Put a ring on it….and a contract too.

Let’s talk contracts. Any and all wedding vendors should have a contract. I don’t care what service they are offering, but they not only should be protecting you, but themselves as well. Make sure that is one of the first questions you ask when seeking out services. “Do you have a contract?” “Can I see an example of your contract?” If they say no, RUN! Go find someone else. I don’t care how stellar their reviews are, just go find someone else! Because what happens if they cancel on you and there was no contract? Well, you’re out of money and they have no legal liability towards you.

I have brides quite often ask for the contract before they send the retainer and I happily oblige. What should be in the contract? Glad you asked! Now I can only speak from a DJ service standpoint, but they should all be relatively similar. I will just tell you what is in our contract and how it protects our company and you as the client. Sorry, I hate that word, “client.” It seems so impersonal.

Here’s the contract must haves:

Information of course. Make sure your venue address is correct and always check the date! I have seen instances (not with us) where a bride gives a date and the vendor automatically assumes it’s on a Saturday and when the time came, “Oh, I’m sorry. We got the day wrong. We are booked.”

Extra fees. We are very upfront about travel fees and going over your contracted time. Speaking of time, make sure the hours from start to finish are there. Now, we do come early to set up and I don’t put that in our contract, but it is always communicated when we will be arriving. I don’t put that in the contract because we don’t charge for that, but maybe I should. We always arrive 2 hours before the start of your event to set up. No, it doesn’t take us that long, but in case anything goes wrong or isn’t working, we have plenty of time to troubleshoot and fix! There should be no hidden fees anywhere.

Pricing should be clearly outlined. What services are being offered and how much are you paying total. Is there a payment plan? When is all money due? What is the retainer fee, is it refundable, non-refundable? The contract should clearly state these things. What forms of payment? Most companies won’t accept checks. We like cash or an online payment service. We use Venmo and others do as well. I always send an invoice/receipt as well!

Cancellations. This is a big one. This is what I see the most being posted about on social media. What happens if the vendor cancels on you? Do you get your money back, including your non-refundable retainer? My answer is YES! If we have to cancel on you for any reason, we refund all money, even if it states it was non-refundable. Let me say, though, we have never cancelled on anyone and we hope we never have to! We also have to find you a replacement DJ! That SHOULD NOT be your job! You already took the time to find the vendor you wanted and you should not have to do it again. But if you cancel on us, that non-refundable retainer stays and we wish you well! We know things happen.