Having to Pay Upfront Way before Wedding Date

View quoted message Hello Kris,
Thank you so much for your reply! Very helpful! Wishing you the best as well in your wedding planning! Hoping for better days ahead!

I can understand why they're wanting you to still pay prior to your original date, seeing as how I'm sure many vendors and venues are suffering great financial losses due to the pandemic. That being said...I don't necessarily think that it's ethical on their part . I've heard a lot of stories about vendors and venues trying to take advantage of couples during this difficult time. I would say if you do have to go ahead and make the payments , definitely have your own stipulations put in writing and sign a new contract that both parties agree on . For example, if for any reason they can't complete the services that payment has been rendered for, they owe you a refund in full. We also just had to move our wedding to May of next year, and luckily haven't experienced this issue with our vendor team, but I wish you the best of luck and I hope everything gets resolved!

Some vendors are making things up as they go along but we're also getting new info and policies about our social behaviors on the fly and sometimes businesses just have to adapt.


If you're worried about them not tendering services despite payment, pay by credit card. The credit card company can help resolve disputes. You can also suggest adding your own contract stipulations if you're feeling uneasy.

View quoted message Thank you for the helpful responses ladies! Much appreciated!

I agree with Kelcie and Amelia, definetly think it’s worth moving forward with paying your vendors this year - I’d personally think of it this way, you were planning on having it paid by then regardless (pre-covid), so it’s not necessarily a loss. A suggestion is maybe to confirm with them that you are locked in at their 2020 pricing given that you are paying for your event this year (some vendors have added additional fees/increased their prices on top of the normal year to year price fluctuations due to the pandemic, and the fact that they will have the guranteed business from us 2020 brides) - wouldn’t hurt to confirm! A positive though is less stress on you and your fiancé to gather and complete all your payments the month of your wedding which could definitely be stressful!

We're doing something like this with our photographer. There was an additional cost of having our ceremony in 2020 and reception in 2021, but we're paying the the original amount in full this year even though most of the work is in 2021 when we will pay the added on portion. To me it was a cash flow reason, she had already expected to be paid in full by September 2020 and had budgeted that money so we agreed.


I agree with Kelcie (she's letting her law office show with smancy terms like "force majeure" 😉) and I think paying this year isn't a bad idea. If you try to debate the payment dates you might tick the vendor off and lose them to someone who is willing to pay now, and since so many couples are looking to rebook or plan 2021 weddings there's no shortage of other business opportunities for them.

Hmm... this is tricky. It's difficult to assess whether vendors have a "right" to do this without knowing the specific terms of your contract. But, if your contracts are standard, they are likely not contractually obligated to transfer your deposits to a new date in 2021 (whether they are required to refund your deposit due to force majeure / contract frustration is a separate matter--but it doesn't sound like you've requested that). Yet, from the sounds of it, many of your vendors are--for the sake of good business--willing to do this anyway (Ie transfer your deposit to a new date and rebook you free of charge).

Basically, they're doing you a solid (a gratuitous rebooking) and they're placing a condition on it (that they be paid as per the original payment schedule). I suspect its probably for the sake of their own cash flow--they were no doubt counting on your business. In terms of whether you should comply with this request, I actually disagree with Ashley. I'd make an informed judgment call. Unless you're dealing with a super new/small time vendor, and are legitimately concerned they will declare bankruptcy or fall off the grid within the next 7 months, I'd just pay up now--assuming you have the funds available. If you refuse to do so for no reason other than you don't trust them, they may suddenly become less accommodating to your postponement. And they might attempt to enforce their strict rights under the original contract, which could be even less favourable to you financially.

Good luck!

I wouldn't pay them the full amount. you never know if theyre gonna go out of business or something can happen. talk to them ask for new contracts if you have tooo