Unforeseen situations happen not only relating to the Bride and Groom, but also to their close family members: a brother or sister called away on urgent business or to tend another family member perhaps; an elderly aunt, uncle or grandparent taken ill or worse maybe.

Events leading up to a wedding can often be fraught with any a mishap. But when does it impact so badly on the couple and their family they feel it necessary to postpone the wedding?

For the suppliers of wedding services such as venues, cake makers, photographers and videographers, receiving a postponement seriously shakes up their schedule equally if not more so than the Bride & Groom.

As disappointing as it is, another date will be arranged, but for the wedding service provider it is often not so simple.

A business relying upon the relatively limited wedding season, receiving a postponement has consequences which can ripple on throughout the year and can cause additional cost to the wedding event supplier.

Our wedding video bookings are received and confirmed, on average, about 9-12 months before the event date. Dates are confirmed by receiving a deposit of fifty per cent of the agreed total cost - a contract is formed. The date is booked, emails are exchanged, meetings are held and information is gathered. It's also likely that visits are made to the venue or venues. All goes quite for a long period of time, until an email arrives from the bride - as it's often the bride who chooses which person or company will make the wedding video.

On the rare occasion such an email arrives containing an apology (as it's an email or text, not a telephone call, as bad news is often communicated at arms length), it's very obvious something has gone wrong.

On such an occasion it is possible the apology and request might go something like this:

"Sorry, but for personal reasons we have had to postpone our wedding. We have rearranged our wedding for (add here some far distant date in the future). Could you apply our deposit for that date please? If not, can we have our deposit back - please?"

Now all businesses have their own policy for rescheduling or providing refunds according to their Terms and Conditions, and the Bride and Groom do need to aware when booking wedding services they are entering into a business contract promising they agree to pay this, if the supplier will provide that… the basic principle of trade and economics the world over.

But it seems that some people (albeit a minoity of people) think because they have hired someone to attend their wedding, even as a professional service-provider, that this principle is not valid - it doesn't count. Why? A wedding is a happy friendly event filled with all our friends and family who love us. Quite right, but this does not change the relationship that the provider has with the client - a professional business relationship.

We try to reschedule if possible, if the rescheduled date is within a reasonable time frame. For example, wishing to reschedule within the same year is reasonable - wanting to rebook for two years ahead is not.

As for one such email received; it turns out the wedding had not been postponed but cancelled, as the prospective bride and groom broke up. But why did she say she wanted to reschedule? Perhaps she was extremely confident she would find another engagement fairly soon. How about that? Arranging your wedding day BEFORE you've found a suitor.

Now that's the subject of another blog perhaps.