Hi, this is my first time posting in the forums but I had a semi serious question. I'm going to try and keep this as coherent as possible.
My Fiancé and I have rented this beautiful farm for our wedding. But we have a couple issues with our contract. When we had initially met to do a tour, they said not to worry about a security deposit but has since changed their mind. I wanted to know if it was normal for the owner to ask for a $500 security deposit when the venue has already been paid in full and we are also getting wedding insurance and the venue will also be certified on the insurance.
Would the wedding insurance cover any damages done, especially since the venue is specifically on the insurance? What is the purpose of the $500 deposit and is this normal for other venues? The owner said we would just write a check for $500 and if there were no damages they would just rip it up. But it still freaks me out a little bit.
Also, things keep changing things every time I speak with the owner. They have added in extra charges that were not placed in our contract. I discovered later they were on the website, but should it not be in the contract? I don't want to attack this person or their livelihood so I'm trying to be polite but when I ask these questions they can never explain them to where they make sense to me. I know they have only been doing weddings for a few years but when I ask several times if something is okay to do and they swear up and down it is, but then backtrack when I ask more recently, it kind of makes me upset. I feel like I am being taken advantage of.
Thoughts? Feelings? Advice? I just want to make sure this is normal and I'm not going insane. Thanks for taking time to read.
P.S. The wedding is in less than 3 months. :0