Wedding venue deposits and contracts in Egypt.

What a payment schedule looks like

Most venues take a deposit when you sign and the rest in stages before the night. As one published example, Enterprise reported in August 2024 that the Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo asked for 10 percent on signing the contract, 40 percent three months before the event and 25 percent a month before. That is one hotel's schedule at one point in time, not a standard, and it may have changed.

Halls, clubs and gardens set their own stages and amounts. Before you pay anything, ask for the full schedule in writing: how much, by which date, and how the final balance is settled if your guest count changes.

What to get in writing

• The date, the room or space, and the start and finish times.
• The guest count the price is based on, any minimum, and what each extra guest costs.
• Exactly what the package includes: menu, drinks, decor allowance, sound, lighting, service charge and taxes.
• Every payment, with its due date, and a receipt for each one.
• What happens to the money if you postpone, cancel or need to transfer the booking.
• Who your coordinator is, and how changes are confirmed.
• Ask for the contract in Arabic as well as English if you need it. Under the consumer protection law, contracts and receipts with consumers are to be in Arabic.

Postponing is not the same as cancelling

Many contracts treat the two very differently. Cancelling usually ends the booking, and the contract decides how much of what you paid is kept. Postponing keeps the booking alive on a new date, and some venues will move your payments across, sometimes with a fee or a price difference if the new date is in a dearer season.

If there is any chance you will still marry, ask about postponement first, in writing, and ask the venue to confirm how your payments carry over and whether the package and price stay the same.

Transfer clauses

A transfer clause says whether another couple can take over your date under their own names. Few couples think to ask about it when they sign, and it is the clause that matters most if plans change completely.

• Is a transfer to new names allowed at all?
• Is there a name-change or admin fee, and who pays it?
• Do the payments already made stay with the booking?
• Does the new couple sign a fresh contract, and on the same package and price?
• Up to how close to the date is a transfer possible?

What Egypt's consumer protection law says

Consumer Protection Law No. 181 of 2018 replaced the 2006 law and came into force on 14 December 2018. It covers services as well as goods. Read through an English translation, a few points are relevant to a venue booking:

• Contracts, invoices and receipts with consumers must be in Arabic and show the supplier's identity and contact details (Article 5).
• The supplier must give you an invoice for the transaction (Article 10), and a reservation receipt when something is reserved (Article 12).
• A service provider must refund the fees or perform the service again if the service is deficient, according to the contract, the nature of the service or a decision of the Consumer Protection Agency (Article 25).
• A contract clause that reduces or removes the supplier's obligations under the law is void (Article 28).
• The 14-day right to return goods (Article 17) and the 14-day right to withdraw from a distance contract (Article 40) are not written for a venue booking signed in person, so don't count on them to recover a deposit.

If you have a complaint

Try to settle it with the venue first, in writing, and keep every message and receipt. If that fails, you can contact the Consumer Protection Agency on its hotline, 19588, or file a complaint through its website, cpa.gov.eg, or its app. The law says the agency does not charge consumers for complaints.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Translations of the law are unofficial and the law can be amended, so for a dispute over money, speak to a lawyer.

Taking over an open date

Save the Date is a free place where couples who can no longer use their booked venue date list it, and couples who are looking find it. Browse by city, budget and date. Every listing is reviewed by hand, numbers stay private until both sides agree, and you arrange the transfer directly with the venue. We never handle money.