Wedding Contracts! Things you need to know before booking

So now that the planner, venue, and photographer of your dreams are all available on your wedding date everything seems to be coming along. But before you jump into it with all three, slow down to consider that you’re about to enter into a series of legal agreements. Though signing contracts is no one’s idea of fun, they help protect you and your family on one of the most important events of your life, so it’s crucial to get them right. So here are some tips to know about wedding contracts before signing them.

Service Breakdown

The proposal of services is the most important part of any wedding contract because this is where your vendor specifies what it is that you will actually be getting for your money. Does your contract say how many hours of service you will be getting or list any products, like photo albums or digital files, that you will be receiving after the wedding? You’ll want to be clear both about what is provided and about what is not included, so that everyone’s expectations are in perfect unison and there are no conflicts during or after your celebration.

Emergencies

Of course, you would never want to cancel your wedding. But things do happen — pandemics like COVID-19 (yikes), natural disasters, or even happy news, like newborns in your family, can all cause the need to change the location or date of your wedding. Cancellations can also happen because of unforeseen circumstances in your vendor’s life. This is why you need to carefully inspect and agree to the cancellation policy described in your contract, reviewing what happens and the repercussions involved (such as refunding of your retainer).

Signatures

The name of who signs the contract can be more important than you think. Besides you and your partner, if another party, such as your parents, are paying for wedding services, that legally makes them the ultimate client. That means that if a vendor comes across a familial disagreement, they will ultimately listen to the person whose name is on the contract. Gathering signatures can be a handful to manage — especially when you have upwards of 15-20 vendor contracts — so we encourage all vendors to offer simple e-signing. Ask your vendor if they offer e-signing through services like HoneyBook or EchoSign to save you time.

Flexibility

Since the planning process often takes around a year or more, changes along the way are not uncommon. You may decide to move the reception indoors, or your guest goes from 120 to 150 simply because of family friends added (parents will usually suggest to add more people). Wedding planning is a process, so look over your wedding contract and discuss whether your vendor allows for flexibility, as well as what changes made will mean (like adding more staff, more rentals, or time added). And always, always get those changes in writing!

Travel

If you’re having a destination wedding ,or even if you’re simply heading to a vineyard venue outside of your city, traveling to your location is something that should be addressed in your vendor contract. Look out for a surcharge beyond a certain mileage, and discuss if you’re responsible for covering airfare and hoteling for your vendor, or if your vendor requires or suggests you to provide them meals. All these travel-related details may change the cost and require additional arrangements on your end. For all my packages I include all the costs in the packages and book everything myself, but that is something you will still want to ask and know before booking.

Payments

Most wedding vendors will require a booking deposit and then either a payment plan during the planning process and/or a final payment just before your wedding. Make sure the payment schedule and the amounts are all clearly spelled out in your contract so you can budget ahead. As you can imagine, with a dozen vendors, that’s a lot of payments to keep track of. To save yourself the headache, we recommend opting for vendors who offer simple online payments — all HoneyBook wedding vendors offer online payments that come with automated reminders, so you can get back to doing the fun stuff like picking flowers and eating — ahem, trying — cake. I also use Venmo in order to make it easy on you because most people have this form of payment now!

 Artistic Release

So usually anyone in the wedding industry has their signature look to it. Especially for photographers, videographers, florists and even hair & make-up, they have a certain style and that is why you are hiring them. They will most likely have this clause in their contract and it is very important to know. Basically you cannot terminate a contract or get a refund because you don’t like the “look” of their service because you knew what you were getting before you booked. So this is why it is so important to go through their entire portfolio and super diligent with your research when looking for a vendor with a certain style. This is why I book and album viewing when a couple inquires so they can see a wedding album with photos from start to finish.

Hope this was helpful and remember, read those contracts!