Careers

By: Alex Wallace, Manager, Talent Brand

2024 was an extraordinary year at The Knot Worldwide (TKWW). From expanding our team to hitting ambitious milestones and launching exciting new products, we’ve grown, innovated, and collaborated to make wedding planning easier for couples and more manageable for vendors around the world. We want to give you a “peek behind the curtain” at all we were able to accomplish during the year and some of the moments we are proud of.

A Year of Growth and Innovation

At TKWW, our vision is to ensure everyone around the world is empowered to create celebrations that are authentic to them. In 2024, we made significant strides toward that goal—both internally and externally.

Record Membership Growth: 2024 is shaping up to be a record-breaking year for reaching new couples across the globe—achieving our highest membership year since The Knot and WeddingWire joined forces in 2019! Our platform continues to grow, and we’re thrilled to welcome so many new couples to our community.
Product Launches and Expansion: We’ve broadened our offerings in a big way. This year, we welcomed Simply Eloped into the TKWW portfolio, expanding our services to reach even more couples and wedding professionals. We also introduced new products, from wedding registry innovations to fresh paper products. With the largest selection of registry products we’ve ever offered and a broader marketplace tailored to vendors’ needs, we’re proud of the strides we’ve made to serve both couples and the incredible professionals who help bring their wedding dreams to life.
Global Impact and ESG: We’ve taken our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts to the next level, from launching new sustainability initiatives to expanding our Employee Resource Groups to support our employees, we’re always striving to be mindful of our impact on the world. To read our latest Impact Report, click here.

Power Growth with Technology and Teamwork

Behind every milestone, there’s a team of incredibly talented individuals. We’re proud of how our cross-functional teams have worked together to power our growth and innovation.

Modernized Systems for a Smarter Future: We’ve completely modernized systems across key areas like sales, marketing, People, and cash management. This has not only made us more efficient but also positioned us to move faster and smarter as we scale. Our internal tools and processes are more refined than ever, with teams working seamlessly together to hit ambitious deadlines and execute with excellence.
Stronger Foundations: We introduced The Knot Budget Advisor which provides couples with a wedding budget estimate based on what real couples spend so they can start to understand costs and create a budget that works for them. Check out more about this first-of-its-kind tool, here.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

One of the things we’re most proud of this year is our ability to come together as one team. From product development to marketing campaigns, collaboration has been at the heart of everything we do.

Better Together: Whether it was optimizing tools and processes or executing on roadmaps, our teams proved that when we collaborate we are truly able to forge new paths forward, together. We also celebrated our ability to optimize and innovate, from introducing AI-driven review summaries for our wedding pros to launching smarter marketplace search features that enhanced the couple experience.
Vendor Partnerships: We know our vendors are key to The Knot Worldwide. This year, we listened to their feedback and made big improvements in how they interact with our platform. From offering new tiers of memberships starting with a free option for vendors to enhanced photo and video tools, we’ve already seen these updates deliver added value to our vendor community.

What’s next for TKWW?

As we close out 2024, we’re energized for the future—and we are especially excited to welcome Raina Moskowitz as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of the TKWW Board of Directors.

By: Christopher Bronner, Senior Machine Learning Scientist

February 27, 2024

Business Context: The Knot’s Marketplace and Style Quiz

The Knot is a leading wedding Vendor Marketplace in the U.S. that connects more than 1 million couples with over 200,000 local wedding professionals, such as reception venues, florists, and photographers. We offer a comprehensive suite of planning tools that includes personalized wedding websites, invitations and registry services that make planning easier.

Wedding Vendor Marketplace

The Knot Vendor Marketplace is a central component of the site and we monetize this product through paid subscriptions that allow vendors to purchase listings in more prominent parts of our site.

From the vendor perspective, the value of our Marketplace product is rooted in the leads they receive from couples who can contact vendors directly on our site. Therefore, the rate of couples who submit a lead to a vendor (i.e. conversion to lead submission) is one of our most important metrics to assess the performance of our product.

Conversion to lead submission, in turn, depends on our ability to recommend to couples vendors that are relevant to their personal preferences, including their taste and style. Improving the vendor recommendations can be assumed to increase conversion to lead submission.

Personalization via Style Quiz

In order to make high-quality, personalized recommendations that speak to the couple’s individual needs, we first need information about their taste and style. This is where our “Style Quiz” comes in, which is one of our most popular planning tools.

In the Style Quiz, couples rate images from four galleries (reception venues, table settings, bouquets and dessert decorations) and based on this information, we categorize their style by showing a result consisting of a set of primary and secondary style terms. For example, we might categorize a given couple as having primarily a “classic” style, but also leaning toward “elegant” and “traditional” (secondary styles). In addition to the primary and secondary style, we determine the ideal setting for their wedding—for example, a hotel, loft or barn.

These results give valuable insight into the couple’s individual style preferences, especially for their reception venue. We therefore set out to leverage this information to improve the quality of our vendor recommendations (specifically for reception venues) for our couples. This in turn should lead to an increase in conversion to lead submission which benefits our subscribing vendors.

