Terms and Conditions – Wedding Venue Hire
The contract
1. Your contract is with us, Stockton Ltd t/a Apley Weddings.
2. We appreciate that on occasions someone else (such as a parent) may wish to make payments due to us on your behalf. We are happy to accept such payments, but please note that unless we agree otherwise with you in writing you are legally responsible for any payments due to us.
3. In these terms, “venue” means the venue at Stockton House & Gardens where your wedding is agreed to be held, “wedding” also means (where applicable) a civil partnership, “wedding package” means the services relating to your wedding which we agree to provide to you; and “working day” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in England when banks in London are open for business.
Making your booking
4. We may agree to you making a provisional booking with us, but this is not legally binding on either you or us unless and until a contract is entered into in accordance with paragraph 5.
5. If, after receiving our quotation for your wedding package, you want to make a booking with us, you should within 28 days of the date of our quotation return your signed terms and conditions and pay your deposit of £1,500.00 (including vat). Payments can be made by Bank Transfer, credit or debit card. Please note that your deposit will not be refunded if you subsequently cancel a confirmed booking, as explained in paragraph 29 below. A contract is only formed between you and us when we accept your copy of the signed terms and conditions and send our confirmation of booking to you. No booking application shall be binding on us and no contract shall be formed unless and until we send this confirmation. If we do not accept your booking application, we shall of course return your deposit.
Your wedding package
6. The general content of your wedding package shall be as set out in your quotation, or as otherwise subsequently agreed with us in writing. We may finalise certain details of your wedding package (for example, the exact numbers of guests to be catered for, and the menu for meals) with you in the period leading up to your wedding, in accordance with these terms.
7. As part of your wedding package, parking will be available for a maximum of 30 vehicles.
Price
8. Subject to paragraphs 10 to 12 inclusive, the price of your wedding package shall be as set out in your quotation.
9. If not all components of the price in the quotation are stated to be fixed (for example, because they depend on the number of guests to be catered for), the final price will be determined either in accordance with the quotation (for example, the charge “per head” for meals) or as otherwise agreed with us (for example, if there are any “extra” services not set out in the quotation which we subsequently agree at our discretion to provide to you).
10. If your wedding date is scheduled more than 1 year after the date of our confirmation of booking, we reserve the right to increase the price of your wedding package by up to 5% or the Retail Price index, whichever is greater for each complete period of 12 months between these two dates.
11. All prices are inclusive of VAT. However, if the rate of VAT changes between the date the contract is formed between you and us and the date of your wedding, we will adjust the VAT you pay (and hence the overall price of your wedding package), unless you have already paid for your wedding package in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.
Payment of balance
12. We will invoice you for 50% of your wedding package approximately 6 months before the scheduled date of your wedding. You must pay our invoices in full no later than 7 working days from the date of invoice. 3 months prior to your wedding date we will invoice you to bring your balance to 75% of the overall cost. 1 month prior to the wedding date 100% of the balance of the wedding and a £1,000 refundable security deposit will be invoiced. Any additional amounts will be invoiced and payable on issue of the invoice. We reserve the right to deduct any unpaid amounts from the security deposit. If the outstanding amount should exceed the security deposit an additional invoice will be raised. Any unused balance of the security deposit will be returned to the wedding couple within 1 calendar month of the wedding date.
Your responsibilities
13. It is your responsibility to book the Registrar for your wedding. If you have not booked the Registrar before making your booking application with us, we advise you to do so as soon as possible after you have received our confirmation of booking.
14. You must confirm final catering numbers no later than 30 days before your wedding. They must be within any minimum and maximum numbers which is a mimimim of 40 guests and a maximum of 100 guests. For example, a wedding package must include a wedding breakfast, drinks package and/or an evening buffet for a minimum of 40 guests. If your actual number of guests falls beneath the minimum number set out in our quotation, we will still charge you for the minimum number.
15. You must provide us, by the dates we may reasonably request of you, with any other information we ask for (such as your final choice of menus) so that we may finalise the details of your wedding package and/or its price.
