If I cancel my wedding reception with a site, can I do anything to avoid being sued?

Question

My wedding reception is in June 2007 but I realized in Nov 2006 that I coud not afford it. I was the only person who signed the contract - my fiance did not. The site said if they can not find another party to reserve the space, I will be liable for the entire balance. Is there anything I can do to avoid being sued?

Answer 1

You will only be liable for the deposit, not the full balance. Look at your contract that you signed, sometimes if you give 6 months notice, you can cancel and get your deposit back. But even if you cancel a month before, the only thing you will be liable for is the deposit. They can't be paid for a service that is not provided.
You are giving them plenty of notice, there is no reason for you to have to pay the full amount. If they try to charge you the full amount or the deposit, and it is not stated in the contract, then you could sue them.

Answer 2

If you signed a contract with this vendor, i suggest you pull it out and start the reading. See if what they are telling you is in the contract; if not they can't hold you to it. You have a right to cancel the location within a specified time without having to pay the entire cost. There might be a fee based on how the contract has been in effect or based on the payment agreement. Do not let them sucker you into footing the entire bill, you gave them 7 months notice. Let a lawyer look the contract over for you. Take it fom me as a makeup artist who also deal with weddings ands sometimes with other vendors, they can't enforce this unless it is stated in the contract.

Answer 3

There is nothing you can do to avoid being sued if they are determined to do that, unless you cave to their bully tactics.

I hope you told them in Nov & didn't wait until today to inform them that you couldn't go through with the booking, & I also hope that you sent them a cancellation notice via registered mail. Otherwise, if they do sue you they can claim that you didn't notify them until the day before the June 2007 date.

You will probably lose your deposit, but I think you were prepared to accept that. There may be a clause in the contract you signed that says that they are entitled to the entire amount of the fee. But in court you may have a reasonable argument that even though you were aware of the clause, that you gave them plenty of advance notice, & that their clause is unfair, & unreasonable.

Usually a reception hall site in June is in high demand.
You might try to find a replacement booking for the hall yourself, thus ensuring that they have no cause to sue you, & you might stand a chance of getting your deposit back if it's a considerable sum.

If it were me I would;
1) send a written notice of cancellation via registered mail, & keep the registration documents as proof of notification in case you are taken to court.
2) not pay for the balance of the contract, & let them take me to court if they have the resolve.
3) Look over the contract carefully, & consult a lawyer if necessary for any provisions for cancellation, & make sure that you follow through with all of your obligations short of paying the contract in full.
4) make sure you have at least two people that you trust drop by the hall in question on the night of your wedding, to bear witness as to whether or not the facility you booked remained vacant, or was in use. Have them take pictures.

They won't have a basis for any claim against you until after the date that you originally booked it for, so if they do file a claim against you they can't get away with saying that they never got a substitute booking if you have witnesses who can say otherwise.

Most businesses have better things to do than to go around suing their customers. So try not to fret over it until it comes to pass.

Cheers!

Answer 4

You can try to find someone who will be willing to take up the contract on short notice, or buy it from you.

You can try to negotiate with them that they can keep your deposit or you pay a reduced fee.

You can try to negotiate with them that you will pay them the difference bw your bill and what they can get for it otherwise if they find a new booking.

If you haven't already, put your notice to them in writing, by the way. And mention the first time you already told them in the written letter.

If you have a friend or family member who is a lawyer, have them review the contract and tell you what your actual obligations are. For example, since you have let them know way in advance, they have a legal obligation to mitigate their losses by actively trying to find a new booking for that date. If things are strained between you and them, you might remind them of this fact in your letter.

In the future though, you can generally negotiate all sorts of contingencies (like waht if we change our minds). Don't assume they hold all the contract writing power, only major companies like Dell or Bank of America can really pull that much weight. Your local chapel not so much, even if they ARE the biggest wedding place in town.

I took a course in contracts, but I am no lawyer, just trying to give you some general guidance :-)

Oh yeah, I just read some of the answers above - don't ignore them, don't just pay it until you have to (you'll be hard-pressed to get money back later, even if you're entitled), and do check with a lawyer.

Answer 5

The short answer is NO! But that is only because people today will sue for any reason possible. What you need to do is give written and Verbal notice to the person in charge of this site asap. This will cya if you do go to court because you will have given over 5 months notice. If all else fails just tell them that your no longer getting married, what can they do? You may be stuck with a deposit charge but really nothing else should happen.

Answer 6

Read your contract. There should be a clause that tells you what your responsibilities are if you cancel and how close to the date you have to be before they charge you the whole amount. With as much time as you gave them, I hope that the most you will be liable for is the cost of the room because they have not ordered any food, flowers, band, cake, etc. yet.

Answer 7

you could positioned it off as much as a year, yet once you do, you will on no account do it. rather, why no longer have a pot success reception on the abode of one kin member or interior the church corridor? Church fellowship halls are normally your maximum inexpensive venue for receptions. in view which you're having an exceedingly small wedding ceremony besides, there's no longer something incorrect with putting on the invites to be observed with tips from a kin type pot success meal interior the church fellowship corridor, please touch (bride's mom's call right here) at (provide telephone variety right here) for info that could considered cheesy for an hassle-free super wedding ceremony, yet with kinfolk it is going to be completely all precise. In some cultures it is the main significant way its finished for small weddings. communicate it over with your fiance, your mothers and dads and his, and see what they think of. in the event that they do no longer decide for it, then have a "Cake and Tea" reception. it is purely a marriage cake, and tea, and espresso, with a mild punch for any young infants. Its no longer high priced in case you will get a kin member to do the cake for you, and use a sheet cake for added, if the marriage cake isn't particularly sufficiently massive with tips from itself. For a Cake and Tea reception, you ought to probable get married interior the afternoon, around a million or 2:00pm , and have the cake and tea precise after.

Answer 8

What they are telling you sounds about right. I know that the place we are having our wedding and reception at says that the deposit is nonrefundable if you cancel and if you are within 30 days you must pay x amount of the food and beverage estimate depending on how far into the 30 days you are.

Answer 9

Take a look at your contract. Mine spelled out the percentage and money amount we would be responsible for if we cancelled, ie. 180 days out: 20% or $3000.
This information really should be in there.

Answer 10

make sure you read the contract most places can charge you the entire balance if they can't fill the spot... if they will allow see if you can go on a payment plan but with that you might as well just have the wedding there!