Wedding services: coronavirus (COVID-19), cancellations and refunds
Statement setting out the CMA’s views on how the law operates in relation to contracts for wedding services affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
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This guidance was published in response to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions and has not been updated to reflect legislative developments, including the unfair commercial practices provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) which came into force on 6 April 2025.
For further guidance on the DMCC Act, read Consumer protection: enforcement guidance and Unfair commercial practices.
The CMA is also updating its guidance on unfair contract terms.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is providing this statement of its views because many couples have not been able to get married as planned as a result of the government public health measures introduced to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.
The purpose of this statement is to help consumers understand their rights and to help businesses to treat their customers fairly.
Various sources of further guidance are referred to in this statement, which consumers and wedding businesses may find useful:
- information about government public health measures, and their status, can be found on the GOV.UK coronavirus web pages
- the CMA’s general guidance about consumer contracts affected by the coronavirus
- the CMA’s further guidance on unfair contract terms and information for businesses on how to write fair contracts