You’ve asked and we’ve answered! Welcome to your weekly column ‘Planning Your Happily Ever After’ with wedding consultant Shikima Hinds, who will each week spotlight all the questions you’ve been asking since COVID-19 was added to the guest list!

Dear Shikima:

My best friend was supposed to get married in March 2020, but the wedding was postponed due to COVID-19. She didn’t have proper contracts from her vendors. I’m getting married in January 2021; what should I look out for with vendor contracts? I don’t want the same thing to happen to me.

Kelly-Ann

Dear Kelly-Ann:

If you had told me a few months ago that I would be answering questions about contracts and pandemics, I would have likely laughed. However, the wedding sector is now paying more attention to contractual obligations.

The contract will essentially act as a guide for how the vendor will expect engaged couples to notify them of a cancellation or postponements, as well as a template for what will happen if they cancel. Contracts with the vendors will detail who you’ll hire to carry out your vision and how it will be executed. These legal agreements will explicitly state the terms and conditions of the work to be done, keeping misunderstandings to a minimum.

A good contract will have a specific clause that deals with changes to the contract.

Some vendors, especially those with small businesses, may draft a simple agreement or use a proposal as the contract. You don’t need a long, complicated contract as long as the terms are precisely defined and clearly stated.

Every contract should cover basic points, including the most obvious:

• The date and time of the wedding.

• Cancellation can be by notice — by the couple or the supplier

• Usually, there are financial consequences of changing (postponing) or cancelling what you have originally agreed on, and those consequences are usually more severe to the paying party the closer to the date they occur.

• A supplier should NOT be sending you any amended terms and conditions, or something purporting to be a new or revised cancellation policy after they have agreed on terms with you.

• Signing and making changes: Once you have agreed on a contract, both you and the vendor need to sign it. You’ll want a copy for your files with both signatures.

• Refund policy: A contract should detail the refund policy if the company doesn’t fulfil its end of the bargain.

You’ll need to sign a contract with your wedding planner, photographer, caterer, entertainment, venue owners, and more. Many of these contracts use similar legal terms that you’ll want to understand before you sign.

Force majeure: This is what is commonly referred to as an “act of God”. An act of God includes unforeseen circumstances such as a natural disaster, fire, or medical emergency. In some cases, one or both parties may be released from their responsibilities.

Indemnity and hold harmless: Usually, this means that you will not hold the vendor liable if something out of their control goes wrong.

Performance of services: This is a description of services to be performed.

Term: How long the contract is active and when payment needs to be made.

Indemnification: This means that one party agrees to pay the losses incurred by them.

Even though you may feel overwhelmed with the details of wedding planning and contracts, take the time to fully understand your wedding contracts. If you do not understand the terms of your agreements, ask questions.