From asking your very best friends to be your bridesmaids to finding the perfect lakefront location for your sunset ceremony, how much of yourself have you already invested in planning your wedding? Every bride we’ve ever met has put her heart and soul into coordinating the details of the perfect day she’s been dreaming about since the day she got engaged—or maybe even longer.
And that’s not the only investment you’ve made. On average, couples who were married in 2019 spent around $34,000 on a wedding. Hosting a wedding may be the biggest expense you’ve ever taken on.
We’re wedding professionals who love what we do. Beyond capturing your long-awaited day in stunning photos, we want you to benefit from our wedding wisdom. In the 30-plus years that we’ve been photographing weddings, we’ve seen thousands of perfect weddings. But we’ve also seen a few unexpected calamities. That’s why we recommend adding one more line item to your wedding budget: wedding insurance.
You may have had nightmares about something going wrong at your wedding. You spill coffee on your wedding dress. The preacher doesn’t show up. Your parents, who live out of town, miss their flight due to bad weather. Hosting a successful wedding involves dozens of details coming together and a whole bunch of professionals working in lockstep. You may have paid some of your wedding vendors in advance. For example, it’s likely you’ve put down a hefty deposit to reserve your reception site. You’ve planned for the best but it makes sense to prepare for the worst. The best wedding insurance policies anticipate many wedding pitfalls and provide protection should something go wrong on your special day.
There are two primary categories of wedding insurance you should consider. The first is liability insurance. If you own a car or a home, you’re probably familiar with how liability coverage works. If someone is hurt or if some property is damaged during your wedding, liability insurance kicks in and pays for the damages. Let’s say that beautiful ice sculpture you commissioned for your buffet leaves a puddle of water on the floor. A dear friend slips and breaks a leg. Your wedding liability policy would cover the medical cost of getting her back on her feet. If the tent you rent for your backyard wedding is ripped during your reception, wedding insurance will pay to repair or replace it.
Weddings are celebratory events and celebrating often involves having a drink or two. But some people can’t resist the lure of the open bar and drink more than is wise. Alcohol is one of the leading causes of accidents and some can be quite tragic. That’s why one of the most important wedding insurance options you can choose is host liquor liability insurance. Juries routinely award six-figure and higher verdicts in drunk driving lawsuits. That’s the last financial burden you’d want to take on at any time in your life, but especially when you’re a newlywed.
Before you purchase wedding liability insurance, it makes sense to see whether your wedding vendors carry coverage of their own. Many reception halls do have their own policies in place, while some insist you purchase your own. If you are a homeowner, you might also want to consult with your insurance agent. Some homeowners’ policies do cover events you hold outside your home. No one needs the extra expense of duplicate coverage. Just be sure you are protected one way or another.
The second kind of wedding insurance you may want to carry is cancellation coverage. Remember all those intertwined details and expenses we talked about earlier? If something unexpected happens and you’re forced you to postpone or cancel your wedding, cancellation coverage can at least help soften the financial blow. Many states envy Florida’s beautiful weather, but it can also be unpredictable. Natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding are among the events that cancellation policies cover. If your maid-of-honor falls ill and you just can’t see getting married without her by your side, you can postpone your wedding and your policy will reimburse you for any non-refundable costs you’ve incurred.
Many wedding insurance companies allow you to customize your policy. You can elect coverage for your rehearsal dinner, your honeymoon, your wedding dress, and that table full of gifts you’re bound to receive. Specialized coverage for destination weddings, which can be even more complicated than local weddings, is also available.
It probably seems like all we’ve been sharing with you is bad wedding news. But we have some good news for you, too. Wedding insurance, particularly when seen as a percentage of your entire wedding investment, is very affordable. First of all, it’s a one-time premium. You pay it, and with any luck, you can just forget it. Depending on the coverage limits you select (and they typically range from $500,000 to $5,000,000), you can purchase liability insurance for as little as $100. Cancellation coverage runs higher and you can expect to pay $400 and up, depending on how comprehensive a plan you select.
One thing we know about wedding insurance: it will certainly help you rest easy during the hectic weeks leading up to your wedding day. And need we mention that all brides need their beauty sleep?
Look at Your Venue. From an Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers perspective, ask yourself, is there a lot of light coming into the building from the outside? Are there lots of big windows to let that light in? Are there overhangs, balconies, outside areas that are sheltered? As Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers we love locations that have all of the above because we want your Wedding Photography to be a treasured keepsake of your wedding for years to come! If it is pouring rain, as Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers, we have experience taking photos inside, by a large window, still giving the photo a kiss of natural light making the shot much more flattering than those taken with a harsh direct flash alone. 
Local Orlando Florida brides will likely already know this, but our destination wedding clients may not. There are many Wedding Photography Tips but this is a biggie! Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers know better than anyone that in the summer months from May to September your wedding photography can become more challenging as our Orlando afternoons are often peppered with violent thunderstorms. Rain with lightening, thunder, and even flooding is almost guaranteed on a daily basis, especially later in the afternoons. This can seriously hamper your Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers results. 
We can’t stress this enough!! If you have a 20-minute drive from the hotel to the church, then give yourself twice that to be safe. If the weather is terrible, and the roads are flooded, which is quite possible in the summer, you will be late if you haven’t allowed yourself extra time. Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers don’t want you to be late because then they will have less time for your photography session. Of all our Wedding Photography Tips, this is one of the most important. Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers need time to take great photos. There is no harm in being early, and your stress levels will remain on an even keel. Starting late can have a domino effect on everything else planned for the remainder of the day and can really bring about additional stress. The last thing your Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers need is less time for your photography session. Florida Wedding Photography takes time and should not be rushed. The more time Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers have, the more poses we can do, the more fun we can have, the more locations we can visit, which all leads to better wedding pictures. 
What does that mean? Well, if you are having an Orlando Florida Wedding in the summer and you know that you most likely will have to work around the rain, then get some fun umbrellas. As Orlando Florida Wedding Photographers, we know how to use the rain to keep it romantic and fun. An umbrella can quickly add some color, flair and uniqueness to your photos. It may be a good idea to at least have umbrellas available for each couple in your wedding party, and perhaps some extras for the parents, and of course for the bride and groom. 
Now not every bride is going to be okay with this suggestion but it really is a good idea. We love having 2 opportunities to photograph our Bride and Groom as it lets us get more pictures. So, let’s run this scenario by you. What happens if it is pouring rain after the ceremony during the time allotted for your wedding photos to be taken? To put it bluntly, you’re screwed. Not every venue will have what we talked about in Tip #1. Lots of light, overhangs, etc. Do you really want all of your wedding pictures to be taken in a dark dimly lit room? Your Wedding Photos will not be the memorable keepsake you had hoped they would be. 
