Covid-19 and Wedding Contracts

Okay, so the legal bits are a little less exciting, but so important nonetheless! In early March, Covid-19 attacked the wedding industry and shattered thousands of dreams across the UK. Weddings were being postponed and cancelled left, right, and centre, causing couples tonnes of stress and financial issues to deal with. The pandemic is still looming and weddings of 30 people have recently dropped to 15. Its unpredictability means that couples need to be more aware of the implications of their contracts with suppliers under unforeseen circumstances.

Here are 4 essential things about your contracts with wedding suppliers that you should be aware of:

1. Force Majeure

This is a clause in the contract that sets out what to expect in the event of an unforeseen circumstance, such as war, earthquakes, acts of terrorism, or pandemic, that makes fulfilling part of the contract impossible for either party. Make sure your wedding contracts with suppliers stipulate a force majeure clause that covers Covid-19, and negotiate your refund options in the event that one or neither of you is able to complete your obligations due to this. This clause must be an express term in your contract otherwise it is unenforceable.

2. Frustration

Even if you haven’t negotiated the terms of a force majeure clause into your contract, you can still rely on the legal doctrine of frustration. Frustration is a way of bringing the contract to an end before both parties have fulfilled their obligations.

For a contract to be frustrated, an unforeseen event must occur after the parties have entered into the contract, making it impossible for either party to perform their obligations.

Although Covid-19 itself might not now be an unforeseen event, government restrictions that are constantly changing and being implemented so frequently could however, possibly count as unforeseen.

3. Get everything in writing

And I mean EVERYTHING. Emails can also amount to a sufficient agreement between yourself and your supplier, and I can’t tell you how many times Ronan and I managed to negotiate deals in our favour purely because of things that were said in emails. But they can also do you a huge favour further down the line when you need to rely on small promises or statements that were made in the past.

Although it is advisable to engage in a legally binding contract if you are accepting the services of a wedding supplier, an exchange of emails can also amount to a binding contract if they consist of the following key elements required to form a legally binding contract:

• Offer i.e. of the wedding services

• Acceptance of the offer

• Consideration i.e. payment

• Intention for the contract to be legally binding

• Clarity of the terms agreed

4. Communication

Finally, just make sure that you’re in communication with your suppliers at all times, and trying to work out situations amongst yourselves. Refund terms of your contract, particularly during this time, will have to be fair and reasonable; make sure that you are communicating an effective negotiation in your favour. Communication also maintains a good relationship between yourself and your supplier, and you are more likely to come down to better contractual negotiations between yourselves.

In light of new Government guidelines as of 22nd September, the number of people allowed to attend weddings have dropped from 30 to just 15. This means that you may need to cancel numbers with your suppliers in order to comply. Make sure that you do so in good time and try and ask for a refund especially for services that have not yet been fully performed.

---

DISCLAIMER: this blog post is simply my own knowledge of the law summarised to help give you useful information if you’re planning your wedding during these unpredictable times. If you would like legal advice, I strongly recommend seeing a qualified lawyer.