Methodology: Semantic Search based on Style Quiz Results

Problem definition. We are looking for items (venues) that best match a set of search terms (the result of the Style Quiz). For each venue, several attributes are available for consideration: venue description text, amenities tags, market, guest capacity and price range

Our goal is to identify the venues that are the best match for a couple, based on the results they got from our Style Quiz.

To that end, we applied a semantic search approach that finds venues whose description texts best match the couple’s style terms. More specifically, we represent venues and style terms as embeddings, quantify their semantic similarity with a distance measure in the embedding space, and recommend venues similar to the couple’s individual style.

Semantic Search

The overall concept is to represent venues on the one hand, and the couple’s style terms on the other hand as embeddings (high-dimensional numerical vectors) that encode the semantic meaning of the respective texts, and use a distance metric in the embedding space to quantify the semantic similarity of any pair of venue and style. Recommendations are then made by selecting venues with the highest similarity score.

We started by creating embeddings for the description texts of all venues in our Marketplace. In addition to the descriptions which are written by the vendors themselves, we also included textual meta-information in the embeddings such as amenities provided by the vendor on their storefront (e.g. that they offer a dressing room or wireless internet).

The next step is to encode a couple’s individual style in the same embedding space as the venue descriptions. We do this by creating embeddings for all style terms generated by our Style Quiz—meaning the primary style term, secondary style terms, and setting terms. We then determine an overall style embedding as the linear combination of these embeddings with the coefficients being weights that represent the importance of each of the style terms. Putting it differently, the overall style is the center of gravity of the different styles in the embedding space.

Conceptual illustration of semantic search for wedding venues based on couples’ style. Embeddings of venue descriptions (gray) encode the style of a venue (e.g. rustic vs. modern venues). Recommendations (blue) are generated by finding venues close to the overall style of a couple (red).

Having represented the venues and the couple’s style with embeddings, it’s straightforward to make venue recommendations for a couple: after filtering venues according to a few rules that implement our business logic (e.g. filter for venues in a specific geographic area and considering whether venues are paid or unpaid, or whether the storefront includes a photo), we simply recommend the venues closest to the couple’s overall style in the embedding space.

The distance between two embeddings is calculated as the inner product of the two embedding vectors, which is a good approximation to Euclidean distance in a high-dimensional space, but less computationally expensive.

Match Score

Our semantic search approach for venue recommendations intrinsically provides us with a quantitative measure for the quality of each recommended venue, namely the distance between the venue and the couple’s overall style in the embedding space.

We surface the distance to couples, albeit after inverting and scaling it. The resulting “match score” is shown next to each recommended venue as “94% match,” for example. We hypothesize that this match score highlights to couples that the recommendation is personalized, ultimately increasing conversion to lead submission.

LLM-Generated Recommendation Reasonings

To further highlight to couples the fact that the recommendations are personalized and based on their individual style quiz results, we added LLM-generated copy that provides a reasoning for why a specific recommended venue matches the couple’s style. The screenshot below shows a tested variation of our venue recommendations that features the reasoning copy.

Screenshot from a variant of The Knot’s Style Quiz results page showing a venue recommendations carousel with one highlighted venue. The match score (92%) and the reasoning copy are shown for that venue.

Experimentation and Results

Measuring the performance of a style-based recommendation system is difficult because whether a recommended venue matches a specific style is highly subjective. Ultimately, the only reliable way to assess the impact of our tactics is through A/B tests.

We conducted different A/B tests for the different tactics mentioned above to quantitatively attribute the impact to each change separately.

Test of Semantic Search-Based Venue Recommendations

We exposed 50% of couples with an impression of the Style Quiz results page to the new semantic search-based recommendations. At the same time, the remaining 50% served as a control group and were given recommendations based on an older methodology that didn’t take the style quiz result into account.

The couples in the variant group that were shown the semantic search-based recommendations had a significantly higher conversion rate to lead submission than the couples in the control group. By using semantic search, we achieved a 5.9% lift in this metric.

Test of Recommendation Reasonings

We conducted a second, multivariate test in which one variant featured an updated design of the Style Quiz results page that included the recommendation reasonings among other design updates. This variation led to a lift in conversion to lead submission of 4.1% but was ultimately not rolled out for different considerations.

Test of Match Score

A different variation in the same multivariate test included the match score. The addition of the match score alone led to a statistically significant 4.2% increase in conversion to lead submission. Together with the 5.9% lift from the semantic search-based venue recommendation, this means an overall lift of 10.3%.

Conclusion

The quality of product recommendations depends on their relevance to the preferences of the individual customer. By basing our recommendations on our couples’ choices from the Style Quiz, we can suggest products in a highly personalized manner that we wouldn’t be able to with just behavioral analytics, especially for new members immediately after sign-up.

We find that instead of just serving recommendations by themselves, it adds value for our customers to have additional data points that explain why the recommendations are a good fit for them, namely the match score and the reasoning copy.

