Privacy policy

The Bridal Journey

Last updated: 19 May 2026

The Bridal Journey Pty Ltd ACN 658 629 737 (ABN 52 658 629 737) ("TBJ", "we", "us" or "our") is the operator of thebridaljourney.com.au (the "Site"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use, disclose and protect personal information.

We handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Where applicable, we also handle personal information of users located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK GDPR. The GDPR Notice in Part B of this Policy sets out additional rights and protections for those users.

By using the Site or providing personal information to us, you consent to your information being handled in the ways described in this Policy.

PART A - AUSTRALIAN PRIVACY POLICY

1. What is personal information

"Personal information" has the meaning given in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). It generally means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not and whether or not it is recorded in a material form.

2. Information we collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with the Site. We collect the following categories:

Identity and contact details: name, email address, postal address, phone number, business name, ABN, social media handles.
Account information for vendors: login credentials, business details, contact details, profile content, billing information.
Marketplace information: seller and buyer contact details, listing content, item descriptions, photographs, messages exchanged through the Marketplace messaging system, listing fee payment information.
Real wedding submission information: couple names, wedding date, location, photographer and vendor credits, photographs, written responses to editorial questions, consents.
Commercial partner information: business details, contact details, billing information, campaign content and assets.
Newsletter and marketing preferences: email address, subscription status, engagement data.
Communications: emails, direct messages, support tickets, survey responses, and any other correspondence.
Technical and usage data: IP address, device identifiers, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, click data, session duration, date and time of visit, approximate geographic location.
Cookie and analytics data: information collected via cookies, tracking pixels, tags, and similar technologies.

3. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information in the following ways:

Directly from you when you complete a form on the Site (newsletter, contact, vendor signup, marketplace listing, real wedding submission), create a vendor account, send us an email, or message us on social media.
Automatically when you interact with the Site, through cookies, server logs, and analytics tools.
From third parties such as photographers, vendors, contributors or partners who provide content or contact information about you with your knowledge (for example, a photographer submitting a real wedding featuring you as a couple). We require submitting parties to confirm they have obtained all necessary consents at the point of submission.
From publicly available sources, such as social media profiles you have made public, where relevant to a story, partnership, or directory listing.

4. Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information

We use personal information for purposes including:

Operating, maintaining and improving the Site.
Producing and publishing editorial content, including real wedding features, vendor features and industry news.
Administering vendor accounts and the Vendor Directory subscription.
Facilitating the Marketplace, including publishing listings, providing the messaging function, and processing listing fees.
Sending the TBJ newsletter, alerts and marketing communications you have subscribed to.
Administering paid partnerships, advertising arrangements and sponsored content.
Processing payments and invoices.
Conducting research, analytics, and audience analysis.
Detecting, investigating, and preventing fraud, abuse, or breaches of our Terms.
Complying with our legal obligations and enforcing our agreements.

5. Who we disclose personal information to

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We disclose personal information to the following categories of recipients in the ordinary course of our business:

Payment processors: Stripe (for vendor subscriptions, listing fees, and partnership payments).
Email marketing platform: Klaviyo.
Website and ecommerce hosting: Shopify and GoDaddy.
Analytics and advertising: Google (Google Analytics 4, Google Ads), Meta (Facebook/Instagram Pixel and Conversions API), Pinterest (Pinterest Tag), and TikTok (TikTok Pixel).
Affiliate platforms: ShopMy.
Contributors and collaborators, such as photographers, stylists and writers working with us on editorial content.
Commercial partners and vendors, where you have agreed to participate in a campaign or feature in which they are involved.
Professional advisers, including accountants, lawyers, and auditors.
Government agencies, regulators and law enforcement, where required or authorised by law.
An acquirer or successor entity if TBJ is sold, merged or restructured (subject to confidentiality).
Any other party with your consent.

6. Overseas disclosure

Many of our service providers are based outside Australia. Personal information may be disclosed to recipients in the following locations:

United States: Stripe, Klaviyo, Google, Meta, Pinterest, TikTok, ShopMy, Shopify (some infrastructure), GoDaddy (some infrastructure).
Other jurisdictions where our service providers operate cloud infrastructure, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Canada.

Where we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient handles personal information consistently with the APPs, including by selecting reputable providers who maintain industry-standard security and contractual protections.

7. Cookies, analytics and tracking technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies including pixels, tags and local storage to operate the Site, remember preferences, understand how visitors use the Site, and measure the effectiveness of our content and advertising.

We use the following analytics and advertising tools:

Google Analytics 4 ("GA4") for site usage analytics.
Google Ads for advertising and remarketing.
Meta Pixel and Conversions API (Facebook and Instagram) for advertising, retargeting and measurement.
Pinterest Tag for advertising and measurement.
TikTok Pixel for advertising and measurement.

These third parties may set their own cookies and process data subject to their own privacy policies. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect your experience on the Site. You can opt out of Google Analytics via the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, and manage advertising preferences via Your Online Choices (youronlinechoices.com.au).

8. Affiliate links and ShopMy

We use the affiliate platform ShopMy (and may use other affiliate networks from time to time). Where you click an affiliate link on the Site or in our newsletter, ShopMy or the relevant network may collect data about the click and any resulting transaction. This data is subject to ShopMy's own privacy policy. We may earn a commission on resulting sales. See clause 6 of our Terms and Conditions for our disclosure approach.

