Wedding Contracts During the pandemic.

Time does fly so fast. It's more than 3 years since I wrote about wedding contracts.  My emphasis back then was for the vendor to protect themselves from difficult clients who give them bad reviews. If they have a settlement agreement with them, which basically might have terms involved like non-disparagement type or a confidentiality clause that makes the matter settled and resolved remain between the two of you.

Now,  I would like to shift gears abit and address wedding contracts during the pandemic going forward.  I was reading how some Individuals with Insurance cover were surprised to find that their bills couldn't be paid due to an exciting clause in their policy that they  might have failed to pay attention to until now. The good side to everything is that the terms have being renegotiated and now COVID related illness is being covered by some companies with limitations in place.

https://pin.it/2yhuacZ

When a client hires a vendor and enters into contracts with them, be it a photographer,  wedding planner,  venue, caterer,  hotel, honeymoon package and the list goes on......

There is usually a booking fee charged which is nonrefundable or not; based on what the contract stipulates.  Why many hardly refund this amount is due to the fact that they have to turn away other businesses because you've booked with them.

The pandemic and government restrictions meant that there would be need for cancellations,  rescheduling of dates and reduced number of attendees.  Since weddings are not time sensitive, they can be rescheduled and held at a future date. This calls for good communication between wedding client and vendor.  My need to address this issue is due to the fact that we are still in a pandemic and  its impossible to predict another disruption or even lockdown.  You might not have been prepared then but going forward, there is need to make huge provisions for uncertainties. 

In some contracts I've seen the allowance to reschedule upto one year. Based on the agreement you had or have, complete cancellation and refund might be available.  This might sometimes mean, a new contract would subject you to higher fees if the prices go up and any other changes that might come about. You might even loose the negotiated discounts you enjoyed before.

https://pin.it/7GUtnzO

What the pandemic might have drawn our attention to in contract law is the Force Majeure clause in certain contracts.  Your vendor might have it stipulated or not in your previous contract, but going forward; it becomes the norm.

Due to the uncertainties with the pandemic,  it might be potentially difficult and impossible performing existing contractual obligations. Even though failure to honor your part would result in a breach of contract, the Force Majeure clause absolve from blame both parties incase a breach occurs.

Going forward, even though that clause now exists in many wedding contracts,  be sure to read the finer details to it. What would entail the contract being suspended or otherwise postponed for a certain prescribed period. 

Corona Weddings

You woke up with a cold or flu one morning and think it will go away. You start by putting your plans on hold for a suitable time or date in the future. A week, a month passes and the reality dawns on you: it wasn't a short term illness....it was chronic.  That's the new norm and life has to continue.
This is what Coronavirus has meant for all aspects of life. Weddings haven't been exempted from this either. The changes have somewhat meant: no large weddings at least into the foreseeable future.  With many ceremonies shorter and having upto 30 guests. That automatically means, you no longer have to explain why someone isn't invited to your wedding.
The pandemic also brought lockdown that affected alot of businesses.  The ones that had already been struggling with a difficult economy  and even the ones that had booked clients had similar fate. That meant from mid march to sometimes in June or July, it wasn't a guarantee in this industry of having work or the wedding couple enjoying their day.
I could go on with the challenges that have come up but that would be keeping things on the negative side. It's time to rebuild and hopefully,  the few months left in the year will get things off to a good start for 2021. For now, I'd like to readdress : the wedding contact and saving for the wedding.  Be on the look out for my next article.