Venue Refund

If the headcount was not anywhere in your contract I would definitely fight it.


What my venue is currently doing is if my event is pushed back due to COVID I just get that credit for a new date. Everything is still the price they were when I first hired them (so the stuff that is now included wasn’t so I have to rent them if that makes sense).
I hope that you get everything worked out with your venue!

We booked our venue in 2019 for a Saturday wedding in April 2020. Their fees have now increased since we booked our wedding in 2019, however, they will honor their 2019 prices and refund us part of the money we have already paid bc now our wedding is on Sunday vs the Saturday premium we had paid. I guess it depends on the venue but I believe it’s only right that the venue honors the prices they had when the contract was signed since this pandemic is out of your control. I would definitely ask them to reconsider. Wish you luck.

Hi Val! It all depends on what was in your original contract! What does your contract say about the couple postponing their wedding date? In some cases the terms of the original agreement would be worse for the couple than the rebooking fees or new rates the venue is suggesting instead - so you should always check it out in depth! I would also ask for more clarification about the 150 people minimum requirement - was that in your original contract? Is it a seasonal requirement for peak wedding dates??

Your venue may also have different policies in place right now based on your wedding date - needing to accommodate the spring & summer weddings that are immediately impacted by government restrictions first! While I would rather be a proactive bride as well I can understand venues not being eager to reschedule events that are 6 months away.

They cant revise a contract like that without your approval as its price gouging and not what was agreed upon, therefore null and void as they broke it first. Now I would save all conversation and get clarification through email any physical conversations said, while stating you would like to keep what was originally agreed in terms of the contract and have a date moved. This forces them to either complete the service or bow out and give the deposite back since they broke the terms. But do save all conversations as they could later try to sue claiming act of God was the reason it wasn't done and keep your deposite. trying for a different date shows you were still a willing party and was trying to rectify the situation.

Contrary to what the PP is saying, if you are asking your venue to change the date then you are asking them to create a new contract, and that means they can charge different prices and require a minimum headcount.

Right now, an October date isn't considered in question...while no one really knows what it will be like, at this moment there is no reason to believe for sure they will not be able to host your celebration.

You need to read the terms of your contract. If there is an option to change dates, then there should be information on what will happen IF you decide to change dates.

Our venue wouldn’t allow us to change to a Friday in 2021 either without paying a higher amount and increased the minimum. We decided to move it to a Sunday instead because we simply don’t want to spend more money on this wedding. Not our ideal choice but we’ve already invested enough and if we cancel they won’t give us any refund. Sunday (or a random weekday) was the only way to keep the amount we’ve paid the same.