9. Direct marketing

If you have provided your email address, we may send you marketing communications about TBJ content, events, partnerships and offers in accordance with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email or by contacting hello@thebridaljourney.com.au. We process unsubscribe requests within 5 business days.

10. Real wedding submissions and editorial content

If you submit a real wedding, photographs, written content or other material to TBJ, you confirm that you have obtained the consent of all individuals identifiable in the material (including your partner, family members, wedding guests, photographers and vendors), and you grant the licence set out in our Terms and Conditions. Personal information contained in published features (such as first names and vendor credits) is intended to be public. If you wish to withdraw or amend a feature after publication, please contact us and we will consider the request on a case-by-case basis.

11. Marketplace data

If you list or purchase an item through the Marketplace, we collect and use personal information to operate the Marketplace, including publishing your listing, processing your listing fee through Stripe, and facilitating messaging between Buyers and Sellers through our on-platform messaging system. We may review messages for safety, abuse, fraud and compliance purposes. We do not process the actual sale price of items (Buyer and Seller handle payment between themselves).

12. Vendor accounts

If you register as a vendor on the Vendor Directory, we collect and hold your business and contact details, billing information, account credentials, and listing content. We use this information to provide the directory service, process subscription payments through Stripe, communicate with you about your account, and ensure compliance with the Vendor Subscription Agreement.

13. How we store and protect personal information

Personal information is stored on secure cloud platforms and devices controlled by us or our service providers. We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include access controls, encryption in transit, secure passwords, and reputable third-party providers. No internet-based system is completely secure and we cannot guarantee that unauthorised access will never occur.

14. Data retention

We retain personal information only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this Policy, or as required by law:

Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe, plus a short suppression period.
Vendor accounts: for the duration of the subscription and for at least 7 years after termination for tax, accounting and audit compliance.
Marketplace listings: while the listing is active and for at least 7 years after closure for tax, accounting and audit compliance.
Marketplace messages: for at least 2 years for safety, dispute and compliance purposes.
Commercial partners: for the duration of the relationship and for at least 7 years afterwards.
Real wedding and editorial submissions: indefinitely as part of our editorial archive, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
Website analytics: as set by our analytics provider (typically 14 to 26 months).

15. Notifiable Data Breaches

If we become aware of an eligible data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to any individuals whose personal information is involved, we will notify those individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

16. Accessing and correcting your information

You may request access to or correction of personal information we hold about you by emailing hello@thebridaljourney.com.au with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We will respond within a reasonable time (usually within 30 days). We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. In some cases, we may decline a request (for example, where giving access would be unlawful or unreasonably impact another person's privacy), and we will explain why in writing.

17. Children

General Site content is not intended for users under 16 and the Marketplace and Vendor Directory are not available to users under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child under 16 has provided personal information, please contact us and we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

18. Links to third party websites

The Site contains links to third-party websites, vendor sites, social media platforms, payment processors, affiliate partners, and other resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any third-party sites. Please review the privacy policy of any third party before providing personal information.

19. Complaints

If you believe we have breached the APPs or mishandled your personal information, please contact us first at hello@thebridaljourney.com.au with "Privacy Complaint" in the subject line. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC): website www.oaic.gov.au, phone 1300 363 992, mail GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.

20. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on the Site with the "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

21. Contact

The Bridal Journey Pty Ltd

ACN 658 629 737 | ABN 52 658 629 737

Registered office: Level 1/4-6 Gilbert St, Torquay VIC 3228

Postal address: PO Box 2111, Geelong VIC 3220

Email: hello@thebridaljourney.com.au

PART B - GDPR NOTICE FOR USERS IN THE EEA, UK AND SWITZERLAND

This Part B applies if you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland. It supplements Part A and prevails to the extent of any inconsistency. For the purposes of the GDPR and the UK GDPR, The Bridal Journey Pty Ltd is the data controller of your personal data.

22. Legal bases for processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases:

Consent: where you have given consent to specific processing, such as receiving our newsletter or accepting non-essential cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Contract: where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you (for example, providing a vendor subscription, processing a marketplace listing fee, fulfilling a partnership).
Legal obligation: where processing is necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, tax records).
Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests (for example, security, fraud prevention, improving the Site, direct marketing to existing contacts) and those interests are not overridden by your rights.

23. Your rights

Under the GDPR and the UK GDPR, you have the following rights in respect of your personal data:

Right of access: to obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and a copy of it.
Right to rectification: to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): to have your personal data deleted in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction of processing: to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and transmit it to another controller.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
Right not to be subject to automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise any of these rights, contact hello@thebridaljourney.com.au. We will respond within one month.

24. International data transfers

As an Australia-based business, we transfer personal data outside the EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Where required by law, such transfers are made under appropriate safeguards, including the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or applicable adequacy decisions.

25. Right to lodge a complaint

If you believe our processing of your personal data infringes the GDPR or UK GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in your country of residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

26. Data Protection Officer

We have not appointed a Data Protection Officer as we are not required to do so under the GDPR. For data protection enquiries, contact hello@thebridaljourney.com.au.

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