Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

BelleVenue is operated by Mats Lacavalerie, Nonnegata 4, Trondheim, Norway, as a private individual (no registered company at this time) ("BelleVenue", "we", "us", "our"). BelleVenue is a free introduction service connecting couples with château and domaine wedding venues. We do not take bookings or process payments; we simply pass enquiries between couples and venue owners. For the purposes of the GDPR, BelleVenue is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. You can contact us at contact@belle-venue.com.

2. What information we collect

We only collect information you give us directly:

• Enquiry form: name, email address, wedding month, expected guest count, and any message you write to us.
• "List your venue" form: name, email address, venue name and address, and any message you write to us.

We do not ask you to create an account, and we never ask for or store payment card or bank details. Our web hosting provider may automatically log basic technical information (such as IP address, browser type, and request timestamps) for security and operational purposes — this is standard practice for essentially any website and is not used to identify you personally.

3. How we use your information

We use the information you submit only to:

• Respond to your enquiry and, where relevant, introduce you to a venue owner;
• Follow up about listing a venue, if you've submitted the "List your venue" form;
• Detect and prevent spam or fraudulent submissions (for example, using a hidden spam-trap field on our forms);
• Meet a legal obligation, if we're ever required to (for example, responding to a lawful request from an authority).

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for advertising or profiling.

4. Legal basis for processing (GDPR)

Where the GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Consent — you give us your information voluntarily by submitting a form.
• Pre-contractual steps / legitimate interest — introducing you to a venue owner in response to your enquiry is the entire point of the service you've asked us for.
• Legal obligation — where we're required to retain or disclose information by law.

5. Who we share it with

When you send an enquiry about a specific venue, we share the relevant details from your message with that venue's owner so they can respond to you directly — this is the core purpose of the service. We also use the following third-party services (data processors) to operate the site:

• Web3Forms — delivers form submissions to our email inbox. See web3forms.com/privacy.
• Firebase (Google) — stores our venue listings and powers our admin tools. See policies.google.com/privacy.
• Cloudinary — hosts venue photos uploaded by us or by venue owners. See cloudinary.com/privacy.
• Google Fonts — loads the typefaces used on this site.
• OpenStreetMap / Nominatim — powers location search; the place names you type are sent to their service to look up matching locations.
• Google Analytics — helps us understand how visitors use the site (e.g. which pages are popular). Only loads if you accept cookies via the banner. See policies.google.com/privacy.

We may also disclose your information if required by law, to respond to a valid legal request from a public authority, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of BelleVenue's business — in which case we'd notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

6. International data transfers

Some of the service providers listed above (notably Google/Firebase) may process data on servers located outside the EU/EEA. Where this happens, we rely on the safeguards those providers offer for international transfers, such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. Submitting information through our forms means you understand it may be processed outside your own country.

7. How long we keep it

We keep enquiry and listing submissions for as long as reasonably needed to respond to you and, for venue owners, to manage an ongoing listing — and no longer than necessary for that purpose, unless we're legally required to keep it longer. You can ask us to delete your data at any time (see section 9).

8. Cookies

When you first visit, we ask whether you consent to cookies via a banner. If you accept, we load Google Analytics, which sets cookies to help us understand how visitors use the site. If you decline, Google Analytics never loads and no analytics cookies are set. Fonts and maps are loaded from third-party services (Google Fonts, OpenStreetMap tiles) regardless of your choice, which may set minimal technical cookies as a normal part of delivering that content — not for tracking or advertising. You can change your answer at any time by clearing your browser's site data for this domain.

9. Your rights under GDPR

If you're in the EU/EEA, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you, and get a copy of it;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• Request erasure of your data ("right to be forgotten");
• Object to, or request that we restrict, our processing of your data;
• Request your data in a portable format, where technically applicable;
• Withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything already done based on consent given earlier.

To exercise any of these rights, email contact@belle-venue.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority — since BelleVenue is operated from Norway, this is Datatilsynet; if you're in another EU/EEA country, you may also complain to your own local authority.

10. Children's privacy

Our service is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we'll remove it.

11. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your personal data, but no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We'll post any changes on this page and update the "Last updated" date above. Please check back periodically.

13. Contact us

Questions about this policy, or want to exercise any of your rights? Email contact@belle-venue.com.