Terms and Conditions

1.1 The Wedding Help Awards celebrate businesses operating within the wedding industry, primarily within Northern Ireland.

1.2 The Awards form part of the wider Wedding Help NI platform.

1.3 The Awards are intended to:

• recognise businesses within the wedding industry;
• allow couples, clients and members of the public to support businesses;
• celebrate the Northern Ireland wedding industry;
• encourage positive engagement within the industry;
• introduce more couples and businesses to Wedding Help NI; and
• support the continued growth of WeddingHelpNI.com and the wider Wedding Help NI platform.

1.4 Wedding Help NI membership and the Wedding Help Awards are separate.

Purchasing membership does not purchase or guarantee Awards success.

2.1 The Awards are open to eligible wedding businesses and professionals operating within, serving or having a relevant connection to the Northern Ireland wedding industry.

2.2 A business does not have to be a paying Wedding Help NI member to participate unless a particular category is expressly identified as having different eligibility requirements.

2.3 Eligible Wedding Help NI members and non-members may therefore be nominated, become finalists and win an Award.

2.4 Wedding Help NI may reasonably verify:

• business identity;
• trading status;
• services provided;
• category eligibility;
• Awards participation;
• voting activity; and
• other information reasonably necessary to administer the Awards.

2.5 Wedding Help NI may decline or remove an entry where we reasonably determine that the business:

• is not eligible;
• has ceased trading;
• has been materially misrepresented;
• has provided materially false information;
• has deliberately manipulated the Awards;
• has seriously breached these Terms; or
• cannot reasonably be verified as an eligible participant.

3.1 Participation in the Wedding Help Awards is entirely optional.

3.2 No business is required to:

• accept or promote a nomination;
• campaign for votes;
• share voting links;
• participate in the finalist stage;
• purchase an Awards ticket;
• attend the Awards ceremony; or
• participate in future Wedding Help Awards.

3.3 A business that does not wish to participate may contact Wedding Help NI through the official Contact Admin / Support facility on WeddingHelpNI.com and request withdrawal.

3.4 Where reasonably practicable, the business will then be removed from active participation.

3.5 Withdrawal from the Awards does not automatically create an entitlement to a refund for any separate membership, sponsorship, advertising, event ticket or other product or service already purchased.

Any applicable refund rights will be governed by the terms applying to the relevant purchase and applicable law.

4.1 Businesses may be nominated during the nomination period announced by Wedding Help NI.

4.2 Nominations received after the published closing date do not have to be accepted.

4.3 For the 2026 Awards, nominations form part of the initial Awards process and may contribute to the initial level of support recorded for a business.

4.4 Nomination does not guarantee an Award.

4.5 Wedding Help NI may make reasonable administrative corrections including:

• correcting business names;
• correcting spelling;
• consolidating duplicate entries;
• correcting category placement; and
• removing duplicate business profiles.

4.6 A nominated business may request withdrawal.

5.1 A nominated business that is not a paying Wedding Help NI member may be provided with a limited Awards Profile.

5.2 A limited Awards Profile exists primarily to facilitate participation in the Awards.

5.3 It is not a full Wedding Help NI supplier membership.

5.4 A limited Awards Profile may contain information including:

• business name;
• category;
• logo or image;
• basic business information; and
• Awards voting functionality.

5.5 Non-members do not receive the full range of benefits associated with paid Wedding Help NI membership simply because they have an Awards Profile.

6.1 Wedding Help NI membership and the Wedding Help Awards are separate.

6.2 Purchasing or holding Silver, Gold, Platinum, VIP or another Wedding Help NI membership does not:

• provide additional Awards votes;
• guarantee finalist status;
• guarantee an Award;
• alter verified voting results; or
• provide preferential treatment when determining a winner.

6.3 Higher membership tiers may provide additional year-round marketing, profile, social media, platform or promotional benefits.

Those benefits are separate from the determination of Awards results.

6.4 A non-member becoming a finalist or winner does not automatically provide that business with Wedding Help NI membership.

6.5 A non-member may apply to join Wedding Help NI during or following the Awards process.

Joining does not retrospectively alter votes or Awards results.

