WeddingBook.com
is attempting to do for local wedding companies what online travel agencies did for local travel suppliers--increase exposure on the Web for free.
The online destination designed to
help people plan and price weddings launched this week. The company, founded by CEO John Dillon, has support from TripAdvisor founder and CEO Stephen Kaufer and Dan Saul, founder of Smarter Travel
Media.
Dillon said that many consumers planning weddings are first-time buyers and are "totally uneducated on how to shop." Estimating that the average wedding costs $28,000, he said rivals such
as TheKnot.com, MyWedding.com and Condé Nast's Brides.com "don't provide enough help because their business model is predicated around vendors getting paid for providing visibility."
The
business model differs at WeddingBook.com. Flower shops, bridal gown designers, caterers, photographers and others can publish content on the site to promote their business for free. About 65,000
profiles have been created. A bride sees the listing, and if interested, she selects and favorites it, adding the name into her shopping cart. She requests a proposal via a template.
The site
also offers reviews of past clients and endorsements from other professionals, as well as the ability to showcase preferred vendor relationships to cross market services. If the vendors want to
respond to the bride through the request for proposal process, they pay a fee to WeddingBook.com.
Catering to brides is not easy. They are looking for that perfect special day. Just ask Tim
Shey, co-founder and head of entertainment at Next New Networks. The independent producer of online TV networks had to cut one network dedicated to brides because it was not working. "Brideorama had
great programming and a fantastic viewer response, but it was difficult to sustain an audience due to one simple fact: you're only a soon-to-be-bride for a short period of time, and when you are, it's
quite a personal, individual experience," Shey said.
It didn't work for the online TV network because it meant continually acquiring new audiences, as opposed to other networks where people
stick with the programming for years.