When you plan a wedding, you will have contracts to sign for the caterer, entertainment and for the reception hall. You will more than likely have to put a deposit down on these services as well. Before you make any firm commitments and place a deposit on anything, you should know what you are signing, what it pertains to and how a cancellation will affect your deposit.
Not all contracts are the same and it could be possible to have three different contracts with three different terms that you must read and understand before you finalize the contract.
Catering Contracts
Before you sign any contracts with a caterer, you want to know what you are paying for and what the cost entails. You need to make sure that the cost will cover all the foods and any services you need from the caterer. The contract should be broken down into sections so that you can see the list of foods and how much it costs, then a section for services, and what that covers as well as how much that costs. You want to make sure that the time, date and location of the wedding is correct. Then you need to read the disclaimer for cancellations and your deposit.
Entertainment Contracts
If you are having a DJ or a band play at your wedding reception, you need to know what the costs covers. How long will the entertainment last? Are there any special needs that the DJ or bands have for playing? You want to know that your deposit will be returned if the entertainment cancels and what they do if they have to cancel. Before signing any contract, you should read the contract and see if they have any disclaimers that tell you about the deposit you are placing and what happens if you cancel them.
Reception Hall Contracts
The reception hall contract is usually fairly simple. It will have any special cleaning requirements as well as what you can and cannot do for the reception. You want to be sure that the contract covers your responsibility and the owner's responsibility before signing the contract. If you are having an outdoors reception, you want to know who has to clean up and what the requirements for the garbage are. There are things that you need to know before signing the reception contract. Be sure that you know what your deposit covers and what it does not cover.
When you plan your wedding, you seem to be rushed sometimes and forget the important things such as reading the contracts before you sign them. You should never sign a legal binding contract if you have not read the entire thing and looked at the disclaimer. The last thing that you need is to have something go wrong on your wedding day. Take the time to ask any questions if you see something missing from any contract you are about to sign. You want everything written down and nothing taken for granted.
