Of all the wedding fears that can play on your mind, it’s the big day disasters that are most responsible for those sleepless nights during the wedding countdown. We’re talking worst case scenarios where you’re left wondering how you could be so unlucky!
While no one has a crystal ball, there are a few things you can do to sidestep these stressful situations and have the best plan in place for whatever curve balls life throws at you.
This story has been made possible by our wonderful sponsor eWed Insurance. They offer affordable and comprehensive insurance coverage for weddings in the United States and U.S. Territories, from your first deposit through to your farewell brunch. Thank you for supporting the businesses that support us!
Wedding Disaster #1: Injury or illness forces you to postpone or cancel your wedding.
With all the effort that’s gone into planning your wedding, you don’t even want to entertain the possibility of dealing with a personal injury or illness that derails your day. Or try to go ahead without a family member by your side during a health crisis. Any thought of napkin colours and song choices immediately takes a back seat, and your priority is to give the one you love the support they need in their recovery.
But the cost of delaying or cancelling your wedding can make this decision difficult, especially if there are medical bills to consider. Besides trying to enforce a risky business ban for your friends and family in the final weeks before your wedding, there’s really nothing you can do except cover yourself with cancellation insurance, which we’ll talk about more soon!
Wedding Disaster #2: One of your wedding suppliers goes out of business.
Over the years we’ve seen a lot of couples left stranded without a supplier only a few short weeks before their wedding. There’s no way to know what’s going on behind the scenes when you’re booking a vendor, and it’s not until your emails and calls start going unanswered that the concern creeps in. Once news of the closure lands in your inbox, it’s full freak out!
Just like that, both your supplier and your non-refundable deposit have disappeared. Now you not only have to find a new supplier but cough up the cash a second time.
We had this happen.
The regional airline we were using to travel to and from our wedding went bust the day before we were due to fly home. So we were left scrambling to find a different flight and had to arrange travel to another city to do so. Then there was the stress of trying to recover the money lost on the original tickets once we were home!
If you find yourself in this situation with one of your wedding vendors, let your other suppliers know and ask for their recommendations. They’re usually well connected within their local industry and can put you in touch with alternatives that suit your style.
Wedding Disaster #3: One of your wedding suppliers is a no-show on the day.
And you thought finding another supplier at the last minute was stressful. Discovering a vendor won’t be turning up for your wedding only a few hours or minutes before you walk down the aisle is a next level nightmare!
There are three simple things you can do to try to avoid this predicament.
First, make sure you book professional suppliers. While hobbyists may be cheaper, they can be less reliable than industry pros with a track record and reputation to uphold.
Second, it’s a good idea to discuss with your suppliers what happens in the event they’re unable to attend your wedding. Professional vendors often have an industry network they can call on to help with their bookings in case of illness or injury.
Finally, touch base with your suppliers the week before your wedding to check that they have all the details on where they need to be and when. It will put your mind at ease knowing there’s no question of whether they’ll turn up on the day.
Wedding Disaster #4: Extreme weather has derailed your wedding plans.
No matter how many times you check that forecast, nothing can be confirmed until you pull back those curtains on the morning of your wedding and survey the skies with your own eyes. We’re a bit of a broken record on this one, but a solid Plan B for dodgy weather is one of the best investments you can make in your wedding. My husband and I experienced blustery winds, relentless rain and bone chilling cold on our wedding day, but it had zero impact on our enjoyment because we were prepared for it.
However, there are cases where severe weather conditions like floods, fires, hurricanes or blizzards make your event venue unreachable, unusable or unsafe. When the party simply can’t go on, insurance coverage is your best backup plan.
Wedding Disaster #5: Your wedding outfits or accessories are lost or damaged.
Red wine meets white wedding dress. It’s a familiar story with no happy ending! But stranger things have happened. We’ve featured a wedding where the groom’s suit got run over. On the road. By a car. No one’s still quite sure how that went down…
Then there are your wedding rings, a watch or special jewellery you’ve purchased just for the occasion. Can you imagine if they went missing?
There’s a mad rush to repair, replace or rent something similar. It’s the quickest way to ruin your excitement for the day after you’ve planned your look so thoughtfully from head to toe.
So what can you do? Write a list of everything you need to bring to your getting ready location and start packing early so nothing is misplaced. Always use the garment bags supplied to protect your clothing and store your accessories in their boxes to avoid accidental damage. On the day, have an emergency kit with stain remover and sewing kit at the ready for any wedding morning mishaps!
Wedding Disaster #6: Your wedding photos or video are lost or damaged.
Photography and videography were some of the largest investments we made for our wedding. It was also the last family celebration we were able to share with my dear grandmother. Beyond the cost, it would be absolutely devastating to learn these priceless memories were lost!
It bears repeating that it’s worth every penny to work with a professional team. They’ll come prepared for every potential problem to ensure you end up with an online gallery filled with special moments. But no matter how many camera bodies, lenses, memory cards or rolls of film your crew has come prepared with, accidents can still happen.
There’s not a lot you can do in this situation, except hope for some stellar happy snaps from your guests! While an unplugged wedding ceremony is a great idea, we recommend encouraging your guests to capture photos throughout the rest of the event. We were so grateful to have ours clicking away during cocktail hour while we were taking portraits with our photographer, as we received many lovely candid photos we never would have seen otherwise.
Wedding Disaster #7: Someone gets injured during your wedding.
You’d think there’d come a time when we stopped slipping and falling during lively conga lines or lighting ourselves on fire when reaching over candles for the roast potatoes, but no. Weddings are notorious for weird and not-so-wonderful accidents, particularly when alcohol is involved!
There’s nothing worse than the fun and festivities coming to a screeching halt because someone’s been hurt. Not only can it mean an untimely end to your celebration, but the possibility of being dragged into a lawsuit if the person who gets injured sues your venue or suppliers for medical costs. That’s a seriously stressful start to newlywed life!
Besides liability insurance, all you can do is make sure there’s a first aid kit readily available and event staff trained to assist in case of injury…and hope yours is a night to remember for all the right reasons, with only great stories to tell!
How Wedding Insurance Can Help
While we’ve mentioned a few things you can do to try to avoid these wedding day disasters in the first place, there are some totally unforeseeable circumstances that can put you out of pocket and into panic mode.
Working with a dedicated wedding insurance company like eWed Insurance is a great way to protect yourself in these sticky situations. They offer two types of coverage: cancellation insurance and liability insurance.
Wedding cancellation insurance covers you against lost deposits if you need to cancel or postpone your wedding due to reasons beyond your control (illness or injury, severe weather, military deployment, etc.) or for money you lose because a vendor goes out of business or does not show up. If the wedding is cancelled for a covered reason, your honeymoon expenses will be covered too.
Wedding liability insurance can pay for damage to the venue caused by you or a guest and is being required by more and more venues these days as a standard part of their contract. It will protect you if you’re held responsible for property damage, injury or an alcohol related accident.
eWed Insurance’s policies are inexpensive and comprehensive, extending over three days to include your welcome party or rehearsal dinner, wedding, and farewell brunch. It only takes a few minutes to organise your coverage and you can do so until the day before your wedding.
We always advise you to review the terms and conditions of any policy you purchase to fully understand what is and isn’t covered and what to do if you need to file a claim.
For more details, visit eWed Insurance!
