Payment terms are not fair

I find the practice of asking for 50% nonrefundable and nontransferable downpayment to reserve a date for 1 whole year later to be totally unfair for clients. I'm not comfortable with making downpayments before details and contracts are finalized between 2 parties, and I hope you will not allow suppliers to pressure you into entering a deal that you are not yet 100% sure of. A lot of things can still happen in 1 year (ex. Death, weather, calamities, decline in health, relatives who will give gifts like sagot ko na P/V ganyan, attitudes change, commitments come up). Never mind the "our price will change within a year" , just remember it is them who needs clients/bookings! There are so many suppliers to choose from, and if it they aren't offering significant discounts and freebies then is it really worth the headache later on? Case in point, the recent unfortunate demise of a well known chef who is the sole caterer of one events place in Manila. This shocked all of us since the chef seemed healtht, and I do hope that the family will be allowed time to grieve, and the business aspect will be solved smoothly. All I'm saying is let's think things through, sleep on major decisions, don't be pressured into rush booking, and discuss every detail in the contract before we enter a deal. Things like venue and reception should really be booked earlier, but the rest will have plenty of options. I think the wedding culture here can be mentally and emotionally tiring, in a sense that we have too many "should have this" and "need to do this" concepts. I just casually consulted a lawyer about these reservation fee concerns, and he said that we just always have to go back to what was said, written, signed, and agreed upon. Additionally, he said you could ask that contracts be changed to allow for fees to be fully returned upon a certain reasonable time before the event that a supplier should have enough time to look for a new client. I asked since the supplier's terms that I have been seeing are mostly protective of the supplier's business but doesn't leave much room to protect the clients. As much as I have dream suppliers of my own, I don't feel comfortable being cornered when a lot of things can still change in the future.

This was just me voicing out my concerns as a client. You are entitled and welcome to have a different opinion. No advice is being asked.

Happy wedding planning! Let's enjoy the journey until one day we can say "naitawid natin ang wedding planning".