Can You Get Wedding Insurance After Booking The Venue?

Wedding insurance is a relatively new phenomenon, but it’s a good one to be aware of, as it covers many of the financial risks and uncertainties involved in planning a big day

But if you’ve already booked your venue, is it too late? The short answer is, no, but you should look into securing it sooner rather than later.

In this blog, we’re exploring the topic of ‘can you get wedding insurance after booking a venue’, as well as what wedding insurance covers, and why it’s a helpful addition that can bring peace of mind during the run-up to your wedding.

Table of Contents

1. What is wedding insurance?
2. Why would you need wedding insurance?
3. What is covered by wedding insurance?
4. What else to know about wedding insurance coverage and policies

What is wedding insurance?

Wedding insurance is there to provide financial back-up should you encounter any disruptive events before or during your wedding that would require you to reschedule or make significant changes, and which you are not responsible for.

Ideally, you’ve booked your wedding venue at least a year in advance. So, you still have a healthy timeframe to secure your wedding insurance before the big day rolls around. Most venues will have some form of written agreement when you choose to hire them, though these may not be contractually binding. Therefore, it’s wise to scope out wedding insurance before you make any final decisions, or shell out large amounts of money on securing your dream venue.

Why would you need wedding insurance?

‘I love them, they love me – why would we need wedding insurance?’

If that’s what you’re thinking, take a look at a couple of situations where wedding insurance can come in handy.

Vendor Issues

Whilst it’s wise to thoroughly read reviews and testimonials for caterers, florists, make up artists and anyone else you’re working with on your big day, it’s reassuring to have a plan in place if a vendor suddenly goes out of business, has a personal emergency or otherwise doesn’t fulfil their service or fails to turn up.

Personal Circumstances

On your side of the planning, life can get in the way. If someone from the ‘I Do Crew’ suffers a last-minute accident, injury or other tragedy and you can’t go ahead with the wedding without them, the last thing you want to think about is how you’re going to afford to pay for all your services and rentals again at a rescheduled date in the future.

Damage On The Day

We’ve seen it happen. A glass of red wine splashed over the wedding dress. A guest that’s carried away and trips backwards into some furniture. A wedding cake dropped as it’s transported over to the table. In essence, anything that you are responsible for (which includes your guests!) can be covered with a liability policy, which goes towards covering unforeseen venue costs and repairs incurred during the day.

What is covered by wedding insurance?

Wedding insurance covers most unforeseeable events that would prevent the wedding from taking place, or significantly impact the day.

Here are just a few examples.

Venue Closure

It wasn’t too long ago that the thought of a pandemic preventing people from tying the knot seemed like a throwaway comment, and yet it highlighted how important financial protection can be for such significant events. If a venue shuts permanently after you’ve already paid some or part of the cost, you’ll be able to claim it back. Likewise, wedding insurance can cover natural disasters or weather events that make your wedding venue inaccessible on the day.

Last Minute Replacements

If you do suffer from last minute vendor cancellations, your insurance can help recuperate any deposits or payments made. You’ll also be able to use your payout to find a last-minute replacement (which will no doubt cost significantly more at such short notice). Whether it’s your transportation, catering, furniture supplier, flowers, entertainment or another service, you won’t get left in the lurch.

Essential Rescheduling

Wedding insurance can save you starting from scratch if you need to postpone or reschedule your wedding due to sickness or a family tragedy. Depending on the policy, you may be able to recuperate the cost of the services, or work with the vendors to change the dates without losing your deposit.

Beware:

‘Cold feet’ is not a wedding insurance policy! If you decide to cancel or postpone the wedding because you’re having second thoughts, you’ll have to foot the bill yourself. So make sure you’re set on getting hitched before taking out a wedding insurance plan.

What else to know about wedding insurance coverage and policies

Generally, wedding insurance won’t cover what you’ve already booked or paid for before you secured it. Some policies will require a notice period of between a week and a month before the date for any claims to be valid. Therefore, it’s wise to ensure your coverage is secured at least a fortnight before your wedding day, so that you can make use of it if necessary.

Make sure you check the small print of each policy you’re looking at; including what’s not covered, and what the caveats are. Keep details of vendor bookings, transactions and communications, and make sure everything is documented in writing. Speak with your venue too, as they may have experience with trusted wedding insurance providers they can put you in touch with.

Wedding insurance: a valuable back up

So, can you get wedding insurance after you’ve booked a venue? Yes. Should you leave it to the last minute? Absolutely not. We recommend scouting out wedding insurance as soon as you’ve locked in your date so your venue booking and payment can fall under your coverage, but you can still work with your venue and insurance provider to establish a viable safety net that covers the responsibilities of both parties.

Talk to our experienced party planning team for more information on wedding insurance. We’ve been in the business for two decades, and we’re happy to answer all your questions, as well as provide more helpful advice, such as how to make your wedding more unique, or catering tips for your special day.

Contact Canvas House to enquire with us about hosting your wedding here in Melbourne, or send an email to speak with our team.