When it comes to stamping your personality on your wedding, there are some elements of the big day that just cry out for you to throw caution to the wind and make your mark. Wedding transport is one of these choices. For many fellas, it's a chance to drive their dream car - a Ferrari or a '68 Mustang; for women it's more often an opportunity to indulge in a fantasy of fairy tale romance or old world opulence. But however you choose to make your final journey as a singleton, it's worth remembering that where cars and other forms of transport are concerned, there's always the risk of making a wrong turn, so to speak.

When it comes to explaining the rights and wrongs of wedding transportation, you can't get much better than Dave Simms, head of wedding insurance for Ecclesiastical, one of the UK's leading specialty insurance companies. Over the last decade, Dave has insured thousands of weddings across the UK and knows all the pitfalls of wedding cars and limousines.

"Transportation is certainly not one of the elements of a wedding that gives us lots of insurance claims," says Dave, "but there are a number of things it's important for a bride and groom to be aware of when they are making their choice of vehicle."

Number one on Dave's list is to remind yourself that professional car hire and chauffeur firms are businesses like any other - and that means they have the capacity to go bust at any time - possibly after you've paid your deposit. "Supplier failure - that's a business shutting down - is the most common problem for couples and it can apply to your transport hire just as much as your caterers or your wedding venue. With the economy still in a pretty precarious state, smaller businesses are still very vulnerable and may well go into administration taking your deposit with them. That can be a real issue for couples when money's tight and the wedding date is getting close."

Dave's second big concern is breakdown. Your beautiful 1920 vintage car may turn up to your house on time, but what if it won't start - or worse, you have an accident on the way to church that puts it out of action? "Dream cars can very easily turn into wedding nightmares," laughs Dave. "If the car breaks down well in advance of your wedding, you'll need to find a replacement; if it breaks down on the day, make sure you have the number of a good taxi service to hand or a friend with a car on standby."

Wedding insurance is one easy way of ensuring transportation problems don't make the wheels come off your wedding. A wedding policy like the one Dave sells from Ecclesiastical starts at just £19 and provides protection against getting into an emotional skid over your pony and trap.

If the worst happens and your car hire firm should go bust, a wedding insurance policy will cover your deposit - usually 10% or 20% of the total bill - allowing you to book another vehicle hire firm and hopefully still get that sleek, shiny white Mercedes on the day. And horror of horrors if your wedding car should break down, the insurance will pay for replacement transport to get you to the church on time. In the nightmare scenario in which your car breaks down and you can't actually get to the church, wedding insurance will pay toward the cost of restaging your wedding on another date. Ecclesiastical offers a range of differently priced policies so the exact amount you get back will depend on which policy you buy. This is an important point to check when buying your insurance.

If you're getting married outside the UK, the wedding insurance will also cover the cost of problems with vehicle hire for your ceremony at your destination.

One final note of caution sounded by Dave Simms: "Some people will use fairly unorthodox methods of transport for their weddings: a coach and horses, tractors, military vehicles. Wedding insurance will only cover them as long as they are hired from a professional firm and there is a contract between you and the hire firm. If you're just borrowing a vehicle from a friend or you've made a deal with the local farmer on a handshake, the wedding insurance won't take effect. If that's the case, you need to check the vehicle you're using or its owner has the proper insurance to protect you and your guests in case of problems."

So with the whiff of royal weddings still strong in the air, with all their horses, Cinderella coaches and bullet-proof limousines, couples across the UK are considering quite how they too can create a little magic through their choice of transportation. A white Bentley or a pink Hummer will certainly cast a spell of its own, but a solid wedding insurance policy behind it will work like a charm when it comes to the happy couple's peace of mind.