Before you pay a wedding deposit: three questions to ask
What’s due? In which currency? On what date? Then ask for the whole schedule in writing.
Paying a deposit is a lovely moment. It means something is actually happening: the venue is yours, the photographer is booked, the date is real. It’s also the moment a supplier’s payment schedule becomes your payment schedule.
A deposit is only the first date. Before you pay one, three short questions make the rest of the plan much easier.
1. What’s due, exactly?
Ask for every payment, not just the deposit: the deposit itself, any installments, and the final balance. Ask whether any part is refundable, such as a damage or security deposit, and if so, when it comes back.
It also helps to ask what the quote includes and what it doesn’t. A cheaper quote sometimes includes less.
2. In which currency?
If you’re planning from abroad, or your supplier quotes in a different currency from the one you earn and save in, write the currency next to every amount. Then note any transfer or card fees, because what leaves your account may be more than the invoice.
Keep each currency labeled. Adding a euro amount to a pound amount gives you a number that doesn’t mean anything.
3. On what date?
Some suppliers give a fixed date. Others give a rule, such as “30 days before the wedding”. Both are fine; just write down which one it is. A rule moves if your wedding date moves; a fixed date doesn’t.
Save the date. Then save the payment dates.
Then: ask for it in writing
Ask for the full payment schedule in writing: deposit, installments and final balance, with amounts, currencies and dates. Your supplier’s written terms are the source of truth, and having them in one place makes the next step simple.
Put the dates side by side
One supplier’s payments can look perfectly manageable on their own. Put them next to your other suppliers’ dates and it’s easier to spot a month where two or three balances land together.
The useful check is simple: amount due, date due, money available by then.
Want this done for you? Colla, the AI wedding companion I’m building, files each supplier’s quote and lines up every payment date for you. It’s in testing right now. Have a look at Colla, or grab the free AI Wedding Phrasebook in the meantime.
This note is general planning information, not legal or financial advice. Every supplier’s contract is different, so always check their written terms.