Late band cancellation a warning

As father of the bride, I had an extremely tearful and distressed daughter on the phone last night to tell me that her wedding band had cancelled.

The Wedding is on June 18th this year and the band was booked through a very reputable agency and contracted in February 2015 with deposit paid. The band was selected by my daughter after much time and research, well in advance to secure the one she wanted and all contracts exchanged. Now with 6 weeks to go the band have notified they are cancelling because the brother of the singer is having a last minute wedding and has asked the singer to be best man.

Rather than telling his brother he is already booked, the singer has decided to cancel inspite of being in breach of the contract cancellation clauses. The band are not prepared to use a stand in singer so my daughter is left with no band with little chance of booking a good replacement on a Saurday in June only 6 weeks away.

What is even more worrying is that after taking legal advice, it seems that as the cancellation has not actually caused her any financial loss as the agent will repay the deposit, she has no legal basis on which to claim compensation or damages. The band are only legally bound to pay any cost higher than the original booking fee up to a maximum of 20% above the original fee. That is assuming a band can now be found. On the other hand, if my daughter had cancelled she would have had to pay the band the full fee.

The whole reason for the cancellation sounds doubtful, but it does mean that if you have booked a band for your wedding and they decide to cancel because they have been made a better offer, or the dog is sick, then any contract is basically worth nothing. Some investigation has shown that the contract is a perfectly standard music industry contract, and that the booker is totally at the mercy of the band's integrity.

For those who are booking a wedding band and would like to know who they are, they are from the Nottingham area and work under 3 different names that I know of, THE ROOTS ACOUSTIC TRIO, THE ONE STEP BAND, and WHITE RABBIT. The singer and band leader also performs a solo act under his name of NICK KEEN. They are a popular act that several agents have on their books, but be warned that a contract guarantees you nothing.

Angry Father

That is bullshit on his part and completely unprofessional. I've turned down requests for my own family because I was booked.

Where are you located?

So sorry for your headache with this matter. Our photographer cancelled 2 weeks before the wedding, but it was a blessing in disguise, we have a new photographer and she's SO much better. Hope this works the same for you.

Yikes - that's terrible! Thanks for the PSA. Maybe moot for this particular case, but does cancellation insurance only apply if there's monetary loss?

This happened with my DJ, fortunately 5 months out. I was able to find a good DJ, despite having a wedding in peak season. I hope she finds something, and I hate that you are going through this last minute stress! Is the band, or DOC/venue coordinator, able to help find another band? Or maybe the booking agent can help her out?

Thanks for the messages guys :-)

Celia- the wedding is near Norwich and regarding your comment, I have been a musician for most of my adult life and once played a gig 3 days after a spinal injury, in a full body cast and a broken wrist, because I was contracted. Can't help with daughters wedding as I am a pro videographer and we are videoing it.

Mrs T- Yes insurance only covers actual loss .

Lindsey- The agent is as angry as me and they are doing their best to find an alternative, but my daughter really wanted the band she has chosen and is gutted to have to search again at this late stage.

Your poor daughter. I'm sure she's devastated. Good luck, I hope she finds something.

I'm so sorry this happened. Thank you for sharing. I hope you find many, many more ways to let people in your area know, so this band doesn't have the opportunity to do this again to another undeserving family. Uh. I'm so pissed for you.

So sorry to hear this. I really hope she finds a replacement soon! I would also spread the word about how unprofessional this band is. Good luck with everything!

That really sucks. Just as a heads up - this is very common for ALL contracts related to weddings.

My venue says that they can cancel at any time for any reason and they will TRY to find me a suitable replacement at their cost, if they can't I can reschedule to another available date without any other recourse (I wouldn't get a refund only a credit)

CLEARLY I renegotiated that, and refused to allow it to stand, but most people just sign because "that is NEVER going to happen"

It seems that the late cancellation scenario is not uncommon and is totally devastating for the couples who have been planning their weddings for a long time.

It would also seem that if a band simply fails to turn up and there is no financial loss to you, that there is virtually nothing you can claim for in the UK. Even attempting to go through the small claims court you would have to pay the legal expenses as they are not claimable, which could be more than you would ever get back. It seems that it is not worth attempting to claim if the amount is under £10000.

Of course if you cancel the band, you have to pay the full fee, which makes the whole reason for having a contract pointless and stacked against you. I have come to the conclusion that Naming and Shaming is the only recourse, and at least should have the effect of making the band think twice and the agents not wanting to represent them.

This happened with our photographer. She isn't the best but she is good for it just being a hobby.

This is awful. My late husband was in a band and many was the time he couldn't attend family functions due to band jobs.

Hopefully it's a blessing in disguise!

OH! UK! I was thinking CT! Can't help you there ;-(

Thanks anyway Celia, but where is CT? :-)

@Roger...CT stands for Connecticut here in the US.

I hope your daughter finds something. And if the band or singer has a profile on WW or other sites be sure to leave them a review.