Thursday, October 29, 2009

Wedding Insurance: Is it on Your Wedding Checklist?


You insure your home and you insure your car. Should you also insure your wedding? It’s not a common line item you’ll find on a wedding checklist or in your wedding planner, but maybe it should be. Insurance covers the unforeseen and unexpected events and weddings are events where things can and do go wrong. Some thief walks off with your entire gift table? Wedding insurance covers it. Your bridesmaid steps on your dress at a fitting and you hear a big rip as you walk toward the mirror to admire it? Wedding insurance covers it. Before you dismiss wedding insurance from your wedding planning needs, here’s what you need to know to make an educated decision on whether or not it’s for you.

Wedding Insurance 101

Wedding insurance protects you from unforeseen circumstances that have an ill-effect on your wedding. It covers any money you’ve spent or a loss you incur from the unknown circumstances that can happen leading up to and during the wedding.

The best way to illustrate how wedding insurance can work to your advantage is with examples of things that can and do happen.

• You’re flying off to your destination wedding in Aruba. Your husband-to-be checks his tuxedo in his suitcase. You arrive in Aruba and when the baggage belt for your flight stops, your groom’s luggage is nowhere to be found. That’s right. His suitcase is lost and his wedding tuxedo is lost right along with it. Wedding insurance covers the replacement cost of the lost tuxedo and covers the expense of finding a new outfit for the groom in Aruba.

• You have booked your dream wedding venue for your reception. After nine months of planning, your wedding day is three short months away. Your mom comes into town for a visit and you decide to go by the venue to show her around. When you stroll up to the front door and pull on it, it’s locked. That’s when you notice a huge “Gone out of Business” sign on the front door. Wedding insurance covers the loss of the deposit money you’ve paid to this venue and covers the cost of finding a new one.

• On the way to the reception venue, the van delivering your wedding cake gets rear-ended in a traffic accident. Needless to say, your cake is smashed to smithereens. The sugary creation took three days for the bakery to make and assemble. A substitute dessert can be supplied but what about the $750 you spent on the cake? Wedding insurance covers it.

This is simply a sample of some of the realistic disasters that can cause a financial loss. These are but a few of the scenarios covered when you have wedding insurance.

The Cost of Wedding Insurance

Wedding insurance works similar to other types of insurance you carry. There is a basic wedding insurance policy, which typically covers vendor deposits, presents, wedding rings (not engagement), photos, videos and attire. This basic policy can cost anywhere from $150 to $550—varying according to the amount of coverage you choose. As is the case with almost any policy, the higher your amount of coverage, the more the policy costs and vice versa. For accidental coverage, also known as general liability insurance, you’ll pay in the neighborhood of $185 for a $1,000,000 policy. Considering that a wedding typically costs tens of thousands of dollars, this seems like a small price to pay for coverage and peace of mind on one of the biggest days of your life.

How to Know if You Need Wedding Insurance

Most wedding venues and vendors carry insurance, so do your homework before you buy wedding insurance and ask each of your wedding vendors if they carry insurance and how much it covers. It is within your right to ask for a copy of their policy so you have in writing precisely what it covers rather than go by what the vendor says. Having this information helps you see what is already covered and what may not be covered. Rather than buy a wedding insurance policy that overlaps with what is already covered by your vendors, you only need to consider wedding insurance for what isn’t covered.

The What, When and Where of Wedding Insurance


There are some restrictions and limitations with wedding insurance and there is typically a deductible. Some of what is covered by wedding insurance is the venue, weather conditions, vendors that don’t show up or provide the product or service you paid for, an illness or injury to the bride or groom, postponement because of military duty or corporate employment relocation. Some of the items that may not be covered include wedding cancellation by the bride or groom, jewelry and the engagement ring.

Policy Riders

There are riders you can add as supplements to your base insurance policy. These riders provide added coverage for specific circumstances that may arise. Coverage types include gifts, photography, videography, attire, personal liability, medical and the honeymoon.

Getting wedding insurance when disaster has struck is too late. It’s the same as trying to obtain a hurricane insurance policy after your house has been destroyed by a hurricane. It’s not going to happen. Obtain your wedding insurance policy in the beginning stages of planning—if you can. Check with the wedding insurance provider to see how far in advance it requires you to obtain a policy. Then you’ll have added peace of mind that you’re covered if something goes wrong.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Wedding in the Tropics


If a tropical wedding destination is what you have in mind, there are plenty of options around the world to choose from. From small domestic islands to foreign lands, you can choose a wedding venue that fits your tropical theme. There are some factors you need to consider before booking and planning your wedding destination in the tropics.

