This Wedding Planning Site Is the Gold Standard for Vendors and Advice

The Short Version: Soonlyweds and newlyweds alike rely on The Knot for all their wedding planning needs, and one of the site’s editors, Cat Haight, explained why. It’s a comprehensive one-stop shop for all things wedding, and it’s constantly evolving with the times. 

Gone are the days of 15-minute courthouse wedding ceremonies followed by a weekend in Niagara Falls. Who do we have to blame? Perhaps wedding-themed reality TV shows, all of which had the same message: A wedding isn’t a wedding without an extravagant gown and a bunch of pseudo-rustic mason jars. 

I’m at a point in my 20s where I’ve seen firsthand just how chaotic wedding planning can be. What’s less dream-like and more nightmare-like is the extensive work that goes into bringing the wedding of your dreams to life. 

Whether you’ve planned a wedding yourself or simply attended one, chances are you’ve encountered The Knot. It is largely known as the gold standard for wedding planning, as it provides countless tools to plan everything from the engagement to the bachelor(-ette) parties to the wedding itself. 

We spoke to Cat Haight, an editor at The Knot, about how the site and its innovative tools make wedding planning accessible for everyone. “We empower couples through every step of their journey by equipping them with content, resources, and tools that educate our users and simplify the wedding planning process,” she told us.

Call me a pessimist, but I associate wedding planning with two things: stress and money. It’s hard to feel the love when you’re making endless decisions about the tiniest details. Buttercream or fondant? DJ or band? Chicken or salmon? When did your wedding turn into a never-ending project?!

Take it from The Knot: Wedding planning should only make you more excited to marry the love of your life… which is what a wedding is actually all about, remember? 

Cat made it clear that wedding planning doesn’t have to be a slog, especially when you break each step up into bite sized pieces. Her advice? Sit down and imagine your dream wedding. What does it look like? What feelings do you get? Transform those images into a clear-cut, applicable vibe. 

“Sift through social media and The Knot Real Weddings gallery to find weddings that speak to you aesthetically.”

“Sift through social media and The Knot Real Weddings gallery to find weddings that speak to you aesthetically,” Cat suggested. You may have always dreamed of a stately ceremony overlooking a lush green golf course, but you may be surprisingly enchanted by a more relaxed, romantic, bohemian style. Cat recommended taking “The Knot’s Style Quiz to further refine (and define) your desired wedding aesthetic.” 

Don’t worry if your wedding vibe evolves over time. “It’s okay if you change your mind on design elements later in the planning process,” Cat assured us. It’s only natural for your tastes to change slightly as you immerse yourself in wedding planning. After all, the wedding industry itself is ever-changing, too. 

The key is to lock down your and your partner’s chosen vibe after you’ve done your research, but before you finalize your budget or guest list. 

Cat emphasized how your budget (which we’ll revisit later on) and your guest list depend heavily on your overall vibe. “Create a guest list early, determine your priorities, and set a budget based on real data,” she told us. 

For example, a cozy small town wedding would probably cost less than a 300-plus person event. Both can be beautiful, unforgettable events, but they’re both very different vibes. 

As soon as you and your partner have agreed on your aesthetic, you can jump into finding vendors. As Cat told us, “vendors are solution-oriented and will be invaluable as you navigate the planning process, and will help you set and stick to your wedding budget.” 

Knowing your vibe is one thing. It’s your team of vendors who make this vague vibe a reality. 

The Knot’s 2023 Real Weddings Study unearthed surprising insights into contemporary wedding practices. The average ‘soonlyweds,’ as Cat called them, hired 14 vendors to work their wedding in 2023. From caterers to DJs to florists to photographers, it takes a village to get two people down the aisle in style. 

Wedding vendors don’t only provide invaluable services, but as industry experts, they can reassure you when something doesn’t go according to plan. “Assembling a team of true professionals is key to mediating wedding planning stress,” Cat said. 

“Recently married couples said wedding vendors were among the most supportive and helpful people during the wedding planning process, followed by parents,” she added. Sometimes, you just need someone with a clear head to tell you everything is going to be OK — that egg shell-colored napkins instead of cream-colored napkins won’t, in fact, ruin your big day, and can even be swapped if necessary. 

“Assemble a vendor team that truly understands you and your partner’s love story.”

“Sixty-eight percent of couples rely on their vendors to not only provide services for their wedding, but to help manage stress,” Cat told us, referencing the aforementioned The Knot study. It’s true that people tend to bond in times of stress. In the case of wedding planning, a DJ can become a therapist, a florist a mother-in-law whisperer, and a makeup artist an inspirational speaker. 

As industry experts, it’s no surprise that 34% of the vendors reportedly helped with decision-making. Even more impressively, 21% provided their clients with emotional support. “Sixty-eight percent of couples revealed that wedding vendors were as supportive as their significant others during the wedding planning process,” Cat added. 

Finding such amazing vendors may feel overwhelming, which is why The Knot makes it as simple as possible with its Vendor Marketplace. “It connects more than 1 million couples with over 200,000 local wedding professionals!” Cat told us. You can “compare, connect with, and manage communication with your team of wedding professionals, all on the same platform,” as any shrewd consumer should. 

The best vendors can provide high-quality services on a professional and personal level. In other words, a vendor should be just as invested in your wedding as you are. “Assemble a vendor team that truly understands you and your partner’s love story, and how to showcase it via an event—and then trust them!” Cat advised. “You should view your vendors as experts, artists and creative collaborators, and trust you’re in good hands.”  

The Knot remains the gold standard in wedding planning because it’s a comprehensive guide, but also because it’s always looking out for the next big trend or innovation. 

“The Knot’s comprehensive suite of innovative tools power celebrations through technology,” Cat told us. The Knot Vendor Marketplace is only one of the site’s vital tools; you can also create a wedding website, connect to your registry, narrow your vision with search filters, and use the Budget Advisor Tool. 

“The Knot truly listens to couples and is constantly innovating to better adapt to their wants and needs,” Cat said. This is evident in the site’s annual Real Weddings Study, which surveys over 10,000 couples in a single year to record emerging trends. 

“We found through our survey … that ‘planning with a budget’ was the number one challenge,” Cat explained. Apparently, people are more stressed about sticking to a budget than anything else, which is why The Knot created the Budget Advisor Tool. This tool helps couples estimate their wedding expenses while introducing them to the wild, expensive world of wedding vendors. 

“We aim to help couples set a realistic budget from the start.”

According to the survey, 86% of surveyed couples in 2023 “set their budget prior to researching wedding costs” — an understandable move, though ultimately a pointless one, since many couples are unaware of the mounting cost of vendors. “Seventy-eight percent of wedding vendors feel couples don’t understand the value of the expertise and level of service they provide, which often leads to a discrepancy between budget and actual spending with couples,” Cat told us. 

The Knot Budget Advisor aims to, as Cat explained, “solve the top challenge in wedding planning: setting a realistic budget.” 

The Budget Advisor takes numerous factors into account: Your location, your vendor priorities, and even unexpected expenses. “We aim to help couples set a realistic budget from the start and feel confident making difficult decisions throughout their wedding planning journey, including determining where they want to spend vs. save,” Cat explained. 

You don’t have to make important (and expensive) decisions about vendors or budgets alone, either. 

Check out reviews, ratings, and success stories from fellow users of The Knot. “With over 5 million couple reviews across 25 categories, couples can easily find all the types of pros that can help them execute their big day,” Cat said. 

With every check off the checklist, you and your partner are one step closer to your dream wedding becoming a reality.