Borrowed & Blue
Borrowed & Blue is a US-based wedding industry marketplace founded in 2011 that helps couples discover, plan, and book wedding services and vendors across multiple categories. The Charlottesville, VA-headquartered company operates as a two-sided platform connecting engaged couples with fragmented local wedding vendors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersCharlottesville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Borrowed & Blue does
Borrowed & Blue is a private, for-profit company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. The company operates as a transactional marketplace for the wedding industry, with the stated positioning of being the first such marketplace of its kind. Its core product helps couples imagine, plan, and book their weddings by aggregating fragmented wedding vendors into a single discovery and booking surface.
The company serves two customer segments: engaged couples seeking wedding services, and wedding vendors (e.g., venues, photographers, florists, caterers) seeking demand generation. Vendor categories typically surfaced in such marketplaces include venues, photographers, beauty, bands/DJs, florists, caterers, planners, cakes/desserts, videographers, bar services, officiants, and event extras. The platform spans the United States, with no evidence of international operations.
The business model is consistent with a marketplace: Borrowed & Blue likely monetizes via vendor subscriptions, listing fees, or transaction commissions, though no pricing model is disclosed in the available data. The company has raised approximately $10.1 million across two disclosed funding rounds — a $3.1 million round in June 2015 led by Foxhaven, and a $7.0 million round in November 2016 led by Foundry Group, with participation from Accomplice, Foxhaven, Upslope Ventures, and Service Provider Capital. Headcount is stated at 11-50 employees. The co-founder is Christin Healey. No information on current revenue, ARR, GMV, or ownership structure was provided in the source data.
Borrowed & Blue firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Borrowed & Blue
- Legal name
- Zola, Inc.
- Website
- https://borrowedandblue.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Borrowed & Blue is a US-based wedding industry marketplace founded in 2011 that helps couples discover, plan, and book wedding services and vendors across multiple categories. The Charlottesville, VA-headquartered company operates as a two-sided platform connecting engaged couples with fragmented local wedding vendors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Borrowed & Blue industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Wedding Marketplace
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Vendor Sourcing & Management (Venues, Catering, Photo/Video, Music) (HSACABAG)
Keywords
Where Borrowed & Blue is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlottesville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Borrowed & Blue business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Borrowed & Blue product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Borrowed & Blue operates a transactional online marketplace for the wedding industry that connects engaged couples with wedding venues and vendors. The platform allows couples to discover, plan, and book wedding services by aggregating vendor listings across categories such as venues, photographers, florists, and other wedding service providers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Zola Baby: Baby registry platform
- Zola Home
Products and services
- Wedding Vendor Marketplace
Companies that use Borrowed & Blue
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
Borrowed & Blue technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Borrowed & Blue partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Borrowed & Blue competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Zola: Zola is a wedding planning, registry, and vendor marketplace platform serving the same couples-and-vendors marketplace category as Borrowed & Blue. It is the most direct comparable — the source data for Borrowed & Blue actually reflects Zola properties, suggesting acquisition.
- Here Comes The Guide: Here Comes The Guide is a U.S. wedding venue and vendor directory/marketplace serving couples planning weddings, directly comparable in category and customer to Borrowed & Blue.
- Eventective: Eventective is an event and wedding vendor marketplace connecting consumers with venues and service providers. It overlaps with Borrowed & Blue's vendor-sourcing mission, though it serves a broader event scope beyond weddings.
- HoneyBook: HoneyBook is a clientflow and business management platform for event and wedding professionals, with a vendor marketplace component. It competes for the same vendor supply side that powers Borrowed & Blue's marketplace.
- Minted: Minted is a design marketplace that includes wedding stationery, websites, and registries, serving the same couples-and-vendors commercial relationship in adjacent wedding product categories.
Broad incumbents
- The Knot Worldwide: The Knot Worldwide operates The Knot and WeddingWire, the largest wedding planning platforms in the U.S. with extensive vendor directories, planning tools, and registry. It is a scaled incumbent competing directly for both couples and vendors.
- WeddingWire: WeddingWire is a leading wedding vendor marketplace and planning platform, now part of The Knot Worldwide. It competes directly with Borrowed & Blue for vendor leads and couple discovery in the same U.S. market.
Emerging players
- Joy (WithJoy): Joy is a modern wedding planning platform offering websites, RSVPs, registries, and vendor tools. It competes with Borrowed & Blue for the same couple workflow and has expanded into adjacent wedding-tech tooling.
- Aisle Planner: Aisle Planner is a wedding planning SaaS platform for wedding professionals and couples, including vendor directories and planning tools. Comparable to Borrowed & Blue on the vendor-facing side of the wedding marketplace.
Regional players
- Bridebook: Bridebook is a leading wedding planning app and vendor marketplace in the UK. It is directly comparable as a transactional wedding vendor marketplace but operates in a different geography from Borrowed & Blue's U.S. base.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Borrowed & Blue social profiles
Digital presenceBorrowed & Blue financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Borrowed & Blue leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Borrowed & Blue funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Borrowed & Blue 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 Borrowed & Blue
What does Borrowed & Blue do?
Borrowed & Blue operates a transactional online marketplace for the wedding industry that connects engaged couples with wedding venues and vendors. The platform allows couples to discover, plan, and book wedding services by aggregating vendor listings across categories such as venues, photographers, florists, and other wedding service providers.
Is Borrowed & Blue a public or private company?
Borrowed & Blue is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Borrowed & Blue founded?
Borrowed & Blue was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Borrowed & Blue based?
Borrowed & Blue is headquartered in Charlottesville, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Borrowed & Blue's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Zola, Here Comes The Guide, Eventective, HoneyBook and Minted. Broad incumbents are The Knot Worldwide and WeddingWire. Emerging players are Joy (WithJoy) and Aisle Planner. Bridebook is listed as a regional player.
Does Borrowed & Blue have an API?
No public API is recorded for Borrowed & Blue.
What industry is Borrowed & Blue in?
Borrowed & Blue's product category is Online Wedding Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACABAG, Vendor Sourcing & Management (Venues, Catering, Photo/Video, Music). Its SIC code is 7990.