Here comes the bride through a beautifully landscaped garden on the grounds of a quaint country inn. But wait! An unforeseen storm, accompanied by roaring thunder and flashes of lightning, sends everyone scurrying. The bride and that expensive gown are drenched. It’s a washout as the downpour continues unabated. It looks like Mom and Dad are going to eat the bill and forced to settle for a do-over with a Justice of the Peace.
Okay, so that’s an extreme example, but all kinds of things can disrupt, interrupt or destroy those few minutes of sparkling matrimonial memories that should be a prelude to years of wedded bliss. There are risks for everything, especially the unforeseen, and that is what insurance is for.
Wedding insurance?
You bet. And it can protect you through the planning phase with the caterer, the designer gown, the DJ, the photographer and the wedding itself.
Suppose the best man loses that expensive ring? Or the church doors are locked and the pastor unavailable on the afternoon of the wedding due to a church calendar blunder? Wedding day mishaps are one thing, but ruined nuptials or disastrous receptions may be costly emotionally and financially.
“Basically, wedding insurance protects a couple’s investment from circumstances beyond their control, and reimburses expenses incurred,” according to TheKnot.com, which advises future brides and grooms on every aspect of wedding planning.
If something goes horribly wrong and the wedding has to be postponed, whether it be a winter blizzard or a fire at the reception hall on the eve of the big day, you can retrieve your losses, reschedule and reclaim your wedding plans.
Check with your insurance agent and you may find some potential losses are already covered. Businesses who rely on income from the wedding process, including photographers, DJs, caterers and banquet facilities may be covered in their own policies so you shouldn’t be afraid to ask what is and isn’t covered or look at the policy itself. If you have general liability coverage, it could help pay the damages from the unexpected.
The expert to turn to is obvious— your insurance agent.
This is basically special event insurance and there may be limitations on how far in advance of the nuptials (and after) you can get coverage. Obviously, if you make a deposit on a reception hall, you’ll have to do it in advance. It could be six months, even a year. If the reception hall burns down right before the wedding, you should be able to get the deposit back from either the vendor’s coverage or yours.
Wedding insurance will cover any or all of the following: cancellations or postponements due to the weather, unanticipated dilemmas at the wedding and reception, unavailability of key people due to the unforeseen and unreliable vendors.
As is the case with most insurance plans, you’ll have a maximum coverage and a deductible.
Wedding days seldom go off without a hitch or a glitch. We adapt and move on. That’s what people do. Wedding insurance, however, is there when the unforeseen threatens to ruin one of the most important days of a couple’s life together.