By: Amelia Holliday, Director of Global Community

Earlier this month, The Knot Worldwide employees gathered both in person and virtually for Engage Worldwide, our annual kick-off event. The two days of Engage bring together over 2,000 global employees for a shared experience regardless of department, country, level, or tenure. Like any great engagement, Engage is all about connection—deepening our collective understanding of the business, aligning on the road ahead, spotlighting the incredible work happening across TKWW, and celebrating the vibrant culture that makes us who we are.

We took time to honor our wins and set our sights on the future to keep making magic for couples, for vendors, and for each other. This year’s theme “Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going,” reflected this pivotal moment in TKWW’s journey and the momentum propelling us forward into the next chapter.

Fueling Our Future

We kicked off Engage looking at the year ahead, while also taking a moment to reflect on the impact of our mission. Our new CEO, Raina Moskowitz, shared the impact of prioritizing moments of celebration, the value of recognizing both what we achieve and how the work gets done, and shared key moments that have shaped her own career, emphasizing the value of reflecting on where we’ve been to shape where we’re going.

Keynote speaker Lalin Anik expanded on this theme with her inspiring session The Power of Pause—a compelling reminder that moments of reflection can actually accelerate our momentum.

From there, spotlight demos took us behind the scenes of our business, giving our teams a deeper look into key areas like the impact of our WeddingPro community, the upcoming work driving our product and innovation and Employee Resource Groups (ERG).

We wrapped up day 1 of Engage with powerful conversations on leadership, resilience, and how embracing challenges makes us stronger.

Embracing Change & Strengthening Connections

On day 2, we dove deeper into our business with explored practical strategies for navigating change with confidence, learning how to prioritize effectively, recharge when needed, and stay focused on what’s within our control.

New this year, leadership panels gave our teams the chance to hear directly from TKWW leaders about their journeys offering candid insights on leadership, growth, and the valuable lessons they’ve learned along the way.

One of my biggest highlights of Engage was seeing our teams come together across the globe. At TKWW, we exist to help people celebrate life’s biggest moments—and this was a powerful reminder that connection matters—not just for the couples and vendors we serve, but for how we show up for one another as a team.

Drumroll, Please… Announcing Our Core Value Award Winners! 🏆🎉

One of the most inspiring moments of Engage is recognizing the teammates who truly embody what TKWW is all about. TKWW Core Value awards are unique in that they are selected based on peer nominations. By design, this type of recognition fosters a positive, collaborative environment and strengthens our teams. Our Core Value and Rising Star Award winners bring passion, innovation, and heart to everything they do, making a lasting impact on our team and the communities we serve. Let’s give them a well-deserved virtual round of applause! 👏✨

🌟 Rising Star
Neelanjona Sarkar & Reese Jones

💙 We Do the Right Thing
Bryan Tharpe & Rubén Comesaña

🚀 We Dream Big
Liz Beckner-Brown & Taylor Whitten

🔥 We Hustle Every Day
Chiara Bertolo & Emily Alexander

💡 We Love Our Users
Rima Barakeh & Keri Sowerby

🤝 We Win Together
Meabh Savage & Luis Gonzalez

What’s Next? Let’s Make It Happen!

As the confetti settles on Engage, we’re left with a renewed sense of purpose and momentum.

Stronger connections fuel bigger impact.
Embracing change makes us unstoppable.
TKWW is just getting started—and we’re all shaping what’s next.

Planning and executing a global, hybrid kickoff of this scale is no easy feat, and requires thoughtful program management and cross-functional collaboration. A huge thank you to the teams behind the scenes and the incredible presenters who brought Engage to life—your insights, energy, and expertise made this experience truly unforgettable.

We’re already looking ahead to Engage 2026 and can’t wait for what’s in store!

Let’s go make magic together.

Q: Felicity, tell us about one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

Throughout my 20+ year career, I’ve been fortunate to work with incredibly talented individuals who have shaped my journey in ways I never could have never imagined. One lesson that stands out was from a previous manager—an exceptional attorney who was smart, strategic, and business-oriented.

One day, he announced that he was leaving his legal role to pursue a purely business position. At the time, I had no idea this was even possible! How could someone like him pivot away from the career path we both shared? I had so many questions, but what that moment made me realize is that I, too, had control over my career and, more importantly, I was the one who could define my path.

Q: Have you always had this sense of career ownership?

It wasn’t always like that for me. Early in my career, I didn’t take much initiative to “own” my trajectory. I followed the traditional lawyer’s path—spending several years in a law firm before moving in-house, just as many attorneys before me had done. I grew in my role and took on more responsibilities as they were given to me. But when my manager made his career shift, I realized I wasn’t creating my own opportunities. Instead, I was waiting for someone to tell me what to do next.

At the time, I’m not even sure I knew exactly what I wanted. But what mattered was that I realized I had the control to choose my path. That understanding was incredibly empowering.

Q: What steps did you take to create the path you wanted?