7.1 Following nominations, businesses may participate in an initial public voting stage.

7.2 Voting takes place through the official Wedding Help NI voting system during the published voting period.

7.3 The published rule for the 2026 Awards is one vote per person.

7.4 The initial voting stage is not based on a predetermined numerical cut-off for finalist status.

7.5 Wedding Help NI is not required to select only a fixed number of the highest-voted businesses from each category.

7.6 Eligible businesses that participate in the Awards process, satisfy the applicable requirements, have not withdrawn and have not been disqualified may progress to the finalist stage.

7.7 The number of finalists may therefore vary between categories.

7.8 This structure allows genuine participating businesses to progress to the principal finalist stage without Wedding Help NI having to create an arbitrary fixed number of finalists.

8.1 Following the initial voting stage, Wedding Help NI will review the participating businesses before confirming finalists.

8.2 This review may include:

• eligibility;
• category placement;
• voting compliance;
• duplicate or invalid voting activity;
• whether the business remains trading; and
• whether the business has requested withdrawal.

8.3 There is no predetermined number of finalists that Wedding Help NI is required to announce in each category.

8.4 Eligible participating businesses that have not withdrawn or been disqualified may progress to the finalist stage.

8.5 Finalist status becomes official when confirmed or announced by Wedding Help NI.

8.6 A business does not have to purchase an Awards ticket or commit to attending the Awards ceremony in order to become a finalist.

8.7 A finalist may subsequently request withdrawal.

8.8 Becoming a finalist does not guarantee an Award.

9.1 Following the announcement of finalists, the Awards will enter a further public voting stage.

9.2 The planned finalist voting period for the 2026 Awards is two weeks.

9.3 This is the principal competitive voting stage used to determine the winner in each applicable category.

9.4 Unless expressly stated otherwise for a particular category, the finalist receiving the highest number of valid, verified votes during the finalist voting stage will be the winner of that category.

9.5 One vote per person applies unless Wedding Help NI expressly publishes a different voting rule for a particular category or stage.

9.6 Voting totals remain provisional until verification has been completed.

10.1 Wedding Help NI may review voting activity to protect the integrity of the Awards.

10.2 We may investigate where there are reasonable grounds to suspect:

• duplicate voting;
• automated or bot voting;
• false identities;
• fabricated information;
• deliberate circumvention of voting restrictions;
• organised manipulation;
• fraudulent voting;
• interference with the website or voting system; or
• other activity intended to artificially distort voting results.

10.3 Votes reasonably determined to be invalid may be removed.

10.4 Wedding Help NI may use available voting records, technical information and other relevant evidence when conducting verification.

10.5 A high number of votes alone does not establish wrongdoing.

10.6 Businesses are permitted to actively campaign for genuine votes.

10.7 Businesses may encourage customers, followers, friends, family and other genuine supporters to vote.

10.8 Depending on the seriousness of an identified issue, Wedding Help NI may:

• remove invalid votes;
• request further information;
• correct a verified total;
• temporarily suspend progression while an issue is reviewed; or
• disqualify a participant in cases involving sufficiently serious deliberate manipulation or material breaches of these Terms.

11.1 Voting totals are provisional until verification has been completed.

11.2 Verification may include:

• checking duplicate activity;
• reviewing suspected voting manipulation;
• checking compliance with voting restrictions;
• checking eligibility;
• correcting administrative errors; and
• removing votes reasonably determined to be invalid.

11.3 Public-facing voting information or screenshots should not be treated as final verified results unless Wedding Help NI confirms otherwise.

11.4 Official Awards results are those confirmed by Wedding Help NI following the relevant verification process.

12.1 Following the finalist voting stage and verification, one winner will be announced in each applicable category.

12.2 Unless a category has an expressly published alternative process, the winner will be the eligible finalist receiving the highest number of valid, verified votes during the finalist voting stage.

12.3 There will not be an automatic “Highly Commended” recipient in each category for the 2026 Awards.

12.4 Winner status becomes official when confirmed or announced by Wedding Help NI.

13.1 If verified finalist voting produces an exact tie for first place, Wedding Help NI may apply a reasonable and transparent tie-break procedure.

13.2 This may include:

• reference to applicable verified voting from an earlier stage;
• an additional vote between the tied businesses; or
• another objectively reasonable procedure communicated to the affected finalists.

