Terms of Service

1. What Venunique is

Venunique is a marketplace connecting customers planning events with venues and service vendors. We provide the platform, booking tools, ticketing, payment processing (via Stripe), and messaging — but we are not a party to the contract between a customer and a vendor for the event service itself. That contract is between you and the venue/vendor you book.

2. Accounts

You must provide accurate information when creating an account, and keep your login details secure. Each account is tied to a single role — customer, vendor/venue, or admin — set at sign-up. If you need both a customer account and a vendor account, you'll need to register each with a separate email address.

3. Pricing & fees

• Vendors set their own prices for packages and bundles, and receive that price in full — Venunique never deducts a commission from a vendor's listed price.
• A platform fee of 3% of the vendor's price, or £45 — whichever is lower, plus secure payment processing, is added on top to produce the total the customer pays. This is always shown upfront before you confirm a booking — there's no hidden fee added at checkout.
• Event tickets carry a flat platform fee of 50p per paid ticket. Free tickets are not charged any fee.
• Most bookings are secured with a 25% deposit, with the balance spread to fall due closer to your event:
  • More than 90 days away — 25% deposit now, then 37.5% at 90 days before, and the final 37.5% at 60 days before.
  • 60–90 days away — 25% deposit now, and the remaining 75% at 60 days before.
  • Under 60 days away — paid in full at the time of booking.
  Bookings under £250 are always paid in full upfront. Goods and items that are made and shipped to you (such as stationery or favours) are also paid in full at the time of order. The platform fee and payment processing are shared proportionally across each payment, and you'll always see the full breakdown before you pay a penny.
• Vendors and venues pay Venunique a subscription fee to list on the platform — see our Pricing page for current plans, including any free trial or limited-time offers.

4. Bookings, cancellations & refunds

Your deposit secures your date. When you pay your 25% deposit, the vendor holds that date for you and turns other enquiries away. For that reason — as is standard across the events and travel industries — the deposit is non-refundable.

If you (the customer) cancel, the amount you forfeit increases as the event gets closer, because the vendor has less time to re-book the date:

Percentages are of the total booking. Your 25% deposit is always non-refundable, you never lose more than you've actually paid, and a single £25 administration fee applies to any refund we process (charged once, never twice).

If the vendor cancels on you, or doesn't show up, you are entitled to a full refund of what you've paid. How we return it depends on how that vendor is set up to be paid:

The first two carry the Protected Booking badge — your money sits safely with Venunique until your event, so a refund needs no chasing. Venues are paid earlier so they can commit to your date; the clause below binds them to return your money if they let you down.

4a. Vendor obligation to return refunds (venues)

This clause applies to vendors paid on collection (typically venues), whose funds are released to them before the event rather than held by Venunique. If you are such a vendor and a customer becomes entitled to a refund under this policy — including where you cancel, fail to provide the booked service, or don't show up — you agree to return the refundable amount to Venunique within 5 business days of our written request, so we can refund the customer.

You authorise Venunique to offset any amount you fail to return against your future payouts, and to recover it as a debt if necessary. Repeated cancellations, no-shows, or failure to honour refunds may result in suspension or removal of your account. Venunique never absorbs a vendor's refund on their behalf — it remains the vendor's liability.

Planning a wedding? We strongly recommend taking out wedding insurance — it's standard practice and protects you against the unexpected (illness, supplier issues, and more) in ways no booking platform can. Venunique is not an insurer and does not provide insurance; we simply recommend you arrange your own cover, as you would when booking any large event.

If a dispute arises that you can't resolve directly with the vendor, see our Dispute Resolution process. Refunds are processed back to your original payment method via Stripe, normally within 5 business days of the cancellation or dispute being confirmed.

5. How vendor payouts work

When they set up, vendors choose how they're paid — and that choice determines the protection their customers receive:

• Paid as collected — the vendor receives each payment as you make it, exactly as they would with a direct booking, with no delay. This is how most venues work, since they need the funds to hold your date.
• Held until after the event (Protected Booking)— Venunique holds the vendor's money and releases it automatically 48 hours after the event date. Vendors who choose this earn the Protected Bookingbadge, because the held funds mean we can refund the customer in full if the vendor doesn't deliver. Many services (entertainment, photography, and anything delivered on the day) are set up this way.
• Goods & shipped items — payment is held until you (the customer) confirm the item has arrived. Suppliers ship on a tracked service and mark the order as sent; you'll get an email with the tracking details and can mark it Received to release payment. If you don't, we release it automatically 7 days after tracking shows delivery, so honest suppliers are never left unpaid.
• If you report an issue (such as a no-show or an item that never arrived) before that release happens, the payout is frozen and reviewed by our team before any money moves — see Dispute Resolution.

6. Vendor & venue responsibilities

• Listings must be accurate, including pricing, availability, and photos.
• You're responsible for delivering the service you've agreed with a customer, and for holding any licences, insurance, or qualifications your business requires by law.
• You can invite staff members to help manage your account — staff roles (manager, content staff, door staff) control what they can see and do, and you're responsible for the actions taken under any staff account you create.
• Manual bookings you record on your dashboard for clients who contacted you outside Venunique carry no platform fee, but must accurately reflect a real booking.

7. Referral programme

Venunique's referral programme pays a fee when someone you refer signs up as a vendor and completes a qualifying payment. Referral fees, eligibility, and payout timing are set out on the Refer & Earn page and may change with notice. Referral fees are not payable for self-referrals or fraudulent sign-ups.

8. Tickets

Each ticket is issued with a unique QR code and is valid for entry once. Vendors and their authorised staff can check tickets in at the door using the platform's check-in tools. Venunique is not responsible for entry decisions made by the event organiser at the door.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use the platform for any unlawful purpose, or to harass, defraud, or mislead another user
• Attempt to circumvent platform fees by arranging payment outside Venunique for a booking made through the platform
• Upload content you don't have the right to use, or that is false, defamatory, or infringing
• Attempt to interfere with or compromise the security of the platform

10. Liability

Venunique provides the platform connecting customers and vendors but is not responsible for the quality, safety, or legality of the services vendors provide. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under UK law, including for death, personal injury caused by negligence, or fraud.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of Venunique after a change takes effect means you accept the updated terms.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

13. Contact us

Questions about these terms? Email support@venunique.co.uk. See also our Privacy Policy.