How to tell my parents the wedding is off when the venue booking is non-refundable?

Stop the wedding preparations immediately, before the invitations are printed and the social momentum makes pulling back feel impossible. The non-refundable venue advance is real money, but it is the cheapest loss you will face in this scenario. Losing a deposit stings for a few weeks; entering a fundamentally mismatched marriage because you wanted to salvage a hall booking is a catastrophe that lasts decades. Sit down with your parents tonight and tell them plainly that the two long conversations you had revealed a complete divergence in what you both want from life, and that continuing is out of the question. You do not need to build a complex case or wait for a better moment. Say something like, we cannot go through with this marriage because our core goals are completely different, and I would rather absorb the loss of the venue money now than ruin two lives later. Expect anger, panic, and an immediate fixation on what relatives will say and how much money is burning a hole in the ledger. Let them be upset. They will grieve the lost deposits and the awkward phone calls they have to make to the extended family, but that discomfort is entirely manageable compared to a divorce or an unhappy household. Your parents care about your long-term stability, even if their panic response focuses on logistics and social standing in the first hour. Cancel the print run for the cards, call the caterer to release the date, and let the financial losses be what they are. You have caught this at the three-month mark, which is the exact right time to make an excruciatingly difficult pivot before the train goes off the cliff.