Location and Travel

Unless you live in a tropical destination then you and your wedding guests will have to travel to the wedding destination. For you and your groom, you'll probably need to go once or twice before the wedding to take care of the planning details and at least a few days before the wedding date. With the expense of traveling, you may wish to consider how far away the tropical wedding location is and what difficulties your guests may run into getting there such as obtaining a passport and applying for a Visa to visit the country.

Guest List

Some wedding venues in tropical destinations can accommodate hundreds of guests for a sit down meal. Others, however, are located on small islands and may only be able to accommodate small wedding ceremonies and receptions. You either need to make sure that the number of guests works with the venue you choose or scale your guest list according to the amount of guests your venue can comfortably hold.

Attire

Weddings in the tropics also have to take the weather into consideration when choosing attire. While a traditional wedding gown may be fine for a church wedding in your hometown, this type of gown may be too hot for a warm climate. The same holds true for dressing your groom and groomsmen in tuxedos. Loose fitting attire in cool fabrics such as linen and light cotton may be better suited for tropical climates. Also, outdoor weddings require some thought to the bridal attire. You may want to avoid wearing a long veil or dress that is blown by the breeze, but rather choose attire that is wind friendly so it doesn't get in your way when you're walking down the aisle or saying your vows.

Decor

Often times, weddings in the tropics are held in an outdoor setting such as on the beach. In these scenarios, you may not have to worry about adding decorations because you have the backdrop of the ocean or swaying palm trees. There are needs such seating, outdoor friendly centerpieces and linens, lighting (for evening weddings) and linens that don't blow away in the breeze that is different than holding a traditional wedding ceremony and reception.

Marriage License Requirements

Whether you're getting married in a U.S. tropical location or a foreign location or island, you need to find out what the marriage license requirements are for the state or country where you'll be married. For U.S. destinations, you can contact the county clerk's office for the county where the ceremony will take place. For foreign destinations, contact the embassy for the country where the wedding is scheduled to find out what you need to do to apply for a marriage license. Depending on the requirements, you may need to arrive at the destination in advance to have blood tests, supply the appropriate documentation (photo I.D.s, divorce decrees, death certificates for previous spouses, etc.) and pay the marriage license fee.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Diamonds Made from Hair


What could be more personal than a diamond made from your or your finance's DNA? I found this article very interesting and thought you may find it interesting too.

Check out Creating a Diamond from Love by DNA2Diamonds.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Wedding Sweepstakes



Contests are a great way to win the wedding of your dreams. The more contests you enter, the more chance you have of actually winning. Wedding vendors tend to run contests to win products and services you need for your wedding. Nothing is more exciting than winning, so take a few minutes to enter a wedding contest now.

Bimini Bay Resort and Marina offers an authentic and private setting for all types of weddings, whether it is intimate or a grand affair. Nestled on the tip of North Bimini on miles of pristine beach, the destination is private, exclusive and convenient to get to, the ideal backdrop for couples looking for the perfect wedding spot. Beautiful suites and villas are exceptionally designed with romance in mind and plenty of amenities are available for family and friends including water sports, spa services and island adventures. The resort is easily accessible by a 25-minute plane jaunt or 1.5 hour boat ride from South Florida.

Be Married... On Us prize package includes:

* Wedding Ceremony and Officiant
* 4 Hours of Open Bar (beer and wine only)
* 5 unlimited butler passed hors d'oeuvres for the cocktail hour
* Sit Down Dinner
* Wedding Cake Compliments of Ana Paz
* Curtis Smith Destination Wedding Package
* Bimini Bay Resort Meet and Greet at the Airport for all Wedding Guests

(Max. of 20 people)


Enter now for your chance to win!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How to Create a Table That Looks Like a Wedding Cake


Next to the bride and groom, the wedding cake becomes the focal point of the celebration and it is important that it goes through careful planning and execution. The aspects of the planning and execution must not only be focused on the wedding cake as it is equally essential that you also take into account the style and decoration of your wedding cake table. A great way to enhance and highlight the design elements of your wedding cake is to create a table that resembles a wedding cake.

