Hello all. TLDR at the end for those that aren't interested in the rant. My dream wedding was supposed to happen on 8/8/2020. Fiancee and I had this date picked out even before we became engaged. Shortly after the engagement, I chose a venue. All my decisions were made fairly quickly, and I was an ecstatic and well-organized bride-to-be. Then Covid-19 struck. Uncertainty struck. Our venue has claimed that they will reopen completely by end of July, following closely to CDC guidelines and county regulations. However, a majority of our wedding guests are older, high-risk, are traveling from out of town, or work on the front lines of this pandemic. Not to mention, I have an autoimmune disease myself that makes me more susceptible to infections. I am not putting myself or my family and friends at risk for a stupid wedding.
With all that being said, postponement is not an option for us. We have planned for this date for far too long to just let it slide to a Sunday in 2021. Hell to the no. We reached out to our venue. They offered to postpone with no fees, but fiancee and I immediately turned that down because we wanted our date. Second option was to lower the guest count BUT pay the same amount as you would for a full staff accommodating 150 guests. What? How does that even make sense? (Not to mention a majority of our family is NOT comfortable with even attending). Or, of course, cancel and lose our deposit + 45% of our total invoice; roughly $15,000 for a wedding that we won't get to have because of safety and health concerns. All I want to do is cancel this wedding, get my money back (and heck, I'm even willing to let them keep my deposit because of all the troubles they went through for tastings, coordinating, etc.), and have a small backyard elopement.
I understand the perspective of my wedding vendors. I understand that they need money to keep afloat, and I understand that we signed a contract. I myself am a small business owner and am also going through not making any income for the past four months (I'm living off a small chunk of disability that won't even come close to paying half my mortgage). But how binding is a contract during a pandemic? Isn't it a moral responsibility for companies to keep everyone safe? Am I legally allowed to hold the venue liable for anyone that potentially gets sick at my wedding?
FYI our venue is [seven-degrees] in Laguna Beach, Ca. As much as I fell in LOVE with the architecture, my coordinator, and the overall scheme, the way that they're treating us right now makes up for the huge mistake of planning a wedding there in the first place.
Please help a girl out. We're going to meet up with our family lawyer on Friday, but before I take that step, I want to know if there is anything else I could do that doesn't involve attorney fees that I can't afford right now. I wanted my dream wedding and was still willing to have an open conversation with the venue regarding a lowered head count, but their responses to me and the greed that they showed has completely turned off the nice button in me.
If the law is what I have to turn to, has anyone else gone through the court systems with a case like this, and please tell me they ruled in your favor.
TLDR; venue is being stupid and won't refund us our money. Is legal action necessary? Will I get my money back if that were the case?
