Privacy Policy

Weddings of Joy is a bespoke wedding cake studio in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, operated by [legal entity or owner's full name]. We are the responsible party for the personal information described here.

Our Information Officer is [Information Officer name]. You can reach us at info@weddingsofjoy.co.za or +27 (0)62 631 3743, or write to us at [postal address], Jeffreys Bay, 6330.

We only collect what you choose to give us, plus basic website usage data if you allow it.

• When you enquire: your name, email address, phone number, wedding date, venue, guest numbers, the cake styles you like, your message, and how you heard about us.
• When you download our booklet: your first name, email address and, if you share it, your wedding date.
• When you join our newsletter: your email address.
• When you browse the site: if you allow analytics, Google Analytics collects information such as the pages you visit, your approximate location, your device and browser, and how you arrived. This does not identify you by name.
• When you contact us another way: whatever you send us by email, WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook.

Fields marked as required are needed for us to respond to you. Everything else is optional, and leaving it out simply means we have less to go on when we reply.

• To reply to your enquiry, check availability, prepare a quote, and plan and deliver your cake.
• To send you the booklet you asked for.
• To send our newsletter and occasional updates, but only if you have opted in.
• To understand how people use our website, so we can improve it, but only if you allow analytics.
• To keep business records we are legally required to keep, such as invoices.

We process your information because you asked us to (for enquiries and the booklet), because you consented (for the newsletter and analytics), or because the law requires it (for financial records). We never sell your information.

We only send marketing emails if you have ticked the box to receive them or signed up for our newsletter. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also ask us to stop at any time by emailing info@weddingsofjoy.co.za.

Our site uses a small number of cookies:

• Essential: PHPSESSID keeps the website working properly during your visit and is deleted when you close your browser.
• Analytics (optional): Google Analytics uses _ga and _ga_* cookies to count visits and see how people use the site. These are only set if you click Allow on our cookie notice.
• Your choice: woj_consent remembers whether you allowed analytics, for 12 months.

You can change your choice at any time using the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page, or by clearing cookies in your browser.

We share your information only with service providers who help us run the business, and only as much as they need:

• [Hosting provider], which hosts our website and stores form submissions.
• Mailchimp, which handles our newsletter.
• Google, if you allow analytics.
• Our website developer, SquareStack, when maintaining the site.

Our website also loads fonts and code from Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, Cloudflare and Tailwind, which means your browser connects to their servers when you visit.

If you message us on WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook, those platforms handle your messages under their own privacy policies.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

Some of our providers, including Google, may store or process information outside South Africa. We only use providers that are bound by data protection laws or agreements that give a level of protection similar to POPIA.

• Enquiries that don’t go ahead: deleted within 12 months of your wedding date, or 24 months after you enquired if no date was given.
• Bookings: kept for 5 years after your wedding, as required for tax and financial records.
• Booklet requests: deleted after 24 months, unless you also joined our newsletter.
• Newsletter: kept until you unsubscribe.
• Analytics data: kept by Google for 14 months.

Our website uses HTTPS encryption, and form submissions are stored in a password-protected admin area that only Joy and our developer can access. We keep access to a minimum and use reputable providers. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach ever affected your information, we would tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

Under POPIA, you can:

• ask what personal information we hold about you, and get a copy;
• ask us to correct or update it;
• ask us to delete it, where we don’t need to keep it by law;
• object to us using it, including for marketing;
• withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything we did before; and
• complain to the Information Regulator.

To use any of these rights, email info@weddingsofjoy.co.za. We may ask you to confirm your identity first, and we’ll respond within 30 days.

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please talk to us first. You can also contact the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.

Our services are for couples planning a wedding. We don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.