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The Knot Worldwide
Company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Knot provides content, tools, products and services for couples who are planning weddings and provides referrals to vendors of wedding services, who purchase advertising packages.
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Business model
The Knot charges vendors of wedding services such as dresses, flowers, venues, and photographers, primarily small, local and family businesses, for advertising and referrals.[1][2]
The company operates in 16 countries and includes the following brands: The Knot, WeddingWire, Bodas.net, Hitched, The Bump, The Bash, WeddingPro, Matrimonio.com and others.[3][4]
Fraudulent referrals
According to a 2025 New Yorker piece, vendors advertising through the site have reported experienced high levels of apparently "fake" brides making first contacts that never turn into business.[1] The company has denied that it has referred fake accounts to vendors.[1] A lawsuit was filed by vendors in March 2025.[2]
History
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David Liu, his wife Carley Roney and their business partners, Rob Fassino, and Michael Wolfson founded The Knot Inc. in 1996.[5] The startup received seed financing from AOL, the partners launched The Knot brand as a portal on AOL.[6] In 1997, TheKnot.com launched on the internet.[7]
The company launched an online gift registry in partnership with QVC and published its first book, The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World.[8] In December 1999, the company raised $35 million in an initial public offering.[9]
On December 2, 2000, the company launched its own bridal magazine and went public. The Knot Weddings Magazine is published four times a year and is sold on newsstands.[10] In 2004, the company launched a television series, Real Weddings from The Knot, on the Oxygen Network.[11] The Nest brand launched in 2005 with a website aimed at newly married or cohabiting couples creating their new home. A magazine followed in 2006.[12] In 2006, the company acquired WeddingChannel.com which included its registry platform and helped to consolidate the bridal media industry.[13] In 2008, the company launched TheBump.com to serve expectant and new parents.[14]
Mike Steib joined XO Group as president in July 2013 and assumed the role of CEO in March 2014.[15] In October 2015, XO Group announced the acquisition of GigMasters, an online marketplace for event vendors, and a partnership with Jetaport, a discounted hotel room block booking service.[16] In September 2018, XO Group announced that it would merge with competing wedding planning firm WeddingWire and become a privately held company under the control of WeddingWire investors Permira Funds and Spectrum Equity.[17] The merger became official in March 2019 and the new parent company was renamed to The Knot Worldwide. [18]
In February 2020, The Knot Worldwide announced it acquired Hitched, a U.K.-based wedding brand.[19] In response to COVID-19, the company launched a $10 million assistance program for wedding vendors in need of support and introduced a campaign called Love is Essential covering the cost of dream marriage proposals for essential workers.[20][21] In 2020, The Knot Worldwide launched The Knot Registry Store.[22] The company also launched The Knot Invitations and later partnered with Vera Wang, JoJo Fletcher, Jordan Rodgers, and Jenna Dewan to introduce limited-edition collections.[23][24][25] The Knot Worldwide launched Fellowship for Change in 2021, an annual program to support underserved wedding professionals in their first five years of business through education, mentorship and funding in the form of free advertising.[26] The Bump and the National Medical Association partnered in 2021 to launch The Black Maternal Health Hub, designed to reduce Black maternal mortality rates.[27] In 2023, The Knot Worldwide acquired Zankyou Ventures, a Spanish-based global wedding company, and Weven, a CRM/ERP SaaS wedding planning platform.[28][29]
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References
External links
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