Business ProfileforRancho la Mission

I booked a wedding venue package at Rancho la mission for around $26k for 11/18/23. I paid $8k as a deposit and have since paid $7k additional in monthly payments. We recently called to change the date to a year later, 11/17/24, which resulted in a $5k fee. The change date fee is outlined in the contract as being only $2500. When we ultimately decided to cancel the event rather than reschedule, I contacted the venue about cancelling the wedding booking and therefor the contract and the owner told me that if I cancelled I would still be responsible for the remaining now $15k owed balance and that he would file it as a collection on my credit report. I consulted the contract and nowhere is there a no cancellations clause. I am looking to be able to cancel the venue booking without being required to pay the remainder of the balance as there is ample time (more than 18 months) for them to book the venue for the new date. I had a lawyer read over the contract and she assured me that there was nothing there about not being able to cancel the event.