Walking down the aisle last month, Rachael Bieltz followed the centuries-old tradition of carrying something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. And reflecting a growing ritual, she also carried something indemnified: a $1 million rider on her father's home insurance policy to protect her against a liability lawsuit.

Insurance policies don't quite fit into the lore of storybook weddings -- only a small percentage of brides and bridegrooms purchase wedding insurance as Bieltz did. But as the cost of weddings skyrockets, engaged couples and their families are becoming more concerned about protecting themselves and their thousands of dollars in nonrefundable deposits.

As a result, wedding insurance is starting to take its place alongside white dresses, tiered cakes and thrown bouquets.

"It's an absolute growing trend," said Karen Sandau, whose concerns about her own $50,000 wedding prompted her and her husband to start the wedding insurance company WedSafe in 1999. Since the company's debut, Sandau says that business has doubled each year, with $2.5 million in policies written last year.

A look at the WedSafe Web site provides a glimpse at all manner of potential calamities: The table holding the gifts could break, the caterer could cause a fire at the reception site or the best man could lose the rings just before the ceremony.

Sandau says that the most common claim that her company has paid is recovering deposits given to vendors who have gone out of business, particularly wedding dress stores.

For Erin Bollenbacher, a 29-year-old Crafton resident, getting wedding insurance ultimately paid for itself. Having heard horror stories from friends about limousines not showing up and dresses falling apart, she purchased the insurance after she read about it on the Internet.

Shortly before her October wedding, a bridesmaid's house burned down, with her $100 bridesmaid's dress inside. There wasn't enough time to re-order the dress from the manufacturer, so a seamstress had to make it from scratch instead, for $400. Bollenbacher's $300 policy from WedSafe covered the entire cost of the new dress.

"It was definitely worth it," she said. "I insured my car in case it got wrecked, so why not my wedding?"

Wedding insurance policies fall into two general categories: liability and cancellation. Liability policies cover injuries or property damage sustained during or as a result of the wedding, while cancellation insurance covers any unforeseen event that might cause a wedding to be canceled or postponed.

Since the policies cover only those circumstances that are out of the control of the bride and groom, runaway brides like the now-famous Jennifer Wilbanks could not file claims, a stipulation that wedding insurer R.V. Nuccio calls the "cold feet exclusion." If the wedding is canceled or postponed, the couple could recover any nonrefundable costs, such as deposits to photographers, caterers or reception sites.

In addition to liability and cancellation, there are extra policies that cover photographs, rings, attire and even professional counseling. Costs range from as low as $30 for just liability insurance to more than $500 for whole packages with high coverage levels.

Considering that the average cost of a wedding is now $26,327, according to a study released last month by the publishers of Brides Magazine, many consider the cost of insurance a bargain.

Lisa Price, of Regent Square, a 39-year-old editor for Rand Corp., jumped at the opportunity to purchase wedding insurance after realizing that $10,000 of coverage for cancellation and a few extras would cost her only about $150.

"When I saw how cheap it was, why wouldn't I?" she said. "It's cheaper than any other thing we've bought for our wedding."

For Price, who is getting married in September at the Edgewood Club, the policy bought comfort against all sorts of imagined disasters.

"I'm just kind of one of those worst-case-scenario people," she said. "It's such a no-brainer to us to think that we could have this peace of mind."

Disasters are no stranger to Nuccio, whose company, R.V. Nuccio & Associates, has offered wedding insurance policies for the past 15 years -- increasingly, Nuccio is also insuring bar mitzvahs, anniversary and other large-scale private parties. The problems that he's seen, and paid claims for, would make any bride shudder.

First, "anything that will close an airport" could cancel or postpone a wedding, from hurricanes, snowstorms, fires and floods to massive power outages or terrorist attacks. Then there are health problems: The groom's father has a heart attack or the bride gets appendicitis shortly before the wedding, which, according to Nuccio, happens "all the time."

And there are the truly bizarre stories, the ones that make the movie "Meet the Parents" look tame. Nuccio recounts one instance when the bride's cat gave birth to a litter of kittens on the bridal gown the morning of the wedding and another when a presidential visit to the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas meant the hotel was cordoned off from wedding guests.

While some brides, fearful of any of these disasters, voluntarily purchase insurance, others are finding that the choice is made for them. Bieltz found out about wedding insurance while looking for reception sites when several proprietors recommended or required the insurance if she intended to buy her own alcohol.

Bieltz, a 25-year-old research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh, eventually chose to have her reception at J. Verno Studios on the South Side, which required $1 million in liability coverage in case a guest was injured or injured someone else. Going through her father's home insurance company, the liability insurance cost only $30.

Particularly for that price, the insurance was more a reassurance than a burden.

"I never would have thought to myself, 'I'm supplying the alcohol so I could be sued,' " she said. "Having the insurance gave me comfort. You want to have fun, you want your guests to have fun, but ultimately you're responsible."

In Southern California, where Nuccio's firm is located, about 25 percent of higher-end reception sites now require liability insurance, he says. Pittsburgh sites that require or strongly recommend wedding insurance include J. Verno Studios, the Morning Glory Inn on the South Side and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Point Breeze.

At the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, director of special events Joy Sato said that one year ago she rarely mentioned wedding insurance, but now, "it's almost getting to be a standard for me to suggest, 'How do you feel about getting your own insurance?' "

She recommends insurance that will cover not only liability for a drunk driving accident, but also for property damage.

"You don't need somebody coming in here breaking a $6,000 painting," she said. "When people go drinking, they'll set a glass down on a piece of art and think not one thing about it."

Still, some couples decline Sato's recommendation for insurance. The biggest stumbling block may not be the actual cost, but the mental acknowledgement that their big day may have a few dents in it.

"It's hard for brides to think about all the disasters," said Sandau. "Of course you want it to be a perfect day, but the reality is that you're putting a lot of money on the line. This is a reality check."