Covid-19 Wedding Cancellations &refunds

I just don't know if I have it in me to keep planning. My finance's dad said that he suggest we not put anymore money into it, so I just don't know what to do. I kind of just want to do something private at this point. I just don't know if I would be able to get the $2k back. Sigh.

If you cancel, they keep whatever money you have put down. Most places will do their best to help you postpone so if you cancel this is a breach of contract.

I think getting a refund from the venue itself would be tough. I'm supposed to get married in mid-June and I'm holding out as long as possible to make sure I have a shot at getting our money back. If you have insurance, that may be helpful. However, my insurance has made it clear that they wouldn't pay us back if we canceled because we were "scared" something would happen, ie, if we canceled before guidelines extended to our date. My guess is if you cancel now for August, you won't get money from the venue or insurance as it is still too far out to tell.

I agree with PP that you probably won't get back the 2K deposit, especially since August is still a ways out. Our venue is in NJ, and right now I believe the stay at home order is through May 7th. Our wedding was supposed to be May 9th. We decided to just go to the courthouse after it re-open since we didn't feel like postponing and re-planning everything again. FH has had to fight with the venue to get back the money we'd paid, and it looks like we'll get back everything except the initial deposit from them. They really pushed us to reschedule

Hi Mary Jane,

This is a stressful time, and I'm sorry that you're feeling it as your wedding date approaches.

The majority of discussions that I've read within the WW forum indicates that most couples are postponing, not canceling, their weddings. I'm sure there are many different reasons for rescheduling, but one may be that fact that the original deposits are non-refundable in general.

So, if you're still feeling nervous about having a larger wedding reception in August 1st and you decide against it, you may take a loss. First things first, I recommend speaking directly with your venue to determine options. They're having to postpone spring weddings for later this year, so they may be able to offer your wedding date to another couple. Perhaps a partial refund is within the realm of possibility? You won't know until you ask.

I'm wishing you the best of luck with this decision!

Hello!

I had a similar situation. I had planned a destination wedding and due to my medical condition etc, I didn't know that making the destination happen for a reschedule would work. Mine was actually not able to happen due to the shut down so this applies more to if you do not cancel it yourself.

Some of my vendors were very kind about it and some were downright nasty.

Make sure to look for a Force Majeure clause in your contract. If there is one, this protects you. it basically says that due to a force of nature, act of god etc neither party is held to the contract. Some states like CA actually have Force Majeure written right into their civil code and unless you sign a waiver, all contracts are void due to this civil code. Now, in my case some of my vendor chose to just ignore civil code stating that they doubt I would get a lawyer over a few thousand dollars and they'll take their chances so you do really just see who people are in these instances.

I am not a lawyer so this is not legal advice but it is a place to start!

If it is postponed, you did not cancel your wedding. You didn't leave them high and dry on a day that they could have otherwise booked another paying event, thus force majeure clauses exist.

I hope this helps!