Is a wedding videographer's deposit refundable in the UK?

Only if the contract says so, or if a consumer right requires a refund. There is no default UK rule that a wedding videographer keeps — or returns — a booking fee when the couple cancel. Write what the money is, when it is due, and what happens on cancellation, postponement and force majeureforce majeureLa force majeure est une clause qui suspend les obligations d’une partie lorsqu’un événement échappant au contrôle des deux parties empêche l’exécution du travail.Plus dans le glossaire.

A couple booking their own wedding film are consumers. A company booking a brand film is not. Most wedding bookings are consumer contracts, so the Consumer Rights Act 2015 Part 2 (unfair terms) and, for distance or off-premises bookings, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 sit on top of whatever the paper says.

This page is England & Wales first. The consumer statutes cited here are UK-wide. The penalty rule in Cavendish Square Holding v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67 is the England and Wales Supreme Court restatement. For the general freelance version of this problem, see Client cancelled: can you keep the deposit?. Start the paper from a videography contract.

A deposit is a slice of the fee, paid early and credited if the job goes ahead. A booking fee is the price of holding the date. A retainer usually means ongoing monthly hours, which a wedding booking is not. The label does not decide the legal character; the words do.

Write one of those shapes, not a mix:

• Deposit. Money on account of the fee. If the wedding goes ahead, it comes off the last invoice. If they cancel, the contract must say whether it is kept, refunded, or credited to a cancellation sum.
• Booking fee. The price of taking the Saturday out of the diary. Other couples are turned away. That is a primary obligation: they pay to reserve the date. Call it a booking fee, say it is the price of holding the date, and say it is credited to the fee if the shoot happens.
• Retainer. A regular fee for ongoing time. A wedding film is one job on one date. Using "retainer" here is how couples think they paid for hours they can reclaim. If you mean booking fee, write booking fee.

A "kill fee" is the extra (or the whole) sum due if they cancel. The contract should say whether the booking fee is the kill fee, a minimum towards it, or something you refund. Using the three words as if they were the same is how people argue after the cancellation email.

A non-refundable label does not decide it. Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says an unfair term of a consumer contract is not binding on the consumer. A term is unfair if, contrary to good faith, it causes a significant imbalance to the consumer's detriment. Terms that keep a large sum regardless of loss fail that test.

Section 62 is the test. Schedule 2 is an indicative and non-exhaustive list of terms that may be regarded as unfair (CRA 2015 Sch. 2). The list includes:

• a term that lets the trader keep sums the consumer has paid when the consumer decides not to perform, without an equivalent payment if the trader cancels (paragraph 4)
• a term that requires the consumer to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation if they decide not to conclude or perform, or if they fail to fulfil their obligations (paragraphs 5 and 6)

GOV.UK's guide to writing a fair contract says cancellation charges should reflect a genuine estimate of what you will lose directly because the customer cancels, and that non-refundable deposits are more likely to be fair if they are a small percentage of the price and you say when they are kept. GOV.UK's consumer guide to cancelling says a business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover actual losses that directly result from the cancellation, and must take reasonable steps to reduce those losses — including trying to re-book the date.

Section 64 takes the main subject matter and the price out of the fairness assessment only if those terms are transparent and prominent. A cancellation charge dressed up as the "price" of the date is still tested as a cancellation term. Write the booking fee as the price of holding the date, keep the percentage explainable, and put a sliding scale on later cancellation so the sum tracks diary loss as the Saturday gets closer.

A term that is unfair is not binding on the couple. The rest of the contract continues.

Yes, on a distance or off-premises service contract, unless a regulation 28 exception applies. Booking by email or website, without both of you in the same place, is a distance contract. Booking at a wedding fair is off-premises. Signing at your studio is on-premises, so this 14-day right does not apply.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give a consumer the right to cancel a distance or off-premises contract during the cancellation period without giving a reason (regulation 29). For a service contract that period ends at the end of 14 days after the day the contract is entered into (regulation 30(2)). A consumer is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession (regulation 4).

Early start. You must not begin the service during those 14 days unless the consumer has made an express request — and for an off-premises contract, that request must be on a durable medium (regulation 36). Holding a date is not the same as starting to film. If you do start (treats, a pre-wedding interview, a drone recce) and they then cancel inside the 14 days, they pay a proportionate amount for what you supplied.

The leisure-date exception. Regulation 28(1)(h) excepts the supply of services related to leisure activities if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance. A wedding film on a named Saturday is a specific-date contract. The exception is for leisure-related services. It is not a blanket excuse to ignore the 14-day right on every dated booking.

A "no cooling-off" line does not remove a 14-day right the Regulations give. Tell the couple about the right, and how to cancel, when they book.

When it is a secondary obligation on breach that imposes a detriment out of all proportion to a legitimate interest in performance. That is Cavendish Square Holding v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67. A genuine booking fee, the agreed price of holding the date, is a primary obligation. A sum with no link to diary loss looks like punishment.

