found new cheaper venue,£2k less, but locked into contract

shelovestobuystuff

Thats what I get for being to bloomin well organised.We found our venue years ago and I was so desperate to secure vthe date we wanted that I paid the deposit about a year ago now.The venue is our biggest expense for the wedding at £3,500.I hadnt found anything else I liked at all so it was worth the expense.
Trouble is I have just come across a new venue which compares to ours well,infact is a bit better as it has an extra room suitable for dancing etc.The new venue is only £1,550 so about £2k saving.
I quickly checked the terms of cancellation in my existing contract and it says that we lose the deposit,which I expected.But at the end of that paragraph it also says if they fail to re-let our date we will still remain liable for the full rental and be billed for that after the date concerned.
My son suggested trying to sell our booking on ebay so we are free to use the cheaper venue.What do you think?Any way out of the expensive contract.
I just wish I had waited as the cheaper venue means we have enough cash left to cover everything right now,whereas as we are I still have to make another couple of thousand to pay for stuff.

blonde36er

I think it's worth a try, what about on other wedding forums? Some of those have a for sale thread, and that would be free!

When is your wedding? If it's ages away then there's more chance that they will be able to re-let...how much deposit do you lose if you cancel?

shelovestobuystuff

Wedding is in November but the venue hire is for a full week.31st october -7th november.Arriving on halloween night at a spooky highland castle.Its only 6 months away now so I imagine most people would have their venues booked for that timeframe already.
We would lose £750 deposit whatever happens but the contract has added on that if the agent doesnt re-let the week we still get billed for the entire rental.We could go ahead and get the cheaper place but still be landed with the £3.5k for this one too.Also if they re-let at a cheaper price we have to cover the difference.
I could advertise it and see if anyones interested I suppose,then I would know whether to go for the other one or not.

mookybargirl

Is the 3.5k the rental or is this with food, drink music etc? The bit in the contract would only cover the actual room(s) hire. Not sure if this helps

I'd also think carefully about a venue split over more than 1 room, as once people start spreading out, you can sometimes lose the atmosphere. Some rooms could even end up empty or everyone ends up where the bar is and no one is where the music is etc. Think about how your day would run when you view somewhere like this as it might not help having more than 1 room.....

EDIT - See that you've mentioned it's a week hire, does this cover bedrooms as well, as again the contract may only impact where the actual wedding is. Is the figure split down anywhere?

shelovestobuystuff

The £3,500 is one weeks exclusive rental of the venue.Everything else is organised seperately.Its okay,the contract is pretty solid so no way out without losing too much money and I didnt check what the cancellation terms were before as I never expected to consider cancelling.
If anyone is interested in the new venue which I cannot take its dairsie castle in fife.£1,550 for 1 weeks exclusive use,sleeps 13 but can fit loads more in for reception as the main room can take 3 buffet/long dining tables for a sit down meal and theres also a large wooden floored art gallery perfect as a ballroom.
http://www.georgegoldsmith.com/houses/detail.html?id=71

prettypoppyknickers

wow maybe i should get married in scotland for my venue its going to cost over 3,000 for one day from 9am to 1am!

shelovestobuystuff

prettypoppyknickers wrote: »

wow maybe i should get married in scotland for my venue its going to cost over 3,000 for one day from 9am to 1am!

I know,when I started looking I was amazed at how high the prices were.So when I found the castle for £3,500 for WHOLE WEEK I jumped at it because the next nicest I could find was over £5,000 for exclusive use for 24 hours.
Then when I discovered Dairsie Castle I suddenly felt that my castle wasn,t such a good deal afterall:rolleyes: