Military Clause Wording

calindi

Ladies, we get lots of questions about this, and I know most of us had/have this in our contracts.  Do you want to share your wording for the ladies who are looking to ask their vendors to add it to their contracts?

Mine read something like this:

It is mutually agreeable that, should John Doe's military service prevent him in any way from attending the wedding on (insert date), (Vendor name/company) will transfer the deposit to another mutually agreeable available date or refund the deposit in full.

For some, such as florists and caterer, we had to add: "minus any reasonable costs already incurred by the vendor at the time of cancellation, paid by the client at cost."  Since if it's only a few weeks in advance, they may have already put in orders - you wouldn't have to pay for their time at that point, just what they had lost out of pocket.


***ETA:  None of this is legal advice - for that you would have to consult a lawyer in person who is licensed in your home state. This is just a reference for how we each have individually done it***

Beachy730

We actually just did a verbal agreement with our reception venue, and no other vendors.  But we were the exception because our wedding was while H was on shore duty and non-deployable so we knew that once we had our date set it wasn't going to be a problem.  We did have to change our date, but that was before we had booked any other vendors, since we knew it was a big possibility.  

calindi

As a law student significant other, I am really wary of any verbal agreements - some of our vendors (like our venue) couldn't or wouldn't add it to their contracts (for example, our venue is owned by the University of Connecticut, so any changes to the contract would have to be approved by the Board of Trustees, which was a hassle that wasn't worth it).  In any case where it wasn't added to the actual contract, I made sure there was an email communication or some form of written confirmation that the above statement was agreed upon in advance.

Call me paranoid, but I'd just rather have it in writing when it's thousands of dollars on the line!

Beachy730

Oh no I'm not saying I'm not the same way, I just knew that for us it wasn't going to be a problem.  Our original date was when he was back on sea duty and deployable so we were going to have it put in the contract.  But once we changed the date to while he was still on shore duty we knew we were safe. 

holthcm

Hello,

I was lurking on this board a bit as well, but decided to introduce myself. My FI has been in the military for thirteen years now. However, he is no longer active duty. He iin the airforce reserves. It seems that most of the brides on here are married to active duty military men. You are the strong women!!

I am so greatful for the contract wording that is posted on this page. We already booked our church, reception site, caterer and bartender. Unfortunately, we completely forgot to even think about including a military clause. We both live in Atlanta, but we are getting married in Pensacola on June 9, 2012. We know that my FI's unit is being deployed in December/January for six months, but he is NOT scheduled to be going this time.

I am a child psychologist, who certainly has a ton to learn about the military. I should have known that there are no guarantees as far as deployments. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I should go about getting this in the contract after we already signed and returned them?

I could kick myself for not thinking about this, so thanks again for the help!!! 

calindi

Hi and welcome!  Try sending them an email with that written in - like, "Hey, I just wanted to check to make sure - my fiance is not active duty, so it's very unlikely, but just in case his military commitment prevents him from attending our wedding should they choose to call him up and deploy him, would you be willing to transfer our deposit to another available date?"  Once they reply, you have it in writing!

ETA:  This isn't foolproof, nor is it legal advice - it just gives you some sort of fall-back in case the situation comes up to prove that they did agree to this previously.  Verbal agreements are difficult to prove!

holthcm

Thanks so much!! You are awesome. I really appreciate your help.

prettyirishgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_military-clause-wording?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:80e2b333-14c7-4c64-ba58-0d212d76d97aPost:6cae82e3-3cf0-4034-b748-aa64f7fd6a67">Re: Military Clause Wording</a>:
[QUOTE]Hello, I was lurking on this board a bit as well, but decided to introduce myself. My FI has been in the military for thirteen years now. However, he is no longer active duty. He iin the airforce reserves. It seems that most of the brides on here are married to active duty military men. You are the strong women!! I am so greatful for the contract wording that is posted on this page. We already booked our church, reception site, caterer and bartender. Unfortunately, we completely forgot to even think about including a military clause. We both live in Atlanta, but we are getting married in Pensacola on June 9, 2012. We know that my FI's unit is being deployed in December/January for six months, but he is NOT scheduled to be going this time. I am a child psychologist, who certainly has a ton to learn about the military. I should have known that there are no guarantees as far as deployments. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I should go about getting this in the contract after we already signed and returned them? I could kick myself for not thinking about this, so thanks again for the help!!! 
Posted by holthcm[/QUOTE]


I'd call the venues and see if they will allow you to put it in. If they don't it may be worth trying to get wedding insures (i know what?!?!?) I have the military and hurricanes to deal with ( New Orleans) and i'm not taking chances. There are companies that will provide coverage for unexpected changes in dates, travel issues weather etc. it is a lot like travelers insurance. I would look into that. You may pay a few extra hundred, but if you cant get a guarantee from the vendors it may give you the peace of mind you are looking for.


to the original:

Our wording is very similar except it states that in the case of hurricane (or other extreme weather) or unexpected change in military orders that the event will be changed to a mutually agreeable date to follow without a loss of the deposit/payment.


we have not written up anything with florists just reception, church and photographer all of which graciously and willingly allowed us to put that in. our photographer even agreed to let us pretty much write a brand new contract for the situation which was amazing of him, but i know possibly a rare situation.

poison+kisses

I just started doing my wedding planning and never even thought of some kind of military clause! I'm glad I came here and saw this before any contracts have come up so that I can try and add something like this in.