I took a step back to assess what I truly wanted from my career. Through self-reflection and discussions with mentors, family, and friends, I realized that I wanted to lead a legal team while also being part of a business that I felt passionate about. On a personal level, I knew my family had to be a priority—I wanted to provide for them and be present as a parent. Understanding these goals gave me the clarity I needed to take action.

From there, I mapped out the steps I needed to take. I looked for in-house roles that would allow me to expand my practice areas and gain the experience necessary for my career goals. I chose to pivot from a specialized M&A-focused role into a more generalized legal position. That shift wasn’t easy, but it changed everything. It gave me the space to understand what I liked, what I didn’t, and ultimately to create a role that worked for me. That empowerment led me to my current role as Chief Legal Officer.

Q: Love that! And how did this shift impact your personal life?

By finding a role that better aligned with my passions, I was able to strike a better balance and be more present with my family. More importantly, it gave me the chance to model for my children the idea that they, too, can create careers that work for them—not the other way around. I also showed them the importance of work-life integration, resilience, and being responsible for one’s own happiness and success.

Q: What advice would you give to others looking to take control of their career paths?

You are the one who defines your path. Don’t wait for someone else to tell you what’s next. Figure out what works for you, and have the courage to take action toward it. As we celebrate International Women’s Day and the theme of “Accelerating Action,” I challenge you to reflect on what truly matters to you and where you want your path to lead. Forget what it should look like on paper, or what others have told you it should look like. Understand your values, identify what makes you thrive, and be bold enough to create a path for yourself that aligns with those principles. Taking action—whether big or small—isn’t just empowering; it’s essential.

By: Sade Sydney (Manager, Payroll)

At TKWW, I have the privilege of being my full, authentic self every day. In a world where many people—especially Black and LGBTQ+ individuals—still face challenges in finding safe and supportive spaces, this is something I don’t take for granted.

As we recognize Juneteenth and Pride Month, I find myself reflecting on what these celebrations mean to me—not just as historical milestones but as deeply personal reminders of the power of visibility, liberation, and belonging.

At first glance, Juneteenth and Pride may seem like separate celebrations, but they are both rooted in the fight for liberation.

Juneteenth (June 19th) marks the day in 1865 when enslaved Black people in Texas were finally informed of their freedom—over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It reminds us that freedom delayed is not freedom denied, and that justice requires persistence.

Pride Month commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riots, led largely by Black and Brown trans women and activists like Marsha P. Johnson. Their courage ignited the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, pushing us closer to true equality.

Both Juneteenth and Pride celebrate progress while recognizing that the fight is far from over. They remind us that freedom is not just a moment in history—it’s an ongoing pursuit.

One of the things I value most about working at TKWW is how genuinely inclusive our culture is. I don’t have to filter parts of myself—I can openly share my life, my identity, and my experiences without fear of judgment.

That sense of belonging isn’t just a tagline at TKWW—it’s something I feel every day in real, tangible ways. I’ve never had to second-guess whether I can talk about my partner or share parts of my life. I can speak openly, just like anyone else, without fear of judgment. That kind of comfort is something I don’t take lightly.

Earlier this year, following a series of executive orders that stirred real concern across the LGBTQIA+ community, our Pride ERG sent out a message that I’ll never forget. It didn’t try to gloss over what was happening—it acknowledged the fear, confusion, and frustration many of us were feeling. But more importantly, it reminded us that we weren’t alone. We were offered context, reassurance, and actionable support. We were told it’s okay to pause, to take care of ourselves, and to lean on each other. That moment reminded me just how deeply rooted compassion is in our culture.

It’s one thing to be accepted at work—it’s another to be actively supported when the world feels heavy. In a time when many still feel pressure to hide or downplay who they are, I’m grateful to work in a place where I can be both Black and queer, and feel not just seen, but truly valued.

While I may not be the most active member of our Pride & Black @ TKWW ERGs, just knowing that this space exists means something. It’s a reminder that our company isn’t just talking about diversity—it’s actively creating a culture where people can thrive.

If there’s one thing Juneteenth and Pride teach us, it’s that progress happens when people show up. Here are some ways we can continue fostering inclusion:

Listen and Learn: Educate yourself on Black and LGBTQ+ history, intersectionality, and lived experiences.
Use Your Voice: Speak up against discrimination, uplift marginalized voices, and advocate for equity.
Support ERGs and Initiatives: Engage with company programs that promote inclusion, even if it’s just by attending an event or amplifying the message.
Celebrate, Not Just in June: Recognize that inclusion is an ongoing effort, not just a one-month celebration.

As a TKWW leader, I support inclusion by showing up as my full, authentic self every day. I speak openly about who I am and create space where others feel safe to do the same. I also try to be a thoughtful listener and make sure people feel seen and respected.

My advice? You don’t need a big platform to make a meaningful impact. Inclusion starts with how you treat people—being kind, intentional, and open makes all the difference.

As we celebrate Juneteenth and Pride, let’s continue to show up for one another, today and every day.

