The Knot has quietly acquired a startup called Simply Eloped, raising concerns that the controversial company has too much control over the wedding planning industry, The Washington Post reports.
Simply Eloped says it will connect couples with pre-approved vendors like officiants, videographers and photographers for intimate ceremonies of 20 guests or fewer, and joins an online wedding planning empire that already includes sites like The Knot, WeddingWire, WeddingPro and Hitched.
SimplyEloped co-founder and CEO Janessa White recently emailed merchants informing them that the startup had been “acquired” and “joined the Knot Worldwide family,” according to a copy of the memo seen by The Washington Post and two sources familiar with the matter.
The deal comes as The Knot seeks to dispel allegations that it used shady sales techniques to secure advertising dollars from vendors who had no choice but to promote its own services, as The Washington Post reported last summer.
Lauren Jackson, a California-based wedding photographer and former Knot advertiser, is one of those who see the Simply Eloped deal as a bad sign for vendors.
“I have no confidence that they’re going to change for the better,” said Jackson, who started a petition earlier this year criticizing The Knot’s tactics.
The petition accused The Knot of “drastically raising prices in an effort to monopolise the industry,” sending fake leads to advertisers, and ignoring requests to terminate the contract. It collected about 600 signatures..
In a lengthy statement, Knot Worldwide downplayed the petition’s allegations, noting that, as The Washington Post reported last summer, the allegations of misconduct brought by the former employees “were thoroughly investigated by relevant parties, including federal regulators.”
“All allegations of widespread misconduct have been found to be unfounded,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “We remain focused on adding value to our vendors in the global marketplace and continue to prioritize our business based on their feedback.”
The spokesperson also defended The Knot’s tactics against distributors.
“Our local advertising agreements allow vendors to cancel their services at any time after the initial 12-month contract term,” the spokesperson said. “Most vendors have been with us for more than a year and can terminate their agreement for any reason or no reason by simply contacting us.”
“Like other technology companies, we are occasionally targeted by spam and bots. Our teams work diligently to detect, prevent and remediate spam and bot issues through third-party systems and filters,” the spokesperson added.
Jackson said he was inspired to take action after seeing other vendors posting about their experiences on Reddit and other online forums.
“It’s very disappointing to see other people being taken advantage of,” Jackson said.
The Knot Worldwide confirmed that the acquisition of Simply Elopeds closed on May 20 and said it plans to make the acquisition public on July 17. Simply Elopeds will operate as an independent company and there will be no changes to its day-to-day operations.
“We acquired Simply Eloped to expand the services we offer couples and connect them with wedding professionals no matter what type of wedding they want,” a company spokesperson said. “We’re excited to enhance our services for engaged couples looking to elope or have a mini wedding to celebrate their big day.”
White confirmed the deal, saying it did not result in any job cuts. He said the acquisition will enable Simply Eloped and The Knot to “serve more types of weddings, of any size and in any location.”
“We know couples have many options when it comes to planning their wedding, and we hope that you will continue to recognize Simply Eloped as a unique way to plan and execute your wedding,” White added. “I have confidence in The Knot Worldwide’s integrity and business practices and am excited to be part of the team.”
The Knot notified employees about the acquisition in May, according to a source familiar with the matter. Financial terms of the deal could not immediately be disclosed.
“As [The Knot] “The company is already a giant in the wedding, home, baby and lifestyle advertising industries, and gaining even more outlets is of course a concern for the consumer advocacy group,” said one California-based wedding officiant.
However, unless consumer protection issues arise, the Simply Eloped deal is unlikely to attract much attention from federal regulators.
Under Federal Trade Commission rules, private companies don’t have to disclose deals worth less than $119.5 million. Simply Eloped was valued at $8 million as of 2021, according to reports at the time. Bootstrappers: An outlet specializing in entrepreneurs.
“They’re trying to buy up as much of our industry as they can,” a concerned wedding industry consultant and former Knot advertiser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation, told The Post. “It seems like they want to control the narrative, and that’s always a scary feeling.”
Idaho-based Simply Eloped manages a network of providers who sign up for free through its “Recruitment Program.” The site’s staff helps couples connect with specific providers in their desired destinations. The site has planned more than 13,000 elopements and works with more than 800 providers, White said.
In a memo from White to Simply Eloped, vendors were informed that going forward they would be paid by a subsidiary of Knot called “Something Green LLC.”
“We are pleased to announce that Simply Eloped has recently been acquired and is now part of The Knot Worldwide family!,” the message read. “This change will not impact our customers or our relationship with Simply Eloped, and you can continue to expect the same level of service as always.”
Privately held The Knot Worldwide and competitor Zola are two of the best-known platforms in the online wedding planning industry. Formerly known as XO Group, The Knot’s parent company merged with rival WeddingWire in 2018 for roughly $1 billion.
On The Knot’s main site, agents can register for free but have to pay to gain recognition. Couples then contact the agents they want to hire.
That merger, which had cleared federal regulators at the time and was much bigger than the Simply Eloped deal, was a big deal, and company executives worried the federal government would block it, according to internal documents obtained by The Washington Post.
In a memo sent to employees in September 2018, XO Group’s legal team detailed “talking points” that its sales teams could use if vendors had questions about the merger.
One argument stated that the deal was “not anti-competitive” because the combined company would “continue to face strong competition from numerous competitors, including Google, Facebook, Zola, WeddingSpot and Honeybook.”
Employees especially:[ing] “They must not make statements or suggest that the combined company will ‘monopolize’ markets or ‘eliminate’ competitors,” the documents said. They were also instructed not to keep documents about their interactions with vendors, the documents show.
“The transaction underwent standard regulatory review, as is common with similar transactions, and received regulatory approval in 2018, so it does not raise the concerns you mention,” a spokesperson for The Knot said of past mergers. “We firmly believe there is a place for everyone in the wedding industry and that diversity of choice is best for couples and vendors.”
