Grant Overview

The Knot Worldwide put $500K into a grant program for US wedding vendors this year - and you do not need to be one of their paying advertising customers to apply. That detail surprises most vendors when they hear it. Cash awards go from $10K to $50K, determined by application strength, not a lottery. There is also a separate track for vendors whose growth bottleneck is visibility rather than cash: a full year of free advertising on The Knot and WeddingWire, with no cash involved. The application is a short online form and a video pitch. It closes March 27, 2026. The video does the real work - it is scored against three named pillars by an independent judging panel, and most vendors who treat it as a casual recording will underperform against the ones who prepared a clear, specific, and strategic pitch. WeddingPro's own research identified access to capital as a top barrier for working wedding professionals, and this program addresses that directly.

This guide covers the award details, how to approach the cash versus advertising decision, what those three pillars actually require, and what most applicants miss when they go in without a strategy.

Key Grant Information

Active

26 days left

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2026 WeddingPro Grant Program

Funded by The Knot Worldwide | WeddingPro

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Grant Snapshot

Grant Award

$50,000

Application Deadline

March 27 2026 26 days left

Eligible Region

United States

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Eligibility and Benefits

Eligibility Criteria

• US-based business only
• Established legal entity -- LLC or equivalent formal structure
• Sole proprietors without formal entity registration likely do not meet this requirement
• At least 6 months in business with an active revenue stream from operations
• Weddings must account for at least 50% of total business activity
• Annual business revenue must be under $250000
• Five or fewer employees and contractors combined
• No requirement to be a current WeddingPro or The Knot or WeddingWire customer

Grant Benefits

• $10K-$50K
• Direct cash award to the business
• OR one full year of free advertising on The Knot and WeddingWire
• Recipients receive one award only -- cash or advertising not both
• Personal mentor matched to your business with quarterly group sessions and optional 1-on-1 support
• Full access to WeddingPro education library including reports and webinars
• Editorial and social media spotlights to promote your business
• Community access through WeddingPro events and programs

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Focus Areas

Wedding Vendor Grants Small Business Funding US Wedding Professionals

What the 2026 WeddingPro Grant Program Actually Offers

Individual cash awards go up to $50K, with a floor of $10K. The exact amount you receive depends on how well your application scores - not a predetermined tier. A compelling, well-prepared video can realistically compete for the higher end of the range regardless of how large or established your business is. The total pool across the entire program is $500K, which covers both cash grants and the value of advertising awards. How many individual grants will be awarded has not been disclosed by the program.

Beyond the cash track, there is a second award path that most coverage of this program skips entirely: a full year of free advertising on The Knot and WeddingWire. For a newer vendor trying to build a bookings pipeline, that advertising access can be worth as much as or more than a $10K cash minimum depending on your market and category. The two tracks are not combinable - you apply for one, the other, or both, but each recipient receives only one. Deciding which option genuinely fits your business stage is one of the more important strategic calls you will make before you start your video.

On top of the financial award, grantees receive a personal mentor, access to WeddingPro's education library, editorial spotlights across WeddingPro's social channels, and ongoing community access through WeddingPro events. For solo vendors making most of their business decisions alone, the mentorship component is genuinely undervalued in how this program is typically described.

Who Created This Program and Why It Is Different from the Fellowship for Change

The Knot Worldwide created and funds this grant - but they are not the ones selecting the winners. The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) is the independent administrator handling fund distribution and overseeing the judging process. GEN operates across 200 countries and has distributed over $30 million in grants to more than 2,000 entrepreneurs since 2020. Their involvement matters because it means the selection process is not purely internal to The Knot Worldwide. The judging panel may include external educators, advisory board members, and third-party partners - specifically to add independent oversight to the scoring.

This is also the first cycle of this specific program. The Knot Worldwide teased it at WeddingMBA in November 2025 and launched it officially on February 23, 2026. There is no prior winner pool to benchmark against, no "typical award size" from a previous cohort, and no public record of what winning applications looked like. That works both ways.

Eligibility for the WeddingPro Grant: What the Program Page Actually Requires

There are two eligibility requirements that most coverage of this grant has quietly skipped because they appear only in the FAQ section of the official page, not in the main eligibility list. Your annual business revenue must be under $250K, and you must have five or fewer employees and contractors combined. Both are hard requirements, not soft guidelines. If you only skimmed the headline eligibility section on the official page, you may have missed them entirely.

Here is the full plain-language breakdown of every requirement:

• US-based business: The program is limited to businesses operating in the United States. Whether all 50 states are eligible requires reviewing the full terms and conditions - see the note below about the T&Cs page.
• Established legal entity: You need an LLC or equivalent formal legal structure. Operating as an unregistered sole proprietor most likely does not meet this requirement. Whether "LLC or equivalent" includes S-Corps, C-Corps, or formally registered sole proprietors is not defined on the main program page - the T&Cs would clarify this.
• At least 6 months in business: Your legal entity must have been operating for at least six months and generating active revenue from paying clients. Brand-new registrations will not qualify.
• 50% wedding activity: At least half of your total business activity must be serving the wedding industry. The exact measure - whether that is revenue, booking count, or time allocation - is not explicitly defined on the program page.
• Revenue under $250K: Your annual revenue must be below this threshold. Whether this is gross or net revenue is not stated publicly - treat gross revenue as the safer assumption until the T&Cs confirm otherwise.
• Five or fewer employees and contractors: This includes part-time staff and contractors. Whether per-event freelancers such as second shooters and day-of coordinators count toward this limit is genuinely unclear from the public documentation.
• No customer requirement: You do not need to advertise on The Knot or WeddingWire. This is confirmed explicitly in the official FAQ.

Q: Does "LLC or equivalent" mean I need a formal LLC, or can I apply as a sole proprietor with a DBA?

A: The program language says "LLC or equivalent legal entity." An unregistered sole proprietor operating only under a DBA most likely does not meet this requirement. Whether a sole proprietor who has formally registered their business - with a separate EIN, for example - qualifies as an "equivalent" depends on how the terms and conditions define this. Those terms were not accessible during our research. If you are operating without a formal legal entity and want to apply before the March 27 deadline, resolving this question first is worth the time.

Are You Eligible for the WeddingPro Grant Program 2026?

The eligibility checker below maps all the confirmed requirements for this grant into an interactive flow. It covers the US location requirement, entity type, time in business, wedding revenue percentage, the $250K revenue cap, and the five-person employee and contractor limit - including the requirements that are most commonly missed because they appear only in the FAQ on the official page, not in the headline criteria. Use it to verify your situation before investing time in a video application.

If you tick all the boxes, the next step is not to click over to the WeddingPro application form. Confirming eligibility tells you whether you can enter. It says nothing about whether your application will actually win. The three scoring pillars - Vision, Execution, Resilience - reward vendors who can tell a specific, structured, and emotionally grounded story about their business. That is where most applications succeed or fail, and that is where expert review genuinely changes outcomes. Submit an assessment and our team will review the substance of your video script and application narrative - your pillar coverage, your plan specificity, and how well your story positions you against the scoring rubric - before you shoot anything.

If you are not sure whether you qualify - because of the LLC question, the contractor counting question, or the wedding activity threshold - book a consultation rather than guessing. Submitting an application when your eligibility is genuinely unclear is a risk worth managing before the deadline.

If you do not qualify right now, there are other options worth exploring. The related grants section lower on this page includes programs with different entity requirements, revenue thresholds, and application timelines that may fit your current stage better.

Submit an Assessment →
Book a Free Consultation

Cash Grant or Free Advertising: A Decision That Shapes Your Entire Application

Your application asks whether you want the cash grant, the advertising award, or both - but this is not a throwaway checkbox. It shapes the entire narrative frame of your video. A vendor applying for cash should structure their Execution plan around capital deployment: what they buy, who they hire, what the return looks like in 12 to 24 months. A vendor applying for advertising should frame their vision around bookings, market presence, and the platform exposure they cannot currently afford. Applying for both is a valid option - the program allows it - but you still receive only one award, and going in without a clear preference means the panel makes that call for you.

Talk Through the Cash vs. Advertising Choice →

Q: Can I apply for both the cash grant and the advertising award at the same time?

A: Yes. The program explicitly allows applicants to select both options on their application. But the program also states clearly that each recipient receives only one award - not both. Applying for both simply means the panel can place you in either track, which maximizes your chances of receiving something. If you have a strong preference for one over the other, frame your video narrative around that choice. If you apply for both without a clear preference, the panel will assign you to whichever track they think your application is stronger for.

Q: If I already receive Fellowship for Change advertising, which track should I prioritize?

A: The Fellowship for Change is a separate WeddingPro program that offers free advertising to underrepresented vendors. If you are currently receiving advertising through that program, adding a second year of advertising through this grant may overlap with what you already have. In that case, the cash grant track would likely add more distinct value to your business. If your Fellowship advertising is ending soon or has already ended, the advertising track becomes more relevant again. If you are unsure, book a consultation and we will help you think it through.

