Wedding

hayley1804

Hello, i am after some advice with our wedding, we are due to get married on 3rd October 2020, given the current pandemic we have asked our wedding venue to perpone until next year, we still have so much to plan, i do not have a dress, haven't got florists booked etc and am unable to do so with the shops not being open. We need to go for our face to face meeting with the registrar and pay the last fee by the June but can't even do that as they are not open and not registering weddings. My problem is our venue is not being helpful at all, we have paid them £1200 deposit, but they are asking us for another £600 to change the date until next year. They are saying they are sticking to government guidelines and we have to wait until 4 weeks before the wedding date to see if they can go ahead or not before they will make a decision on whether they will let us postpone it free of charge. How are we meant to plan a wedding, pay a further £6000 to our venue for it to potentially be cancelled or only allowed limited numbers there, my dad has already said he won't be able to walk me down the aisle given his health condition and him being high risk. Myself and my partner have considered cancelling with this venue as they are not being helpful or compassionate at all and feel this will now put awkwardness on the day with them now anyway but the have said if we cancel we have to pay for 50% of the total cost of our wedfing and loose our deposit, we feel backed up against a wall with them. Do we have any options? Please help. Thank you 

bradders1983

With you requesting to move it rather than the venue you are probably on a sticky wicket.  What do the terms you agree to say about a change of date once booked?

hayley1804

It doesn't actually say anything about postponing on the contract. It says once the non-refundable deposit is paid, cancellation and changes to the numbers of guests with be non refundable and no transferable. If you cancel 9 months before you pay 25% of total cost, 6 months is 50% and 3 months if 100%. Its says if there is an act of god or government restrictions etc on why the wedding can go ahead then the liability to the venue to the client shall not exceed the amount paid by the client.

sharpe106

The wedding is over 4 months away so how does the company have any idea what the situation will be like then? So at the moment they are sticking to the contract and are saying they will review it again in the future which sounds fair enough to me.

michemoo04

We are in exactly the same position as you Hayley - we are due to get married on the 23rd October 2020 and we are having serious doubts at to whether our wedding will go ahead. Our venue is being extremely unhelpful in negotiating with us to move the wedding next year and are insisting our full balance of £12,000 is paid by the original due date of July. We have been unable to prepare for our wedding at all due to the full lockdown. I note people above have said that this sounds fair to them but try planning a wedding without being able to get dresses, suits, rings, try wedding cakes, have hair and make up trials, get bridesmaids dresses, flowers etc. 4 months is not long to plan a whole wedding through no fault of our own. We are feeling that we are being made to get married against our will knowing this will not be the day we planned or dreamed of. I believe that in 4 months time there will not be mass gatherings of 150 people inside allowed which is what our package includes. I therefore think wedding venues need to have empathy towards our situation and be more flexible with their options. I have contacted my MP and will keep fighting this as I feel we are being treated unfairly and believing a wedding can go ahead in 4 months with no vaccination or effective treatment against this virus is ludicrous. Good luck with your fight - we are standing strong! 

Innismacca1234

I completely feel your pain. Although my wedding is not until December, I have been trying to communicate with my vendor since March and keep getting told there is nothing they can do until they are reopened. I am trying to be sympathetic to their needs, I know the industry has suffered because of the restrictions but as someone who had underling medical condition in addition to my immediate family I  think it would be irresponsible to go ahead with the wedding. I personally want to cancel as the risk will still be high until there is a vaccine,  I can just get married knowing we have not put people at risk.

I have read my contact over and over again and by the time my venue re-opens I will be liable for 80% of minimum booking of 100 plus rooms, despite my effort over the last few months to engage in discussions with them. Originally, we were going to have a wedding of 260 people and we started to reduce to 100 definite guest but aunts, uncles, immediate family but they are high risk (mum, dad, nephew, in laws, myself). We cannot predict what will happen in the coming months with regards to a spike or second wave. Vendors have been asking couples to continue with payments and to review 4 weeks before the wedding, which I feel is unfair, lacks empathy and is not a great customer experience. 

 It is stressful, no one could have predicted a pandemic and I honestly feel that existing contracts terms and conditions are no longer fit for purpose.

gary83

Innismacca1234 said:

 It is stressful, no one could have predicted a pandemic and I honestly feel that existing contracts terms and conditions are no longer fit for purpose.

Unfortunately a lot of people suffering adverse effects of Covid think contracts should be ripped up (as another example I’m thinking of students in private accommodation) however legally that isn’t the case, contract law exists & people sign contracts to protect both parties. It’ll have to get a whole lot worse before we scrap all contract law

Jeremy535897

I don't know if this is of any help to people:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wedding-and-event-venue-providers-letter-from-the-cma-on-contract-terms

[Deleted User]

Realistically they won't be able to fulfill the contract because even if the venue is available social distancing and large gathering rules will make it impossible to get the agreed number in.

So they will have to refund eventually. The danger is that you give them more money and then they go bankrupt. Hopefully you have insurance.

mattyprice4004

Shocker in ‘business holds customer to contract’.
This is a lesson in reading before signing the dotted line, and if you don’t like the terms go elsewhere. 

Pollycat

[DELETED USER] said:

Realistically they won't be able to fulfill the contract because even if the venue is available social distancing and large gathering rules will make it impossible to get the agreed number in.

So they will have to refund eventually. The danger is that you give them more money and then they go bankrupt. Hopefully you have insurance.

Are you 100% sure that social distancing and large gathering rules will still apply 3 months from now?