Wedding Contracts 101

Wedding planning is an exciting, but also stressful experience. Our goal at Bellagala is to make your planning process as stress-free as possible. We do that by answering any questions you may have along the way. 

 

Questions to ask wedding venue before signing contract

Lately, we’ve been receiving lots of questions regarding contracts, which is totally fair given the state of the world. Rest assured, we are here to help! We believe in being open and transparent, so here are some answers to our most commonly asked contract questions. 


Q: Why do I have to sign the contract before meeting with my artist?

A: Signing the contract officially reserves your artist for your wedding date. If after officially meeting your artist you feel that it is no longer a good fit, the contract does allow for a 14 business day refundable period for your deposit. 


Q: Do I need to feed my artist?

A: This is totally up to you! It is not required in our contracts that you feed your artists, but please make sure you communicate with your artist so they are able to plan accordingly.


Q: How is the travel fee calculated?

A: The fee is calculated from our home base address in each market. Any venue that is 40 miles away from that home base address will be charged $1 per mile, starting at 1 mile. For example, if your ceremony is only 37 miles from our home base address, there is no travel fee. However, if the distance between our home base address and your ceremony location is 50 miles, your travel fee is $50 per artist. This fee is one-way only, so you would only pay $50 and not $100. 


Q What is your postponement policy?

A: We know 2020 meant a lot of postponed weddings for a lot of couples. While we want to help create your beautiful wedding day, we are here for you if you need to postpone. With a postponement, you have 12 months to name a new date. The new date does not have to take place in the next 12 months. While your deposits and payments will transfer over to the new date, the payment due dates will still be associated with your original date.


Q: What is your cancellation policy?

A: If you, unfortunately, have to cancel your wedding within 21 days of the event, according to Section 7 of the contract, “In the case that the client cancels their event within 21 days of the contracted event date, the Client is responsible for the contracts fee in full."

If you cancel within five months of the event date, you will owe 50% of the contracted service fee. Deposits are only refundable within 14 days of booking. 


Q: Can someone else do the wedding contract signing?

A: As the bride and groom are the clients, we require their names to be the ones on the contract.


Q: What are marketing restrictions?

A: There is a section of your contract that gives Bellagala the rights to share images from your wedding on our marketing platforms like social media and our website. If this is not something you are comfortable with, we can remove the section from your contract and your images will not be used for marketing purposes.


Q: How and where do I leave a review?

A: We would love for you to leave a review! Couples who are just beginning their search for their perfect vendors will often look to online reviews. When a couple posts an online review talking about their Bellagala experience, we are always so appreciative. There are a few different spots you can leave a review:


For The Knot and WeddingWire, there are specific pages for each service we provide, so please leave your review on the appropriate page. 


We hope this helps answer some wedding contract agreement related questions you may have as you start this exciting journey. Did we miss a question? Let us know by contacting us, we are always happy to help!