How Your Video Application Will Be Judged

The selection panel evaluates every application against three named pillars. These are not loose themes - they are the structured scoring rubric the panel uses. The official FAQ also describes the rubric in slightly different language as covering: pitch and need for support, business foundation and execution, growth vision and impact, and resilience and adaptability. Think of these four factors as the practical components of the three pillars. The judging process is administered by GEN and includes external educators, advisory board members, sponsor and funder representatives, and optional third-party partners - a structure specifically designed to make scoring independent of The Knot Worldwide's internal preferences.

Pillar 1: Vision

Vision is a multi-year growth plan explaining how the grant accelerates your success. The word "multi-year" matters here. A video that says "I will upgrade my camera gear" is not a vision. A vision explains where your business is headed over the next two to three years and makes a specific argument for why this funding changes the speed or scale of that trajectory. Think in terms of new markets, new revenue streams, new capacity, or new positioning - and connect those directly to what becomes possible with the grant that is not currently possible without it.

Pillar 2: Execution

Execution is specific, realistic, and demonstrably achievable within 12 to 24 months. Vague spending plans score poorly here. "Invest in marketing" is not execution. "Allocate $8K to platform advertising in the first six months, $15K to hire a part-time second shooter by month eight, and $7K to complete my studio buildout by month twelve" is execution. The panel is looking for a plan that shows you have done the math and have a realistic operational sequence in mind - not just a wish list.

Pillar 3: Resilience

Resilience is where most applications either differentiate or collapse. The rubric asks for a demonstrated challenge or headwind - specifically citing examples like access to capital, underrepresentation, and regional barriers. This is not asking you to perform suffering or manufacture a sob story. It is asking you to identify a specific structural barrier your business faces and draw a direct line between that barrier and how this grant breaks through it. Generic answers like "running a small business is hard" will not score well. Specific answers like "I cannot access a business loan because my assets are intangible, which means I cannot hire the second shooter my booking volume already justifies" will.

Record a rough draft first and review it against all three pillars before your final take -- gaps are much easier to spot in playback,State the specific dollar amount you are asking for and explain what it unlocks -- panel members notice when applicants avoid discussing money directly,Practice your Resilience story out loud several times before filming -- it is the hardest pillar to deliver naturally on camera,Keep your framing forward-looking -- the story is about your ambition and what currently stands in the way not just about the difficulty itself]

Q: What video format and length is required for the application?

A: The official program page does not specify video length, file format, or upload platform. Those specifications are most likely on the apply page itself at pros.weddingpro.com/about-us/small-business-grants-for-wedding-vendors/apply/ - check there before you start production. We have not specified a length here because publishing unverified numbers would set you up for a mismatch with the actual requirement. Focus your preparation energy on the content - the three-pillar structure - before you think about the technical format.

Is This Grant the Right Fit Right Now?

Application Steps and Full Program Timeline

The application process has two components: an online form and a video submission. The form captures your basic business information and your award track preference. The video is where the substantive evaluation happens. Note that video format, length, and upload method are not specified on the main program page - check the apply page directly before you start production.

Frequently Asked Questions About the WeddingPro Grant Program 2026

Q: How many grants will actually be awarded from the $500K pool?

A: WeddingPro has not disclosed the number of individual recipients. With awards ranging from $10K to $50K and advertising awards of unknown value also coming from the overall program commitment, the actual distribution has not been confirmed. We will update this listing after the May 31 public announcement.

Q: Do per-event freelance contractors count toward the five-person employee limit?

A: The program requires "five or fewer employees/contractors combined" which suggests all working relationships count, not just salaried employees. Whether wedding photographers who bring in second shooters per booking, or planners who hire day-of coordinators per event, cross this threshold is genuinely unclear from the public documentation. The full terms and conditions may clarify this. If your contractor count is close to the limit, resolve this question before you apply.

Q: Is the 50% wedding activity requirement measured by revenue, bookings, or time spent?

A: The program page uses the phrase "total business activity" without specifying how that is measured. Revenue percentage is the most common and verifiable measure, but the terms and conditions may define this differently. For a vendor who splits work between weddings and corporate events, the calculation can meaningfully change depending on the metric. If weddings represent close to 50% of your work, document it by revenue share and be prepared to support that calculation.

Q: Is the $250K revenue threshold based on gross revenue or net income?

A: The program says "below a $250K revenue threshold" - the word "revenue" suggests gross revenue, not profit. This is not explicitly confirmed in the public documentation. If you are near the threshold, treat gross revenue as the conservative assumption until you can review the full terms and conditions.

Q: When will grantees be publicly announced?

A: Selected grantees will be notified privately by May 1, 2026 and publicly announced by May 31, 2026. These are two separate events - May 1 is the private notification to winners, May 31 is when names and stories are shared publicly. Both dates were confirmed on the official program page.

Q: Is this grant available to wedding vendors outside the United States?

