The wedding industry is probably one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 epidemic. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year, many couples have had to adjust or postpone or cancel their wedding plans due to lockdowns and restrictions on weddings.

One of the most contentious issues has been the issue of whether couples are entitled to refunds on deposits from service providers for cancelled weddings. A typical example: a couple plans a lavish wedding of say 200 guests. A wedding date is set and substantial deposits paid to different vendors including the venue, the cake maker, the decorator, the make-up artist, the music band, the designer, the DJ, the caterer and the photographer. Then as a result of rising Covid cases, the government is forced to issue new Covid-19 prevention guidelines suspending weddings as it recently did on June 29, 2021.

In some cases the couple opts to postpone the wedding date but maintains all the original plans for a large wedding as they were.  This option is probably the most preferable route from a legal standpoint. It works out well for everyone involved since most service providers are willing to transfer the deposits paid earlier to the new dates without any extra charges. With some luck, the Covid restrictions are later eased and the couple are able to have the large wedding as originally planned.

However in other cases the couple has paid the full amounts for services to be offered by the vendors. Upon government issuing new guidelines suspending weddings, the couple opts to cancel all the plans for a large wedding since it is not clear when large weddings will be allowed again. They plan for a much smaller wedding at a yet to be determined date in future if things become better. But for now, they want their deposits back from all the vendors.

A battle then ensues between the couple and vendors over the deposit refunds. As with many legal questions, the answer is never straightforward.  For guidance, it is helpful to consider what the wedding services contracts say.

Ideally, the wedding services contract should specify what would happen if the wedding is cancelled especially since government guidelines on weddings are constantly changing. For instance, the contract should specify whether any amount of the deposit is refundable in case of cancellation.

A number of big service providers like hotels now have contracts with clauses on cancellation and refunds of deposits. This is good because it provides clarity to the parties in case of cancellation. Unfortunately, to date, many wedding transactions between couples and small service providers are not formalized with written and signed contracts. Some service providers merely issue receipts or send confirmatory phone text messages to couples for money received but no contract is signed. The parties are often ok with this arrangement where the service fee involved is considered small or they know each other so there is a certain level of trust.  However, while this simplified approach may have worked well before the pandemic when things were fairly straight forward, it may not be ideal today. Without a written contract with clauses on cancellation, the parties are left to figure out what to do about the issue of deposit refunds.  In many cases the deposit has already been used by the service provider and the service provider may not feel inclined to consider refunding any of the deposit to the couple if the contract does not say anything about it.

For couples it is important to keenly read the contracts that they enter into especially with regard to cancellation, rescheduling and refund of deposits.  Where there are no such clauses, couples should insist on adding them to the contract.  Moreover, wherever possible, couples should negotiate to pay a small initial deposit and the bigger part of the balance of the service fees paid on the day of the wedding. That way in case they cannot be refunded the deposit, their loss is small.

Service providers on the other hand are advised to draft contracts with clear cancellation and rescheduling policies. This clarity will protect them from future disputes with the couples.

In case of cancellations or rescheduling, it is important that the couples and service providers approach any negotiations with the aim of achieving a win-win solution for everyone.

Insurers should also look into innovating products to compensate couples and service providers against losses arising from wedding cancellations.

Cancelling a wedding should not be made any more inconvenient than it already is.

The views expressed in this article are of the author and do not constitute legal advice.

The writer is a business lawyer and Partner at Trust Law Chambers

rbalenzi@trustchambers.rw

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