13.3 Wedding Help NI will not deliberately alter verified voting totals to avoid a tie.

14.1 Businesses should participate in categories genuinely relevant to the services they provide.

14.2 Wedding Help NI may correct an obvious category error.

14.3 Where reasonably necessary for the administration of the Awards, Wedding Help NI may:

• rename a category;
• combine categories;
• divide a category;
• correct category placement; or
• make another reasonable administrative adjustment.

14.4 Such changes will not be made for the purpose of favouring or disadvantaging a particular participant.

14.5 Where a material category change affects participating businesses, Wedding Help NI will take reasonable steps to communicate it.

15.1 A business may participate in more than one category where it genuinely provides services relevant to those categories and this is permitted within the Awards structure.

15.2 Wedding Help NI may remove an entry from a category where there is insufficient genuine connection between the business and that category.

16.1 Participants should notify Wedding Help NI of significant changes that may affect their Awards entry.

These may include:

• business closure;
• significant ownership changes;
• business name changes;
• mergers; or
• material changes to the service upon which participation is based.

16.2 Wedding Help NI will consider such circumstances individually and take a reasonable approach consistent with the integrity of the Awards.

17.1 Wedding Help NI may promote:

• nominees;
• participating businesses;
• finalists;
• winners;
• Awards sponsors; and
• the Awards ceremony.

17.2 Awards publicity may include:

• business names;
• categories;
• logos;
• supplied images;
• photographs;
• video;
• finalist announcements;
• winner announcements; and
• Awards-related promotional content.

17.3 Awards publicity does not constitute Wedding Help NI membership.

17.4 A non-member finalist or winner may receive publicity specifically connected with their Awards participation or achievement.

17.5 This does not provide that business with the full ongoing promotional benefits of Wedding Help NI membership.

17.6 Paying members continue to receive the benefits applicable to their respective membership packages independently of Awards coverage.

18.1 Where a participant provides Wedding Help NI with logos, photographs, videos or other promotional material for Awards participation, the participant confirms that they have the necessary rights or permissions to provide that material.

18.2 The participant permits Wedding Help NI to use supplied material for reasonable Awards-related purposes including:

• voting pages;
• Awards administration;
• finalist announcements;
• winner announcements;
• social media;
• website content;
• event promotion; and
• retrospective Awards coverage.

18.3 Ownership of the underlying intellectual property remains with the relevant rights holder.

19.1 The Wedding Help Awards 2026 ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Culloden Estate & Spa on Sunday 15 November 2026.

19.2 Awards participation and event attendance are separate.

19.3 A nominee or finalist does not have to purchase a ticket to remain eligible for the Awards.

19.4 Purchasing a ticket does not:

• provide additional votes;
• secure finalist status;
• improve a participant's chance of winning; or
• otherwise influence the Awards result.

19.5 Finalist status does not automatically include a complimentary Awards ticket.

19.6 Tickets are subject to the applicable ticket and event terms.

19.7 Event arrangements may be changed where reasonably necessary because of circumstances outside Wedding Help NI's reasonable control.

20.1 Wedding Help NI may appoint sponsors for the Awards, individual categories or the Awards ceremony.

20.2 Sponsorship does not give a sponsor control over public voting results.

20.3 Sponsoring an Award or category does not provide the sponsor with the right to select the winner unless an alternative judging mechanism has been expressly published for that particular Award.

21.1 Wedding Help NI will take reasonable steps to maintain the Awards website and voting system.

21.2 Uninterrupted availability cannot be guaranteed.

21.3 Technical problems may include:

• website outages;
• server problems;
• software errors;
• hosting failures;
• internet problems;
• third-party service interruptions;
• security incidents; or
• circumstances outside our reasonable control.

21.4 Where a significant technical problem materially affects voting, Wedding Help NI may take reasonable corrective action.

This may include:

• temporarily suspending voting;
• extending a voting deadline;
• restoring functionality;
• reviewing affected voting records; or
• taking another reasonable step intended to protect the process.

22.1 Wedding Help NI may make reasonable administrative or operational changes where necessary for the proper running of the Awards.

22.2 This may include changes required because of:

• technical problems;
• security issues;
• legal requirements;
• errors requiring correction;
• participant withdrawals;
• category issues;
• venue or event circumstances; or
• circumstances outside our reasonable control.

22.3 Wedding Help NI will not retrospectively alter verified results simply because a different outcome would be preferred.

