3 Must Have Clauses in Your Event Florist Contract

Im going to start this post by saying congratulations!!!! Why you ask? Because you are starting your florists journey on the right path! In fact you’re years ahead of me by legitimizing your company!

That’s right, I started my event design company with a free contract I downloaded online. Im not even sure if it was geared towards a florist and worst of all, it in no way covered me and my company the way it needed to.

I was vulnerable to damages, out of state litigation and losing the very deposit I had cleared my calendar for. Yikes.

I wish I could say none of these problems ever came to fruition but alas, when you’ve done nearly 200 events, problems are bound to arise.

Now, with almost a decade in the game, I have an event florist contract that’s rock solid. It protects me and my clients and gives me the freedom to focus on the flowers. Want to download it for yourself?

Contracts exist to answer the question before it arises. An open-ended or open to interpretation contracts are not what you want to have when situations come up.

I want talk about 3 must have clauses in every event contract that YOU need to protect yourself today!

Clause 1: “Canceling of Services”

Does your contract cover you in case of a wedding cancellation? Awesome! What if your client says they only wish to “cancel your professional services”. *insert cringe face* Well, that’s what happened to me! A client was in over their head, wanted to downsize their wedding, but instead of canceling their wedding, they pointed out that my contract says nothing about canceling my professional services. Ok, let’s move past that fact that this was just not a nice move on their part. Legally, they were right! My contract only discussed wedding cancellations and technically they weren’t doing that. While the outcome of every contractual disagreement will all be open to each court, save yourself some sleepless nights and make sure your policy around cancellation involves more than just the event itself but also your professional services.

Clause 2: Candle Wax

Now of course candle wax could get shuffled into a general limitation of liability but I like to give it it’s own clause in the contract so that it’s crystal clear. Candles are as common of a tool to us as flowers but 50x as dangerous and messy. Live flame is nothing to play with, but we are constantly lighting and leaving tables full of them with children, dancing and booze at every event! Ok, I just stressed myself out thinking about it. Beyond concerns of the live flame, the wax itself as a tendency to go places it shouldn’t. With tables full of children and tipsy adults, there’s no way you can guarantee that wax will stay put regardless of your candle holders. If your client or planner is renting expensive linens or handmade wooden tables, the damages can quickly add up. Candle wax damages will happen. There is absolutely no doubt of that. Save yourself the stress and include a clause that protects you in every contract.

Clause 3: Litigation Jurisdiction

Now before you say to yourself, “I never do destination weddings” let me remind you that just because the event is in your city and state of residence, that doesn’t mean your clients are. Even when I do events in Oregon, 7/10 times my clients are flying in from somewhere else. What does that mean? It means that if an issue of litigation arises, for any reason, and you don’t have a clause in your contract for litigation jurisdiction, your clients could potentially prove their local courts have Personal Jurisdiction over your company. Yikes! Really, if there’s anything worse than getting sued it’s getting sued from a whole different state. That means that you would need to reply and go to (in person) that city & state of their choice. If that sounds difficult, stressful and one more thing you shouldn’t have to deal with, it’s because it is! A litigation jurisdiction clause simply states that any litigation process would need to take place in the location and county of your choice.

So how does your contract hold up? If you’re anything like I was it might need a tune up. My customizable event florist contract makes it simple and won’t cost you $300 and hour to draft up! It was just re-worked by a lawyer and includes specifics on Force Majeure policies.

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