The forward booked weddings. Have they all paid deposits?
What happens if they want to cancel or want a refund etc?
I think about 3 weddings out of 200 booked have given up and cancelled. A couple have had a small socially distanced Ceremony Only wedding with a handful of guests instead, and postponed the main 'wedding reception and party' a year or two forward. These couples will still have their full wedding event, including Ceremony (even though they are now married) using a wedding celebrant for the Ceremony, once COVID over.
Standard contractual terms allow for refunds above the deposit but the deposit is retained if the wedding is cancelled. We can arrange for the deposit to be used towards some other future booking, such as a birthday event or some other party event, at any future date, to avoid wasting the deposit (this is in our interests too, as it secures a forward booking).
There was technically a period during full lockdown where CMA guidelines indicated wedding contracts could be deemed 'frustrated' and therefore not enforceable, meaning a full refund would be due for cancellations during the period of lockdown. We had no refund requests during lockdown, because we introduced a clear and free of charge transfer forward system.
Now that small weddings are allowed, a wedding can still go ahead, and so the contract can proceed, though they would have to reduce their booking numbers to the applicable regulations level (15 in England, 30 in Wales currently) and have a smaller 'socially distanced' wedding. However we have found most couples don't want the hassle of changing guest lists, suppliers and venue, nor do weddings want to cut their numbers, so 'market demand' has not created cancellation requests, just transfer requests.
Should wedding numbers allowed increase to say 50, we anticipate some existing weddings will then decide to go ahead but with reduced guest numbers. But 30 is seen by most as too low, and they cannot mingle, dance, or party in the evening at the moment either!
Transfers forward to subsequent years 'due to COVID' were offered by most venues for free. We allowed transfers ahead on the same tariffs as their original year / date. (Some venues may charge a higher rate for future years). With some going a year or two forward, even to 2022, their old tariffs represent better value than starting again somewhere new on new rates.
Mostly though it is to do with convenience. If you as a wedding couple have spent ages planning and you've decided what you want at your wedding, where you want to get married, and you have confidence in all your chosen supplier and the venue planners, it is a big hassle to start over again. In many contracts, you could just decide to cancel, but with a wedding, unless you split up, you are not really going to cancel your wedding.
All venues are now having trouble fitting everyone in, as two years worth of weddings are cramming into forward dates with some having to postpone a second time or even a third time. This means venues must give priority to existing customers moving forward into new dates. Some venues will not now accept new bookings, to keep dates clear for existing clients to postpone into. Many of our clients now have two dates - their original date, and a pencilled in forward date in case they need to postpone.
Choosing a new venue with new suppliers is just too much hassle for people. Most clients want their original wedding plans with their original suppliers at their chosen venue to go ahead, it is just the date that has changed. We can bulk move all booking with the same suppliers, the same venue table and decor plans, and the same accommodation bookings for guests at the venue, everything just gets moved forward en masse to a new date by email. The guests do not even have to cancel and rebook their accommodation, as all guests B&B bookings just get moved forward en bloc for the Couple.
