Version 1.1 | 20 October 2026
1. Our cooperation
These terms govern the free provider directory and editorial contributions of The Vow Journal, operated by Nico Pagel, Xantener Straße 18, 10707 Berlin, Germany, hello@thevowjournal.com. They cover professionals, businesses and editorial contributors using our directory and contribution services, including those based elsewhere in the EU. You must be at least 18. The contract is with the self-employed professional or business identified in your application, which may differ from your public display name. If you apply for a business, you confirm that you are authorised to act for it.
Your application is an offer to join on these terms. The directory cooperation begins when we accept that offer and notify you by email. Acceptance authorises publication of the public profile information you submitted; it does not guarantee a particular placement or result.
Regular listings and editorial cooperation are free. No contractual payment is agreed for the publication rights below; mandatory statutory remuneration and information rights remain unaffected. We promise no particular placement, enquiries or bookings. Bookings are directly between you and the client. You may use other platforms and set your own client terms and prices.
2. Listings and placement
Listings and editorial contributions are subject to human selection based on relevance to the journal, the quality and suitability of the work, and compliance with these terms. Publication and a particular position are not guaranteed.
Regular results match the selected service, destination, occasion and style. Local coverage ranks before nationwide coverage, followed by other providers available to travel to that destination; names are alphabetical within each group. Without a destination, or when alphabetical sorting is selected, results are alphabetical. Location coverage takes priority because it indicates availability at the requested destination.
Editorial features are selected separately for their work and relevance to the subject. The same rules apply to businesses connected with us; relevant personal or economic connections are disclosed. Connected businesses receive no access to other providers' private data.
Regular listings are free. Optional paid placements may be offered under a separate agreement, will be identified as sponsored and may appear before regular results. No payment obligation arises from these terms or from retaining a regular listing.
3. Your content and publication rights
You keep ownership of your photographs and texts. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide licence to store, reproduce and publish the public details, texts and photographs you actively submit, including an optional profile photograph subject to the personal-image permissions below, for:
- Your profile, portfolio and editorial articles on The Vow Journal website and in a future The Vow Journal app. Use of an optional personal portrait is limited to the website profile unless the additional personal-image permission needed for another channel has been obtained.
- Selected images and public profile details in unpaid posts, carousels and stories on our official Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts, only if you separately choose that optional image permission, to feature you, your work or related editorial content.
We may select images within this scope without separate approval for each publication. You authorise technical providers and social platforms to receive the licences necessary to host, display and distribute those publications, limited to the agreed purposes. This does not allow us to sell or license your work for unrelated independent use. Paid advertising or any use outside this scope requires separate permission. Linking your website or social account does not authorise copying other content from it.
There is no fixed licence period; its duration and removal are governed by section 8. Each later contribution is licensed when you actively submit it under the agreed terms. You have no obligation to upload photographs or supply future work.
4. Editing and credits
We may resize and crop images for the publication format and add captions or layout text, respecting the character of your work. Material alterations or removal of watermarks require your permission. We may edit submitted text and write articles from your facts and images without attributing invented statements to you.
We credit the image creator you identify and link to your profile or public website where available. Social credits appear in the caption or post, with your supplied account tagged where supported. Provide any different required credit, including for your portrait. Articles we write are attributed to The Vow Journal; you and the identified image creators are credited for your respective contributions.
5. Rights and responsibility
You confirm that you own or have obtained the rights and permissions needed for section 3, including copyright and the necessary permissions and lawful basis for publishing identifiable people. This includes couples, guests and people shown in profile photographs; where required, a child's legal representatives must agree. Permissions must cover publication by The Vow Journal, not only your own portfolio. Tell us about restrictions before submitting and provide evidence of permissions if reasonably requested.
Keep your business identity, location, services and links accurate. Your public profile must identify your business clearly; your supplied website should provide any legally required business information. Do not submit unlawful or misleading material, impersonate others, misuse client enquiries, compromise the service or disclose private information without authority. Keep your personal editing link secure and tell us if it is compromised.
If your intentional or negligent breach of these obligations causes third-party claims, you must cover justified claims and necessary, reasonable legal defence costs to that extent. We will notify you promptly, allow you to assist with the defence and take reasonable steps to limit losses. This does not cover our own fault or use outside the agreed scope. Otherwise, statutory liability rules apply.
