Weddings have moved online in some ways and stayed stuck in others. Couples discover suppliers on Instagram and TikTok. They save posts, swap recommendations, and build folders of screenshots. Then everything grinds into the old pattern. DMs. Email threads. Spreadsheets. Bank transfers for deposits. Vendors juggling enquiries across five apps. Couples losing track of who said what and when.
What I kept seeing, from both sides, was a gap. Not a lack of inspiration or tools. There are great planning checklists out there. There are talented vendors everywhere. The gap was in the process itself, plenty of inspiration existed, but the step from interest to organised planning was where everything broke down. That middle part should be simple. Instead, it soaks up hours, introduces risk, and makes the whole process drag on.
The pattern that wastes time
Ask any couple who planned a multi-event wedding recently. They will describe the same loop.
- 1. Find vendors on social.
- 2. Message, wait, follow up.
- 3. Move to email to share details and attachments.
- 4. Try to compare different offers across different apps.
- 5. Settle a deposit by bank transfer.
- 6. Repeat for every category.
It works, but it is slow, fragile, and stressful. Messages disappear in busy inboxes. Prices are hard to compare. Dates get double-booked. Deposits are paid to the wrong reference. Nothing is centralised, so the couple becomes the project manager by default.
Vendors feel the same pain. Enquiries arrive without context. “Price?” with no date, no guest count, no location. Time goes on admin rather than on the craft. Leads go cold while chasing basic information. Payments need chasing. Reviews are scattered or never collected at all.
Other industries fixed this
Transport was phone calls. Then it wasn’t. Travel was leaflets and ring-rounds. Then it wasn’t. Food delivery was takeaway menus in a drawer. Then it wasn’t.
Marketplaces didn’t just put things on a website. They reorganised the messy middle.
- Clear profiles with the information that matters.
- A single place to message, with context attached.
- Comparable offers, so choice becomes rational rather than guesswork.
- Availability and pricing logic, even when pricing is flexible.
- Secure payments and receipts.
- Reviews in one place, which builds trust for everyone.
- A feedback loop that helps the best suppliers rise.
People still care about personal service. Marketplaces did not remove that. They removed the friction that sits between people who want to work together.
Weddings are different. The solution must be too.
Weddings are not a simple “add to basket.” They are multi-day, multi-vendor, culturally specific, and deeply personal. Most services are not fixed SKUs. A stage setup for 80 people in a community hall is not the same job as a marquee build for 400. A makeup brief for an afternoon Nikah is not the same as a late-night reception. Pricing needs flexibility. Conversations matter.
So a wedding marketplace cannot be a directory with a pay button. It needs to respect the way weddings actually work.
That means:
- Discovery that leads somewhere. Social is great for the first impression. There must be a clear bridge from “I love this” to “we’re booked for Friday 12 July.”
- Messaging with context. Date, location, guest count, event type, and budget should travel with the enquiry. Vendors answer once, not five times.
- Flexible pricing. Many categories need custom quotes. The system should make custom easy, not force a one-size menu.
- Multi-event planning. Couples often plan a Mehndi, Nikah, Walima, and reception with different guest lists and budgets. The platform should treat each event as a distinct plan inside one wedding.
- Secure payment flow. Payments need to be made simple, traceable, and safe for both sides.
- A single record of truth. Conversations, quotes, files, and dates in one place so nobody is searching old threads for an attachment called “finalfinal2.pdf”.
- Fair visibility for vendors. Great work should be easy to find. Reviews should be real. Enquiries should be qualified.
What changes for couples
The practical gains are not complicated, but they are meaningful.
- Time back. You stop duplicating the same details across messages. You compare like with like. You book faster.
- Clarity. Each vendor conversation sits with its event. You can see what is decided, what is due, and what is next.
- Better decisions. You view work, read reviews, and compare offers side by side. That reduces second-guessing.
- Less risk. Payments and timelines are tracked. Fewer surprises. Fewer “did we pay that” moments.
Planning should feel calm. You should know where things stand without piecing it together every Sunday night.
What changes for vendors
The best vendors want to spend their time on the work, not on admin.
- Centralised inbox. No more switching between DMs, email, and WhatsApp to keep a single thread straight.
- Quotes that fit. You can price for the job in front of you, not fit the job into a rigid template.
- Clean payments. Payments are straightforward. No deposits where you worry about the rest. Fewer awkward chases.
- Proof of quality. Reviews sit with your profile, which compounds over time.
A healthy marketplace respects the craft. It doesn’t get between vendor and client. It clears the path so they can work together.
The principles we chose
When we started Wedsi, we wrote a small list and kept it above the desk.
- Design for real weddings. Multi-event. Mixed budgets. Cultural specifics. Real life, not brochure life.
- Flexibility over fixed menus. Let vendors give custom quotes easily.
- Keep conversations together. Every message and file should sit in one place with the right context.
- Make payments simple and visible. Couples should know exactly how much. Vendors should know what is confirmed.
- Earn trust slowly and honestly. Real reviews. No gimmicks. Good vendors rise because couples had a good experience.
- Be useful even before booking. Planning checklists, event builders, DIY guidance, and essentials. The ecosystem reduces stress long before money changes hands.
Those principles shaped the product. They also shaped the tone. Weddings are personal. The software should support the human parts, not flatten them.
Why now
Two things shifted in the last few years.
- Discovery moved to social. Instagram and TikTok make style visible at scale. That is a gift, but it also created a flood of fragmented conversations. The appetite is there. The structure is not.
- Couples expect modern checkout everywhere. Flights, hotels, furniture, subscriptions. The expectation is that once you decide, the rest is simple. Weddings have lagged behind that expectation. Not because people want less personal contact, but because they want less unnecessary complexity.
Bring those two shifts together and the need for a true wedding marketplace is obvious.
What a better future looks like
A couple sets their dates and guest numbers. They build a simple plan for each event. They browse vendors whose work fits their taste and budget. They message through one place, compare clear offers, and secure the date. They make the payment and recieve a receipt. They add DIY touches where it makes sense and shop for essentials without guesswork. They enjoy the run-up rather than firefighting it.
A vendor receives enquiries with useful detail. They reply once, quote clearly, and confirm bookings without chasing. They focus on delivery. Their profile gathers real proof of good work. Their calendar fills with the right jobs.
It is still personal. The conversations still matter. The marketplace just gives them a better home.
Where Wedsi fits
Wedsi is our attempt to build that home for the UK wedding world. It connects discovery to booking. It keeps planning clean across multiple events. It respects that most wedding services are case by case. It gives couples and vendors a shared place to work together without the usual mess.
If you are a couple, I want your planning to feel organised and human. If you are a vendor, I want your diary to fill because the software got out of your way.
This is why I believe weddings needed a platform like Wedsi. Not to replace the human parts. To support them, and to give both sides their time back.