Privacy policy

This explains what personal information VOWÉA collects, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the control you have over it.

VOWÉA (“we”, “us”) operates the website at vowea.co.uk, a directory that connects couples planning a wedding with venues and wedding businesses. We are the data controller for the personal data described here. For anything about your data, email privacy@vowea.co.uk.

What we collect

When you send an enquiry: your name, email, phone number if you give one, and the details of the wedding you describe, such as the date, guest numbers and budget.
When you create an account: your email address, your name if you give one, and a securely hashed password. We never store your password in a readable form.
When you use the planning tools: the wedding details, guest lists, budgets and tasks you enter.
If you run a listed business: your business details, and payment information handled by our payment processor. We do not see or store your card details.
Automatically: a single essential cookie that keeps you signed in, and basic technical information such as your browser type, needed to run the site securely.

Why we use it, and our legal basis

To pass your enquiry to the venues you choose to contact, so they can reply. This is necessary to provide the service you asked for.
To run your account and keep you signed in. This is necessary to provide the service.
To take payment from listed businesses for the leads they receive. This is necessary to perform our contract with them.
To send you messages about something you have done, such as confirming an enquiry. This is our legitimate interest in a service that works as expected.
To keep the site secure and prevent abuse. This is our legitimate interest.

Who we share it with

When you send an enquiry, we share the details with the venue or venues you chose to contact, so they can reply to you. That is the point of the enquiry, and we only ever send it to the businesses you selected. We never sell your data, and we never share it with anyone for their own marketing.

We use a small number of trusted providers to run the service, such as a payment processor to take card payments and an email provider to send messages. They act on our instructions and only for these purposes.

How long we keep it

We keep your data for as long as you have an account or an active enquiry, and for a reasonable period afterwards to meet legal and accounting duties. When it is no longer needed, we delete it or anonymise it.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask to see the data we hold about you, to correct it, to delete it, or to object to how we use it. Email privacy@vowea.co.uk and we will respond within the time the law allows. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

Security

We protect your data with encryption in transit, hashed passwords, and access controls that limit who can see contact details. No system is perfect, but we take this seriously and review it regularly.

This policy is written to reflect how the service works today. As we add features such as newsletters or new payment options, we will update it and change the date above.