Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are an agreement between you and Shared Beginning Inc. ("Shared Beginning", "we", "us"), located at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They govern your use of the Shared Beginning website, wedding-site builder, planning tools, messaging tools, and Trusted Partner directory (together, the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Cookie Policy, and our Acceptable Use Policy. Vendors who join the Trusted Partner program also agree to the Trusted Partner Agreement.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. The Service is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to create an account.

2. Your account

• You are responsible for the accuracy of your account information and for keeping your password and any two-factor credentials confidential.
• Everything done through your account is your responsibility. Tell us promptly at privacy@sharedbeginning.com if you suspect unauthorised access.
• You may invite a partner or collaborator to your wedding workspace; you are responsible for the people you invite.

3. Plans, billing, and refunds

Shared Beginning is sold as one-time purchases, not subscriptions. There is no auto-renewal and we never charge your card without you starting a purchase.

• Plans. Paid plans include site hosting for a fixed 12-month term from purchase. When the term ends, your public site is archived (your planning data is not deleted) unless you buy a hosting extension.
• Add-ons. Add-ons (hosting extensions, SMS credit packs, the post-wedding album, custom domains) are one-time purchases with the term or quantity described at checkout.
• SMS credits. SMS messages consume credits per message segment, at zone-based rates shown in the app. Credits have no cash value and are not transferable. A daily per-wedding sending cap applies as an anti-abuse measure.
• Custom domains. Domains are registered on your behalf through a third-party registrar for the term shown at checkout (typically two years) and are priced at the registrar cost plus a service markup, shown before you buy. Because a domain registration is executed with the registrar immediately, domain purchases cannot be refunded once the domain is registered. You can transfer your domain away; contact us for help.
• Payments. Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not see or store your card number. Prices exclude applicable taxes unless stated otherwise.
• Refunds. Because plans and add-ons are delivered immediately, purchases are non-refundable once delivered, except where a refund is required by applicable law (including consumer-protection law in your place of residence). If something went wrong with a purchase, contact us — we would rather fix it than argue about it.

4. Your content

• You own your content. Wedding sites, photos, guest lists, documents, and everything else you or your guests upload remain yours.
• Licence to us. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, and display your content solely to operate and provide the Service (for example, serving your wedding site to your guests and generating previews). This licence ends when the content is deleted from the Service, subject to backup-retention windows described in the Privacy Policy.
• Your responsibility. You must have the rights to everything you upload, and your content must comply with the Acceptable Use Policy.

5. Your guests and their personal information

When you add guests to Shared Beginning — names, email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, RSVP answers, dietary needs — you are responsible for that data. For privacy-law purposes, you act as the controller of your guest data and Shared Beginning processes it on your instructions (see the Privacy Policy). You agree that:

• you have a lawful basis (such as consent or your personal relationship with the guest) to enter each guest into the Service;
• before using the email or SMS tools to message a guest, you have that guest's consent to be contacted that way, and you will respect opt-outs (SMS recipients can reply STOP at any time, and we enforce those opt-outs automatically);
• you will only use guest data for planning and hosting your own wedding — never for marketing or resale; and
• you will pass on to us any request a guest makes about their data that you cannot handle yourself.

6. Acceptable use

Use of the Service is subject to the Acceptable Use Policy, which is part of these Terms. In short: nothing illegal, hateful, or deceptive; no spam; no attempts to break or overload the Service.

7. The Trusted Partner directory

Shared Beginning offers a curated directory of independent wedding vendors ("Trusted Partners"). The directory is provided for information and discovery only:

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.

Vendors participate under the Trusted Partner Agreement. Inquiries you send to a vendor are delivered to that vendor, and anything that happens after that — quotes, contracts, payments, performance — is between you and the vendor.

8. Suspension and termination

• You may stop using the Service and ask us to delete your account at any time.
• We may suspend or terminate access if you materially breach these Terms, the Acceptable Use Policy, or applicable law, or where necessary to protect the Service, other users, or guests. Where reasonable, we will warn you first and give you a chance to fix the problem.
• On termination we will give you a reasonable opportunity to export your content, unless the law or the nature of the breach prevents it.

9. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free. Weddings are important — keep your own copies of anything you cannot afford to lose, and use the export tools we provide.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Shared Beginning will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, or goodwill. Our total liability for all claims relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amounts you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose, and (b) CA$100. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including certain consumer rights in your place of residence.

11. Indemnity

You will indemnify us against third-party claims arising from your content, your use of the Service in breach of these Terms, or your failure to obtain the consents described in section 5 — except to the extent the claim was caused by us.

12. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta, Canada and the federal laws of Canada applicable there. Subject to any mandatory consumer-protection rights in your place of residence, disputes will be resolved in the courts of Alberta, and you and we each attorn to their jurisdiction. Before starting any formal proceeding, please contact us at privacy@sharedbeginning.com — most problems can be sorted out informally.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms as the Service evolves. If a change is material, we will give you reasonable advance notice (for example, by email or an in-app notice) before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Service after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms; if you do not, stop using the Service and contact us about your account.

14. Contact

Shared Beginning Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
privacy@sharedbeginning.com