Non-refundable Deposit...

Your wedding is in a month???

I dont think your entitled to a refund since you backed out with such short notice. They cant book someone in one month (at least highly unlikely).

What does your contract with the original venue say?

Read the contract you signed with the venue. If your wedding date matches what you have here on WW, I highly doubt they would refund your deposit.

It's 200 bucks, which presumably is a tiny piece of the pie in the big picture.

Stop responding to her emails and let it go.

I would, they are basically screwed out of a big contract and now only getting $200 (which is a small deposit IMO).

I would send her 1 more email to let her know thatnyou will not be using their venue and do notbwant to reschedule. "We will be canceling the wedding we schedule at your venue on (date). If it is possible to refund our deposit, we would be very appreciative. If a refund is not possible in due to the terms of the contract, we understand. We will not be rescheduling our date either way."

Most deposits are non-refundable.

You want to ask for it again because of emails she sent after you canceled (how far after). You feel they were harassment?

She was upset bc your questions were being answered by other staff members and may have been answered incorrectly? Was this just an apology? Or is she not accepting that you're not rebooking with her with a month to go?

MFB- I totally missed that!

If you cancel, you don't get the deposit back. That is the point of the deposit, they turned down other couples by saying "Sorry, we already have a wedding booked on that date."

You found another venue, that will save you money in the long run. Let go of the $200 because you are not entitled to it.

ETA: My deposit was $2,000 non refundable so you should be happy you are only losing out on $200 and it was such a small deposit.

Regardless of the deposit, I think it's fine to reach out and say "Please remove me from your email list going forward" or something like that. Or just have her emails forwarded to junk.

Well...if it's a non-refundable deposit you should move on.

No, you don't get a refund of a non-refundable deposit -- especially when you dumped them four months prior to the date. Yes, I'm sure they're pissed. October is a big wedding month, and for three months they turned down couples who would have taken that date. So, your compensation is that you owe them a rather modest amount of money. Whatever you think they did to in terms of upcharging, I can almost guarantee it was in your contract.

If she's harassing you, block her. Move on.

There is nothing ambiguous about 'non refundable". Mark her emails spam and be done with it.

Can you block her email?

So I have not been responding to her follow-up emails but now I'm annoyed that she keeps questioning me. I was very clear with her that we had already booked another venue and explained to her why. I should add though that we are getting married in Vegas where this venue is doing multiple weddings a day, it's not like I took away an entire day of business from them, more like 1 event of I believe 7 that they already had booked. I do appreciate the thoughts and will just continue to let it go.

Quote: Within a few weeks of booking the costs kept adding up and the cost of the venue had quickly doubled with all of their ridiculous add-ons. After getting frustrated with inconsistent answers and prices we found a new, better venue

If you booked with a contract you had an fixed price. What were they changing more for over and over?

Why would you expect them to return a non-refundable deposit...?

I had contacted them multiple times before booking to go over specifically what things were included with the package that we had selected and what things would be additional costs. After we booked though they kept adding costs for things that I had previously been told were included. These aren't like typical wedding venues, they do MANY weddings a day and have MANY packages to accommodate weddings of various sizes and tastes.

I initially asked for the deposit as a long shot after being unhappy with the inconsistencies of what had been discussed before booking and what was actually being done. I had looked into the issue elsewhere and had seen comments that deposits should be refundable if it's not really damaging the venue, which in this case I don't feel it is. Many of their weddings are booked last minute (under 6 months out). I don't feel entitled to the refund, I just feel like she should take my reasons for canceling for what they are instead of badgering me, she could have opened that time up three months ago but she still has it marked as booked.

The fact that she still has it booked is troubling. That would worry me that they are still going to try to bill for the final day.

I'd send one more email, saying you are booked at another venue and you are cancelling the contract. I would double check your original contract to see what it says about cancellation, and quote that in the email. Then I would say to release the date immediately.

I agree with you that it is shady that they said stuff was included when it wasn't. If it was in the contract as included (spelled out clearly) and then you have written proof that they contradicted the contract, you may be entitled to the deposit back. But it sounds like this place is a little crazy so I wouldn't even waste my time.

Oh, and if you put a credit card on file with them I'd call up and say you don't authorize any future payments from that company (look up how they charged the deposit) - just in case.

Thanks @Brieliz. Unfortunately the contract is not that detailed but you are spot on about the credit card authorization, I removed that the day I canceled. I will just continue to not worry about the refund but will definitely do as you advised to ask her to confirm the cancellation and make the date/time available again.