I am a nurse in Queens and my husband is a school counselor in Manhattan for children with special needs. We were originally supposed to get married at Westbury Manor on June 28th, 2020, but had to work through the pandemic instead. My husband is careful and hygienic in his work setting, but still ended up contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic. Luckily, he survived and did not make any of his students or loved ones sick.
At the end of March 2020, working as a nurse through this pandemic, I had to put aside planning our final wedding details and focus on serving my community. With the help of my closest family, my husband and I were married in my mother's backyard with less than 20 people in attendance, while adhering to the strict COVID-19 guidelines. We debated whether or not to reschedule the wedding reception or to cancel at Westbury Manor.
Each time we contacted Westbury Manor or they contacted us during the pandemic, we asked about cancelling our event, but we were told that wasn't an option each time. We would lose all of the money we deposited (about $13,500 altogether). In fact, upon rescheduling during the pandemic, they asked for an additional $3000 deposit, which was eventually waived.
Therefore, we rescheduled our event for June 13th 2021. However, since the beginning of the year, it was clear that about half of our guests would not be able to make it as they live in other countries, where vaccines are less available and travel policies are still changing constantly. Many of our local guests are elderly, as well. We did not feel safe or comfortable holding our rescheduled event. Many details were still uncertain, such as: number of guests allowed, precautions needed, safety procedures, and whether or not dancing would be permitted.
In March, Westbury Manor told us that we would not be getting a refund because they could not book another event during our date on such short notice. After several exchanges, and reminding them that we have been asking about cancellations since the beginning of the pandemic, they offered us an "exception" of giving a $3500 refund.
Unfortunately for us, we didn't realize that there is no Acts of God clause or Force Majeure provision in the contract. To anyone who is getting married in the future and currently reading this, please look for this clause in your contracts! We are NOT lawyers and certainly not offering legal advice, but from what we can tell, it covers things outside of our control, such as natural disasters like the pandemic.
As of right now, we're not really sure where we stand. As of last week, our banquet manager was on vacation. We think the event has been cancelled, but who knows? Westbury Manor is a small business, and many relief options are now available for them, not even counting losses that can be claimed when filing taxes.
As individuals, we will not be able to reclaim any of our lost deposits. As far as I know, small claims courts in Long Island will award only up to $5000 in damages. Hiring a lawyer to pursue further action may cost as much money as we've lost in total, and require a lot of time, as well. We understand that they are a business that has undoubtedly been affected by the pandemic, but we have been hurt, too. To date, we have not received any money back from Westbury Manor. At this point, with all of the issues listed above, I don't think a full refund should be out of the question.
To those of you looking to get married at Westbury Manor, please be safe, and consider the information I shared above when planning ahead with our uncertain future. Please read your contracts and think twice about scheduling a venue, like Westbury Manor. read more