodies requiring more than six kilometers of wiring.
But none of their current limos holds as much sentimental value as the first car the two friends built together about 15 years ago.
"We really just wanted to see if we could actually do it, so we bought a 1977 Cadillac for about $2,000, cut it in half and worked on it as a hobby in our spare time and on the weekends," says Heron, "At first, we had no idea what we were doing and it ended up taking a little more than we thought it would."
Eight years, and more than $5,000 later, their first limousine was finally completed.
"It was a true labour of love," adds Goyette. "Once we were done, the next logical step was to try it out and take it for a drive."
The limo duos' first fare was a mutual friend who wanted to see Pink Floyd at the CNE in Toronto.
"We were really nervous on that first ride and pretty much just praying that the car stayed together," says Goyette. "Who would've thought we'd end up doing this for a living?"
However, he also notes that with gas prices skyrocketing, the stretch limousine business is not an easy way to make a buck.
"Gas prices have really hit our industry hard. We haven't raised our rates in years, but eventually it's going to be unavoidable for everyone," says Goyette.
They've also been struggling recently to avoid costly overlaps between wedding gigs and prom rentals. They used to be able to work both a wedding and a prom in one day with the same car, but these days, prom jobs are often all-day affairs.
Luckily, business has been booming with their corporate clientele, says Heron.
"London is a huge hub for business people and whenever executives come in from the U.S. and local companies are looking to show their VIPs around, we get the call for our limos," he says.
While being well-known and established in the industry definitely helps build a corporate client base, it's meticulous attention to detail that has helped this area of their business grow by more than 30 per cent in the last few years, says Heron.
"It's the wow factor that people are looking for when renting a limo and that means always having the newest and best-equipped cars, and most importantly, making sure the cars are incredibly clean and always on time," says Goyette.
They spend hours cleaning cars between runs to make sure there isn't so much as a fingerprint on the glass or doors, says Heron.
But it's not just weddings and corporate execs that make London's limos go. A round-trip in a six-person limo to Toronto's Pearson airport costs $575; the same car to Detroit Metro will set you back just under $700.
"This part of the business is certainly booming because airline travel can be frustrating enough without having to worry about getting to the airport, so it's no wonder that people want to ride in style," says Fonseca.
He's also noticed more people renting limos for out-of-town hockey and football games.
But no matter where passengers are going, it's important to observe limousine etiquette.
That means no smoking in the car, he says. And people also should be mindful that even when the divider between the passengers and driver is up, the driver still knows what's going on in the back seat.
Back at Grandeur Limousine, Heron and Goyette are busy renovating and upgrading their 5,400-square-foot garage to include a lounge area in the lobby.
They also have their sights set of expanding their business and their fleet.
"Ultimately, I'd really love to see us customizing really large tour buses from the ground up," says Goyette.
"We've already gone from, 'Let's try to build a limo,' to being one of the biggest limo services in Southwestern Ontario, so who know what's next?" adds Heron.
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