6. Data and enquiries
Your private applicant and contact details are not published. You can access and correct your profile information and request a copy of the information we retain about you. We provide you with enquiries addressed to you, not other providers' private data or a shared directory-wide dataset. You remain responsible for lawfully handling the enquiries you receive.
We do not sell private application or enquiry data. Technical providers process data to operate the service; public material may be shared on the channels in section 3. Details of providers, legal bases, transfers, retention and privacy rights are in our Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy.
After the cooperation ends, we retain private records only where necessary to meet legal obligations or establish, exercise or defend legal claims. Your rights to information and other applicable data-protection rights remain unaffected.
A portrait is voluntary and your listing can continue without it. Its website-profile use is explained beside the optional upload. Optional unpaid social-image use is requested separately and can be withdrawn without ending your listing. The copyright licence does not replace any consent or other lawful basis required for publishing a person's likeness, including on social media or in an app. Where consent is required, it must be obtained specifically before that use and may be withdrawn at any time without affecting earlier lawful processing. Marketing emails and a requested personal story invitation have their own separate optional choices. Acceptance of these terms is not blanket data-protection consent.
7. Content decisions and complaints
We may decline, correct, restrict or temporarily suspend material or a profile for missing rights, unlawful content, materially inaccurate information, impersonation, security risks or other breaches of section 5. We assess the facts and normally limit action to affected material. Decisions are made by human review, not solely by an automated system. We explain restrictions by email at or before they take effect, including the facts, relevant rule, scope and available review, unless disclosure is legally prohibited.
Anyone can report suspected unlawful content to hello@thevowjournal.com. Please identify the content or URL, explain the concern, provide contact details where available and state that the information is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge. We consider incomplete reports where the issue can still be identified. Where contact details are available, we acknowledge receipt without undue delay and explain our decision and review options.
You can complain free of charge by email about a restriction, our compliance or a technical problem, and provide supporting facts. We review complaints individually and fairly, normally reply within 14 days, and explain any delay. An error is corrected and unjustified restrictions are lifted without undue delay, restoring access to relevant retained data. Complaints are not decided solely by automated means. This process does not limit access to courts, applicable statutory dispute-settlement rights or mediation agreed in an individual case.
8. Leaving and removal
The cooperation has no fixed term. You may end it at any time by email, without a fee. We may terminate if the directory is discontinued, its editorial focus changes materially, or you breach these terms. We email the specific reasons at least 30 days before termination. Immediate termination is reserved for a legal duty that prevents that notice, a legally sufficient important reason, or demonstrably repeated breaches where applicable law permits it; reasons are provided without undue delay unless disclosure is legally prohibited.
When the cooperation ends, or earlier at your request, we remove your profile completely, including its photographs, description and public links, without undue delay. New uses of your submissions stop when the cooperation ends.
Existing articles and social posts may remain unless you also request removal of your submitted material from them. We honour that request without undue delay and adjust the publications. Rights to unpublished material end with the cooperation; rights to existing publications end when the material is removed. Continued availability permits no new posts or republication on another channel after termination. Mandatory withdrawal, revocation and removal rights remain unaffected.
We remove copies under our control and take any further steps required by applicable law regarding recipients and public copies. We cannot guarantee deletion of copies independently retained by others. Limited lawful retention of non-public records under section 6 does not permit renewed publication.
9. Changes
We email proposed amendments with their full text at least 15 days in advance, allowing longer where reasonably needed for technical or commercial adjustments. Changes to the agreement or publication rights require your express agreement; silence, continued use or a new upload alone is not acceptance of amended terms. You may leave before a change takes effect. No new fee or wider licence is introduced without separate agreement, and accepted submissions are not retroactively subjected to new terms. Mandatory legal requirements remain applicable independently of any amendment.
10. Law and contact
This agreement is in English and governed by German law. Mandatory rules that apply regardless of this choice remain unaffected, including any consumer protections that apply despite the stated business purpose. Statutory jurisdiction rules apply; these terms impose no exclusive German court or mandatory arbitration. For applications, rights questions, removal requests, complaints or notices from authorities, contact Nico Pagel at hello@thevowjournal.com. We communicate in English or German and handle contact and complaints through human review.