Trusted Partner Agreement

This agreement is between Shared Beginning Inc. ("Shared Beginning", "we", "us") and the business accepted into the Trusted Partner program (the "Partner", "you"). It governs your listing in the Shared Beginning vendor directory and supplements the Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy, which also apply to you. It takes effect when your application is approved and your first membership fee is paid.

1. Application and approval

• Applying is free and does not require an account. Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance.
• We review each application at our sole discretion and may approve, decline, suspend, or remove any Trusted Partner at any time, with or without reason.
• To keep the directory genuinely curated, membership is capped at three businesses per category in each city. If your category and city are full, we may offer a waitlist.

2. Membership fee and term

• The membership fee is CA$99 per year plus applicable taxes (GST), payable only after your application is approved. A discount code, where we issue one, applies to the fee at checkout.
• Membership runs for 12 months from payment. It does not auto-renew; we will invite you to renew before your term ends, and your listing is unpublished if the term lapses.
• Fees are non-refundable once your profile has been published, except where a refund is required by law. If we remove your listing for a reason other than your breach of this agreement, we may, at our discretion, refund the unused portion of your term.

3. Your listing and your obligations

• You certify that everything in your application and listing — business details, categories, cities served, pricing ranges, accessibility and inclusivity information — is accurate, and you will keep it accurate and up to date for as long as you are listed.
• You are responsible for holding any licences, insurance, and permits your services require.
• Inquiries from couples are delivered to you directly. You may use a couple's contact details only to respond to their inquiry — never for unsolicited marketing or resale (see the Acceptable Use Policy).
• You will conduct your business professionally, ethically, and in a manner that reflects the values of the Shared Beginning community.

4. Community Standards

Trusted Partners are expected to provide respectful, professional, and inclusive service to all couples, families, and guests, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or marital status. Shared Beginning reserves the right to refuse or revoke membership where a business’s conduct is inconsistent with these values.

5. Badge licence

While your membership is active and your listing published, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to display the "Shared Beginning Trusted Partner" badge on your website and marketing materials, unmodified and only to describe your current membership. The licence ends immediately when your membership ends or is revoked, and you must stop using the badge and any Shared Beginning marks.

6. No guarantee; independent businesses

• We do not guarantee any volume of inquiries, leads, or bookings. The directory is a discovery tool, not an agency.
• You are an independent business, not our agent, employee, partner, or joint venturer. Contracts with couples are yours alone, and you are solely responsible for your services, pricing, and disputes.

The disclaimer shown to couples applies equally here:

Shared Beginning provides a curated directory of independent wedding professionals for informational purposes only. While we review every application before acceptance, we do not guarantee the quality, availability, pricing, performance, or services of any Trusted Partner. Any agreement, contract, payment, or dispute between a couple and a Trusted Partner is solely between those parties. Shared Beginning is not a party to those agreements and shall not be liable for any loss, damage, injury, delay, cancellation, or dispute arising from services provided by a Trusted Partner.

7. Removal Policy

Shared Beginning reserves the right to suspend or terminate a Trusted Partner’s membership at any time if we believe the business no longer meets our standards, receives repeated substantiated complaints, provides misleading information, fails to uphold professional or inclusive practices, or otherwise acts in a manner inconsistent with our values. Membership fees are generally non-refundable once a profile has been published, except where required by law.

8. Content licence and data

• You keep ownership of your listing content (logo, photos, descriptions) and grant us a licence to host and display it in the directory and in reasonable promotion of the directory itself.
• We handle your business-contact and application data as described in the Privacy Policy.

9. Liability, law, and changes

The disclaimers and limitation of liability in the Terms of Service apply to this agreement. This agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta, Canada, and disputes belong to the courts of Alberta. We may update this agreement with reasonable notice; changes apply from your next renewal unless the change is required by law sooner. Questions: privacy@sharedbeginning.com.