Taking a Personal Problem and Creating a Global Solution

By Samantha Guzman, Sr. Marketing Designer & Neurodivergent@ TKWW ERG Chair

Two years ago, if someone had asked me about my career aspirations and sense of purpose, I would have struggled to provide a response. This was especially surprising for me, as I had always had clear ambitions since entering college—my passion for graphic design was unwavering. However, back then, I found myself in an unexpected and unfamiliar place, grappling with feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty. It was a time when I didn’t even recognize myself.

During this period, I was fighting an internal battle—mentally checked out, dealing with impostor syndrome, and managing high-functioning anxiety while living with an invisible disability. These challenges manifested in ways that I didn’t fully understand; my symptoms subtly affected my performance in a profession that thrives on attention to detail and creativity. I was that graphic designer who struggled with forgetfulness, missed deadlines, and often spaced out during crucial project meetings. For a long time, I accepted this as my normal.

The turning point came when my manager here at TKWW pointed out my ongoing performance issues despite my sincere efforts to improve. This was a wake-up call. I realized I had been avoiding facing these underlying challenges for too long. As I reflected on my experiences, I recalled instances from junior high where teachers noted my tendency to space out, as well as traits I considered typical for a kid, such as forgetfulness and procrastination. All these signs began to align, leading me to consider the possibility of ADHD.

Fortunately, I had a mentor who specialized in neurodiversity. Her encouragement to seek further understanding and support was invaluable, even though fear held me back from disclosing my struggles to my manager and the HR department. I soon recognized that bypassing these crucial conversations was my first mistake. Taking a brave step forward, I consulted my primary care doctor, who recommended a psychiatrist. After consultations and assessments, I was formally diagnosed with inattentive ADHD and generalized anxiety disorder. Instead of feeling defeated, I experienced a profound sense of relief; I finally had answers that illuminated my experiences.

Upon sharing my diagnosis with my manager, her supportive response gave me hope, but it was too late. Our next meeting was with an HR manager where I was being put on a performance improvement plan (PIP) due to my previous struggles. Faced with this new reality, I felt a renewed sense of urgency. Instead of viewing this as a setback, I saw it as an opportunity to rise to the challenge. With guidance from my psychiatrist and therapist, I embraced routines that would help me thrive while managing my ADHD and anxiety.

I adopted practical strategies, including breaking tasks into manageable segments using the Pomodoro technique, leveraging technology for meetings and projects, and, most importantly, allowing myself grace. With determination and an intentional approach, my performance improved significantly over the course of 30 days. The recognition I received from my manager and HR was a testimony to my hard work and commitment to personal growth. More than that, it was a validation of my value within the team—a reminder that I was not just a cog in the machine but a contributing member of a supportive environment.

As I continued to refine my strategies over the next year, I realized that these experiences could serve a greater purpose. When our CMO, Jenny Lewis, introduced the MIDP, I saw an opportunity to transform my personal journey into something that could benefit others — a global solution. I recognized that many colleagues might be quietly battling their own challenges, feeling isolated and ashamed, just as I once did.

In the early months of 2024, I leveraged my experiences to develop a proposal for a company-wide initiative designed to foster an inclusive environment for individuals navigating similar challenges. Embracing vulnerability and advocating for support not only empowers individuals but also strengthens our entire organization.

Additionally, another goal I was aiming to achieve was getting a promotion. Since uncovering my struggles, I had missed out on two raises and any opportunity for promotion. It was disheartening. However, rather than allowing that setback to define me, I continued to commit to rising above it. I was determined to work tirelessly to turn my situation around.

I am incredibly grateful for the support I received from two amazing individuals in my corner: Melissa Brody, my first manager in Creative Services, and Jen Lee, my current manager on The Bump. Their unwavering belief in my potential was instrumental in helping me find my footing. They worked diligently to create an environment that allowed me to thrive, turning challenges into opportunities for growth.

Between 2024 and now, I have put my heart and soul into becoming the best version of myself. By harnessing my design skills without restraint, I was able to revitalize The Bump’s brand identity, making it more dynamic and stunning each day. This creative freedom not only reignited my passion but also allowed me to flex my leadership capabilities as the founder and chair of our Neurodivergent@ ERG. In this role, I get to be my authentic self, finally removing the masks I’ve been wearing, while inspiring others to embrace their individuality and creating a safe space for all of us to learn and grow together.

Reflecting on the first few months of 2025, I am overwhelmed with pride at what I’ve accomplished. I had the privilege of speaking at our ENGAGE Conference in February, where I introduced our sixth Employee Resource Group (ERG), a legacy that I hope will endure as long as the company remains. An opportunity to share our mission with Raina, our new CEO, was particularly meaningful to me, as we connected on an emotional level about the goals we are pursuing together. One of the biggest highlights was launching our first-ever celebration of neurodiversity at TKWW, a milestone that truly highlights our commitment to inclusivity and understanding. And I am beyond excited to share that I finally received the promotion I have always aspired to achieve!

To anyone currently facing challenges, I encourage you to lean on your support system and remain steadfast in your pursuit of growth. Remember that setbacks can become stepping stones, and with determination and support, it is possible to achieve your dreams.