Most wedding bookings are consumer contracts, so fairness under the 2015 Act is the test that actually decides the clause. Cavendish still matters for a business client (a brand film, a corporate awards night) and it is the England and Wales restatement of the penalty rule you will see cited. The Supreme Court in Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi; ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 said a clause is a penalty if it is a secondary obligation which imposes a detriment on the contract-breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation.

Legitimate interests on a wedding date:

• the Saturday you took out of the diary
• other couples you turned away
• second shooters, a drone operator, a venue visit already booked
• kit hire and travel already committed

A round-number 100% of the fee from the day they sign, with no link to those interests, is the shape that looks like punishment. A sliding scale that rises as the date gets closer is easier to stand behind. Credit the deposit or booking fee to that sum so you are not charging the same loss twice. See liquidated damagesdommages-intérêts forfaitairesLes dommages-intérêts forfaitaires (liquidated damages) sont une somme que le contrat fixe à l’avance comme paiement si un manquement précis survient, comme un retard de livraison. En Angleterre et au pays de Galles, ils sont exécutoires lorsqu’ils protègent un intérêt légitime à l’exécution et ne sont pas manifestement disproportionnés par rapport à cet intérêt, selon Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67.Plus dans le glossaire and penalty clauseclause pénaleUne clause pénale (penalty clause) est une obligation secondaire qui oblige l’auteur d’un manquement à payer une somme, ou à subir un préjudice, manifestement disproportionnée par rapport à l’intérêt légitime de la partie lésée à l’exécution du contrat. En Angleterre et au pays de Galles, elle est inapplicable. Le critère est celui de l’arrêt Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67.Plus dans le glossaire.

Say when the booking fee is due, that the date is not held until it lands, and what is kept if they cancel. A scale that rises as the Saturday gets closer tracks diary loss. Credit the booking fee to that sum. The percentages below are an example, not a statutory rate.

A working clause answers five things:

• when the booking fee is due, and that the date is not reserved until it is received
• that the booking fee is credited to the fee if the wedding goes ahead
• what is kept, or what extra is due, if they cancel for convenience — the kill feeindemnité d’annulationUne indemnité d’annulation (« kill fee ») est la somme due à un créateur ou à un prestataire lorsqu’un client annule un projet avant qu’il soit terminé.Plus dans le glossaire / cancellation sum
• that committed costs (second shooter, kit, travel) sit on top if they are higher
• who owns unpaid work, and whether a highlight or trailer already delivered is licensedlicenceUne licence est l’autorisation d’utiliser un travail de la manière convenue, sans retirer la propriété à celui qui l’a réalisé.Plus dans le glossaire

Example

The Client will pay a Booking Fee of 25% of the Fee on signature. The Videographer will not reserve the Shoot Date until the Booking Fee is received. The Booking Fee is the price of holding that date and is credited to the Fee if the Shoot takes place. If the Client cancels for convenience, the Client will pay a cancellation sum of: 25% of the Fee if cancellation is more than 6 months before the Shoot Date; 50% if cancellation is 6 months or fewer but more than 8 weeks before the Shoot Date; or 100% if cancellation is 8 weeks or fewer before the Shoot Date; plus committed costs already incurred. The Booking Fee is credited to that cancellation sum and is the minimum kept. Intellectual property in work not fully paid for stays with the Videographer.

In Plain English: 25% lands before the Saturday is yours. If they call it off, they pay 25% with more than six months in hand, 50% inside six months, or 100% inside eight weeks, and they cover costs you have already committed. The booking fee counts towards that. They do not own unpaid edits.

That scale is an example. It is not a rate we charge, and it is not a rate the law sets. For a consumer, the same shape still has to be fair, cannot remove a 14-day right the 2013 Regulations give, and should track actual loss — including the chance to re-book the date. Termination for conveniencerésiliation sans motifLa résiliation sans motif permet à l’une des parties de mettre fin au contrat sans reprocher quoi que ce soit à l’autre, en général moyennant un préavis.Plus dans le glossaire is the off-switch; the termination clause is where it sits.

Postponement is a change of date, not an automatic refund. The original Saturday is gone; you may or may not be free on the new one. Write whether a date change is a variationavenantUn avenant est une modification écrite et courte d’un contrat existant, signée par les deux parties, de sorte que les conditions d’origine restent inchangées, hormis ce que l’avenant met à jour.Plus dans le glossaire, with the booking fee rolling, or a cancellation plus a new booking.

Write three rules:

• Who may postpone. The couple, you, or both. A couple-requested move is not the same as you being unable to attend.
• Notice. A move with nine months in hand is a different diary problem from a move with nine days in hand. A sliding scale that mirrors cancellation is the honest version: the closer the original date, the more of the fee is earned because the original Saturday cannot be sold twice.
• The new date. Subject to your diary. If you cannot take the new date, that is a cancellation of the original booking, not a promise to film next October for last year's fee.

