Carats and Cake
Carats and Cake operates a wedding inspiration and vendor-discovery marketplace combined with a financial operating system — including BNPL payments — for venues, vendors, and property groups in the events industry.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Carats and Cake does
Carats and Cake (also operating as Carats + Cake) is a New York-based, venture-backed company founded in 2013 that operates a wedding inspiration and vendor-discovery marketplace combined with a financial operating system for the events industry. The platform serves two primary audiences: engaged couples seeking wedding inspiration, vendor discovery, and planning resources, and wedding vendors and venues seeking digital presence, lead generation, and payment infrastructure. Core product surfaces include a searchable vendor directory, a venue directory organized by type and region, a featured weddings showcase, the Cherry curated archive for inspiration browsing, and a vendor membership tier. The platform covers weddings across the United States and internationally across Europe, Oceania, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas.
The company's underlying technology combines AI-powered content discovery (visual search, recommendation engines, and multimodal personalization) with an integrated payments layer built on Stripe, including buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) functionality for event venues and property groups. Proprietary features include the Cherry curated wedding archive, BNPL-enabled payment and invoicing technology, revenue optimization software targeted at venues and property management firms, and machine-learning-driven content categorization and recommendations. The platform is GDPR-compliant for EEA, UK, and Switzerland residents and is incorporated in Delaware.
Carats and Cake monetizes through three primary streams: (1) recurring vendor membership subscriptions with freemium entry and paid premium tiers billed monthly, (2) additional premium services purchased by vendors beyond basic membership, and (3) transaction fees from BNPL payment processing for wedding expenses facilitated through the venue/property financial operating system. Go-to-market blends product-led growth (self-serve vendor onboarding and free profile claims), community-led growth (curated real-wedding submissions and Cherry collections), and sales-led motion targeting venues and property management firms. Total disclosed funding is approximately $29.9 million across a December 2021 financing led by Acrew Capital and Founders Fund and a September 2022 Series A led by 1Sharpe Ventures, with additional participation from Reshape, Argosy Capital, Correlation Ventures, GMO VenturePartners, and SilverCircle.
Carats and Cake firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carats and Cake
- Legal name
- Carats and Cake, Inc.
- Website
- https://caratsandcake.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Carats and Cake operates a wedding inspiration and vendor-discovery marketplace combined with a financial operating system — including BNPL payments — for venues, vendors, and property groups in the events industry.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Carats and Cake industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wedding Marketplace Platform
- akta.pro primary industry
- Vendor Sourcing & Management (Venues, Catering, Photo/Video, Music) (HSACABAG)
Keywords
Where Carats and Cake is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Carats and Cake business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Vendor Membership Subscriptions: Wedding vendors and professionals pay for membership plans to access premium features, create profiles, submit weddings, and gain visibility on the platform. The platform offers membership features and pricing tiers for pros.
- Premium Services for Vendors: Vendors can purchase premium services identified by C&C as additional paid offerings beyond basic membership.
- BNPL Transaction Processing: Payment processing fees from buy-now-pay-later transactions for wedding expenses facilitated through the platform's financial operating system for venues and property groups.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free Profile for Wedding Pros |
| Subscription | Monthly | Vendor Membership |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Carats and Cake product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carats and Cake operates a wedding inspiration and planning marketplace that connects engaged couples with wedding vendors, venues, and professionals through curated real-wedding features, searchable vendor and venue directories, and editorial content. The company has layered a financial operating system on top of the marketplace — including payment/invoicing technology with buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options for event venues and property groups, and a revenue optimization software suite targeting venues and property management firms.
Product overview
Carats and Cake operates as a wedding inspiration marketplace and planning platform featuring a directory of vendors and venues. The core platform showcases real weddings and enables couples to discover wedding professionals. The product suite includes Cherry (a curated content archive for inspiration browsing), vendor and venue directories organized by category and location, featured wedding showcases with vendor attribution, a premium membership tier for wedding professionals, and wedding planning editorial resources. The platform serves both couples seeking inspiration and vendors looking to market their services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Carats and Cake Platform A wedding inspiration and planning marketplace that connects engaged couples with wedding vendors, venues, and professionals through curated real-wedding features and searchable directories.
- Cherry A curated wedding content archive that organizes real weddings by style, color, detail, and location, allowing couples to discover, save, and connect with the creatives behind featured weddings.
