Wedding Insurance Cover For Officiants Not Attending

Of all the essential parts of a wedding, the wedding officiant - whether it be a registrar, minister, rabbi or other celebrant - is the key part, without whom you simply could not get married. Wedding insurance will often cover you in the event of the officiant not being able to carry out your wedding ceremony on the planned day, saving the potentially huge costs involved in rearranging the event.

What could go wrong?

Imagine, you both arrive at the church, your guests are waiting in the church, and the flowers look great and even your cars showed up on time. Now all you have to do is to say your vows and then be whisked away to the reception and the wedding will be all that you ever dreamed it would be. However there is a problem, there is no vicar to marry you so the wedding has to be postponed.

From heavy snowfall experienced during many British winters to the hurricane force winds experienced recently this year, weather is among the top reasons that prevent your wedding officiant from being able to attend your wedding. It is, of course, also totally out of your control and can be fairly unpredictable.

However, there are other reasons that may mean that your officiant is unable to carry out your wedding, and it is always worth checking that your wedding insurance includes them.

Wedding Insurance cover

Wedding insurance will usually cover the cost of cancelling or rearranging the wedding due to the wedding officiant not appearing as expected. Valid reasons for this could include:

• Adverse weather conditions meaning that the officiant is unable to travel to the required venue in time;
• Officiant being ill or injured, meaning that they are unable to attend;
• Double booking - for example, your officiant discovering that they have booked to attend two weddings at the same time;
• Officiant accidentally going to the wrong venue (as long as you have provided the correct address);
• Officiant simply not turning up at all!

With wedding insurance, if any of the above scenarios befall you on your big day, you should usually be able to claim on it to cover the expenses so far and then plan again for another big day in the future. This is just one of the many aspects that the insurance may cover. Typically the policy covers such as vendors letting you down, your venue letting your down, the dresses and rings and numerous other wedding related events that may otherwise mean financial loss.

What may not be covered?

Some scenarios may not be covered - if you feel you may be at risk of any of the following then consult with your insurance provider. For example, cover may not be offered if your officiant is unable to conduct the wedding due to:

• Bride or groom getting 'cold feet';
• Guests unable to attend due to unforeseen work commitments;
• Cancellation of wedding due to strikes.

There may also be an excess payable for some or all claims - again you need to check the specific details of your wedding insurance for this as it will vary from policy to policy.