The Knot Celebrates 30 Years!

Esther Lee-Editorial Director, The Knot Worldwide

As The Knot celebrates its milestone 30th Anniversary, we spoke with Esther Lee, The Knot Worldwide’s Editorial Director. She shares insights that span the decades!

1) Over three decades, The Knot has moved far beyond reporting on weddings to actively shaping how they are imagined. When you reflect on that legacy, what cultural shift in bridal feels most distinctly “of The Knot”?

I have two answers to this, starting with the rise of personalization in weddings. We have always been there for couples to throw weddings that are “uniquely theirs” for the “moments that make them,” as our team likes to say. We’ve also evolved with couples. The Knot started as an AOL chat board in 1996, helping to-be-weds navigate the ins and outs of wedding planning and connecting them with resources to take action. This core identity is still very much in play today, as the brand continues to meet couples and vendors where they are on new platforms, including LLMs, social media platforms, newsletters, and more. Innovation and serving our users will always remain core to this brand, even as we continue to grow and evolve. 

2) The idea of “the modern bride” has evolved dramatically since the 1990s. How would you describe her today—and what threads of continuity still connect her to the brides of 30 years ago?

She is discerning, and she has conviction. Here’s why: the modern bride has access to an array of information across platforms and has poured time, energy and genuine interest in learning about the offerings across the market that allow her to make hyper-personal decisions. Yet despite how much the wedding landscape has evolved over the past 30 years, the core motivation remains the same: brides still want to celebrate their love story, bring together the people who matter most, and create meaningful memories that mark the beginning of a new chapter.

3) The Knot exists at a unique intersection of editorial instinct and data intelligence. How do you balance the romance of storytelling with the precision of what your platform reveals about real couples?

There’s absolutely a way to do both. Why? Because love is romantic and worth celebrating. More than a million couples plan with The Knot each year, and we conduct our annual Real Weddings Study with over 35,000 couples annually. This means we are on the front lines of real couples’ recurring wedding themes, seasonal trends, even meet-cutes, based on what they share with us. 

Data is a powerful mechanism for better understanding modern couples and helping them navigate the complexities of wedding planning. Pair that with a story, whether that be a piece about wedding market trends over time or the deconstructed wedding, and we have a certain level of confidence and concrete data to support what we're seeing, illustrating it not only anecdotally but with evidence-based conviction.

4) From emerging designers to global bridal houses, The Knot has long influenced visibility and relevance within the industry. In your view, how has that role evolved—and how consciously do you wield it?

Thank you for acknowledging this. This is a responsibility we take with utmost care, especially as an editorial team. Editors, inherently, are a curious bunch, and it’s our job to identify and share stories that are meaningful and insightful to our community. We know we are a leader in shaping perspectives and relevance.

One way that the role of editors has evolved significantly is the mediums through which we tell stories. As someone who started her career on the dot-com side of newspapers, I can say that storytelling will always exist, but the channels through which we share these tales have evolved with a new stream of media emerging through social channels, podcasts, and newsletters.  

5) Weddings have shifted from tradition-bound rituals to deeply personal expressions of identity. Do you believe today’s weddings are more individual—or simply more curated?

Couples were asked in The Knot Real Weddings Study 2026 about their highest priority when planning a wedding, and guess what the response was? A majority said the guest experience. It isn’t as much about how things look (albeit, that is still important to many couples), as much as it’s about how things feel: Are our guests cared for properly? Did we give them an amazing and memorable time at our wedding?

Inherently, weddings hold the tension between tradition and personalization as a direct reflection of individualism packaged through a curated lens. That’s what personalization is; it is all about the couple and their story, expressed through the details of their wedding, whether that be the menu and wine pairings influenced by their travels, or the stylistic attire choices made throughout the wedding. 

6) Technology has transformed the engagement journey—from planning tools to social inspiration and beyond. How has this digital evolution reshaped not just how weddings are planned, but how they are emotionally experienced?

Indeed, we are at yet another major shift in how couples plan, something The Knot has seen in waves throughout the years. Of course, emotions are now translating to social media and it’s a beautiful thing to witness. Couples who choose to share their weddings and private moments are attracting the sentiment of complete strangers who commonly bond over their shared love of love.

7) Luxury in the bridal space has taken on new meaning in recent years. How would you define “luxury” for the contemporary bride, and how has that definition changed over time?

My hot take is that luxury is about intention. It is directly correlated to presence and slowing down by focusing on meaningful moments rather than rushing through a checklist of items. The only way to achieve this is by surrounding yourself with a pro team that can soothe big nerves, solve bigger problems, and create mighty events and beauty on your wedding day. That, of course, includes the bridal styling and shopping at sa

8) As conversations around inclusion and representation have expanded, how has The Knot approached telling a broader, more nuanced spectrum of love stories?

The love between each couple is unique. It’s why I love asking about the meet-cute. Even with dating apps in the picture, no love story or wedding-planning tale is the same.  It is incredibly important to The Knot that we help couples “see” themselves through our content, our marketing messages, and more. My team of The Knot editors is constantly on the lookout for diverse and inclusive weddings to feature; the same goes for the wedding pros we turn to. We look to those who truly walk the walk and serve cultural and inclusive weddings with expert guidance. 

9) The 30th anniversary issue reflects on “Designers Through the Decades.” What narratives felt most essential to honor in this moment, and what do they reveal about the industry’s evolution?

This comes back to the stories that each business and each figure in our industry has to tell. The most resonant theme that emerged from my reporting in this piece was this: Every designer started somewhere and had a vision, a concept, or an idea for how to better serve brides and couples. The longevity of certain designers speaks to their ability not only to embrace their core customer, but to evolve with fresh and modern designs that speak to the next generation. 

Indeed, we now see that about 2 in 5 couples getting married are Gen Z, and they’re planning differently than previous generations. We will most certainly continue to see the industry’s evolution and a joyful next iteration of weddings ahead. 

10) Looking ahead, what do you imagine will define the next era of weddings—and what role will The Knot continue to play in shaping that future? 

I imagine the next era of weddings will be defined by connection and community. In a world that craves authentic interactions with loved ones, I see a wedding era that is not only high-tech, but high-touch. The Knot will be there continuing to evolve alongside each unique couple. This is directly from my Editor’s Letter, co-written with our CEO Raina Moskowitz, in the 30th anniversary issue of The Knot Magazine: 

With that have come many "firsts" in the history of wedding innovations. In the late 1990s, The Knot was the first to build an online registry ("Down Memory Aisle"); in the 2010s, we were the first to build an everything-wedding-planning app; in the mid-'20s, we became the first to implement AI planning tools ("From This Day Forward"). It's why couples—25 million and counting—have trusted us with planning distinctly personalized events. We've long been alleviating stress to make the engagement a joyful and purposeful life period.

The Knot team will continue to serve that very purpose in the decades ahead. Thank you for celebrating this mega milestone with us. And if this community ever wants to connect, please send me an email. I’d love to hear your story.