The Knot is losing its shine as the best place for wedding vendors to advertise
By Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins
Shutterstock; Rachel Mendelson/Insider
Published September 12, 2022.
After the pandemic postponed or canceled many weddings in 2020 and 2021, small-business owners like Donald Minerva hoped a surge in 2022 nuptials would make up for lost profits.
His Brooklyn, New York, restaurant, Scottadito Osteria Toscana, lost 80% of its business earlier in the pandemic because of mandated closures and safety regulations, his PR representative told Insider. When he received an appealing offer to boost his business, he was eager to breathe new life into his establishment by hosting rehearsal dinners and small weddings.
In November, a salesperson from The Knot called with a pitch: It was engagement season — soon couples would need to plan their wedding celebrations. It was the perfect time for him to buy a vendor listing ahead of what was anticipated to be one of the busiest years for weddings. The number of weddings in 2022 is expected to hit a 20-year high of 2.5 million, according to The Wedding Report.
After initial hesitation, he signed a 12-month contract for $8,165, which listed him in the first five search results for rehearsal-dinner venues in Brooklyn. Insider verified the amount billed with documentation. When Minerva signed up for The Knot's advertising services, he was buying into its brand power.
After six months and no bookings, he feared it was a waste of money.
"The best wedding season possible proved to be just bogus," Minerva said.
The Knot stakes its 25-year reputation — and its $933 million price tag — on visibility and promises to walk couples through "every part of planning," while getting businesses "in front of 13 million couples," its site says. For entrepreneurs like Minerva, it's a chance to stand out in a saturated market, while others use its coveted "best of weddings" awards to gain consumer trust.
But The Knot is in the business of selling ads, not producing results, and some companies are questioning the value of listing on the site. Several business owners told Insider they weren't getting a return on their investments and were ready to take their ad dollars elsewhere, which could make way for a startup darling in the process.
This big year of weddings could be the one that dethrones a behemoth of the $3 billion nuptials industry.