14. Wedding Party Attire

The contract provisions for gowns for mothers of the bride, flower girls and bridesmaids are often quite similar to those for the bride’s wedding gown. The person legally responsible for payment will be whoever signs the sales agreement not the person that the dress is for. 

What happens when a wedding is cancelled?

If the bride signed all the agreements, but others paid the deposits, the bride will still be responsible to make the final payments. Even if the deposit was made by others, the shop will generally send any refund to the person who signed the contract, but in other cases, the shop may do a refund by issuing it on the credit card that was used.

If the bridesmaids signed the contracts and paid either in full or in part, what is the bride’s responsibility for a cancelled wedding?

Here, the question tends to be more ethical, rather than legal. Some view a bridesmaid’s lost costs related to a cancelled wedding as just a risk of being a friend or relative of the bride. Other brides might want to reimburse their bridesmaids and others for any losses. Legally, courts will not look kindly on a lawsuit for reimbursement and they will rarely be successful.

If the bride signed for and paid for all the dresses and the bridesmaids all have the dresses, is she entitled to get them back from the bridesmaids or ask for payment?

Most brides won’t want anything to do with the dresses! Again, most courts will view this as a gift and not order their return or payment for their costs.

How about tuxedo rentals?

Tuxedo rental agreements vary widely and rarely are negotiable. The key thing here is for everyone to understand the terms of the agreement. This includes the fact that the person who signs the agreement is responsible for any damage, not the person who wears it.

Carefully consider that wedding insurance policies often cover not just the wedding gown but wedding apparel and might cover some losses. You may also have credit card protection plans that might cover in certain situations.