Congrats! If you're reading this, you're about to embark on the next exciting but stressful stage of life: planning your wedding.

We must discuss a few things before you get carried away with planning. And they are all about risk—no, not about getting married, but about protecting things so they don't become a drama on your special day.

Yes, I know it's not something you want to consider when you've just got engaged. It's better now than later when it's too late.

I will break this into three areas: right now, planning the wedding and right after, and destination wedding considerations.

First off, let's talk about your shiny new ring!

You need to add it to your contents insurance policy. If you don't have one, it is time to get one.

Is it a single ring, or is it a set?

This makes a difference for insurance purposes. If it's a single ring, it gets insured this way. If it's part of a set, then the set needs to be insured.

It is a set, but you only have the engagement ring?

That's okay. Treat it as a single for insurance purposes now, and make sure you add the rest as a set when you get them.

What's the difference?

When it comes to insurance replacement, if the set is insured as individual pieces, then if there is just the loss or damage to one piece, the repair or replacement may not match the rest of the set—ruining the set and leaving you without your precious rings.

If insured as a set, they get treated as a set rather than as individual items in an insurance claim.

Okay, got that? What next?

Get a valuation. Depending on the insurer, you'll need one upfront or to prove the value of a claim.

The catches:

• You need to have your jewellery regularly checked and serviced to ensure your insurance will cover you.
• Additionally, you need to get updated valuations every few years. This is about the value of the cover in a loss situation both for cover level and at claim time

You'll need to check with your insurer or broker to find out exactly what the terms are for your policy, as they differ from provider to provider.

The point of regular servicing is to ensure that the clasps for the jewels are tight and not likely to drop the jewel out.

• Wear and tear isn't covered by insurance.
• If you lose a diamond, big or small, you don't want this to pop up as a reason for a claim problem.

You need to add your partner's ring, too, if you have one.

Okay, the cover.

You need contents cover that covers you for fire, theft and accidental damage inside and outside your home.

Over the years, we have seen interesting quirks and challenges with direct insurer policies, so getting advice is important.

This is why talking to a reputable broker is worth the effort. Often, it's also cheaper than direct, which is where Willowgrove Consulting comes in.

The next step is planning.

Hopefully, everything goes according to plan. Having been around for a while, I have seen many things that could have gone better. Mostly, when the planning has been good, things have gone smoothly.

When it comes to planning, you need to think what if? What if something goes wrong? What's the plan?

• Primarily, you need to consider injury to people and property damage for which you could be liable.
• With the health and safety (H&S) law changes in 2016, you need to be aware of your obligations for H&S.

As the organiser, there is exposure with the definition of an undertaking in the PCBU definition. Yes, even if this is not a business thing, volunteer organisations have similar.

• You are okay in your own home; this is where it applies in a venue.

Venues should be up to speed on this by now, but don't be surprised about the 'say what?' you are likely to get.

When you look at your venue, you should ask for a copy of their health and safety plan and what their liability insurance covers.

• This should form part of your decision about whether or not to use them.

With your wedding planner, if you are using one, you want to do the same with them, too. The same goes for:

• Photographer
• Celebrant
• Entertainment
• Catering, if not provided by the venue

The only people who don't need an H&S plan are those attending as guests. Yes, it's silly.

That's all for now in this post. I'll be back with more on wedding day risks and soon after.

If you need to insure your shiny new ring, call us; we would be privileged to do this for you.