Terms and Conditions

In this document, “ECH”, “our” or “we” refers to Bovingdons Catering Ltd. “You” or “your” refers to the hirer who is the person named on the Booking Confirmation Agreement. Defined terms in the Booking Confirmation Agreement apply herein.

1. Confirmation of Your Booking

i.      ECH reserves the right to release the date you have requested if you have not paid the Deposit or miss any payments listed in the Payment Schedule. ECH also requires a signed contract, however payment of the Deposit will be deemed to signify that you agree to the terms of the Agreement.

ii.     The Payment Schedule states the date payments are due. Time shall be of the essence in relation to such payments and ECH reserves the right to cancel the Agreement in the event that payments falling due are not paid.

iii.   You are contracted to pay for a Minimum Chargeable number of guests as stated in the Booking Confirmation Agreement. This means that even if numbers drop below the Minimum Chargeable, we shall not refund any payments made to account for fewer guests attending than anticipated.

iv.   You shall confirm in writing final numbers at least 14 days prior to the date of your event. Less than 14 days prior to your event any decrease in numbers cannot be accepted and the full charge will be made. Final timings, menus and any special requests must also be confirmed to us at least 14 days prior to the event.

v.     You shall keep a record of all guests attending the event. Should guest numbers exceed the guest numbers on the Booking Confirmation Agreement you will be expected to pay additional charges (pro-rata per additional guest) in line with the Payment Schedule.

vi.   Should you exceed the stated times in clause 5 you will be expected to pay additional venue hire and staff costs (at pro-rata prices) in line with the Payment Schedule.

vii.  VAT is charged at the current rate of 20%. Please be advised that any change to the rate of VAT will affect the cost of the event accordingly.

viii. ECH reserves the right to make invoice adjustments to money left on account as appropriate.

ix.   Given the uncertainty in the macro-economic environment we reserve the right to increase food, beverage and labour prices for your event by a maximum of 10% should our input costs increase significantly. In such a circumstance we will write to you ahead of time providing evidence of our increased costs.

2. Wedding Ceremonies and Civil Partnerships

i.      If you are holding your marriage ceremony at Ewell Court House, it is your responsibility to make any necessary arrangements separately with the Registry Office.

ii.     As soon as you have confirmed the Registrar’s availability and confirmed the time of your ceremony, please inform your ECH wedding coordinator so that you can discuss any possible changes that need to be made to your booking.

iii.   ECH is not responsible for checking, booking, paying or guaranteeing the availability of the Registrar.

3. Insurance

i.      We hold public liability insurance up to the sum of ten million pounds per claim.

ii.     We recommend that you organise your own event insurance to protect yourself from any unforeseen circumstances or cancellation.  You will produce your insurance documents promptly on request.

4. Cancellation

i.      In the unlikely case that you need to cancel, you must advise ECH in writing. All payments have been phased to represent the costs incurred by ECH and any potential loss of profit, and therefore all payments are non-refundable.

5. Venue Hire

i.      “Exclusive” hire of Ewell Court House is defined as exclusive hire of the event rooms and terrace.

ii.     Your exclusive hire of Ewell Court House runs from 10 am until 22.30 on the Event Date.

iii.   For your event we close the terrace in front of Ewell Court House. This does not apply to the extended gardens of the Park.

iv.   We cannot be held responsible if a member of the public ignores our signs and trespasses onto the terrace although our staff will do everything possible to remove them.

v.     Your event is taking place in a historic building with many stakeholders, and changes may be imposed on your event that are outside of our control relating for example to licensing or operational restrictions of the building. We reserve the right to amend your event plan where required to comply with such changes.

6. Use of Ewell Court House

i.      Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the building. Guests may smoke in designated outside areas.

ii.     You are liable and shall fully indemnify us for any loss or damage incurred or made to ECH's property by your guests, contractors or suppliers.

iii.   Guests are welcome to use dried petal confetti and bubbles outdoors only. Please note that throwing of rice is prohibited because of the danger it poses to wildlife. Confetti cannons are strictly prohibited in all areas of the site.

iv.   ECH is not licensed for fireworks, floating lanterns or pyrotechnic displays of any nature and you are prohibited from using these items.

v.     ECH is not licensed for activities involving betting, gaming and lotteries and you are prohibited from conducting any such activities.

vi.   ECH is not licensed for carousels or any fairground rides and you are prohibited from arranging these activities.

vii.  No part of Ewell Court House is to be used for any purpose other than as anticipated by this Agreement or as agreed otherwise with your event manager.

viii.     No part of Ewell Court House is to be used for any purpose which is unlawful.

ix.  In the event of you breaching this Agreement or using Ewell Court House inappropriately ECH may in its sole discretion recharge back to you for damage repairs, cleaning or security costs.

7. Personal Property and Gifts

i.      Possessions are left on Ewell Court House’s premises at the owner’s own risk and ECH shall be held harmless for any loss or damage to any such possessions.

ii.     Please designate someone to be responsible for any gifts that your guests bring. We cannot take any responsibility for storing, removing or securing these gifts and personal items anywhere on site and ECH shall be held harmless for any loss or damage to any such gifts.

iii.   Personal Items or Stationery provided by you in relation to the decoration of the venue or a wedding cake ECH shall be held harmless for any loss or damage to any such possessions.

8. Limitation of Liability

i.      We shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), for breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, arising under or in connection with this Agreement for loss of profits, loss of sales or business, loss of agreements or contracts, loss of anticipated savings, loss of use or corruption of software, data or information, loss of or damage to goodwill and any indirect or consequential loss.

ii.     Our total liability to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, arising under or in connection with the Agreement shall be limited to the amount paid to us under the Payment Schedule.

9. Electrical Equipment

i.      No lighting, heating, power or other electrical fittings or appliances in Ewell Court House are to be altered, moved or interfered with.

ii.     No additional lighting, heating, power or other electrical fittings or appliances are to be installed or used without the prior written consent of ECH.

iii.   In the event that any third party electrical equipment is approved for use it must be fully PAT tested and operated by a trained and insured professional.

10.  Noise

i.      ECH respects our neighbours. It is within our remit to ensure that neither live music, nor amplified sounds, nor any structure-borne noise or vibration from the licensed premises are audible or perceptible at or within the site boundary of any residential property. Entertainment is subject to a maximum decibel limit of 90, or as may otherwise be advised to you in writing by our event manager. We reserve the right to vet all chosen live music suppliers and cut or turn down sounds on the day if required.

2. Menu

i.      Please return your Excel Spreadsheet showing where vegetarians, special diets and children are seated.

ii.     Any special dietary requirements or allergies need to be advised in writing to ECH at least 14 days before the event to allow us to accommodate these requirements.

iii.   ECH reserve the right to substitute alternative food or drink if the items ordered suddenly cannot be easily obtained.  ECH will advise you of any such changes. Any significant changes made to our menus may affect the original quoted price.

iv.   ECH are happy to accommodate allergies but please note that our kitchens are not allergen free and as such we cannot make any guarantees regarding trace ingredients. ECH takes no responsibility for any allergic reactions.

v.     You are not to bring any food or drink onto site without express written permission from ECH. An ambient wedding cake is the only other food that may be brought into Ewell Court Hose

vi.   Please note that the prohibition on other food includes cheese wedding cakes. Cheese represents a high contamination risk product and therefore must be arranged by ECH.

13. Drinks

i.      ECH is licensed to sell and serve alcohol until 11.00pm Monday – Thursday, 11.45pm Friday and Saturday and 10.30pm Sundays and no alcohol shall be sold or served after this time.

ii.   ECH is prohibited from serving alcohol at any time before a ceremony.

iii.   Any food or drink that has not been provided by ECH is not permitted onsite unless expressly agreed by your event manager, or in the case of corkage only alcohol that has been agreed in advance.

iv.  For beverages bought on a sale or return basis, a fixed amount will be prepaid and any amendments in terms of a credit or additional consumption will be made on your final invoice.

v.     We reserve the right to refuse to serve drinks to anyone who appears to be inebriated and, in exceptional circumstances, to ask a person to leave the premises. ECH will not sell or serve alcohol to any guests perceived to be under age – ID will be required.

vi.   ECH has a zero tolerance approach to the use of illegal drugs. Any guest found using illegal drugs will be required to leave the premises immediately.   

14. Staff

i.      Service charges for a full team of staff are included in your proposal costs set out in the Payment Schedule.

ii.     We provide one event manager and sufficient professional staff to look after your guests during the timings of your day.

iii.   Please note that if your event overruns beyond the Event Times without prior agreement, you may be liable for overtime and transportation home for our staff. We would always notify you of this on the evening of your event.

iv.   We operate a zero tolerance policy towards abuse, violence and aggression. No member of our staff may be subjected to violent, threatening or abusive behaviour. Should you, your guests or suppliers manifest such behaviour during the event, we reserve the right to carry out all actions needed to protect our staff including but not limited to: requiring individuals to leave our premises; or stopping the event immediately.

15. Departure of Guests

i.      Please advise your guests that taxis should be booked well in advance.

ii.     All guests need to have departed within the Event Times.

iii.   ECH accept no responsibility for booking or non-arrival of taxis.

iv.   With advance notice we allow guests to leave their cars overnight but they must be removed by 10 am the following morning. ECH cannot be responsible for their security when parked in the parks car park.

16. Deliveries

i.      All deliveries and collections must be pre-arranged with your event planner.

ii.     Nothing can be attached or fixed to the inside or outside walls of Ewell Court House.

iii.   Alcoholic wedding favours are not permitted at the venue and will not be placed on tables if sent.

iv.   Please deliver your table stationery (place cards, menus etc.) in advance and in separate, clearly labelled envelopes, one per table.

v.     Please see “Notes for Your Suppliers” and ensure you have discussed them with your suppliers.

17. Children

i.      Happy and well behaved young guests are very welcome and a great addition to any event.

ii.     Please carefully consider their entertainment and food and make arrangements for their care.

iii.   ECH staff are not trained nor can be held responsible for any childcare.

iv.   Our chefs can warm sealed jars of shop bought infant food for toddlers and babies. Please let parents know that health and safety law prevents us from allowing any home cooked food or breast milk in our kitchens.

18. Force Majeure

i.      No liability is accepted if ECH fail to perform its obligations to you due to any flood, fire, explosion, earthquake, subsidence, structural damage, epidemic, pandemic or other natural physical disaster, failure or shortage of power supplies, war, military operations, riot, crowd disorder, strike, lock-outs or other industrial action, terrorist action, civil commotion and any legislation, regulation, ruling or omissions (including failure to grant any necessary permissions) of any relevant government, court or any competent national or international authority, or other such events beyond ECH control. ECH will be under no liability to you for any loss or damage, which may be incurred by you or your guests.

ii.     In the event of a Force Majeure which prevents your event from going ahead on the Event Date, we will seek to find you an alternative date for your event. If we are unable to do so we will only charge you for any direct costs incurred relating to your event.

19. Complaints

i.      Please bring any complaints or concerns to the event manager’s attention during the course of the event at the earliest opportunity, this way any issues can be dealt with straight away.

ii.     If for any reason you have cause for complaint this must be put in writing and received by ECH within 48 hours of the event ending.

20. Marketing

i.      ECH reserve the right to use photography and the basic details of your event (such as menus, suppliers and styling) in our online and offline marketing and materials. If you prefer us not to, notify your event manager in writing.

ii.     If you need a hi-res copy of our logo or photographs of the House, ECH is happy to provide them.

21. Event planning and management

     i.     We are a small team and work very closely together so we may on occasions have to change your event planner. It is not guaranteed that your event planner will be your ‘on the day’ event manager.

22. Entire agreement

i.      This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between us and supersedes and extinguishes all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter.  Each party acknowledges that in entering into this Agreement it does not rely on, and shall have no remedies in respect of, any statement, representation, assurance or warranty (whether made innocently or negligently) that is not set out in this Agreement.

23. Third party rights

i.      No person other than us or you shall have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this Agreement.

24. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

i.      This Agreement and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. Each party irrevocably agrees that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with this Agreement or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).