Preventing Vandalism at a Wedding

It's time to consult the GRM Braintrust.

I'm getting married in May. My fiance and I were going to have a few wedding pictures taken with my car. However, I am rather concerned about vandalism at the wedding. Apparently, it's become a cool thing to deface the groom's automobile during the reception. (Apexcarver can chime in on that one.) I am 100% not OK with this. I've already had one of my groomsmen flat-out say he's going to do stuff to my car. (I'm this close to throwing him out of the wedding.)

So, I'm looking for ideas on what to do in order to keep my car from getting vandalized during the wedding. Apexcarver (who is one of my groomsmen) and his wife have offered to "guard" my car, but that isn't fair to them. I am actually considering hiring a private security guard to stand there. Any other ideas?

Hide the car elsewhere and have Apex grab it at the appropriate time.

Sky_Render wrote: It's time to consult the GRM Braintrust. I'm getting married in May. My fiance and I were going to have a few wedding pictures taken with my car. However, I am rather concerned about vandalism at the wedding. Apparently, it's become a cool thing to deface the groom's automobile during the reception. (Apexcarver can chime in on *that* one.) I am 100% not OK with this. I've already had one of my groomsmen flat-out say he's going to do stuff to my car. (I'm this close to throwing him out of the wedding.) So, I'm looking for ideas on what to do in order to keep my car from getting vandalized during the wedding. Apexcarver (who is one of my groomsmen) and his wife have offered to "guard" my car, but that isn't fair to them. I am actually considering hiring a private security guard to stand there. Any other ideas?

not only would he not be a groomsman but I would tell him that he's not welcome AT ALL … and call the Po-Po and have him arrested for trespassing if he has the nads to show up anyway

you and your bride can get dressed up at a later date and take the pics … have rental car there, one that no one knows is yours

I had a cousin attempt to get around this. He left the reception in a car he wasn't as concerned about being covered in shaving cream, toilet paper, and vasoline, and drove it to what he thought was an undisclosed location to retrieve the car he would actually be driving on his honeymoon. It almost worked, make sure no one else knows your "undisclosed location" and maybe the decoy car will be the only one hit.

Shaving cream and toilet paper is vandalism now?

To me Vandalism = something you can't go to the car wash and take care of.

Wait, you have an asshat that you don't trust not to damage your car as a groomsmen? Perhaps you need to look at your requirements for friendship a little closer. Vandalism is not a "thing"...it is stupid and childish. If your friends and family can't respect your property, I would not be buying them a nice chicken dinner. Make it clear how you feel about this stupid behavior and if you are really worried, elope in the car and screw those morons.

uninvite and decoy car is the proper method. If one of my groomsmen had done it I would've cut the top of every one of their miatas.

I'm starting to agree with the uninvite thing. I still have concerns about several of the guests, though.

Car Zapper 9000

Trunk monkey?

Well, I would say to have someone you trust trade you cars for the day and then bring it to you at the end of festivities. That's what my sister and BIL did, worked out well.

WBJ already said it.

There were no shenanigans of that sort at my wedding. My groomsmen knew how I felt about it and the car we used was my wife's Lincoln that her father drove her mother away from their wedding in.

I'm sure if anyone tried it, my FIL would've taken a tire iron to them.

I can't believe people still do this.

I'd also un-invite that guy. The rental sounds like a great idea. I'd stash my car in a locked garage.

This is a thing? Did it evolve from tying cans to the rear bumper? Can't those goons just get their kicks from throwing rice at you?

I read the thread title and said out loud "What kind of redneck wedding is this?"

To be clear, we are talking about soaping windows and covering with toilet paper, right? Something annoying that does NOT hurt the car in any way, correct?

If that is the case, deal with it. Let them have their fun, just laydown the ground rules first.

Chainsaw? Nobody berkeleys with somebody with a functional chainsaw.

Offer still stands. Even if you dont ask, we are still going to do our best to be sure nothing happens. Call it us wanting vengeance for my poor miata at my wedding, would love to confront ANYONE attempting that kind of stuff.

As far as how I can attest...

Take one STS miata. do the following:

10lbs of bird seed over the top of the car and INSIDE THE CAR (my mom stole my keys, whole 'nother story). It got in all the drain channels, filled the "shelves" in the engine bay through the hood gaps.

Window chalk, not a big deal, but they put it on my tires and despite me scrubbing them in the bathtub with cleansers and brushes, still on there. Only thing touching it is STEEL WOOL.

Streamers on the car (no real biggie there)

Filled it with balloons (not a huge deal, bride hates balloons (popping) though.)

Deer Piss in the center console (one of the groomsmen was a hunter)(thank god for enzyme cleaners)

Silly string on the car. IT BONDED TO THE TOP. IT WAS PINK.

It postponed us leaving for our honeymoon by a day. 4 people, 4 hours of cleaning. Much of it scrubbing the bajesus out of the top. (finally settled on a product meant for getting pine sap off of horses.) Center console and seats had to be removed. Had to unbolt the front fenders and get plants out of them a few weeks later (birdseed sprouted), still getting seed out of the rain rail area.

The two groomsmen who might see this on here I hold pretty much blameless. They were really only part of the harmless stuff. (in fact the mother-in-law saw one walk away disgusted while the others were doing it).

I dont pamper my miata 1/10th as much as i know Sky does his Mustang. I see someone approaching your car with intent, well...

In reply to wvumtnbkr:

Guys who do that are the kind of guys who don't realise that belt buckles and cufflinks scratch paint.

http://youtu.be/VO48Vr4KIc8

You don't berkeley with another mans vehicle.

Anyone that I suspected would behave like this wouldn't be welcome at my wedding. Nobody at my wedding got invited because I had to invite them, they all got invited because we wanted them there. Makes life a lot easier.

In this case, sounds like it's a good idea to lock the garage and rent a limo.

Does shaving cream hurt paint? I never knew these shenanigans actually caused any damage. I missing something?

Edit - just saw apex's post. That is well beyond what I imagined. Ouch.

Matt B wrote: Does shaving cream hurt paint? I never knew these shenanigans actually caused any damage. I missing something?

It marked up the clearcoat in my car. It took a good buffing to clean it up. If it had been on longer or in the sun I imagine it would have been worse

In reply to logdog:

OK, Berkeley that too then.

Sky cares enough about his Mustang that I wouldnt even see fit to do a Painter's tape flame job on it for fear of some spec of dirt making a microscratch. (yeah, some of us tease him for it a bit, but its all in good nature with us understanding that it is his thing)

Wow. My miata is is dented, with E36 M3ty paint, and a ripped and faded top. It looks like crap.

I'd still be pissed if someone did that to my car.