Non refundable contract

Hello! I apologize in advance for this long discussion topic. We met with a bakery yesterday for a tasting. I was so excited about the opportunity to work with her that I didn’t take the time to ask enough questions. We met for less than 30 minutes and it wasn’t a great experience but I thought she was just having an off day. She said in order to hold the day she needs a save the date retainer of 50% down. We paid. At no time during this process did she say this was non refundable.

During the tasting she said she would send us the contract to review. I emailed her today to ask for a contract. In the contract it states that our deposit is non refundable but she didn’t present a contract for signature. The save the date retainer was actually the deposit. There is a place to sign on the contract but obviously she didn’t have us sign it. We really thought we were simply saving the date. I no longer wish to work with this vendor because I don’t think it is going to be a great experience, but I think it is safe to say we will have to forfeit our deposit. We have booked two very important vendors and have poured over their contracts extensively and I don’t know why we dropped the ball on this vendor. All advice appreciated and welcomed.