"No refunds" is not the last word

Have you ever booked a photographer, a venue, or an event planner, and then had to cancel? You may well have been told the deposit was non-refundable - end of discussion. The Consumer Protection Act says otherwise. You may cancel an advance booking, and the supplier may keep a reasonable cancellation penalty. Not automatically the whole deposit. What counts as reasonable depends on how much notice you gave, whether they can resell the date, and what they've already spent. Before you sign the contract, ask about their cancellation policy – it should include a sliding scale of refunds – from close to 100% for quick cancellations to nothing for last minute ones. If you don’t see that, move on.