Let my journey serve as a reminder: it is okay to seek support, to open up about our struggles, and to transform our challenges into actionable change for the greater good. We are all valuable contributors to our team, and our unique perspectives enrich the workplace.

Let’s continue to lift each other up and create a supportive community where every voice matters.

From the first spark to ‘I do,’ our 2025 edition of the Global Wedding Report evaluates how trends, traditions and preferences are evolving among more than 33,000 newlyweds across eight countries.

Before the Altar: How Couples Meet

Love stories begin in many ways. In the U.S. and U.K., meeting through a dating app is the most common way couples connect (27% and 33%, respectively), while mutual friends are the top matchmakers in much of Europe and Latin America. In Mexico, work connections top the list (23%), and in India, traditional arranged marriages still lead (24%).

The Engagement & Planning Process

Timing is everything in relationships and in life. When it comes to proposals, December continues to be the most popular engagement month across many countries, especially in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, and Mexico. It’s clear why couples choose the holiday season to get engaged, when family members are around and you can cozy up in front of the fireplace together.

In contrast, couples in India are more likely to get engaged in February—likely due to Valentine’s Day, also known as ‘Feast of Saint Valentine.’

Wedding dates vary by season and culture. While couples in Italy and France favor summer weddings in June, those in Mexico prefer October, and Indian couples often tie the knot in February.

When it comes to planning, most couples spend around a year preparing for their big day, with the U.S. averaging the longest lead time at 15 months.

*This question was not included in the survey for India respondents.

The State of Weddings at a Glance

Couples worldwide are investing in meaningful celebrations—but they can look different in each country. While weddings tend to be more intimate in the U.K. and France, India stands out for extra-large weddings (averaging 330 guests), and Mexico and Brazil also trend toward high guest counts.

Investment

Guest experience is a top priority for couples around the world, so it’s no surprise that many invest in creating unforgettable moments for their loved ones during the big day.

*Costs do not include jewelry, engagement ring or honeymoon. While the average in India is $35,000 expressed in U.S. dollars, a significant percentage spend more.

Wedding Hotspots Around the World

Couples continue to search for dreamy venues, with product search data across The Knot Worldwide’s global brands revealing regional destination favorites—from coastal escapes in Italy to heritage properties in India.

*Based on frequency of user searches within The Knot Worldwide’s Vendor Marketplaces from January 1, 2025 to July 29, 2025.

The Era of Personalization

It’s clear personalization and experience-driven planning are top of mind for couples. We took a quick poll on The Knot’s Instagram (check them out here!) to understand how some of our followers view the importance of personalization. Overall, we received more than 1,000 responses and here’s what we found:

Cookie-cutter weddings are out—and guests crave greater authenticity. Nearly 6 in 10 users said the last three weddings they attended felt similar to each other and haven’t stood out as particularly unique—but among the recent weddings they attended, personalized touches were described as the most memorable (36%), followed by food and drinks (23%) and entertainment (21%).
Couples want their wedding to reflect who they are. Approximately 8 in 10 users said it’s extremely important their own wedding feels personal to their partnership.
Living up to guest expectations is the #1 concern for couples. Sixty-eight percent said they want guests to feel like they’ve never been to another wedding like theirs before—and nearly 50% describe their top worry as fearing their guests won’t have fun.

Trendspotting by Country

Looking across the globe, here are the top trends that stood out to us per country…

U.S.
- In the U.S., one in three couples using The Knot are members of Gen Z—and they go big compared to older generations. Gen Z couples host larger weddings on average (131 guests) than Millennials (113) and Gen X (88).
India
- The number of Millennial weddings (30%) are declining, down 54 percentage points year over year—while Gen Z weddings are surging (62%), representing a 49 percentage point increase.
Brazil
- Similar to India, Brazil is seeing an increase in younger couples. Forty-nine percent of couples were Gen Z in 2024, up from 15% in 2023.
Spain
- Gen Z weddings are on the rise in Spain as well, totaling 18% of weddings in 2024 versus only 1% in 2023.
U.K.
- A quarter of couples feature sustainable or eco-friendly decor (and we love to hear it).
Italy
- Couples in Italy like to keep the party going. More than half of weddings last two days or longer, while 20% last three or more.
France
- Nearly 6 in 10 couples have children before marriage, and likewise, 70% invite children to weddings—higher than many other countries.
Mexico
- Guest favors (77%) and cake cutting (72%) are increasing in popularity compared to the year prior, up 6 percentage points and 7 percentage points year-over-year, respectively.

That’s a wrap

From how couples meet to how they marry, weddings around the world are evolving—fueled by generational shifts, cultural nuances and a desire for more intentional, personalized celebrations.

This year’s Global Wedding Report makes one thing clear: couples are rewriting the rules. Whether it’s Gen Z leading the charge with larger guest lists, sustainability shaping choices in the U.K., or personalization becoming the defining element of a memorable event, today’s nearlyweds are making bold, authentic decisions that reflect who they are—and what matters most to them.

