1. Purpose of this manual
The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 ("PAIA") gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information. Section 51 requires every private body to compile a manual describing the records it holds and how to request them. This is that manual. The exemption that previously excused small private bodies from having one ended on 31 December 2021, so it applies to us regardless of our size.
This manual is available on this page, free of charge, and on request at our place of business during normal business hours.
2. Contact details of the head of the private body
The head of the private body is responsible for deciding requests made under PAIA. Requests should be addressed as follows:
- Private body
- QA Culture (Pty) Ltd
- Trading as
- We Chose Forever
- Registration number
- 2022/315022/07
- Head of the body / Information Officer
- To be confirmed
- Email for PAIA requests
- info@qaculture.co.za
- Website
- https://wechoseforever.co.za
Kept out of the page so they are not collected automatically. One click shows them, and nothing is asked of you in return.
3. The Information Regulator's guide
The Information Regulator has published a guide, in terms of section 10 of PAIA, on how to use the Act. It is available from the Regulator in each official language, free of charge:
- Regulator
- Information Regulator (South Africa)
- Address
- JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
- inforeg@inforegulator.org.za
- Website
- https://inforegulator.org.za
4. Records available without a PAIA request
Some records are already published or available on request without going through the PAIA process. Asking for these is faster:
- Our Terms of Service, Vendor Terms, Privacy Policy, Cookie Notice, Acceptable Use Policy, Copyright and Takedown Policy, and Refunds and Cancellation Policy — all published on this website.
- Our published pricing.
- A copy of the personal information we hold about you, which you can export yourself from your dashboard at any time.
5. Records held, by category
Section 51(1)(e) requires us to describe the subjects on which we hold records and the categories of record under each. We hold:
- Customer records
- Account details, wedding site content and settings, uploaded photographs, guest lists, budgets, and vendor selections.
- Vendor records
- Account details, business details, pricing, service areas, portfolio images, listing tier and subscription records.
- Operational records
- Server and application logs, abuse-prevention records including hashed IP addresses, and records of profile views within the marketplace.
- Financial records
- Invoices, payment records, banking records, tax records and financial statements.
- Corporate records
- Founding documents, registration records, and statutory registers.
- Employment records
- Where we have employees or contractors: contracts, payroll and related records.
- Service provider records
- Contracts and data processing agreements with our hosting, database and email providers.
- Compliance records
- This manual, records of PAIA requests received and decided, POPIA records, and records of any security compromise.
6. Records held under other legislation
We hold or may hold records under, among others: the Companies Act 71 of 2008; the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962; the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991; the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997; the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995; the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002; the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008; and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. Listing an Act here does not mean the records are available on request — it means they exist.
7. How to make a request
- Use the prescribed form (Form 2 of the PAIA Regulations, 2021), available from the Information Regulator's website.
- Send it to the head of the private body at the email or physical address in section 2 above.
- Provide enough detail to let us identify the record and to identify you, and state the form of access you want.
- If you are requesting a record in order to exercise or protect a right, say which right and explain how the record is required for it — section 50 of PAIA requires this, and a request without it must be refused.
- Give us an address in South Africa to send our decision to.
- If you are making the request on someone else's behalf, attach proof of your authority.
We will decide within 30 days of receiving a complete request, and tell you in writing. We may extend that by up to a further 30 days where the Act allows, and we will tell you if we do.
8. Fees
PAIA allows a private body to charge a request fee and an access fee, both prescribed by regulation. Our practice:
- A request for your own personal information carries no request fee.
- Where an access fee is payable, we will tell you the amount before doing the work, and you may withdraw the request.
- We do not charge for the copy of your own data that you export yourself from your dashboard, and that is almost always the faster route.
9. Grounds on which we may refuse
PAIA obliges us to refuse a request in some circumstances and permits it in others. The main grounds are:
- Unreasonable disclosure of another person's personal information (section 63) — this is the ground most likely to apply here, because our records are largely other people's weddings.
- Commercial information of a third party, including trade secrets and information that could harm their commercial interests (section 64).
- Information supplied in confidence, where disclosure would breach a duty of confidence (section 65).
- Information whose disclosure could endanger a person's life or safety, or prejudice property security (section 66).
- Legally privileged records (section 67).
- Our own commercial information, research, and trade secrets (sections 68 and 69).
Where a record can be separated so that the exempt part is withheld and the rest released, we will release the rest.
10. If we refuse
We will tell you in writing, give reasons, identify the provision relied on, and explain how to challenge the decision. There is no internal appeal against the head of a private body. You may complain to the Information Regulator, or apply to a court for relief, within 180 days.
11. Updates
We review this manual when our records or our details change, and at least once a year. The version and date at the top of this page are current.
Version history
- 1.0 — 25 August 2026
- The first published version.