Step 1

Use white tablecloth as the initial cover layer of your wedding cake table. Top this with a sheet of nylon tulle in cream or white to add texture to the surface to help blend with your wedding cake.

Step 2

Prepare the tulle. Make sure that the length of the tulle is about twice the length of the outside circumference of your wedding cake table. The tulle will serve as an accent to the edges of the tabletop and will help to complement and highlight the basic elements of the wedding cake. It represents the design feature of a wedding cake that typically separates the different layers of the cake.

Step 3

Place the wire ribbon on top of the tulle. About every 12 inches wrap the wire ribbon (or pinch it) around the tulle so that it attaches to the tulle. Because the ribbon has wire in it, you can manipulate the ribbon to create an accent similar to a decorative dot of frosting, frosting flower or other wedding cake decoration on the layers of the cake.

Step 4

Spread the rose petals on the tulle. Using the gel or liquid glue, attach the petals to the tulle. The rose petals act as decoration. If you wedding cake has flower decorations, adding flower petals to your wedding cake table decor aligns the theme of your table with the cake. The rose petals can also simply be an accent to dress up the decor. If you have jewel accents or other types of decorations on your wedding cake, then you can substitute the rose petals for another decoration.

Step 5

Attach the tulle that is decorated with the wire ribbon and flower (or other) accents along the edges of the tabletop using straight pins. You can pin the tulle to the white tablecloth covering the table to secure it in place. Use the tulle to create a drape along the sides of the wedding cake table to mimic the design of a wedding cake.

Step 6

Create ribbon bows. Using additional wire ribbon create bows. Use the gel or liquid glue to attach the bows to the tulle. You may wish to place the bows about every 12 inches where the drape of the tulle meets the cake table.

Step 7

Place the wedding cake. Once your wedding cake table is decorated, the wedding cake can be placed in the center of the table. If you want to add additional decorations to the top of the table, you can scatter flower petals, position mini cakes that resemble the main wedding cake or sprinkle confetti around the cake.
Skill

* Moderately Challenging

Things You'll Need

* Mini wedding cakes
* Round Table
* Tablecloth
* Tulle (color or white)
* Lace ribbon
* Wired ribbon
* Twine wire covered with white cloth
* Gel or liquid glue
* Rose petals
* Straight pins

Tips

* Observe proportions when deciding on the ideal size and shape of your wedding cake table. Use one that will not overwhelm but instead, highlight the strong elements of your wedding cake.
* You can use edible rose petals to decorate and accentuate your wedding cake as well as your table.
* Discuss how the cake will look with the bakery so you can create a wedding cake table to accentuates the cake rather than overwhelm it.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Save on Ceremony Decorations


Whether you're having your wedding ceremony at the church or in an outside garden, there are ways you can decorate without breaking the bank. Two ideas to help you achieve both goals are:

1. Forgo the altar arrangements. With the bride, groom, bridal party and the entire wedding party standing at the altar you do not necessarily need altar arrangements. With altar arrangements usually running a couple hundred dollars each, this is one way to cut back on your flower bill.

2. If you really feel your church aisle needs some help, you can always add ribbon bows to the pew or use chiffon fabric to run along the aisle on the inside of the pews. No matter how long your church aisle is it probably isn't going to add up to the $400 you'd spend on a couple of altar arrangements.

There are some exceptions to the rule, but generally churches and wedding ceremony locations are ornate enough on their own. Cutting back on your wedding ceremony decorations can help you save hundreds of dollars that you can use to pay for something else or keep in your pocket!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Create a Wedding Savings Account


Trying to figure out where to squeeze extra money out of your already tight finances to pay for your wedding can be tough. One easy way to save little by little is to setup a savings account and a direct deposit from your paycheck on every payday. The percentage you choose to save is up to you, but whatever the percentage, have it directly deposited from your checking account (where you deposit your check) into your wedding savings account automatically.

Let's say you save 10% from each paycheck. If you get paid $1,000 per week, this is $100. If you save for your wedding over a six-month period using this method, then you'll have saved $2,400 in no time. If both you and your groom do this, you'll save double the amount. Obviously, the more you can save the faster it will accumulate. If you have a full year or more to save for your wedding, your savings can add up to almost $10,000 using this calculation with both of you saving. This is quite a chunk of money to apply toward your wedding.