Methodology

The 2025 Global Wedding Report captured responses from 33,174 married couples between January 1 and December 31, 2024, including 16,956 in the U.S. and 16,218 internationally (Spain, Italy, France, U.K., Brazil, Mexico, India). Respondents were recruited via social media and/or email invitation from The Knot and/or WeddingWire membership platforms. The sample reflects a wide range of ethnicities, income levels, sexual orientations, gender identities and geographies. This report also includes insights from ad hoc studies and search trends across The Knot Worldwide’s global vendor marketplaces.

At The Knot Worldwide, solving problems for couples has always been part of our DNA. With more than 25 million weddings planned through our platform, we know firsthand the logistical hurdles that can turn excitement into stress. That’s why we set out to reimagine the planning journey—drawing on decades of expertise and insights to make it more seamless.

Now, for the first time in the wedding industry, we’re leveraging AI to help couples find wedding professionals. With our new Make It Yours feature, couples can save their favorite images and let our technology do the work for them. In seconds, The Knot’s AI analyzes their inspiration and recommends trusted local vendors that match both their style and location. This cuts what used to take more than 20 hours of searching down to just moments.

Christine Brown, The Knot’s VP of Product, noted that the team built this new AI feature completely in-house. Instead, they trained it on “more than a million images right from The Knot,” making it a truly one-of-a-kind tool.

“This innovation goes a long way in deepening couple engagement and meeting them where they are,” says Pamela Solis, Director of Integrated Marketing at TKWW. “Bringing this campaign to life was only possible through collaboration across teams. Together, we shaped a fresh experience that acknowledges the overwhelm couples often feel at the start of planning and built a campaign designed to help them feel confident and excited about the journey ahead.”

Our teams partnered together across Marketing, Product, Insights and Engineering. This was truly a cross-collaborative effort. “One of the main factors of the success of for this launch was the close partnership between Integrated and Product Marketing teams being completely in sync every step of the way,” says Amrita Uttamchandani, part of our Integrated Marketing team.

If there’s one thing that being in the wedding industry for over 25 years has given us, it’s data. And this data tells a story of what wedding planning once was and can power the story of where it’s going. “With this launch, we’re transforming the planning experience—combining the power of AI with our decades of wedding expertise and data. Our goal is to empower couples to bring their vision to life with trusted wedding pros by their side,” said Raina Moskowitz, CEO of The Knot Worldwide.

“We see AI as a powerful force to support the planning journey,” Brown adds, “helping couples and vendors save time, while still keeping personalization and human touch at the heart of the wedding experience.”

We truly are raising the bar for the industry. “Showcasing our product through new creative approaches like the use of animation to demonstrate new features and strategic visual storytelling really helps highlight the product and its benefits,” says Melissa Brody, Associate Director, Consumer Creative.

Congratulations to the team for innovating to bring our new AI-powered planning experience to life.

With this launch, we debuted our new product hub with details about the new planning experience. You can also experience the magic for yourself by downloading The Knot Wedding Planner app for free on iOS.

By nature, people are social creatures. But over the past decade, a wave of loneliness and increasing social isolation has taken hold. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General and the World Health Organization sounded the alarm, establishing a Commission on Social Connection, to elevate social connection as a global health priority.

Today, nearly three years later, we are starting to see a macro shift. As costs rise worldwide, people are moving away from material consumption toward what many are calling the “joy economy”—a focus on shared experiences, meaningful relationships, and intentional moments of celebration. People are turning to connection and celebrations, both big and small, as an antidote to loneliness and in response to rising uncertainty. We are on the cusp of a new era, driven by the transformative power of celebration.

This report dives into the current and future state of celebrations—including social gatherings and milestone moments—in America, the U.K., France and Spain. Drawing on decades of experience helping millions of couples, families, and communities celebrate life’s most meaningful moments, we took a closer look at the rise of the joy economy to understand how people are feeling about connection and celebration. As The Atlantic put it, perhaps now more than ever, people “need to party more.”

Key findings

We decided to turn to our community for their input, surveying more than 1,000 U.S. users about the role of celebration in their lives. The study was conducted between August 15 and August 25, 2025. Here’s what they told us:

Less than a third of users are attending in-person social gatherings weekly and less than half feel very connected to their friends.
Nearly 7 in 10 Gen Zers (69%) are experiencing social loneliness compared to 57% of Millennials.
Two-thirds have or plan to take steps to combat loneliness this year, with 2 in 5 (41%) people planning to host a celebration.
Nearly all (88%) think celebrations have the power to combat loneliness.

The five most common causes of loneliness, according to survey respondents, were:

Geographical distance from loved ones
Demands from work
Social media
Personal life, including balancing obligations and relationships
Lack of access to in-person social gatherings

Here’s the percentage of respondents who agreed with each of the following statements:

I believe that celebrating life’s moments, big or small, is important (97%)
Participating in celebrations improves my mood and emotional state (92%)
I feel closer to friends and family after shared celebrations (94%)
I view celebration as an essential part of my well-being (85%)
People don’t celebrate enough in today’s world (80%)

It’s clear respondents are hungry for more celebrations. Here are the top everyday celebrations people said they want more of.

