Terms of Service

Creating an Account

To use certain features of the Service, you must create an account by providing:

• Valid email address
• Name
• Secure password

Account Security

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access or security breach

You may not:

• Share your account with others
• Use another person's account without permission
• Create multiple accounts for fraudulent purposes

Free Trial

• New users receive a free trial
• No payment information is required during the trial
• The trial expires automatically at the end of the trial period
• Access to the Service is limited after the trial expires until a paid plan is purchased

Ways to Pay

Every plan (Basic, Premium and Ultimate) can be purchased in one of two ways:

• Monthly plan: billed every month in advance until you cancel.
• One-off plan: a single payment. It never renews and you are never billed again for it.

Current prices are shown on our pricing page. Prices are subject to change with 30 days' notice; a change never affects a one-off plan you have already paid for.

When a One-off Plan Ends

• A one-off plan ends 30 days after your wedding date, as recorded in your account.
• If you change your wedding date to a later date, your access moves with it at no extra cost.
• There is no time limit before your wedding — a one-off plan is valid for however long your engagement lasts.
• We will email you before your one-off plan ends so you can export anything you want to keep.

Changing Plans

• Upgrades are available on both monthly and one-off plans. On a monthly plan you are charged the prorated difference immediately. On a one-off plan you pay the difference between the two one-off prices as a single further payment.
• Downgrades are not available on either monthly or one-off plans.
• You may switch from a monthly plan to a one-off plan. Doing so cancels your monthly subscription immediately and charges the full one-off price. Monthly payments you have already made are not refunded and are not credited towards the one-off price, and you forfeit the remainder of the month you have already paid for.
• A one-off plan cannot be converted back to a monthly plan.

Refunds

• You may request a full refund within 7 days of the first payment on a new account, whether monthly or one-off. Contact us and we will refund it.
• After 7 days, all fees are non-refundable except where a refund is required by law.
• We do not refund partial months, unused features, or a one-off plan whose wedding date has passed or changed.
• Payments are processed by Paddle.com, our merchant of record, and refunds are issued through them.

Cancellation

• You may cancel a monthly plan at any time from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period and you keep access until then.
• A one-off plan cannot be cancelled, because it does not recur — there is nothing to stop. It simply ends on its end date.

What Happens When Your Plan Ends

• When a plan ends or lapses, your account becomes read-only and then, after the retention period described in section 10, is archived.
• Data and photos in an expired account cannot be recovered. Please export anything you want to keep before your plan ends.
• Purchasing a plan again before your account is archived restores full access.

Failed Payments

This applies to monthly plans only; a one-off plan has no recurring payment to fail. If a monthly payment fails:

• We will attempt to charge your payment method multiple times
• Your account may be suspended after repeated failed payments
• You will receive email notifications before suspension
• Your data will be retained for 30 days after suspension

Prohibited Activities

• Violate any laws, regulations, or third-party rights
• Harass, abuse, threaten, or intimidate others
• Upload viruses, malware, or malicious code
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers
• Use automated systems (bots, scrapers) without permission
• Impersonate any person or entity
• Collect user information without consent
• Engage in fraudulent or deceptive practices
• Upload illegal, obscene, or offensive content
• Infringe on intellectual property rights

Content Guidelines

You are responsible for all content you upload, including:

• Guest information
• Photos and images
• Text, descriptions, and notes
• Links and external references

You must ensure you have the right to upload and share this content.

Our Rights

Vow & How and all related content, features, and functionality are owned by us and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

You may not:

• Copy, modify, or distribute our content without permission
• Reverse engineer or decompile the Service
• Remove copyright or proprietary notices
• Use our trademarks without written permission

Your Content

You retain ownership of all content you upload to the Service ("User Content").

