Terms & Conditions

1. Agreement to Terms

By creating an account on or otherwise accessing BelleVow (“the Service”), operated by BelleVow (“we”, “us”, “our”), you (“User”, “you”, “your”) agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or a prominent notice on the Service at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

2. Service Description

BelleVow is a wedding website platform that provides a website builder, RSVP management system, and gift registry. The Service operates on a freemium model:

• Free tier: Full access to the website builder, RSVP management, and gift registry to design, build, and test your wedding site at no cost.
• Paid tiers (Standard & Premium): A one-time payment is required to publish your site and make it accessible to guests. Paid tiers include additional features as described on our pricing page.

3. Account Registration

• You must provide accurate, complete, and current information when creating your account.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity under your account.
• You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account.
• Each individual may only maintain one account.
• You must notify us immediately at support@bellevow.com if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

4. Payment & Refund Policy

BelleVow offers full free access to build and test your wedding site before any payment is required. Because you can fully evaluate the Service at no cost prior to purchasing, all payments are final and non-refundable, except where required by applicable law.

• Paid plans require a single, one-time payment. There are no recurring charges or subscriptions.
• Prices are displayed in your local currency where possible and include applicable taxes.
• Payment is processed securely by third-party payment providers. We do not store your credit card or bank details.
• By completing a purchase, you acknowledge that you have had the opportunity to fully test the Service on the free tier and that you are satisfied with the Service prior to payment.
• If you believe a charge was made in error (e.g., a duplicate transaction), please contact us at support@bellevow.com and we will investigate promptly.

5. Your Content

You retain full ownership of all content you upload or create on the Service, including text, photographs, and wedding details (“User Content”).

• By using the Service, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to host, display, and transmit your User Content solely for the purpose of operating the Service.
• You represent that you have the rights to all content you upload and that it does not infringe any third-party intellectual property or other rights.
• We reserve the right to remove content that violates these terms, applicable law, or the rights of others.
• Upon account deletion, your User Content will be permanently removed from our systems within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful purpose.
• Upload content that is defamatory, obscene, hateful, or infringes on the rights of others.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service, other accounts, or our systems.
• Use automated tools to scrape, crawl, or otherwise extract data from the Service.
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
• Resell, redistribute, or commercially exploit the Service without our written consent.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, with or without notice.

7. Privacy & Data Protection

We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) of South Africa and, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Data we collect

• Account information: email address and password (hashed).
• Wedding site content: details you enter such as names, dates, venues, and photos.
• Guest data: RSVP responses, dietary requirements, song requests, and other information submitted by your guests.
• Usage data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, and interactions with the Service (collected via cookies and analytics).

How we use your data

• To provide, maintain, and improve the Service.
• To process payments through our third-party payment providers.
• To send transactional emails (account verification, password resets).
• To respond to support requests.

Data sharing

• We do not sell your personal data.
• Guest data (RSVPs, dietary requirements, song requests) is only accessible to the wedding site owner.
• We share data with third-party service providers solely to operate the Service, including: cloud infrastructure (Cloudflare), payment processing (Stitch / Payfast), email delivery (Resend), and analytics (Google Analytics). Each provider operates under their own privacy policy.

Your rights

• You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data at any time by emailing support@bellevow.com.
• You may request a portable copy of your data.
• You may withdraw consent for non-essential data processing at any time.
• Account deletion requests will be processed within 30 days.

Cookies

We use essential cookies for authentication and session management, and optional analytics cookies to improve the Service. You may disable non-essential cookies in your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may prevent the Service from functioning correctly.

8. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with third-party providers to deliver functionality. These include, but are not limited to:

• Payment processing: Stitch and/or Payfast handle payment transactions. We do not store your payment card details.
• Image storage: Cloudflare R2 stores uploaded images.
• Email delivery: Resend handles transactional emails.
• Analytics: Google Analytics (GA4) collects anonymised usage data.
• Security: Cloudflare Turnstile provides bot protection.

We are not responsible for the practices or policies of third-party providers. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

9. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its design, templates, code, branding, and documentation, is the intellectual property of BelleVow and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer any part of the Service.

Templates and design elements provided through the Service are licensed for your personal, non-commercial wedding use only.

10. Service Availability

We strive to keep the Service available at all times but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, updates, or circumstances beyond our control. We will endeavour to provide advance notice of planned maintenance where practicable.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

• The Service is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
• We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including loss of data, revenue, or business interruption, arising from your use of the Service.
• Our total liability for any claim arising from or related to the Service shall not exceed the total amount you have paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable South African law, including liability for gross negligence as provided by the Consumer Protection Act, 2008.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless BelleVow, its officers, and employees from any claims, losses, or damages (including legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your User Content, or your violation of these terms.

13. Account Termination

• You may delete your account at any time by emailing support@bellevow.com.
• We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these terms, engage in unlawful activity, or at our reasonable discretion with notice.
• Upon termination, your published wedding site will be taken offline and your data will be deleted within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
• Termination of your account does not entitle you to a refund of any payments made.

14. Governing Law & Disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa.

For users in the European Union, these terms do not affect your statutory rights under the GDPR or applicable consumer protection legislation. Where local law provides greater protection, those provisions shall apply.

We encourage you to contact us at support@bellevow.com before pursuing formal legal action, so that we may attempt to resolve any dispute amicably.

15. Contact

For any questions about these terms, data requests, or support, please contact us at: support@bellevow.com.