With this in mind, we looked at some of our own brands to examine the state of milestone moments—often cause for celebration.

Parties on The Bash

Most popular season to party: Summer (July–September), accounting for 30% of all celebrations.
Party investment: Median spend per booking is up 6% year-over-year.

Based on submitted inquiries through The Bash, we found…

Top trending vendor categories by event type:

Mariachi bands for adult birthdays
Santa for Christmas parties
Face painting for kids’ birthday parties
Bagpipers for funerals
Caricaturists for corporate events

Methodology

The data above is based on vendor requests submitted on The Bash between June 2024 and June 2025. Year-over-year comparisons span June 2023 to June 2024.

Weddings in the U.S. on The Knot

*Based on product search data on The Knot since 2024.

Top venues:

The Opal Haus in Lawrenceberg, Indiana
Northfield Estate in Cumberland, Virginia
Renault Winery in Harbor City, New Jersey
Windows on the Lake in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York
Nanina’s In The Park in Belleville, New Jersey
Villa Toscana Miami-Mansion & Tropical Gardens in Homestead, Florida
Riverdale Manor in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Bella Cosa in Lake Wales, Florida
The Mill Lakeside Manor in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey

*Based on Storefront views on The Knot since 2024.

What’s trending:

Demand for ensemble and soloists have increased 40% in 2025 compared to 2024, while videographers are also seeing strong demand with a 12% increase year over year.
The Knot Invitations is getting strong demand for the Glamorous Regency Garden style/theme—with Regency overall seeing a 45% increase in demand. Vintage has also been boosted by 20%.
Invitation colors gaining in popularity this year are Ice Blue, Dusty Blue, Linen, Midnight, Ocean, Sage.
Based on The Knot Style Quiz, Rustic colors palette is down 11% this year, classic is up 6%, modern is up 4%.
The top purchased items on The Knot Registry so far in 2025 are gift cards for home goods and travel.

Weddings in the U.K. on Hitched

*Based on product search data on Hitched between January and June 2025.

Top venues:

*Based on Storefront views on Hitched between January and June 2025.

What’s trending:

Woodland and Festival weddings have increased by 46% in 2025 compared to 2024.
Demand for stationery increased by 37% year over year.

Weddings in Spain on Bodas.net

*Based on product search data on Bodas.net between January and June 2025.

Top venues:

*Based on Storefront views on Bodas.net between January and June 2025.

What’s trending:

Demand for country properties, farmhouses and wineries increased by 24% in 2025 compared to 2024.

Weddings in France on Mariages.net

*Based on product search data on Mariages.net between January and June 2025.

Top venues:

*Based on Storefront views on Mariages.net between January and June 2025.

What’s trending:

Demand for food trucks remains strong, and wedding hairstylists has increased by 7% year over year.

The data is clear: people everywhere crave connection—and celebrations are one of the most meaningful ways to meet that need. From weddings and birthdays to community events, moments of gathering provide not just joy—but real benefits for well-being. At The Knot Worldwide, we see firsthand how these moments—big or small, traditional or unconventional—help people write the stories of their lives. With a brand powering every type of celebration, we’re uniquely positioned to support and inspire these connections everywhere.

As the loneliness epidemic continues to capture headlines and concern from global health leaders, the call for more connection is louder than ever. People are seeking ways to come together, and the joy economy is emerging in direct response—showing that investing in shared experiences is not just desirable, but essential. Celebrations stand out as an everyday solution—accessible, deeply human, and proven to strengthen bonds.

Each year, employees across the globe step away from their desks, roll up their sleeves, and give their time to the causes that matter most to them. Global Donate holds a special place in my heart. It was the very first event I planned when I joined the company four years ago. Watching it evolve and grow over the years has been an incredible source of pride. Seeing our employees come together with such passion and purpose to give back to their communities continues to remind me why I love the work we do at TKWW.

This year, I had the privilege of volunteering in Washington, D.C., alongside teammates and local organizations making a real impact. Together, we partnered with the Ronald McDonald House to assemble breakfast and laundry care kits—small but meaningful efforts to support families during their hospital stays. It was inspiring to see our core values—Be All In, Commit to Our Users, Raise the Bar, and Celebrate Impact—come to life in such a tangible way. Each act of service was a powerful reminder that when we give back together, we not only strengthen our communities but also deepen our connection as a team.

Global Donate Day isn’t just a program; it’s a reflection of our values in action. It’s proof that our impact goes beyond the platforms we build; it lives in every connection we make and every moment we choose to give back.

I’m incredibly proud of the thousands of volunteer hours our teams contributed this year across 12 countries and of the many local organizations that welcomed us with open arms. From partners like Ronald McDonald House, Foundation for Hospital Art, Red Paw Rescue, and Fundación Adecco, every act of service adds another thread to the fabric of who we are at TKWW.

As I reflect on another year of Global Donate, I’m filled with gratitude—for the teams who make this event possible year after year, and for every employee who gives their time and heart.