By uploading User Content, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to:

• Store, display, and transmit your content
• Provide the Service to you and your guests
• Make backups and ensure service reliability
• Improve and develop our Service

This license ends when you delete your content or close your account, except for:

• Content shared with guests (which may persist in their copies)
• Backups (retained for up to 90 days)
• Aggregated, anonymized data used for analytics

Website Hosting

We provide personalized wedding website hosting as part of our Service:

• Subdomain hosting (e.g., yourname.vowandhow.com) - all plans
• Custom domain hosting (e.g., yourname.com) - Ultimate plan only

Website Content

You are solely responsible for:

• Content displayed on your wedding website
• Accuracy of event information
• Privacy settings and guest access
• Compliance with applicable laws

Website Availability

We strive for 99.9% uptime but do not guarantee uninterrupted availability. We are not liable for:

• Temporary outages or maintenance
• Third-party service disruptions
• Force majeure events

Photo Storage

• Photos are stored on S3-compatible object storage provided by Contabo, on servers located in Europe
• Photos remain available for 30 days after your wedding date on every plan. The number of photos that may be uploaded depends on your plan.

Photo Ownership

• Guests retain ownership of photos they upload
• You receive a license to download and use photos for personal purposes
• We are not responsible for photo quality, content, or copyright issues

Photo Deletion

• Photos are automatically deleted after the storage period expires
• You can download all photos before expiration
• Deleted photos cannot be recovered

Data Backup

We perform regular backups, but you are responsible for maintaining your own copies of important data. We are not liable for data loss.

Data Export

Self-service data export - downloading your guest list and account data directly from the Service - is included in the Ultimate plan. On any plan you may request a copy of your data by contacting us, and you can download your photos at any time regardless of plan. Upon account deletion, you have 30 days to export or request your data before permanent deletion. Nothing in this section limits any right you have under applicable data protection law to obtain a copy of your personal information.

Service "As Is"

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Warranties of merchantability
• Fitness for a particular purpose
• Non-infringement
• Uninterrupted or error-free operation
• Accuracy or reliability of content

Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
• Loss of profits, revenue, data, or business opportunities
• Service interruptions or data loss
• Third-party actions or content
• User errors or misuse of the Service

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR $100, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

Exceptions

Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties or liability for incidental damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the extent permitted by law.

By You

You may terminate your account at any time by:

• Accessing account settings and selecting "Delete Account"
• Contacting our support team

By Us

We may suspend or terminate your account if:

• You violate these Terms
• You engage in fraudulent or illegal activity
• Your payment fails repeatedly
• We discontinue the Service (with 30 days' notice)

Effect of Termination

Upon termination:

• Your access to the Service will cease immediately
• Your data will be deleted within 30 days (except as required by law)
• You will not receive refunds for unused plan time, except as described in section 5
• Sections of these Terms that should survive (e.g., indemnification, limitations of liability) will remain in effect

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Arbitration Agreement

Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service shall be resolved through binding arbitration, except:

• Small claims court disputes
• Intellectual property disputes
• Injunctive relief requests

You waive your right to participate in class action lawsuits or class-wide arbitration.

Informal Resolution

Before initiating arbitration, you agree to contact us to attempt informal resolution. We will work in good faith to resolve disputes amicably.

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Vow & How regarding the Service.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms without restriction.

Force Majeure

We are not liable for delays or failures in performance resulting from causes beyond our reasonable control, including:

• Natural disasters
• War, terrorism, or civil unrest
• Government actions or regulations
• Internet or telecommunications failures
• Third-party service outages

Notices

We will send notices to the email address associated with your account. You are responsible for keeping your email address current.

Feedback

If you provide feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you grant us the right to use them without compensation or obligation.

For EU Users

If you are in the European Union, you have additional rights under EU consumer protection laws, including:

• 14-day withdrawal right for new subscriptions
• Right to dispute resolution through EU-approved bodies
• Protection under EU consumer protection directives

For California Residents

California residents have rights under California consumer protection laws, including the right to request information about data sharing practices.

For Users Outside the US

If you are accessing the Service from outside the United States, you consent to the transfer of your data to the United States and other countries where we operate.