Venue-Non Refundable Deposit HELP!

So sorry. Maybe you can ask if they happen to book the date with another couple, would they be willing to give you your deposit back. You are a year from your date.

Sorry girl If you signed that contract and it clearly states that it's a battle you will surely lose

Some venues will refund your money if another event books for the same day. This way they aren't losing out on business. J would contact them and see if that's an option

I don't think you will get your money back.

Maybe ask the current venue if you have have your bridal shower there instead of wedding (a date before the wedding obviously ) and they can your ur deposit towards the bridal shower instead of wedding ??? Win win!!!

Yea, you probably won't get your deposit back. This is why we are flexible with our date. So we can have our dream venue.

My contract is ironclad per my lawyer, so you would not get a refund. I will make an exception in certain cases like unexpected military deployment and a few others situations, but for your reason no refund.

Doubt it just because they were giving you a long deadline to pay doesn't mean once signed that within that deadline things are flexible.

FutureMrsK, exactly! We're doing the same! Super flexible so I can have the venue I want. I'm even so flexible I'm considering a Mon-Wednesday ceremony. It also saves an obscene amount of money to do that.

You responded in the comments that you wouldn't have an event here going forward bc other people have concerns with that venue but that may be something you want to check out before booking a place or anything with that much of a downpayment. There were several suggestions for you to try to see if the funds could go toward another event but it sounds like you don't want that. Is it bc they won't give your money back or bc you have real concerns about the venue?

I'm curious why you didn't mention the concerns in original post. It seems like now it's all about how concerning they are... why didn't you mention that originally?

Are they serious concerns or minor issues?

Real talk that money's probably gone.

That being said, being nice and agreeable sometimes works wonders even greater than $1800. Nicely call and explain your circumstances- don't act entitled to the money. Make it clear you know you're in the lesser position here and that you don't expect anything.

Since your date is still some time out, ask if you can have the deposit minus some sort of cancellation fee if another couple books the venue for that date. They may be open to it. Maybe even offer to try to solicit another bride for that date if possible. Didn't scroll all the way through to see where you're located, but I will say November isn't exactly the most popular month to wed, so you may be facing an uphill battle even if they are kind enough to offer you some money back.

Legal process is not the answer here. You don't have a leg to stand on. I'm a contract lawyer and would never take this case.

You signed a contract. I'm not sure why retaining legal counsel would help here -- the venue did nothing in this situation other than enforce what you agreed upon by signing and paying your deposit. If you found the deposit amount unreasonable why did you go ahead and pay it? Sure, it can't hurt to ask but if they say no I doubt there's much recourse.

I'd probably stay at the first venue and not book the dream unless you can afford to lose that kind of money. We booked our second choice because we wanted something more affordable. I had to settle for my wedding date when I really wanted it at the end of June.

I changed my venue 2 months after leaving a deposit and signing the contract. I knew it was non-refundable, but I still tried. The answer was NO. I moved on with my life because I chose to make the change.

You chose to switch venues. It doesn't matter that you signed it before the 30 day time frame, only matters that you signed it. Once your signature is on that document, you are responsible.

Sometimes venues list a graduated refund in the contract (e.g., cancel 12 months before the wedding and get x% back, cancel 9 months before and get y% back) or that they will refund your deposit if they find someone else to book the date at least 6 months out. Stuff like that. If your contract doesn't have any of that, I think you are just out of luck. I'm sorry OP!

The thing that was crazy is that the "dream venue" was fully booked, like for all or 2018 fully booked. The date they had open was a Friday and I didn't care what the day was, I took what they had.

Regarding the reviews people started posting after I already booked with them and cancelled so that is more why my thought has transitioned into "well maybe this all happened for a reason" and that working with them may not have been the best experience in the end.

I figured it was lost cause but writing this post was a shot in the dark and more of a just in case for me. I still feel the amount they hold is ridiculous now that I have found out more information on liquidated damage laws but it is what it is and I'm not sure the fight would be worth the headache.

I will take it as an expensive learning experience and agree with what some people said that it will all hopefully be worth it in the end!

I appreciate everyone's help and opinions. Thanks again!

Here's a lesson for all couples looking to book the big day! Look into a venue that will refund your deposit or portion of it if god forbid you need to cancel. We booked our daughters venue and gave a 10K deposit 18 months prior to the big day, we had payment arrangement and just before the second 10k was due the wedding was called off. The venue not only refused to give us our money or portion of it back but insisted we pay another 10k in order to brake the contract! The entire wedding was to cost 47k so we had no choice but to pay additional 10k. We were told that we could apply that amount to a future event, come on seriously did they think we would have her wedding (if or when that day comes) at a place with another groom? To add insult to injury they did rebook for the same date so they are not loosing a cent for that date. And we are 20k out! A very hard lesson learned!