Weddingbee Blog

So, the secret’s out: I’m a writer, and I have a day job. While it sure beats the long unemployment line, sometimes the subject material can be a bit bland.

Can you guess what I focus my writing on? Insurance. Most companies are just like the next, save for a few cute pet-insurance sites with testimonials that tug at your heartstrings, and random insurance such as alien-abduction coverage. (Yes, it really exists.)

But one type of insurance really just kind of called out to my bride-to-be self: WEDDING INSURANCE. I had never considered it, but it’s available to us engaged folk to purchase or pass on. So what exactly does it insure?

Let’s go over a few scenarios:

1. Your mom’s boyfriend’s daughter is a deranged felon with a nasty drug addiction. As much as you protest, dear ol’ Mom and her boyfriend force you to invite the down-on-her-luck crackhead to the wedding and reception.

You dance the night away and everyone has a spectacular time, but right after the grand farewell, everyone notices that all of your wedding gifts and cards are missing, along with the addict. She stole everything, returned it all, and used the money to escape to South America.

2. You are incredibly obsessed with your not-so-thrifty wedding dress (but it’s OK that you splurged because you found an incredible deal on invites and made DIY flowers). After months of imagining it twirl down the aisle, your wedding day is here!

Unfortunately, the day arrives with a deadly blizzard that makes travel absolutely impossible for 90 percent of your guests–all out-of-towners. But, being the determined lady you are, you put on the wedding dress anyway, pair it with a chic, vintage fur cape, and try and forge your way to the chapel on time.

However, with one foot out the door, a huge gust of wind blows you down the front steps, shredding your beloved wedding dress on your tumble down and making travel, well, impossible. You should have listened to the weatherman the first time.

3. It’s your big day, and you wake up to mimosas with the wedding party. Soon, you hear a knock on the door and realize it’s time for makeup and hair! Giddy with excitement, you sit down with the bridesmaids and start getting beautified, when you realize you are missing a clicking sound. Your uber-expensive photographer is nowhere to be found.

You grab the nearest cell phone with shaking hands and start the stalking. Call after call, you only reach voice mail. The time flies by. Still no photographer. With just minutes until the ceremony, you fall into a blubbering heap on the floor. The photographer you paid so much for is MIA, and no shaky digital photos of your big day will ever do.

OK, so I realize these are extremes. Blame my active imagination—whatever—but these things could probably happen to somebody, somewhere. Just as long as they don’t happen to me.

Premiums for a basic policy can range from $100 to $500 and will cover just about anything: wardrobe malfunctions, flaky vendors, cancellation factors, picture drama, death in the family, you name it. Insert wedding nightmares here.

But let’s remember that it doesn’t cover anybody getting cold feet OR circumstances you were aware of when you purchased the policy. So be sure that you’re ready to get hitched, and buy early if you are going to buy at all. You dig? Future runaway brides stay far, far away.

To buy or not to buy? That is the real question of the hour. I’m super gullible, so the minute I read up on wedding insurance, I wanted to contact an insurance broker ASAP. But what do other people think about this? Worth it? Or an unnecessary expense?

And on a related note, if you’re toting around a giant rock on that left hand of yours and it’s not insured, you are an idiot. I can rest easy knowing that if I totally flake out and lose my beloved champagne diamond, all is not lost. What are you non-insured ring-wearers waiting for? It’s like $40 a year. That’s less than you spend on lunch in a week.