Naman Shrestha
Planning a wedding might seem like a fun process, but it could be just as tiresome and stressful. But thanks to the wedding planning app, Wendy, you can say goodbye to all the hassle when it comes to planning the biggest day of your and your partner’s life. With all the aspects of your wedding bundled in a single app, you can handle different things related to the event at once. When Wedy was introduced to the sharks in episode 20 of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 15, the founders were confident that their product would impress them. Since its appearance on the show, Wedy has naturally garnered more attention from more engaged couples across the nation.
Wedy: Who Are They And What Do They Do?
Born and raised in Chennai, India, Rumaiza Ali was an 18-year-old architecture student when she became curious about businesses and began one of her own in March 2012 — The Little House of Cupcakes. Meanwhile, she was a student at SRM University studying B. Arch in Architecture & Interior Design. Soon, in June 2013, Rumaiza co-founded The Dream Theme when one of her clients asked her to design their son’s birthday party. Having enjoyed the experience of organizing an event, she convinced her parents to plan her brother’s upcoming wedding. Among all these things, she even worked as an Architectural Intern at Eskay Design for a few months in 2013.
While operating The Dream Theme, Rumaiza made a name for herself in the wedding planning industry by earning two awards at the International Convention of Wedding Fraternity (ICWF) for the Best Upcoming Wedding Planner and the Best Floral Artistry. Soon, when it came to planning her own wedding, she contemplated the possibility of planning a wedding without all the hassle that comes along with it. In an insightful interview with Voyage Denver, she opened up about the story of the origin of Wedy. “I was also planning my own wedding and one of my photographers almost double booked me! This is when I knew there had to be a better way to plan a wedding without pulling your hair apart,” she said.
Since she had planned hundreds of weddings by that time, Rumaiza knew all about the non-transparent processes of wedding planning, including “the hidden costs, filling outdated contact forms, waiting three days to hear back from the vendor, comparing quotes between 12 different PDF proposals, and tracking payments on spreadsheets.” After realizing that it was impossible to book a vendor online or find out details about their pricing, her husband-to-be, Anas, supported her as she drew inspiration from her experience and they co-founded the Wedy App in Colorado in February 2020.
As for Anas Ali, in his early professional days, he was a Technical Crew Assistant at Phoenix Aviation Consultant and
Associate Editor/Publisher at Marketingtechie.org. From October 2013 to May 2015, he was employed at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as a Career Expo Ambassador, Assistant Business Manager, Student Assistant, and Graduate Student Assistant. For a short while, he also served as an Interim CTO at Accelerist. Next, Anas bagged a job in Frontier Airlines, where he worked for more than five years — first in the Revenue Management department and then as a Network Planner. In February 2020, as mentioned above, he co-founded Wedy with his wife and has been serving as the CTO of the company.
The married couple also got involved in the Capitol Factory/Portfolio Company. Talking about Wedy, Rumaiza explained, “Wedy is the world’s first booking and financing marketplace for the wedding industry. It is a cross between Airbnb and Pinterest where couples can browse actual local inspiration, price out vendor services and book them in real-time on the app!” When it comes to the vendors of the Wedy app, they are hand-selected professionals who are committed to giving their clients the best possible experience and making their wedding day grander.
Wedy: Where Are They Now?
Based in Austin, Texas, Wedy is an easy-to-use application that is created from the perspective of a wedding planner, making it the first booking platform for the wedding world. Since its launch in February 2020, Wedy has been able to raise more than $285,000 from angel investors, friends, and family, including $185,000 via Crunchbase. In one of the latest funding rounds, Rumaiza and Anas reportedly raised $20,000 via Techstars.
If you have a wedding to plan for, you can head to the official website of Wedy and pick a package suitable for you. The All-Inclusive Packages are likely to cost you between $2,000 and $6,000, depending on the location. All you have to do is select your dream location at first, and then use Wedy’s Planning Concierge to choose from a variety of services, including florals, makeup, photography, and so on. Finally, choose one of the top-notch vendors from the list, and have a memorable wedding.
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