Breach of Contract?

View Quoted Comment If masks are required by your venue and your guests refuse to wear them that could also be an issue. Aside from that, does your contract state that changes can be made withour your consent? I know some say things that enable changes to be without consulting the bride and groom. I think you'd DJ is trying to protect himself and his employees and your guests refusing to comply with state or venue requirements is an issue.

It is not uncommon for vendors to change their policies and procedures from time to time. Whether they impact the vendors’ contractual obligations depends on the type of changes and impact on the contract.

If your DJ announced that he would be wearing a mask at the wedding, it would not be an issue as it would not impair his provision of services and would not create any obligation upon you. However, he is imposing a new condition of contract that he will not play if guests do not wear masks, therefore imposing a new obligation upon you (and your guests) which you haven’t agreed to. In that regard, he has unilaterally created a new condition of contract.

Obviously there is a lot of uncertainty right now as to whether your guests will be required to wear masks or not come that time of year (especially if you live in the US), however, from a contractual point of view, I would write to him that you have inferred that he has unilaterally varied the contract without your consent and that this variation is null and void by reason of such.

I agree woth others. Inquire on his cancellation policy.

View Quoted Comment Cancel his service now! The sooner, the better.

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THIS.

I'm sorry, but if you have guests who refuse to wear a mask, those guests are putting everyone *else* at risk, from you to your vendors. Not to mention, if they are violating the mask policy of the *state and the venue* - you will be liable.

You are completely able to control guests wearing masks.

Either it's something you require all guests, and they can either comply, or not come... or you throw up your hands and say you can't control it, but potentially get fined by the venue and the state, and lose your vendors in protest.

You're choosing what you want to control.

Anyone not wearing a mask is *putting you at risk*.

Now, things may be very different in your state in May, we don't know.

That said, the way he announced this, and his refusal to explain/elaborate is concerning, as you have questions obviously not addressed by his announcement. (Not to mention... how many people won't see that because of algorithms? I bet a LOT - he should be contacting people by phone or email.)

So, I think this is tricky. You certainly are unlikely to get your deposit back - but changing the terms through a social media announcement isn't great, either.

View Quoted Comment I completely agree with all of this

In my vendor contracts, it mentions that I must provide a safe environment for them to work in or they can refuse service. If you have that in your contract and he feels that the environment is unsafe because people aren’t wearing masks, then he isn’t breaching the contract. But as others mentioned, check your cancellation policy if you’re not happy about it.
You keep mentioning that your guests will refuses masks but you’re ok with it. You’re the host, it’s your wedding, if you enforce it, then they will need to respect those rules or they can leave. It’d be rude of them to disregard your safety, comfort, and rules if you make it clear to them.

I see where youre coming from, and this would stress me out because you are correct: you cannot control what a large group of (probably drunk) people do and you shouldnt have to on your wedding day. Your DJ didnt handle this well at all in my opinion because now you could potentially be paying for someone who wont play music? He should know that you simply cannot control what other people do, and by continuing to work as a DJ during the pandemic he is assuming a certain amount of risk, just as you are by hosting your wedding. At the same time if you ask guests to wear a mask at YOUR event and they wont do it, they shouldnt be there. Anyone who stresses you out on your wedding day should be shown the door lol

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much. I hope it all works out for you

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I agree with this. I would consult a lawyer and try to get all of your money back. I am not a lawyer, but this seems like it is beyond the scope of the contract and changing the terms under which he will provide services.

It also seems that if he is going to be constantly scanning the room to see if someone is not wearing a mask, then he is not going to be focused on his job. I would not hire someone like this, he seems pretentious.

On that note...I am going to PM you, because I am curious to see if this is who I think it is.

Just an FYI - "consulting with a lawyer" will likely cost you the amount of the entire DJ contract (if not more), so I would personally try my hardest to 1) make it work with the DJ or 2) try and negotiate some money back from the DJ and find another that aligns more with my plans, even if it means that I'd lose the deposit in the process. There is absolutely no guarantee that a court would side with either party on this since this past year has been so unprecedented.

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Agreed. I had missed the part about this being announced on social media, not via direct contact with clients with signed contracts. That part is certainly unprofessional. The DJ should reach out to you directly to let you know of any change in expectation or procedures for the services he is contracted to provide for your wedding.

While I appreciate some feedback I'm getting, I must reiterate that when I emailed him wishing to discuss the matter further, I was told rudely that "I will not be discussing public safety" and "you can blame all the barns and vineyards for not adhering to policy". I literally just wanted to ask a few questions about the Facebook post and the generic email sent out to all the 2021 brides. The people in question are my family who some are refusing to wear one so it isn't as easy as "not having them at the wedding" or "my guest list being so large". The fact of the matter is I was not valued as a client and regardless of science and safety, you don't need to be rude. My simple question was if his adding to the contract breaches it, which most answers have been to seek a lawyer which I will do. I was just hoping for a similar situations which no one seems to be in, so thank you for the comments and feedback.

View Quoted Comment All 👏🏻 Of 👏🏻 This 👏🏻

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I also agree with the PP who said a lawyer will likely cost as much as you'd lose (maybe even more.)

His rudeness enough is reason to cancel.