The Simply Elegant Group

What The Simply Elegant Group does

The Simply Elegant Group (SEG) is a privately held, Chicago-headquartered wedding planning and coordination company founded in 2010 that sells full-service wedding planning, partial planning, day-of coordination, and destination wedding packages to engaged couples across nine U.S. metro markets (Austin, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Shreveport, Virginia Beach) plus international destination events. Its underlying technology stack is service-oriented rather than product-oriented: SEG does not offer an app, API, or SaaS platform, and its proprietary assets are limited to the SEG Wedding Workbook, 40+ planning templates, and a Preferred Vendor Program (PVP) database of 400+ vetted vendors who offer exclusive discounts, upgrades, and free add-ons to SEG couples. The vendor program is structured so vendors cannot pay to be listed and SEG accepts no commissions, positioning the network as a curation-driven value-add rather than a referral monetization channel. Delivery is performed by a 40-person team including 20+ lead planners, each of whom must complete 40+ hours of internal training, pass assessments, serve as second assistants, and be ordained; planners are matched one-to-one with couples for multi-month engagements.

The business model is professional services, billed on a per-package basis with pricing customized to scope and location: standard packages range $1,500-$9,000 with an average spend around $3,500, and destination weddings range $3,500-$10,000 plus travel. GTM is direct-to-consumer and consultative: prospective couples arrive via organic search, blog content, vendor referrals, and word-of-mouth, submit an inquiry form, and are routed into a discovery conversation that ends with a custom package. Marketing is concentrated in content marketing, SEO-optimized city landing pages, editorial coverage in national and regional wedding publications, and a 600+ five-star Google review base. Operating supporting systems include an email newsletter with a "Top 10 Timeline Tips" lead magnet and standard contact infrastructure ([email protected], 763-350-3832). SEG is bootstrapped, founder-led by owner Ashley Ebert, with no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, and a recent merger with Jenna Culley Events consolidating its Minneapolis operations.

Name

The Simply Elegant Group

Legal name

Simply Elegant Group

Website

https://thesimplyelegantgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Simply Elegant Group is a privately held, Chicago-based wedding planning and coordination company founded in 2010 that provides full-service, partial, day-of, and destination wedding planning to engaged couples across nine U.S. metro markets plus international destinations, delivered by a 40-person team of trained lead planners and supported by a 400+ vendor Preferred Vendor Program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wedding Planning Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Wedding Planning (HSACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Destination Wedding Planning (HSACABAD), Day-Of / Month-Of Wedding Coordination (HSACABAC), Vendor Sourcing & Management (Venues, Catering, Photo/Video, Music) (HSACABAG)

Keywords

• Wedding planning services
• Event coordination
• Destination weddings
• Vendor management
• Wedding design

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Wedding Planning & Coordination Services: Custom-designed wedding planning packages billed on a per-service basis. Services range from day-of coordination to full-weekend planning and design. Packages are priced to reflect scope and location, with destination weddings commanding higher fees due to travel and multi-day coordination requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Simply Elegant Group provides custom wedding planning and coordination services for engaged couples across nine U.S. metropolitan markets and international destinations. Service tiers span day-of coordination, partial event management, and full-service wedding planning and design, priced between $1,500 and $9,000 for standard markets and $3,500–$10,000 for destination weddings. The Preferred Vendor Program supplements core planning by brokering discounts from a vetted network of 400+ wedding vendors, designed to offset the cost of SEG's services for the couple.

Product overview

The Simply Elegant Group is a nationwide wedding planning company offering a unified suite of services centered on wedding planning and coordination. The core offerings include Wedding Planning Services (ranging from day-of coordination to full-service planning), the Preferred Vendor Program (PVP) providing pre-negotiated discounts from 400+ vetted vendors), and specialized Destination Wedding Planning for international locations. Services are offered across 9 regional markets (Austin, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Shreveport, Virginia Beach) plus destination wedding services. Pricing varies by location, ranging from $1,500-$9,000 for standard services and $3,500-$10,000 for destination weddings. The company has collectively planned over 4,500 events and operates a team-based model with over 20 lead planners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wedding Planning Services Custom wedding planning and coordination services for engaged couples in nine U.S. metropolitan markets, ranging from day-of coordination to full-service planning and design. Pricing is custom per couple based on service level, market, and package complexity, generally $1,500–$9,000.
• Preferred Vendor Program (PVP) Curated network of 400+ vetted wedding vendors (photographers, florists, caterers, DJs, officiants, venues, etc.) offering pre-negotiated discounts, upgrades, and free add-ons exclusively to SEG couples. Designed to deliver savings exceeding the cost of SEG's own services.
• Destination Wedding Planning Luxury destination wedding planning and multi-day coordination for U.S. and international locations including the Caribbean and Europe. Services are custom-designed around travel logistics, local vendor sourcing, and on-ground coordination.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,500+ weddings planned successfully since 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Preferred Vendor Program (PVP) PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSEG maintains a curated network of 400+ vetted wedding vendors (photographers, florists, caterers, DJs, officiants, venues, etc.) across the U.S. who provide exclusive discounts, upgrades, and free add-ons to SEG couples. Vendors cannot pay to be listed and SEG does not accept commissions, ensuring objectivity. The program is the company's primary value differentiator, directly addressing couples' cost concerns and enabling the company to promise savings exceeding the cost of its own services. Vendors benefit from consistent, high-quality referrals from a company that thoroughly pre-qualifies its couples.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• WeddingWire: WeddingWire is a major wedding vendor marketplace and planning platform, now part of The Knot Worldwide. It competes with SEG through vendor discovery tools and planning checklists across the same 9+ U.S. markets.
• The Knot Worldwide: The Knot (alongside WeddingWire under People Inc.) is the largest U.S. wedding marketplace, offering vendor directories, planning tools, websites, and editorial content. As an incumbent, it overlaps with SEG's planning resources and vendor matching but operates at much larger scale as a multi-sided platform.

Direct peers

• Aisle Planner: Aisle Planner is a wedding planning software platform serving professional planners with client management, design tools, and vendor tracking. It is a direct peer to SEG in supporting wedding planning operations, though as a B2B software vendor rather than a consumer-facing planner.
• Curate: Curate is a wedding planning platform offering planning software, websites, and vendor connections to professional planners and couples. It competes with SEG in digital wedding planning, particularly for planners seeking software-enabled workflows.
• Here Comes The Guide: Here Comes The Guide is a wedding venue and vendor directory serving couples in California and select Western U.S. markets. It overlaps with SEG's vendor matching and planning content with a similar regional focus.
• Joy: Joy is a wedding planning platform offering websites, RSVPs, registries, and planning tools. It directly competes with SEG's consumer-facing planning service, particularly through free digital tools that substitute for entry-level coordination packages.
• Zola: Zola is an online wedding planning platform offering websites, registries, checklists, and vendor directories. It directly competes with SEG's planning and coordination services through digital tools, though Zola is technology-led while SEG is service-led.

Others

• Brides: Brides (Condé Nast) is a leading wedding editorial publication that has featured SEG. It functions as a top-of-funnel media channel and inspiration source for couples, comparable to The Knot's editorial arm, but does not offer planning services.
• A Practical Wedding: A Practical Wedding is a wedding planning media site and community focused on inclusive, non-traditional weddings. It shares SEG's inclusive positioning (LGBTQIA+, multicultural) but operates as content/community rather than planning services.
• Style Me Pretty: Style Me Pretty is a wedding inspiration blog and editorial platform that has featured SEG's work. It is an indirect peer that shapes vendor discovery and brand awareness in the wedding category rather than offering planning services directly.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-simply-elegant-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Simply Elegant Group