The concern of the modern bride is no longer to arrive at the church on time but to turn up insured, a wedding expert has advised.

According to Francesca Moore of hitched.co.uk, wedding insurance should be taken out as soon as a couple start to plan their nuptials.

Ms Moore says: "[Get insurance] right at the beginning or as soon as the first major expenditure has been booked, bought or hired, such as a photographer, the wedding dress or the venue."

Voyager Insurance Services is one of many brokers now offering this type of product, which covers brides and grooms-to-be for the failure of suppliers to turn up on the big day and personal accidents which may stop the nuptials from going ahead.

Furthermore, wedding insurance also covers love birds for any loss or damage done to marquees that may have been hired and provides them with public liability cover for the guests who attend the reception.

Cover ranges in price from £27.50 to £104 with Voyager, depending just how much the married couple want to cover their backs against untold events happening on the big day.

Although beginning a life together by planning for the worst may sound like a pessimistic approach to marriage, hitched.co.uk highlights that the average wedding now costs £17,800.

In light of this figure, taking out an insurance policy which will ensure that problems with the big day will not end up costing couples any more suddenly seems like something brides and grooms may want to say 'I do' to.

Ms Moore explains: "Including the insurance into the wedding budget and the beginning of your wedding planning is important, and shouldn't be forgotten.

"It could really benefit you in the long run, and compared to the amount that you are spending on the whole day, the cost of wedding insurance shouldn't really break the bank."

She adds that as with any insurance policy, consumers are advised to shop around and make sure they get the cover that will provide them with the service they are after at the right price.

Those brides and grooms planning to get hitched in sunnier climes are also advised by hitched.co.uk. to ensure that their ceremony will be covered if they do not take their vows in the UK.

By not making the insurance broker aware that the big day is happening in another country couples may find that they have invalidated the terms of their policy and therefore may not be covered for any unforeseen problems.

This kind of oversight could potentially cost newlyweds a huge amount of money and render the cash they invested in the insurance policy a waste.

A spokesperson for wedding website hitched.co.uk. noted that with high profile couples such as Wayne Rooney and Coleen Mcloughlin choosing to tie the knot abroad, a trend in foreign weddings could follow.

She advised: "Celebrities do play a role when it comes influencing wedding choices, but it [depends on] whether or not a couple want to follow a trend, or if they want to remain unique and do things 'their' special way.

"Celebrity weddings are usually quite lavish and elegant, which is not always the style that people want to follow."