Getting refund for canceled reception

Since there’s no contract, nothing in writing that states your deposit is non refundable, I would address that. See if she would be willing to at least partially refund your deposit because 50% is a good chunk of change!

My makeup deposit is non refundable, and I did sign a contract. It seems so far all the vendors have been non refundable deposits, but happy to work with a date change due to covid. It’s unfortunate but like others said, the time was booked for you, and she may have turned away other people who wanted your date.

Deposits are typically non-refundable. Sorry that she is not helpful and sympathetic, but there isn't much you can really do.

Daughter's HMUA did such an awesome job with her wedding that afterward I switched to her as my regular hair stylist. At my last appointment (after Covid-19 reopening) we talked about how she's doing with all her wedding cancellations (she averages around 100 weddings a year as an independent contractor; her private client salon business is a much smaller part of her gross income). As you might guess, it's been incredibly tough for her financially. FWIW Her approach is that she is doing everything she can to rebook clients (it's pretty crazy for her trying to manage all the different requests for rescheduling -- when we talked, I believe she was working on at least 18 rebookings...) and she is honoring their original contract terms (no changes in pricing, etc.). However, people who want to cancel, based on her contract stipulations, lose their deposit AND are responsible for the balance due -- so they are on the hook for 100% of the charges they originally contracted for. She said in her network of HMUA's that's pretty standard (we're in So Cal).... Good luck!

That totally sucks and i feel for ya but i think that's kind of like the idea behind it being deposits, that they aren't usually refundable as PPs suggested.

But there is ALSO nothing in writing that says the deposit is refundable. Contracts protect all parties and this will probably just end up being an expensive lesson for the OP about giving money without any paperwork.

Either way, nothing in writing.

But, with nothing in writing and the HMUA in possession of the deposit, it's going to be tough to get it back, unless the HMUA does so out of the goodness of her heart or through a small claims process (which for $500 and at a time when most courts aren't fully functioning, may be a lot of trouble and without good odds of success). I understand where you're coming from, but I also don't think it will be easy to get the money back.... Still, I wish the OP well in her efforts.

I would assume she won't be returning the money, especially since no contract is signed. Could you just tell her to hold it until you re-book a smaller wedding or elopement and put the money towards that?

Unfortunately, with no written contract, it depends on if your state considers text agreements as binding, and if you ever discussed if the deposit was refundable over text. You can get a lawyer, but you can also just google your state laws to get a rough idea of if it's worth getting a lawyer. I'm also not sure if $500 is worth it, since you'll probably may more in lawyer fees.