16. Only food and drinks supplied by us may be consumed at your wedding, with the exception of your wedding cake. This includes the provision of drinks reception food, wedding breakfast and evening/street food, sweet carts or tables, donut walls and all other food and drink items. Food based wedding favours may be included on your wedding breakfast tables, by prior agreement with your wedding coordinator. Drinks favours are at the discretion at Stockton House and must be discussed with the Venue Manager.
17. You must comply with, and use your reasonable endeavours to ensure that your guests comply with; all of our reasonable instructions intended to ensure the safety of property and/or people at the venue.
18. You must provide your guests with such information we may reasonably request regarding arrangements to be followed at the venue (for example, in relation to car parking or the storage of valuables or permitted smoking areas). Smoking and vaping is strictly prohibited in all indoor spaces at the venue. It is not acceptable to bring your own alcohol onto our site, if discovered this will be confiscated and charged at twice the bar tariff rate of Stockton House’s bar, and automatically deducted from your deposit.
19. You will be liable for any damage you or your guests cause to the venue, its equipment, contents or fittings.
20. We reserve the right to stop any activity which we reasonably believe is likely to cause damage to the interior or exterior of the venue or to risk the safety of people at the venue.
21. We have a zero tolerance policy on the use of drugs on the premises including all rooms and bedrooms. If any illegal drugs are found on the premises or any guest we will stop the event immediately and require all the wedding party and their guests to leave the premises immediately, where no refunds will be offered.
22. We reserve the right to stop serving alcoholic drinks and to close all the bars in the event our Venue Manager considers that guest(s) are excessively intoxicated.
23. We reserve the right to stop the event immediately and require all the wedding party and their guests to leave the premises in the event of any unsociable or illegal activity, if such activities require our team to call the police then your deposit will be forfeit.
24. The terms of our licence do not permit Fireworks or any other form of Pyrotechnics on the site, so we are unable to allow weddings to have such displays irrespective of whether they are to be provided by professional operators.
25. If you include any images of the venue on your wedding invitations, you must ensure that you have the permission of the appropriate copyright holder.
26. Details of third party suppliers we provide to you are intended to help you in arranging other services to be provided in connection with your wedding. If you do engage these or any other third party suppliers, we accept no responsibility for their performance of services and you should take up any complaints with them directly. You are also responsible for paying their charges directly. We reserve the right not to allow into the venue any third party suppliers who do not meet our requirements intended to ensure the safety and welfare of property and people at the venue.
Cancellation by you
27. If you want to cancel a confirmed booking, you must do so in writing and the provisions in paragraph 29 shall apply.
28. We will use reasonable endeavours to “re-sell” the date to another couple. However, you must pay us any losses and costs we suffer because of the cancellation which were reasonably foreseeable to both you and us when the contract was entered into, whether or not we are able to resell the date. Depending on when you cancel, the cancellation charges you must pay shall be determined by reference to the table below. We will tell you the exact cancellation charges once we know whether or not we have been able to resell the date, and you must pay the charges within 20 working days of our invoice. Where the final price has yet to be finalised (for example, because you have not yet confirmed catering numbers), we shall base the cancellation charges on any minimum numbers set out in our quotation.
| Cancellation charge | |
| More than 6 months | Amount of your deposit (i.e. this is non-refundable in all cases) |
| Between 3 and 6 months | Up to 50% of total wedding package price |
| Less than 3 months | Up to 75% of total wedding package price |
| Less than 1 month | 100% of total wedding package price |
Cancellation by us
29. We reserve the right to cancel your booking without liability to you and without any obligation to refund your deposit if:
(a) you do not pay us the balance of your wedding package price by the date due for such payment; or
(b) we have reasonable grounds to believe that you may not pay us the balance of your wedding package price by the due date and we have requested you to explain the position and you have not done so satisfactorily; or
(c) we discover, before you have paid the balance of your wedding package price, that you have deliberately concealed information, or deliberately given us incorrect information, about your intended wedding in circumstances where (if you had not done so) it would have been reasonably foreseeable that we would not have accepted your booking; or
(d) we have reasonable grounds to believe that your behaviour or that of your guests at the wedding is likely to result in damage to the venue or to our property and/or injury to people.