- Wedding Pro Membership Premium subscription membership for wedding vendors and venues offering enhanced profile features, analytics, and promotional tools to showcase services and grow visibility on the platform.
- Payment and Invoicing Technology with BNPL Digital payment and invoicing system integrating buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options for event venues and property groups, enabling consumers to spread payments for wedding expenses.
- Revenue Optimization Software Financial operating system designed to help event venues and property management firms optimize revenue streams and manage digital operations in the events industry.
Companies that use Carats and Cake
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Carats and Cake technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
Carats and Cake partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- StripecorePayment processing integration through Stripe to facilitate payments made in connection with platform services. Stripe handles payment processing and related financial transactions.
- Bliss & BoneminorExclusive marketing partnership offering new customers 1 month free on Bliss & Bone Wedding Websites with promotional code. Cross-promotional relationship between wedding website providers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Carats and Cake competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Knot Worldwide: The Knot Worldwide operates The Knot and WeddingWire, the two largest wedding vendor directories and planning platforms in the US. It directly competes with Carats and Cake across couple-side planning tools, vendor marketplaces, and increasingly venue booking.
- Zola: Zola is a wedding planning platform combining registry, wedding website, vendor directory, and planning checklists. It competes head-on with Carats and Cake for couple engagement and vendor visibility, with a stronger registry/checklist suite.
- Joy: Joy offers free wedding websites, planning tools, and a vendor marketplace. It targets a similar couple-side workflow to Carats and Cake and is a credible alternative for vendors seeking listing exposure.
- HoneyBook: HoneyBook is a business management platform for creative and event professionals, including wedding vendors. It overlaps directly with Carats and Cake's vendor-side SaaS and payment/BNPL capabilities, and is often a substitute for vendor CRM and invoicing.
- Aisle Planner: Aisle Planner is a wedding planning software targeted at wedding planners and vendors with tools for client management, proposals, timelines, and payments. It is a direct peer for the vendor/venue SaaS layer of Carats and Cake.
Emerging players
- WithJoy: WithJoy is a wedding website and planning platform with vendor directory features and registry tools. It competes for the same couple and SMB vendor audience but with a narrower focus on websites and registries.
- Honeyfund: Honeyfund is a wedding registry platform offering cash funds, experiences, and honeymoons. It is a partial-overlap emerging player in the couple-side wedding commerce stack that intersects with Carats and Cake's registry-adjacent features.
- Planning Pod: Planning Pod provides business management and planning software for wedding and event professionals. It is an emerging peer to Carats and Cake's vendor/venue SaaS and payments offering.
Broad incumbents
- Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a large-scale event ticketing and management platform serving a wide range of event categories including weddings. It is a broad incumbent in the events space that overlaps with Carats and Cake's venue/event SaaS ambitions.
- Minted: Minted operates an online marketplace for wedding stationery, decor, and gifts, and has expanded into broader wedding content and vendor surfaces. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping couple-side audience and adjacent vendor marketplace.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Carats and Cake social profiles
Digital presenceCarats and Cake compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Carats and Cake financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carats and Cake leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Carats and Cake funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carats and Cake M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Carats and Cake
What does Carats and Cake do?
Carats and Cake operates a wedding inspiration and planning marketplace that connects engaged couples with wedding vendors, venues, and professionals through curated real-wedding features, searchable vendor and venue directories, and editorial content. The company has layered a financial operating system on top of the marketplace — including payment/invoicing technology with buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options for event venues and property groups, and a revenue optimization software suite targeting venues and property management firms.
Is Carats and Cake a public or private company?
Carats and Cake is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Carats and Cake founded?
Carats and Cake was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Carats and Cake based?
Carats and Cake is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Carats and Cake make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Vendor Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are premium Services for Vendors and BNPL Transaction Processing.
Who are Carats and Cake's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Knot Worldwide, Zola, Joy, HoneyBook and Aisle Planner. Emerging players are WithJoy, Honeyfund and Planning Pod. Broad incumbents are Eventbrite and Minted.
Does Carats and Cake have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carats and Cake.
What industry is Carats and Cake in?
Carats and Cake's product category is Wedding Marketplace Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACABAG, Vendor Sourcing & Management (Venues, Catering, Photo/Video, Music).