Who is responsible if a wedding guest damages or destroys wedding venue property, or items being rented from a rental company?
Here at the Bridge, and at most other locally owned wedding venues, we require all of our hosts to obtain a liability insurance policy, because whoever signed the contract is responsible for ensuring that the property is returned to us just the way it was at the beginning of the day.
Every couple wants to believe that their friends and family would never, ever in a million years disrespect someone else’s property. But unfortunately, it happens every single day, and we want to make sure that our investment is protected. We also want to make sure that our couples are protected.
“But the venue carries its own insurance, right?”
We do. However, every claim we make costs us our deductible, and our premiums go up. Before we make a claim, we will do everything we can to have the damage repairs paid for by the responsible party. When we entrust our venue to a Couple, part of their contractual agreement is that they will take responsibility for any damage caused to the property during their party. This means everything from extra cleanup of things like confetti and glitter, to repairing holes in walls, replacing broken rental items, broken borrowed items, furniture, etc. You really never know what a Guest is going to do. Most of the time, there is no harm to the venue at all. Sometimes, a guest will want to show off his new car and tear up the parking lot gravel. Much of this will be covered by your very inexpensive general liability policy. What if the damage is so bad I can’t flip the room for the following wedding? During our wedding season, weddings are booked back to back very often Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Small mistakes can get very costly very quickly.
what about liquor liability?
Always get the liquor liability rider. Designated driver programs, rideshare programs, Uber, and Lyft have all done an amazing job with their drunk driving campaigns, but unfortunately people still get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t. If, God forbid, someone leaves your wedding and causes an accident, the lawsuit will go as follows: the host of the wedding, the bartender, the venue. We do our very best to police the parking lot, but even if you’re not having alcohol at your wedding, the small up charge for liquor liability is worth it because sometimes people break the rules.
how much does it cost?
Basic liability policy with a liquor rider is usually somewhere around $200. Considering your investment, weddings can cost tens of thousands of dollars, it’s really a small price for so much peace of mind.
where can I get event liability insurance?
here at the Bridge we recommend indemn.ai and www.eventhelper.com. We have direct links to policies written and specifically for The Venue at Ballenger Bridge. An internal link to your content
also, I want to give a shout out to my locally owned wedding venue friends around the country! Check these guys out, give them a follow up on your socials.
- The Venue @ 112 | Venue | 15920 Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro, MD, USA (thevenue112.com)
- Wedding Venue Olathe | Wild Rye KC Ranch
- Home – Rose Haven Venue
- Dutch Ford Farm Wedding & Event Venue Wedding & Event Venue
- Antler Ridge Weddings/Colorado/Barn weddings
