So we found a venue that checked all our boxes for us, large indoor space with a great aesthetic based on their descriptions so far, large heated covered patio incase covid restrictions come back into place, bring all our vendors for bartending, catering, not too far from the city etc. Only hang up is that it isn't finished being built yet... they have opened up their booking for this May 2022, and our wedding would be late August.
Their payment schedule has stated that they would like 30% today for our initial deposit, 40% 270 days before our event (so 3 months from now... ) bringing us up to 70% of the total being paid 9 months in advance of our event. Then the final 30% is due 3 months before our event. This is an odd payment plan to me, since most venue contracts we have seen have not asked for another payment after the initial deposit until 30-60 days before the actual event takes place. My fiance is concerned that with our current economic landscape that this venue could go bankrupt before completion and we would end up losing our investment (70% of the rental fee). I have asked for a clause to cover us in the event it wasn't built in time but this would not cover us if they went bankrupt before finishing. Has anyone seen a payment plan like this before? They are arguing that this is an industry standard but i just don't get it.. it feels to me as though they are using our money to fund their project which does not help my anxiety at all lol
