Wedding venue contract

[JN321!]

Hi. Just wondering if anyone could offer some advice. I am getting married in June 2024 and signed a contract with the venue that included ceremony fees of £1000. When I contacted the venue to confirm this as I was going to register to get married they explained that the ceremony fees would not cover the cost of the registrar but only includes the cost of the chairs for wedding guests to sit on during the ceremony, so £1000 for chair hire. I’ve had a real game sorting all of this out but we have managed to speak to the council and book a registrar for our wedding day. However, the communication I had with the venue regarding this has really put me off getting married there. The contract states that we’d be liable for the full cost of the wedding if we were to cancel now. I want to know whether the use of the words “ceremony fees” is misleading as it doesn’t include anything other than chair hire. If so, would this mean the contract is void? Thank you

[R0b]

Hi

The starting point is always going to be the terms and conditions you signed. You will need to read the terms and conditions and see if there is a definition of ceremony fees, usually found in the definition section of the contract. Sometimes you might find a definition in a specific clause of the contract and usually enclosed with quotation marks such as "ceremony fees" or ("ceremony fees"). That definition will tell you what is covered by ceremony fees. I should also say depending on how the contract is structured there might just be a section that calls out what is included as part of the ceremony fees.

The fact that the venue hire has said that ceremony fees excludes actual registrar fees does not automatically make the those words misleading and therefore void. Anyone can define anything they want in a contract, for example I could draft a contract that defines "restaurant meal" as being only a dessert and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

If there is no definition of ceremony fees then the question will be what was meant by those words and the courts would usually give their ordinary meaning of it and if there is any ambiguity as to what it meant, then it would be construed in favour of the consumer.

If you are unsure what you are looking for I suggest you upload a copy of the terms and we can have a look for you.

[PallasAthena]

It sounds like more then merely chair hire. Won't their staff be doing the set up and take down of the room used for the ceremony?

[JN321!]

Thank you Rob, that’s some really useful advice. I’ll take a careful look at the wording used and whether a definition of “ceremony fees” has been given. Thank you again.

[Pezza54]

£1k for the 20 mins hire of a council wedding registry office (including chairs for guests) is excessive. The average cost of a registry office wedding is about £1.5k but that includes the reception.
You stated that your wedding is in June and if you cancel the venue now you will have to pay the £1k in full.
You have consumer rights regarding unfair terms in contracts. Excessive cancellation fees may be regarded as an unfair term. The trader is limited to what he can claim if the consumer decides to cancel the contract. A court is likely to decide that a trader charging 100% of the contract sum when a consumer cancels a contract 6 months in advance of a service taking place is excessive and the term in the contract unfair.

[Pezza54]

I meant to add that if you google "which.co.uk excessive cancellation fees" you will find the list of charges that the trader can normally include in a cancellation fee.

[atticus]

The key thing here is first of all to get clarity as to what this venue includes within the expression "ceremony fees". As has been said, the full contract wording may assist. If it is just hire of chairs, then the phrase seems utterly misleading.

[PallasAthena]

£1k for the 20 mins hire of a council wedding registry office (including chairs for guests) is excessive.

The £1k isn't for a council register office but for a commercial venue. That's my understanding of OP's post.