WeddingWire Announces $25 Million Investment from Spectrum Equity

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- WeddingWire, the nation's leading technology company serving the $100 billion wedding and events industry, today announced a $25 million investment from Spectrum Equity, a leading private equity firm focused on the information economy. The capital will enable WeddingWire to expand its innovative product offerings for both consumers and local businesses.

WeddingWire has helped millions of consumers plan their celebrations by offering the largest directory of wedding and event professionals, including user reviews. Additionally, WeddingWire provides local businesses, from venues to photographers, with a comprehensive suite of advertising, marketing, business management, and networking solutions. The company's innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform currently powers more than 125,000 local businesses across the U.S. and Canada. WeddingWire has also become the local merchant platform for the broader publisher industry through partnerships with Conde Nast, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Internet Brands. WeddingWire will use this new investment to accelerate its development of products and services for both consumers and local businesses in the wedding and events industry, while also expanding sales and marketing efforts.

"We are thrilled to continue our expansion through an investment partnership with Spectrum," said Timothy Chi, CEO and co-founder of WeddingWire. "This next phase of growth will be dedicated to fulfilling an even bigger mission for the company. We are energized by the opportunity to work with another premier investment partner in Spectrum and believe the firm's extensive experience in the digital media and local SaaS sectors will support our vision as we build even more valuable resources for our network of engaged couples, those planning celebrations, and event professionals." 

As part of the investment, Ben Spero, Managing Director at Spectrum Equity, and Pete Jensen, Principal at Spectrum Equity, will join the WeddingWire Board of Directors. Existing institutional investors in WeddingWire include Catalyst Investors and Southern Capitol Ventures.

"WeddingWire has been a remarkably innovative company since its founding five years ago and has now established a leadership position in the wedding vertical, while reaching profitability and demonstrating scale in its business model," said Mr. Spero. "We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with an exceptional management team on this next phase of rapid growth. WeddingWire is uniquely positioned to pursue this sizeable and still largely untapped market." 

"Attracting another top-tier investor like Spectrum Equity speaks volumes about the Company, its management team and the opportunity set," said Ryan McNally, Partner with Catalyst Investors and existing WeddingWire investor and board member.

Over the past year, WeddingWire has launched innovative SaaS products to help wedding and event professionals manage all aspects of their business, from appointment scheduling to mobile marketing. In addition, the company launched EventWire.com for many types of event planning, along with specific websites for celebrations such as BirthdayWire.com, MitzvahWire.com and PromWire.com. Recently named to the 2012 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies, WeddingWire continues to rapidly increase its revenues and will be moving into a new corporate headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland by the end of the year. 

Read more at: http://www.weddingwire.com/press-center/press-releases/2012/weddingwire-announces-25-million-investment-from-spectrum-equity.html

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation's leading technology company serving the $100 billion wedding and events industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 125,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides an innovative SaaS platform to businesses that offers a comprehensive solution for their advertising, marketing, client management, and networking needs.  Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, EventWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com, Brides.com and Weddingbee.com. 

About Spectrum Equity
Spectrum Equity is a private equity firm focused on investing in innovative growth stage businesses in the information economy. Spectrum has been an active investor in digital media and SaaS businesses including Ancestry.com, Animoto, Demand Media, iPay Technologies (acquired by Jack Henry & Associates), ITA Software (acquired by Google), NetQuote (acquired by Bankrate), RiskMetrics Group (acquired by MSCI), Seamless, Seisint (acquired by LexisNexis/Reed Elsevier), and SurveyMonkey. Founded in 1994 with offices in Boston and Menlo Park, Spectrum has raised $4.7 billion in capital across six funds.

SOURCE WeddingWire, Inc.