Q & A with Alycia, The Wedding Lawyer

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As any prudent Lawyer would say, it depends! In the context of wedding vendor contracts, the purpose of your initial deposit payment is to motivate both parties to fulfill their obligations under the contract. The intention of a non-refundable deposit in a wedding vendor contract is meant to compensate the vendor in the event the couple no longer wants to move forward with the vendor’s services. However, as COVID-19 has been the sole reason why couples and vendors cannot move forward with the contracted services, these deposits are protected under consumer protection legislation in Ontario and any monies paid, including deposits, should be returned to the couple immediately upon request.

Most couples come to me after they feel they have exhausted all other avenues of negotiation with their vendors. Once on board, we attempt to negotiate either a fair and comparable postponement or micro-wedding, negotiate a deposit return or credit in exchange of a full and final release of the subject contract, or to initiate litigation against the vendor for failure to return monies paid for non-delivery of services. On a secondary level, we are here to be an effective liaison between the couple and the vendor to ensure that that emotions aside, this relationship remains a positive one. After all, these couples are sharing one of the most important days of their lives with these vendors!

Unfortunately, there is very little that can be done if a vendor or venue goes bankrupt. However, there are firms that can assist couples as unsecured creditors in an attempt to retrieve some or all of their deposits. I should note that if a vendor does go out of business but the corporation remains active, we are still able to pursue them legally. This is why it is so important to make every attempt to negotiate your monies back, or to agree to partial services as early as possible – this will ensure that if the event cannot proceed at all, or as originally intended, couples are at least maximizing their return on their hefty deposits.

I cannot stress this enough: do not sign a new contract! There will likely be consequences to signing a new contract in the midst of a pandemic that may affect a couple’s success rate during the course of litigation. Furthermore, you want to be careful that no new clauses are added to the contract that don’t also protect the couple. Lastly, we want to ensure that the couple is receiving similar and comparable dates, accommodations and pricing as the original contract provided. Overall, the best advice I can give is to contact a legal professional 66 to negotiate an amendment to the existing contract or to review any new contracts before signing or making any payments.

For couples who sign a contract during the course of the pandemic, insurance companies will likely take the position that the pandemic cannot be considered an Act of God. This is because the pandemic is now a foreseeable event that the couple should have contemplated as potentially affecting their ability to uphold their obligations under the contract. This could also be true in the course of litigation. This is why we are adamant on ensuring our clients do not sign new contracts and instead, agree to execute amendments - or for those looking to book their weddings for the first time, ensure that they seek legal representation to assist with renegotiating the proposed terms of the vendors’ contracts.

Prior to the pandemic, couples rarely contemplated their vendor contracts – if they read them at all. Couples now know that these are very real contracts with real consequences. These contracts are drafted to protect the vendors not the couples and any clarifications made by representatives of the vendors cannot, and should not, be relied upon. My advice, both now and into the future: do not sign any contract without it being reviewed by a qualified legal representative. It is always easier to avoid a fire than put one out!

I have been working in the legal field since 2015 and in 2018, I started my own law firm. When I was planning my own wedding at the end of 2019, I realized how one-sided and outright outrageous some of my wedding vendor contracts were and became concerned that most couples were signing similar contracts without a second thought as to their legal ramifications. Shortly thereafter, the pandemic hit and a few friends of mine who were scheduled to get married in 2020 reached out to me to help them negotiate their deposits back from uncooperative venues. A few friends turned into hundreds of referrals and alas, The Wedding Lawyer was born! Since then, I have spent the majority of my time assisting couples with their wedding planning, negotiating solutions for their predicaments, and being a supportive ear for those who, at the end of the day, just want to celebrate their love and start new and exciting chapters in their lives!

The information provided within is for general information purposes only, it is not to be relied upon as legal advice and does not establish any solicitor/client relationship or retainer. Always seek a review of your individual circumstances from a qualified legal professional. By reading this article, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer and agree to waive all liability for use of any information herein.