Kami Huddleston, left, and Ashley Murphy formed Wed Society in 2007 after Huddleston never received photographs from her wedding.
Wondering about the local wedding trends in your area whilst planning for the big day? Look no further than one of Wed Society’s 11 territories, which publish area trends and reliable wedding vendors online and in an annual “Book of Weddings.”
Kami Huddleston and Ashley Murphy founded the company in 2007 after Huddleston experienced disappointment from one of her vendor selections. “I don’t have a wedding picture from my wedding day, just to hammer that one home,” Huddleston said. “We didn’t want anyone to have some of the pain points we had from our days.”
Murphy’s wedding was just two weeks after Huddleston’s—the pair were each other’s maids of honor—and they each struggled with the complexities of planning such large events, which on average require 26 vendors.
“People spend a lot of money investing in that day, but there really wasn’t anything that showcased what these vendors could do,” Murphy said. “We made some mistakes of our own along the way in planning, just because there really wasn’t a great resource in the marketplace.”
At the time, the resources now available, such as social media or blogs, weren’t as common. “We started blogging before blogging was a thing,” Huddleston said. They each invested $4,000 into the project initially, and Wed Society was live. “We sold enough advertising to actually pay for the magazine, which was great. You could say we broke even, which was a win for us. Then the phone started to ring. People wanted to be connected.”
Weddings are a huge industry in the United States. More than 2 million weddings take place in the country annually and, with an average cost of $30,119, that’s about $60 billion a year spent on weddings.
Now, the emphasis lies on social media and online, rather than print magazines, though each Wed Society territory still publishes an annual “Book of Weddings,” a coffee table-style book with photos from area weddings throughout the year. The issue highlights trends, vendors and venues in the region. Think of it like a high-end Pinterest Board.
Wed Society vets its vendors to ensure it’s not promoting unreliable businesses. The franchise uses a “Fit Test” that assesses each vendor on six criteria: client reviews, social media presence, talent, services offered, website professionalism and branding. Wed Society highlights the top third of vendors in each territory, “so the Fit Test is designed to help us identify those leading wedding vendors in each market,” said David Lewis, chief growth officer.
“Our owners serve as the heartbeat of the wedding industry in their local markets,” he continued. “Being at the center of it all, we keep a pulse on the vendor community and consistently hear about who is reliable, consistent and creative.” If a vendor is found to be unreliable, their Wed Society membership is revoked.
Wed Society started franchising in October 2023. This summer, the company closed its Series A funding at $5.78 million. “This Series A is really about growth capital, to build the back office and continue the acceleration,” Lewis said.
Franchisees are home-based and often working part time. About 85 percent of meetings are held virtually and each territory requires two employees, including the franchisee, to start out. A mature market might have six employees on staff, Lewis said.
The initial investment ranges from $97,750 to $121,000.
Revenue comes from advertising and two wedding industry events hosted annually. The average unit volume from four company-owned territories was $681,156 in 2023, the company reported, up from $633,601 in 2022. Last year, the average number of advertisers for those same four territories was 228, with just under $3,000 collected per advertiser.
The four corporate territories were converted to franchised locations. Wed Society’s territories are focused in the South, mainly in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. Lewis said the company intends to grow in that region before expanding elsewhere.
Wed Society is unique in the franchise world. Its competitors are wedding websites like The Knot or Zola, which don’t franchise.
Huddleston and Murphy pride themselves on Wed Society’s corporate team, based in Oklahoma City, which makes sure franchisees are well taken care of. “Our headquarters team is probably the most dynamic of any brand new, emerging franchise,” Huddleston said.
Franchisees aren’t required to have experience in publishing because Wed Society has the technology for creating its annual book. “Our headquarters team really runs that entire process for them,” Huddleston said. “They just have to be the ambassador in the market.”