Real Wedding Disaster Stories: 5 Expensive Ways A Wedding Could Go Wrong
Wedding Day Watch Outs brought to you by WedSafe, the wedding insurance specialists.
It's Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
And when something goes wrong at a wedding, it can be frightening how quickly costs add up.
This is pretty much why wedding insurance exists—to help couples recover from any financial consequences resulting from unanticipated (and expensive!) wedding mishaps.
Here are some cases of real couples who faced wedding disasters, along with the average cost for each one. These are tales of caution to help you prepare for the unexpected, but also to let you know how wedding insurance may help you recoup any losses.
Scenario 1: You Lose Your Wedding Venue
Estimated Cost: $20,000
You can't lose a wedding venue, can you? Yeah, you can.
Back in 2014 it happened to dozens of couples in New York. A Brooklyn wedding venue told its employees that they were "bankrupt and closed"—which also sent brides and grooms who had booked there into panic mode. Turns out, the owner of the venue was guilty of multiple tax fraud and grand larceny charges, but continued booking weddings of unsuspecting brides and grooms up until his arrest. Many of the couples heard the news of their venue closure on Facebook—and all of them were out an average of $20,000, not to mention having to scramble to find a replacement location and redirect all of their guests.
Scary story, but shady business owners aren't the only potential risk to your wedding venue. Consider the following scenarios in which the venue:
● goes out of business
● was supposed to be finished with construction, but…
● loses a key permit
● catches fire
● gets flooded
● is accidentally double-booked
It happens.
With an Event Cancellation Policy with a reputable wedding insurance provider like WedSafe, you may recover these financial losses. Just think: a couple hundred dollars now could save you $20,000 in the long run.
Scenario 2: The Weather's Bad. Really Bad.
Estimated Cost: $25,000
They say rain on your wedding day is good luck, but in this scenario we beg to differ.
Ten inches of rain put a wet blanket on one couple's big day. Virginia's State Highway 10—which happened to be the only route to their venue—closed down, preventing bridal party members and guests from getting to reception site. The wedding had to be postponed, meaning everything—the venue, band, caterer, cake, flowers, photographer—had to be cancelled.
Wedding Cancellation coverage could have come to the rescue here. This type of insurance may protect not only your venue deposit, but also any lost or nonrefundable vendor deposits.
Scenario 3: A Vendor Pulls A No-Show
Estimated Cost: $1,200
It's a couple's worst nightmare: Your wedding photographer pulls a no-show on your wedding day.
It happened to a couple in Omaha back in 2014. The bride had hired a photographer and paid all deposits in advance. On the morning of the wedding, the photographer was "running late" and texting updates to the panicked couple. First it was car trouble. Then poor cell phone reception. Then a dying battery. Then…nothing. Sadly, the couple lost $1,200 as well as the professional photos they should have had of their special day.
WedSafe has seen this happen time and time again. Our advice? First, hire a reputable vendor and don't pay everything up front! Then, consider Loss of Deposits coverage—a component of Event Cancellation/Postponement Insurance.
Scenario 4: Your Wedding Dress Gets Damaged
Estimated Cost: $3,275
At a particularly rowdy reception, a guest spilled red wine on the bride's wedding dress. The stains couldn't be removed and the skirt had to be replaced before the dress could be cleaned and preserved. At another reception, the bride lost her balance during the cake cutting, knocking over the cake table and splattering wedding cake all down the front of her dress. What a cake-tastrophy! Yet another bride's dress caught on fire after it grazed a candle during her ceremony... Okay, she wins.
In these scenarios, Event Cancellation/Postponement Insurance may cover damage or repair to, or replacement of, wedding attire such as a bridal gown.
Scenario 5: Wedding Guests Gone Wild
Estimated Cost: $3,275
We recently heard the story of a particularly inebriated wedding guest who tried to order more drinks at the bar—and got turned down for being too intoxicated. He started yelling at the bartender, growing even more enraged as bridal party members tried to reason with him and calm him down. The scene ended with the guest punching a hole in the reception room's wall. Guess who's held responsible? Yup, the newlyweds.
Wedding Liability Insurance is definitely something to consider if your friends like to let loose. It may protect you in the event of injuries or property damage sustained at your event, including alcohol-related accidents. In fact, many venues require you to have event liability and property damage insurance.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line here is that something can easily go wrong at your wedding and it's best to be prepared. Hopefully you won't experience a major disaster, but if you do, wedding insurance is a great way to help cover any losses. And it makes it a lot easier to look back and laugh about your mishap later.
Get your free quote today at WedSafe.com.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to offer individualized advice. Only the relevant insurance policy delineates actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions, and exclusions for an insured.
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