Essential guidance if you are planning your wedding

Weddings

Almost every article about weddings seems to begin "It was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives..." before launching into a horror story.

However, good planning and common sense throughout the long build-up will make sure almost any wedding, civil partnership or birthday celebration goes smoothly and - more importantly - that if something does go awry, there are contingencies in place.

One thing you can do is make sure that your home insurance includes wedding cover or cover for special occasions in general. Increased cover for the precious items in your home around these important occasions comes as standard with our home contents insurance policy.

Here are some other suggestions for ensuring that your event goes well.

Checklist for planning a special occasion

When making a home insurance claim you may need to supply any of the following:

• When choosing your venue, think about safe and secure parking and make sure it's adequately staffed for your guests to be leaving their coats, bags and perhaps valuable gifts in a secure place without fear of theft.



• When agreeing on who is paying for the different elements of a large-scale event, also agree clearly who is responsible should any of those costs escalate for unforeseen reasons.



• Your wedding in particular is a time when you very publicly leave your home, by going to the reception or perhaps jetting off on honeymoon. It's as though you've advertised that you'll be away. So make sure your home is as secure as possible while it lies empty and perhaps have a friend keep an eye on your house while you're on honeymoon. Perhaps you can suggest friends from a different part of the country might want to house-sit during your absence, treating it as a small holiday of their own.



• When discussing your event with professional organisers and venue managers, be as clear as possible on their security and insurance arrangements. They need to explain carefully what the contingency plans are and who's responsible for what.



• Only use a highly reputable wedding gifts company, such as an established major department store. There have been well-publicised recent cases where people used small companies running wedding gift-buying services and the companies went into administration, losing both the gifts and the money paid for them.



• Don't rely on good weather. Have a firm back-up plan for a stormy day and make it sturdy enough that you will still have the best day of your life, even if it pours down.



• And finally the most important tip of all: communication. It's your day, however much your family and friends may hold strong opinions on what happens. If something is not the way you really want it to be, let them know as soon as you can.

Because your home can be full of precious things around any special occasion, the sum insured by our home contents insurance policy increases by £7,500 for one month before and after a wedding day, religious festival or birthday in your home.