If the new date is agreed, say whether the original booking fee rolls, whether a further sum is due, and whether the original package price still holds. Inflation and weekend rates move. A variation clauseclause de modificationUne clause de modification (variation clause) dit comment le contrat signé peut être modifié. En Angleterre et au pays de Galles, si la clause exige que les modifications soient écrites et signées, une modification orale est sans effet : Rock Advertising Ltd v MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd [2018] UKSC 24. La forme commerciale habituelle est une mention interdisant les modifications orales.Plus dans le glossaire that lets you re-quote the package for a date more than 12 months out is clearer than pretending 2026 prices last until 2028.

A postponement is a variation of the same contract, not a new handshake in a WhatsApp chat. Put it in writing on the same paper.

A force majeure clause allocates named risks so neither side is in breach when those events stop the Saturday. Frustrationimpossibilité d’exécutionLa frustration (impossibilité d’exécution) libère les parties d’un contrat lorsqu’un événement imprévu rend l’exécution impossible ou radicalement différente de ce qui avait été convenu. En Angleterre et au pays de Galles, le critère est celui de Davis Contractors Ltd v Fareham UDC [1956] AC 696. Taylor v Caldwell (1863) 3 B & S 826 en est l’illustration classique : une salle de concert a brûlé, la location n’a donc pas pu avoir lieu.Plus dans le glossaire is the common-law backstop when performance becomes impossible. Rain on outdoor vows is rarely frustration. Write the weather rule yourself.

Three layers:

• Weather. Outdoor ceremonies get wet. The usual line is: film the day as it falls (confined to cover, indoor backup, shorter outdoor coverage), or postpone by agreement. A weather postponement is not a couple-cancellation. The booking fee stays credited; a reasonable postponement fee can cover a second Saturday if the original cannot be reused. See the force majeure clause.
• Force majeure. Name the events: fire, flood, epidemic restrictions, venue closure, serious illness of the couple or of you. Say what happens: postpone first, and if a new date cannot be agreed inside a set window, terminate and refund the balance above costs already incurred. Keeping 100% when nobody could perform is the shape GOV.UK treats as unfair on a consumer.
• Frustration. If the contract becomes impossible — the venue is destroyed and no alternative can be filmed, a legal prohibition makes the gathering unlawful — the contract can end by frustration. Under the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943, s.1, money paid before the frustrating event is recoverable, money payable before that event ceases to be payable, and the court may allow a just sum for a valuable benefit obtained. A well-written force majeure clause is how you avoid leaving that to a later argument. See frustration.

Illness of the couple, a family death, or you being unable to attend sit in this section too. Name them. "The videographer may send a substitute of equivalent skill" is how a solo shooter covers a diary clash without cancelling the couple's day.

Name a date before the shoot, not sometime after the wedding. A balance due weeks before the Saturday means you know the job is paid before you turn down every other booking that weekend. If the balance has not landed, say you are not obliged to attend.

A clear payment clause answers five things: how much, when the booking fee is invoiced, when the balance is due, how it is paid, and what happens if it is late. See payment terms.

Example

The Client will pay the Fee in two parts: the Booking Fee of 25% on signature, and the Balance 6 weeks before the Shoot Date. The Videographer is not obliged to attend the Shoot if the Balance has not been received by that date. The Booking Fee is credited to the Fee.

In Plain English: a quarter now to hold the date, the rest six weeks out, and no show-up if the rest has not landed.

For a consumer, a term that lets you walk away if they miss the balance is easier to justify if you also say you will give a short written reminder first, and that paid-for work already delivered stays delivered. Statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 is a business-to-business right. It does not apply to a couple booking their own wedding. A contractual late-payment line can still sit in the paper; keep it proportionate.

If they cancel after paying the balance, the sliding scale decides what you keep. Do not write a balance-due date and a cancellation scale that contradict each other.

Put the booking fee, the balance date, the cancellation scale, postponement, force majeure and who owns unpaid edits in the same draft. A couple who signed that paper already know what happens if they move the date or call it off. Start from a videography contract and agree it on one link, not as a PDF in an email thread.

The money page of a wedding film, in one checklist:

The videography contract already carries booking fees, weather/rescheduling and cancellation. This page is the consumer-wedding read of those lines. The general freelance deposit guide is Client cancelled: can you keep the deposit?.

On Contracts.io both sides draft, negotiate and e-signsignature électroniqueUne signature électronique est tout moyen électronique de marquer son accord sur un document, comme un nom saisi, une signature dessinée ou un clic.Plus dans le glossaire one shared videography contract, so the booking fee and sliding scale are the version you both signed. Lex drafts from a sentence. The couple open one link. Nobody emails v4_final.docx back and forth.

You describe the wedding in a sentence. Lex drafts the agreement. You share one link. The couple can Accept, Counter or Decline on that same version, then both of you e-sign it. The other side never pays and does not need an account.

That does not keep a booking fee that was never agreed, and it does not make an unfair consumer term bind the couple. It does mean the deposit, the kill fee and the force majeure line are the words you both signed. Start from a videography contract.