Deposit before contract?

Absolutely dont give away 1000 without something in writing. You need to know cancel policies and other specifica before committing

Follow your intuition. No contract no deposit.

Our venue held the date for two weeks, in the meantime we were able to meet with the event coordinator to go over the contract and any other questions before giving the deposit.

Never put a deposit without a contract. Ive had some ask for some money to save a date but I just walk away. I'm not paying to hold a date let alone putting a deposit without a contract!

Thank you jma.

Ideally, a contract protects both you and your venue/vendors. It spells out what you expect and what they have to produce.

I've married several lawyers who have asked to redo mine, and in every case it made the language clearer, but not more advantageous for either party.

Received my contract first!

Do not give them any money until you see a contract.

Got my contract first and got to ask questions

I would think you would be able to go over the contract before handing over and money.

No you are completely correct. You should also sign the contact before you pay the deposit so everything is in writing... even just looking at it is not enough

We looked and signed a contract before giving up any deposits first on anything.

Don't just read the contract before you hand over your deposit. You should have the contact signed before you pay the deposit. You are expressing intent to sign a contract and book with this venue for a specific date. They should have no issue granting you right of first refusal between now and the time of your appointment to sign the contract and pay the initial deposit, especially if we are talking a matter of days.

I signed my contract prior to paying the deposit. I definitely wouldn't pay the deposit without seeing the contract first!

They sent us the contract as soon as we said we were interested. Then we set up a time to view and pay if we liked what we saw. We were also able to come back if we needed to think (which we did).

I think that is odd not to see the contract before handing over the money. You should definitely tell them that you need an appt and you don't feel comfortable saying a credit card over the phone

Update: I was able to secure an appointment, go over the contract in detail with FH, ask all the questions I needed and then finally sign it then hand over the deposit. I feel much better. So good news is my venue/date is officially booked! Hope this is a helpful thread to other newbies, follow your gut instinct!

Not good. Make sure you're able to read every single word before paying.

Read the contract or have your lawyer read it, and also make any changes necessary to protect you and the venue. We changed several of ours.

I skipped the three pages of comments. I do that when I know what I'm talking about. I did read your OP, three times. No. You do not give anyone or any business a credit card number before you've read and signed the written contract. Never. It doesn't matter if the contract relates to your wedding, your new car, your apartment lease, or the binder on a home. It should always be a quid pro quo situation -- ie, according to Merriam Webster, "something that is given to you or done for you in return for something you have given to or done for someone else."

This is the way it works -- you have the check filled out and ready to sign. You're at this vendor meeting because you've already read the contract and are willing to agree with all of the terms and conditions set forth in the vendor's contract. Then, you sign on the dotted line, AFTER negotiating anything that was negotiable. Then, you hand over that signed check. Signatures follow if the contract is to your satisfaction. The transaction I just described constitutes a binding "meeting of the minds" commitment. That's all the any written contract is, and it's what a judge will look at if you end up in civil court.

No I would stay firm that you want a date to come in to review the contract and pay.