Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for Jan. 19, 2004

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Jan. 19, 2004 | 8:12 a.m.

Take cover

How's the fit on that shiny, new engagement ring you received over the holidays? Now that the excitement (or sheer terror) of getting engaged has subsided, it's time, of course, to start losing sleep and testing your sanity while obsessing over every ridiculously minute detail involved with planning a wedding.

Where to begin? A call to the insurance agent wouldn't hurt so says Robert V. Nuccio of R.V. Nuccio and Associates Inc. in Fawnskin, Calif., who is the administrator for the Fireman's Fund wedding-insurance program. In an article featured on the website www.aracontent.com, Nuccio explains the need to protect the hundreds of thousands of dollars often spent on modern-day weddings, as well as the types of coverage available via the policy.

One of Nuccio's clients had a wedding (with a price tag of $175,000) scheduled to take place at a New York hotel late last year at the same time the Big Apple suffered a crippling power outage. Because the groom had purchased wedding insurance, the Fireman's Fund approved the party's move to another venue, saving the nuptials from nightmare status.

The plan covers cancellations and postponements due to all sorts of natural disasters (no need to fret over the potential of a pesky volcanic eruption); injury or illness to a member of the wedding party; damage to the wedding duds or venue; or if a crucial component the priest, photographer or caterer, for example goes MIA. Lost/damaged/stolen gifts, rented items, jewelry and "personal liability" insurance required by some reception venues can also be covered. For more info, call (800) ENGAGED (364-2433) or visit RVNuccio.com.

With this ring ...

Say the videographer forgets to remove the lens cap from the camera and captures none of the ceremony including the tear-jerking exchange of the vows on tape. Insurance may (or may not) cover the faux pas, but how are the bride and groom supposed to remember their words of commitment years from now, when they don't have an instant replay at their fingertips?

Or will they? Jeweler Blue Coast Inc., of Cranston, R.I., will engrave vows in their clearly visible entirety on bands featured in its recently introduced line of aptly named, 14-karat gold Wedding Vow Rings.

On the website, www.weddingvowrings.com, couples can select not only their bands but also from a slew of civil and religious vows, or pen their own. Also available are words inspired by poetry, and some tailored to suit the needs of Spanish-speaking couples as well as those participating in commitment ceremonies. Ring prices start at $199.99.

Board with the details

One way to potentially avoid wedding-orchestrating woes is to view the entire process as a game as have the inventors of Lovegevity, The Wedding Planning Game.

Engaged couples can get their (cold?) feet wet while stumbling around the game board, encountering "true-to-life mishaps and bridal blunders" while attempting to plan their dream affair in time and under budget constraints. ("Forgot to read the fine print of your contract, pay $300.")

The game's makers are the people behind the wedding/relationship website lovegevity.com in Durham, N.C., and claim that during rounds of play, couples will also receive marital advice from experts and wedding-planning ideas. A portion of the board game's sales ($34.95 on the site) will benefit Lovegevity's not-for-profit Couples in Crisis Foundation, which provides money for financially strapped married couples to seek counseling.