This is long, sorry!
I just want opinions. Personally, at this point I would rather take the loss and be bitter, as well as probably write terrible reviews but my family is saying I should argue it and even take it to small claims court.
We chose a nationwide company to do our videography. They're one of those "all in one" types (photo, video, music, photobooth, the list goes on!). With COVID19 and not knowing if the state will even be open by then and my family basically all having compromised immune systems and not willing to risk their lives (I live in MN, they live in CA), we decided to elope on our wedding day of June 6, 2020.
The cancellation policy is fairly clear: Deposits are fully refundable for 14 business days. Any payments made beyond the deposit are completely nonrefundable. All deposits are fully refundable for 14 days. Deposits made within 21 days of the event are nonrefundable. If the client cancels the services in writing, on a date five (5) months or less prior to the Event Day the Clients shall be responsible for half the contracted Fee. In the case that the Client cancels their event within 21 days of the contracted event date, the Client is responsible for the contract Fee in full.
I, not anticipating a freaking pandemic, paid the service in full at booking to avoid payments later.
This was their response when I reached out: As long as the shelter in place isn’t in place here in Minnesota, I’m sure Scott would still be happy to come out and videotape the memories for you and to share. We do have reduced elopement packages for videography and photography. Do you have a photographer? We also offer live music options here at ****, a solo sax, or guitarist would be nice in the nature center. You could pick a few of these options for the amount you’ve paid with us. Or if you are planning on having a reception down the road, we could keep the money on your account as credit, to book a DJ, band or photo booth.
Because it's clear, I feel like I should just take the loss and keep my bitterness.
The short version: Should I be petty, waste their time and make this person come out and video/edit our elopement that we have planned to last less than 15 minutes since apparently I have to pay for it no matter what, and wait and see if we're still under a Stay At Home order by our wedding date and then push for a refund if the Stay At Home order is still in place? Should I be as angry as my family is and take it to small claims court (I don't think I have a case since the policy is clear)? It's my money, no one helped pay for it but I feel really dumb making a videography team come take a video of our elopement and then having them edit it. It's just a LOT of money to lose and we're not planning to do anything after that would need us to require any services they offer.
