The number of couples venturing away from the UK as the wedding destination of choice is growing considerably, doubling in the past decade, according to research company Mintel. With nearly one in five British couples, including WAG Coleen McCloughlin and footballing fiance, Wayne Rooney, marrying overseas there is an even greater need to highlight the importance of having the proper travel insurance to cover the whole wonderous occasion.

The cost of having a wedding in locations such as Sri Lanka, Italy and New York is surprisingly less expensive than the £18,500 a couple can expect to pay on average for saying ‘I do’ in the UK. Travel company, Kuoni, says that wedding packages start from just £600 a couple (excluding holiday costs), which is an added perk for young couples who are more and more taking on the cost of their wedding without any help from their parents, as is the usual custom.

Insurance policies will provide coverage in the event of an illness, or a ruined bridal dress, or even if the venue or caterer goes bust before the big day, however, there are no clauses which account for having good weather on the day. If you are planning on getting married in a foreign country be sure that your policy does cover personal liability as well as the essential documents that you will require in order to be legally joined as man and wife.

The price of insurance will depend on how much cover you need, as each part of the policy will have a maximum sum you can claim, for example, for rings, flowers, wedding gifts, photographs and videos as well as transport and legal expenses. The excess on each section is usually about £25. If you are planning on keeping all your wedding gifts at home you will need to ensure that you are covered in your home contents policy, in the event of items being stolen. To get an idea of how much your insurance policy might be, the price of basic cover ranges from £27.50, from Weddingplan Insurance to £49 from the wedding website confetti.co.uk. Meanwhile, Greenbee, the insurance service at John Lewis, offers 12 levels of wedding insurance provided by Axa, starting from the basic at £46 and going up to £355 for the highest level, so that you can have your wedding dress and your wedding policy tailor-made to fit your needs and measurements exactly.

The majority of couples who tie the knot abroad also choose to spend their honeymoon in the same country, which means that you will have to ensure you organise your travel insurance to cover you against delays, lost or delayed baggage as well as medical problems. In addition, in the unfortunate instance that your wedding dress is either lost or damaged in the aircraft hold, you will need to claim against your travel policy however, should the loss or damage occur while the dress is in either yours or your mother’s possession before the ceremony, then the wedding insurance will pay out. So, before you say ‘I do’, make sure your insurer is in agreement so that you can live happily ever after.