22.4 Where a material change affects participants, reasonable steps will be taken to communicate it.

22.5 Nothing in this section permits Wedding Help NI to arbitrarily disregard the published Awards process.

23.1 Participants may request withdrawal.

23.2 Wedding Help NI may remove or disqualify a participant where there are reasonable grounds to conclude that the participant:

• is ineligible;
• has deliberately manipulated voting;
• has materially breached these Terms;
• has provided materially false information;
• has interfered with the Awards system; or
• has engaged in fraudulent conduct directly connected with the Awards.

23.3 Any action taken will be proportionate to the circumstances.

23.4 An allegation or complaint from another participant does not, by itself, establish wrongdoing.

23.5 Wedding Help NI may request relevant information before making a decision.

24.1 Wedding Help NI will announce official finalists and winners through channels determined by Wedding Help NI.

24.2 Wedding Help NI is not required to publicly disclose:

• complete raw voting data;
• individual voter information;
• personal data;
• technical security information;
• fraud-detection information; or
• internal verification records.

24.3 This helps protect voter privacy, system security and the integrity of future Awards.

24.4 Wedding Help NI may choose to publish voting figures or Awards statistics where appropriate.

25.1 Official questions or concerns regarding the Awards should be submitted through the Contact Admin / Support facility on WeddingHelpNI.com.

25.2 This allows enquiries to be recorded and handled consistently.

25.3 Wedding Help NI is not required to administer official Awards enquiries through:

• personal WhatsApp messages;
• social media direct messages;
• social media comments;
• informal supplier groups; or
• personal accounts belonging to Wedding Help NI personnel.

25.4 Where a participant believes there has been a material administrative error, they should provide their business name, category, details of the issue and any relevant supporting information.

25.5 Wedding Help NI will consider genuine concerns relating to the administration of the Awards.

25.6 Disagreement with a verified result does not, by itself, establish an administrative error.

26.1 Personal information collected through nominations, voting, verification, enquiries or Awards administration will be handled in accordance with the Wedding Help NI Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law.

26.2 Information may be processed where reasonably necessary to:

• administer voting;
• detect duplicate or fraudulent voting;
• verify eligibility;
• respond to enquiries;
• maintain platform security;
• administer the Awards; or
• comply with legal obligations.

26.3 Wedding Help NI will not disclose individual voter information to participating businesses merely because it is requested.

27.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful.

27.2 Subject to applicable law, Wedding Help NI will not be responsible for losses arising solely from circumstances outside its reasonable control.

27.3 Wedding Help NI does not guarantee that Awards participation will result in:

• bookings;
• revenue;
• social media reach;
• website traffic;
• publicity;
• finalist status; or
• an Award.

27.4 Participants remain responsible for their own marketing, travel, accommodation and other costs associated with participation or attendance.

28.1 These Terms provide the framework for administration of the Wedding Help Awards 2026.

28.2 Circumstances may arise that are not specifically anticipated within these Terms.

28.3 Where this happens, Wedding Help NI may make a reasonable administrative decision consistent with:

• the published Awards process;
• these Terms;
• fairness between participants;
• applicable law; and
• the integrity of the Awards.

28.4 Any discretion under these Terms will be exercised for legitimate Awards administration purposes and not simply to favour or disadvantage a particular participant.

29.1 If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.

30.1 These Terms and the Wedding Help Awards are governed by the laws applicable in Northern Ireland.

30.2 Subject to any mandatory legal rights that apply, disputes relating to these Terms will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Northern Ireland.

Official Awards enquiries should be submitted through:

www.weddinghelpni.com

Please use the appropriate Contact Admin / Support facility.

This ensures enquiries are directed to the appropriate person and handled consistently.

For clarity:

Wedding Help NI membership and the Wedding Help Awards are separate.

Eligible members and non-members may participate.

Participation is optional.

Businesses may request withdrawal.

There is no fixed number of finalists per category.

The initial public voting stage is not a fixed numerical elimination process.

Eligible participating businesses may progress to the finalist stage.

The finalist voting stage determines the winner, subject to verification.

Votes may be verified and invalid votes removed.

Paying for Wedding Help NI membership does not purchase votes, finalist status or an Award.

Purchasing an Awards ticket or attending the event does not influence Awards results.

Sponsors do not purchase control over public voting results.

Membership buys membership benefits. It does not buy Awards success.