The ice cream truck, an iconic summer favorite, is the next big thing at warm-weather weddings. The secret to its popularity? Nostalgia. "Even though I can get my hands on 300 different kinds of ice cream, everyone wants the classics," says Fernanda Armoza Aldous of Gold Coast Ice Cream Truck Co., a New York company with a vintage Good Humor truck and bow-tied servers in 1960s-style outfits.
As with wedding cakes, prices vary greatly, depending on event size and location (longer driving distances necessitate higher fees). To rent Gold Coast's truck and server for a 120-person party, it will cost you about $700. The San Francisco-based Ice Cream Truck Rental charges $1,400 to $2,000 for a Mister Softee truck for the day; a server is an additional $125 for five hours.
To find one in your neighborhood, start with a Web search for "ice cream truck" and add in the words "vintage" or "Good Humor" if you'd like an old-school version.
Wow $2000? I did a job on LI for $500 only because it was a 200 mile total roundtrip in the truck. Was there for 3 hours... Those prices are crazy and Im sure they didnt have a bright green truck with hydraulics! Thanks ted http://MeanGreenIceCreamMachine.com.
In New Jersey look up Delicious Ice cream out of Basking Ridge. They have 2 1950 antique ice cream trucks that have been professionally resored
For our daughter's engagement party we hired Cold Stone ice creamery to come out and set up shop poolside. It was such a treat and our guests loved it! The cost was the same price as paying for a cake or dessert bar....probably even more reasonable than cake and a lot more fun. And the folks from Cold Stone were so gracious!
I contacted Gold Coast Ice Cream Truck Co. for my wedding at the end of Long Island. The $700 quoted in this story is only for events taking place in Nassau. They wanted to charge me $2,000 for ONE hour for 75 guests to bring the truck out--apparently it needs to be shipped in via flatbed. They didn't seem to be hurting for business, so I guess people are willing to pay that, but I find the price a little outrageous. They were also totally unwilling to negotiate within my budget.