Wedding Insurance – A ‘Do’ or a ‘Don’t’

When contemplating whether to purchase insurance for your wedding day, it’s important to consider what you have planned.

The Venue
If your wedding will be held at a well known and long established venue, it most likely carries insurance on your behalf. This would cover guest accidents or medical issues while on site. If they are providing the caterer, their insurance will cover food poisoning. A general rule of thumb is that their insurance will cover anything that they plan for you. As each venue is unique, it’s important to ask what they cover.

Every venue wants your wedding to be a success. From a marketing standpoint, they want the positive word-of-mouth your event will generate. Consequently, many venues are more flexible than what they would have you believe. If extenuating circumstances require that your wedding be postponed for any reason, let the venue know as soon as possible. They will often switch your wedding to a new date without any penalty. They want your business and they want you to be happy.

If your wedding will be held at a small, privately owned venue, it may be wise to get event insurance. Due to the recession, some venues are going out of business. If you have paid a non-refundable deposit, you will not be reimbursed if the venue goes out of business before your wedding day.

Vendors
Most vendors guarantee their services and want to avoid negative press that could be extremely damaging to a small business. Rather than purchasing insurance to cover anything that goes awry, it’s better to have a backup plan. If you need to use your backup plan, do so. The vendor that fell through will almost certainly refund any payments received.
The best insurance for managing vendors is to hire a Wedding Coordinator. They will refer you to the most reputable and cost effective businesses. They’ll also have backup plans in place and can often fix issues before you even know there’s a problem.

Insurance provides peace of mind. Single-day event insurance can be purchased for as little as $200. If you are worried about any component of your wedding, buy insurance and walk down the aisle with a smile.