The Knot Worldwide

Founding

David Liu, his wife Carley Roney, and their business partners, Rob Fassino and Michael Wolfson, founded The Knot Inc. in 1996.[1] The Knot brand received seed financing from AOL and was initially released as a portal on AOL.[2] In 1997, TheKnot.com launched as an online digital marketplace.[3]

The company opened an online gift registry in partnership with QVC and published its first book, The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World.[4] In December 1999, the company raised $35 million in an initial public offering.[5]

On December 2, 2000, the company launched its own bridal magazine, The Knot Magazine, and went public.[6] In 2004, the company launched a television series, Real Weddings from The Knot, on the Oxygen Network.[7] The Nest brand launched in 2005 with a website aimed at newly married or cohabiting couples creating their new home.[8]

In 2008, the company launched TheBump.com to serve expectant and new parents.[9]

In June 2011, the company officially changed its corporate name to XO Group Inc. and transferred its common stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the symbol "XOXO".

Mike Steib joined XO Group as president in July 2013 and assumed the role of CEO in March 2014.[10] 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.[11]

Merger

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.[12] The merger became official in March 2019 and the new parent company was renamed to The Knot Worldwide. [13]

Expansions and acquisitions

In February 2020, The Knot Worldwide announced it acquired Hitched, a U.K.-based wedding brand.[14] 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.[15][16] In 2020, The Knot Worldwide launched The Knot Registry Store.[17] 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.[18][19][20]

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.[21] The Bump and the National Medical Association partnered in 2021 to launch The Black Maternal Health Hub, designed to reduce Black maternal mortality rates.[22]

In 2023, The Knot Worldwide acquired Zankyou Ventures, a Spanish-based global wedding company, and Weven, a CRM/ERP SaaS wedding planning platform.[23][24]

The company acquired Simply Eloped, an online elopement planning platform, in 2024.[25]

Raina Moskowitz became CEO in 2025, having previously served as Etsy’s COO and CMO. Moskowitz was also on the board of directors of Sprout Social and formerly worked at American Express. She currently sits on the board of Match Group and Tech:NYC.[26]

In August 2025, The Knot partnered with Ring Concierge for a ring scavenger hunt across New York City in celebration of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement.[27]