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As a decorator, I always required a 50% non-refundable payment against the balance. This is due at contract signing and the remainder is due 2-weeks prior to the date. Usually, I have expenses and things that have to be shipped that have to be ordered in advance; I don't want to stand that cost myself.
The only time I wavered on the non-refundable part was when the bride's mother died the week before the ceremony. Instead of refunding, however, I held the money and told her I would apply it toward the total if she had her ceremony within 6 months. She and the groom had been living together for 16 years, had a 17-yr old son together, and were only having the ceremony for her mother's sake. They did have the ceremony just short of 6-months after her mother's passing, but so many details had changed that it was considerably different than the original plan, and more expensive because of supplier price changes. In the end, she stiffed me on payment of the second half by refusing to pay her credit card bill.
Many wedding planners I know require the entire fee up front; non-refundable. Only one Master Planner I know allows her clients to "pay what the services are worth" on the day. She never fails to receilve more than she would have asked for, but she does an amazing job.
I make custom wedding cake toppers and require a $100 nonrefundable deposit (subtracted from the total) to secure a spot on my calendar. I used to make the deposit 1/3 of the total, but with all the added accessories and different types of toppers, it was becoming a pain to whip out the calculator each time. So, I set up a page on my site that has a drop down menu for making automatic payments in increments of $50. SO much easier to just direct potential clients to my payment page and when I get the receipt in my email I put their name down on my calendar.
I email my contracts to int. brides and they send it back by signed, and scanned to my e-mail.
It works great, especially because this way you know immediately if she got the contract or not and answer all questions quickly.
Never email a documents that can be modified by the recipient, such as a Microsoft Word file or text file!
Always print and scan your contract. Send it as a PDF file; nearly everyone can view and print it, and those who don't have the PDF reader can download a free one.
I have a wedding cakes business, and after more than 5 years I worked out this method:
the bride pays 30% when signing the contract. But she also leave another cheque for the remainder 70% due a couple of days after the wedding. If she has a cake that requires a cake stand she will also leave a cheque as collateral with the wedding date and she signs in the contract that it is her responsibility to return the stand within a week from the wedding, clean and in the same condition she got it. If the stand isn't returned on time and we can't get the bride to return it, or if it comes back broken, I cash the cheque. (This usually doesn't happen-they want the cheque back so they return my cake stands on time)
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