Weddings are one of the most special – if the most special – days in a person’s life. The logistics of a wedding are enormous, though, involving foods, presents, location, transportation, flowers, and a long list of other arrangements. Distantweddings.com estimates the time devoted to an average British wedding totals a full 7 weeks. And, like a small-scale Normandy invasion, all these things must arrive in the same place at the same time: a wedding without its flowers, cake, or entertainment is a disaster.
Anything so complex, however, invariably entails various risks. The largest risk in the wedding is actually intangible: it is a non-repeatable event. If your sofa or car is stolen, you can get it replaced. You cannot, however, “get a new wedding day” for any price – not generally with the same person anyway! No matter how it turns out, it’s a one-shot deal, which is why so many couples (particularly brides) get so nervous as the day draws near.
Some couples today will turn to a wedding planner. A wedding planner, however, is charged with providing convenience and experience only – not eliminating risk or issuing compensation if disaster strikes. His or her job is to try to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. However, if the worst occurs many such planners will have had you sign contracts that take (or try to take) them off the hook as far as liability is concerned.
This was most clearly brought out in the collapse of Wrapit, an online wedding planning agency. Wrapit sought to reduce the average British wedding costs (which some estimates place at upwards of 11,000) by having most things done online.
This business model was probably flawed from the beginning. Pure-play Internet businesses which have done best are those without significant physical products – such as online financial services. By contrast, pure-play online firms trying to coordinate shipment of goods (i.e. wedding gifts) have usually struggled.
Wrapit eventually also succumbed to this, going into administration after never having turned a profit. This left about 3.5 million worth of wedding gifts paid for but undelivered and a large number of humiliated brides who urged guests to “try to get their money back” from either Wrapit or their credit card companies. The administrators of Wrapit say only that they are “attending to” these demands, as the company’s financial remains slowly wind their way through the courts. Those trying to get credit card refunds have likewise had to go through the slow processing that requires (the final outcome of that, also, is unclear since this is not a case involving fraud, were the refund is usually automatic, but bankruptcy).
What can you do to protect yourself on this special day? There are a number of insurance firms who offer wedding coverage, such as Marks and Spencer. For as little as 59, their wedding insurance provides 3,000 in coverage for presents, 2,500 for cakes, and 2,000 for photographs. Extended cover will provide 17,500 in case of wedding cancellation. Online insurance specialist planner Weddingplan has quotes as low as 27.50, as well as coverage for honeymoons (which can go wrong as well!). As to whether you’d be better off with honeymoon insurance over regular travel insurance … we’ll look into it and get back to you!
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