Wedding Blog

First off, I’m not an attorney. However, I’ve worked on many contracts w/ the legal dept. at work.

Your band seems to have a solid contract - I mean, they really are protecting themselves in any & all ways that they can..I would highly suggest that you ask to make amendments to it, mostly to Part 9 - Special Provisions…

a - Wouldn’t your videographer record some parts of their performance? ie) First dance, etc? Albeit, they’ll just be in the background. I don’t know if they’ll(the band) will be a stickler about having a written consent for that.

b- Definitely edit the cancellation policy..”detention by sickness, …”etc… You should be refunded in full in case of cancellation on their part. B/c they did not clearly state what the refund policy was if THEY cancelled…

c- Litigation Costs:
I have heard of couples that go to court to recover refunds from vendors due to their faulty or sub-par/incomplete service.. This part of the contract states that you would be responsible for all litigation costs.. In the situation that, you are taking them to court to pick up costs, you should not be responsible for their litigation costs..

d- Damage to Eqmt
- I always that vendors should have their own insurance. And if they dont, they should sign a liability agreement which acknowlegdes that they are responsible for all damages, etc..You should not be responsible for any possible damage to their equipment. This is rather odd… You should ask them to change this and ask if they have insurance…This clause shouldn’t even exist in the contract since they should have insurance…

Again, I’m not an attorney..These are just my opinions. But I’m sure there are plenty of attorney-bees that are willing to give you professional advice. Best of luck Miss Plum!!

NO, NO, NO! Miss Plum, I work with in the industry here in Dallas, and I must say that KP nailed it on the head! Everything that she has pointed out would be crossed out and revised in a hot minute!

The best thing for you to do is to consult an attorney. DO NOT, AND I REPEAT, DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING UNLESS YOU ARE 100% COMFORTABLE IN PROCEEDING WITH THIS!

Not an attorney, but a law student who edited my DJ and photographer contracts for my upcoming wedding.

In addition to what KP said, I would also want Part 1 to specify what kinds of musicians–6 kazoo players? 3 kazoo players and 3 guitarists? “Six musicians” is much too general for me.

I’d also add that it actually is very, very common in ALL types of contracts for the contract writer to have a non-reciprocal litigation costs clause a la Part 9. I don’t know about Texas, but they aren’t even enforceable in all states even if they’re in the contract. What it intends to cover from the band’s perspective is that if they have to sue you because you didn’t pay them, they also can recover their costs from suing you.

Beyond a refund if they get “sick,” I would also write in that they have to find an adequate replacement.

But yeah–consult an attorney. Even at $200-300 an hour it would be way cheaper than what you’re paying the band, plus the peace of mind…

Miss Plum,

I am an attorney in Washington. I would strongly encourage that you take this to an attorney in Texas before you sign it. Although I cannot offer you legal advice, I did a quick read through and saw some things you might want to consider.

I would change the following part as follows: “This agreement is subject to cancellation due to detention by sickness OF BAND MEMBERS, accidents, or accidents to means of transportation, riots, epidemics, acts of God, or any other legitimate condition beyond the control of the BAND OR ANY AGENT THEREOF. SICKNESS UNDER THIS CONTRACT SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS ANY CONDITION THAT WOULD PRECLUDE PERFORMANCE AS DOCUMENTED BY A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. IN THE EVENT OF THE OCCURANCE OF ANY CONDITON SET FORTH ABOVE, THE PURCHASER IS ENTITLED TO A FULL REFUND OF ANY MONIES ALREADY PAID ON THE CONTRACT. FAILURE OF THE BAND TO FULLY PERFORM IN ACCORDANCE TO THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THIS CONTRACT FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN THE PROVISIONS SET OUT IN SECTION 9 WILL RESULT IN A FULL REFUND TO THE PURCHASER OF ALL MONIES PAID ON THE CONTRACT, AS WELL AS PAYMENT OF ALL ADDITIONAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SECURING ADDITIONAL PERFORMERS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO COVER DAMAGES.

I would also change the language in section 4 to: 4. Type of Engagement_____Wedding Reception Dance. THE BAND, CONSISTING OF _#_ BAND MEMBERS, will provide NO LESS THAN ____HOURS (MAXIMUM OF 4 HOURS) of live music, and pre-recorded music during breaks. THERE SHALL BE NO MORE THAN ___ NUMBER OF BREAKS EACH HOUR, EACH BREAK LASTING NO MORE THAN ___ MINUTES.

You should also tease out in writing who is liable in case there is a problem: who is “the band” or the agent, and therefore responsible under this contract? Have your attorney consider joint and several liability as individual performers or agency authority as a “band.”

Just a few things to think about before your big day. I hope a little bit of stress now will help you feel stress free on you wedding day. Good luck!

I would also strike this language: Any litigation costs to recover funds/payments or other considerations due leader will be considered the purchaser’s responsibility.

If you want, you can agree to binding arbitration (which is cheaper) but I would caution you before agreeing to it, because you are waiving your right to a trial by jury, and a jury could be very sympathetic to someone damaging a young couple’s wedding day.
regarding will play for up to 4 hours.” Under this language, they could play for 15 minutes. I agree with those who said that you should have a refund if “they” are sick, or provide a replacement that has comparable skills to the musician who cannot play. Also I would change the below paragraph to:

If the purchaser cancels said engagement LESS THAN SEVEN DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE SCHEDULED EVENT for any reason other than National Emergency or acts of God, the full amount set forth herein for said engagement will be due and payable to leader immediately upon said cancellation. CANCELLATION BY PURCHASER SOONER THAN SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE EVENT WILL RESULT IN THE FORFEITURE OF THE DOWNPAYMENT ONLY.

oh wow! Thank you SOOOOOO much for all of your help - this has been extremely informative and put my mind more at ease - thank you thank you thank youuuu!