30. If we cancel your booking under paragraph 29, you must pay us any losses and costs we suffer because of the cancellation which were reasonably foreseeable to both you and us when the contract was entered into, whether or not we are able to resell the date. Depending on when we cancel, the cancellation charges you must pay will be determined by reference to the table set out under paragraph 29 above.
Events outside our control
31. Except as set out in this paragraph 29, we shall not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under our contract with you that is caused by events outside our reasonable control (such as serious damage to the venue, serious adverse weather conditions, a pandemic or epidemic, or interruption or failure of utility services such as electric power, gas or water). In these circumstances, we shall use every effort to notify you as soon as is reasonably practical. If, as a result of such events, we believe we have no alternative but to cancel your initial event date, we shall use reasonable endeavours to help you find an alternative date, by mutual consent.
Limitation of our liability to you
32. Subject to paragraph 30, our total liability to you for any loss you suffer will be limited to the total amount of money paid to us for your wedding package. We will not be liable for any losses which were not reasonably foreseeable to either you and us when the contract was entered into or for any losses that were not caused by any breach of contract or breach of statutory duty or negligence on our part.
33. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits in any way our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other matter for which it would be illegal or unlawful for us to exclude or limit (or attempt to exclude or limit) our liability.
Changes to the venue and/or your wedding package
34. We reserve the right to make changes to the interior and/or exterior of the venue between the time we accept your booking and the date of your wedding. For example, we may make changes to the décor and colour schemes of function rooms, and we cannot guarantee that the venue and its surrounds will be free from additional structures (such as marquees or scaffolding).
35. We will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that no components of your wedding package have to be altered. However, as the wedding package is normally put together a long time before your scheduled wedding, we reserve the right to make changes to certain components if this is necessary to comply with safety requirements or other changes in law or relevant codes of practice, or to make other minor changes which we reasonably believe will not be to the detriment of your overall wedding experience and which will not increase the price.
36. We will notify you of any significant changes covered by paragraphs 34 and 35, but unless the change is one which is likely to fundamentally change the nature of your wedding experience we will not offer a refund, costs or compensation.
General
37. If only one person is making the wedding booking, that person confirms that s/he has the authority to make the booking on behalf of both persons intending to be married. Our contract will therefore be with both such persons.
38. Any error or omission in any information or document issued by us shall be subject to correction provided that the correction does not materially affect the contract.
39. You may not transfer any of your rights or obligations under our contract with you to another person without our prior written consent, which we will not withhold unreasonably. We can transfer all or any of our rights and obligations under the contract to another organisation, but this will not affect your rights under these terms.
40. If any court or competent authority decides that any of the provisions of these terms are invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, the term will, to that extent only, be severed from the remaining terms, which will continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law.
41. No person who is not a party to our contract with you shall have any rights under or in connection with it.
42. All written communications by you to us must be sent by first class post to Apley Weddings Ltd, Stockton House, Church Lane, Norton, Shropshire, TF11 9EF or by e mail to [email protected] (or to such other address that we may notify to you). We may send written communications to you at either the email or postal address set out in our quotation.
43. We are happy to allow dogs provided they are on a lead.
44. Live music is only permitted until 11.00pm. All music must be turned off by midnight and any non-resident guests and other members of your party must be off the premises by 12.45 am.
45. These terms shall be governed by English law and shall be subject to the non- exclusive Jurisdiction of the English courts.
46. I/We confirm that we have read, understand and accept these terms and conditions.
Signed by: First party signatory:
Signature Date:
Print name:
Signed by: Second party signatory:
Signature Date:
Print name:
Signed by: Stockton Ltd t/a Apley Weddings:
Signature Date:
Print name:
