A beautiful wedding cake is a massive part of any marriage ceremony, and a bride and groom weren’t too happy with the cake a BC golf club provided them.
In a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute, Sassoon Bezalel and Andrea D’Souza argued that the Langley-based Newlands Golf and Country Club breached its contract. They claimed $5,000 for breach of contract and the resulting mental stress.
The tribunal dismissed almost all of the bride and groom’s claims except one related to the cake.
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D’Souza and Bezalel felt the contract was breached for several reasons. For one, they said guests had to leave temporarily because of a fire alarm. They also suggested that the food served had “inconsistent quality” and that the wedding cake didn’t meet specifications.
In response, Newlands said that staff acted appropriately when it asked guests to evacuate and were able to return after around 10 minutes. The golf club also said that the food was “very good and enjoyed by all” and that D’Souza approved the final cake design herself.
Both parties signed the contract on May 26, 2022. The terms were as follows:
Newlands would host the wedding reception in an upstairs ballroom on May 19, 2023. Service would include a buffet, drinks, a cake, special chairs, flower bouquets and boutonnieres, and a DJ package. Sixty guests were expected, and the bride and groom agreed to pay $11,341.80.
The tribunal said it is undisputed that the applicants paid for the services “minus a small discount.”
Regarding the fire alarm claim, a smoke machine at a different wedding triggered the fire alarm. Everyone was evacuated, and Newlands gave the bride and groom a courtesy refund of $250. Bezalel and D’Souza said they were entitled to damages for the disruption but never said how much.
The tribunal decided that the disruption was short, and while Newlands owed the wedding party a duty of care, it never breached that duty.
Another claim was that the decor was “underwhelming.” The tribunal dismissed this part of the claim because of a lack of evidence.
Regarding food, the main course was potatoes and vegetables, which the applicants said were “very bland,” and some guests complained. Newlands said its Banquet Captain was in the ballroom during service and that their impression was that everyone, including the bridal party, enjoyed the food. The tribunal didn’t think the food quality breached any part of the contract.
Finally, the cake.
In April 2023, Newlands asked the wedding party for a picture of the wedding cake so that it could recreate it. It was a three-layer cake, but the applicants wanted it to include two risers. Newlands said it could handle it. The tribunal determined, based on emails and photos, that Newlands failed to meet the cake’s specifications. The tribunal awarded the wedding party $100 for this breach. All other claims were dismissed.
Ultimately, Newlands had to pay the applicants $195.34, which included $100 in damages for the cake and the rest in tribunal fees.