A: The program page and FAQ both describe this as a US-based program. The application form includes a country field and a US zip code field, which supports this. Whether specific states are excluded requires reviewing the full terms and conditions.

Q: Do I need to be a WeddingPro paid customer to apply?

A: No. The program is explicitly open to both current WeddingPro advertising customers and non-customers. Paying for a listing on The Knot or WeddingWire does not improve your odds of selection. The program was designed to be accessible to the broader wedding professional community.

WeddingPro Grant Program 2026 vs. Fellowship for Change: Two Different Programs

If you have followed WeddingPro for a few years, you may have heard of the Fellowship for Change - their ongoing mentorship and advertising program for underrepresented wedding vendors. That program still exists and runs separately. The 2026 WeddingPro Grant Program is a distinct initiative that launched this February. They share a website and a parent company, but they have different eligibility profiles, different benefit structures, and completely different application processes. Many vendors confuse the two.

Both programs are worth knowing about. If you fit the Fellowship for Change profile - underrepresented in the wedding industry, building an inclusive or community-rooted business - applying to that program separately may be worth exploring. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Key Terms and Definitions for the 2026 WeddingPro Small Business Grant

• 2026 WeddingPro Grant Program: The official name of this initiative. Launched February 23, 2026 by The Knot Worldwide. The name distinguishes it from prior WeddingPro programs like the Fellowship for Change and the 2020 Vendor Assistance Program. Using the full name when researching or discussing this opportunity avoids confusion with those separate programs.
• The Knot Worldwide: The parent company behind The Knot and WeddingWire - the two largest wedding vendor marketplace platforms in the US. The Knot Worldwide created and funds this grant program. Their involvement as the funder, not just the platform, makes this program unusual in the wedding industry.
• WeddingPro: The professional-facing brand of The Knot Worldwide, providing vendor tools, marketplace listings, advertising solutions, and now grant funding. The official program page lives at pros.weddingpro.com.
• Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN): The independent organization administering and distributing funds for this program. GEN operates in 200 countries and has awarded over $30 million to more than 2,000 entrepreneurs since 2020. Their role adds independent oversight to the judging process - selections are not made purely by The Knot Worldwide internally.
• Grant pool: The total amount of funding committed to this program: $500K. This pool covers cash grants and the value of advertising awards combined. The number of individual grants and how the pool is distributed has not been publicly disclosed.
• Revenue threshold: The maximum annual revenue a business can have and still qualify. For this program, that is $250K. Businesses above this level are not eligible. This threshold appears in the FAQ on the official page, not in the main eligibility section - making it one of the most commonly missed requirements.
• LLC (Limited Liability Company): A formal legal business structure that separates the business entity from the owner personally. The WeddingPro Grant requires an "LLC or equivalent" - a formally registered legal entity. Sole proprietors who have not formally incorporated or registered their business may not meet this requirement.
• Active revenue stream: The program requires your business to currently generate revenue from operations - meaning you have real paying clients, not just a registered business sitting dormant. Pre-revenue or just-launched businesses that have not yet served paying wedding clients are unlikely to qualify.
• 50% wedding activity threshold: The requirement that at least half of your total business activity comes from the wedding industry. This applies to vendors who split their work between weddings and other event types, corporate clients, or other sectors. The exact measurement method is not defined in the public documentation.
• Vision pillar: One of three scoring pillars used to evaluate applications. Vision requires a clear multi-year growth plan that explains how the grant accelerates the business trajectory. Vague growth intentions score poorly - specificity about future markets, revenue levels, or new business capabilities is what judges look for.
• Execution pillar: One of three scoring pillars. Execution evaluates how specific, realistic, and achievable the applicant's plan for using the funds is within 12 to 24 months. Strong execution sections include real dollar allocations, timelines, and named milestones. Generic spending categories without amounts or timeframes score poorly.
• Resilience pillar: One of three scoring pillars - arguably the most differentiating. The program describes it as a demonstrated challenge or headwind, specifically citing capital access, underrepresentation, and regional barriers as examples. The Resilience pillar rewards applicants who can identify a specific structural barrier and draw a direct connection between that barrier and how this award helps overcome it.
• Scoring rubric: The structured evaluation framework the judging panel uses. The rubric is organized around Vision, Execution, and Resilience. The official FAQ describes it in four factors: pitch and need for support, business foundation and execution, growth vision and impact, and resilience and adaptability. The selection is merit-based, not a lottery.
• Cash award track: One of two award options available through this program. Cash grants run from $10K to $50K and are paid directly to the recipient business. The exact amount within that range is determined by application scoring, not a fixed tier.
• Advertising award track: The alternative to a cash grant. Recipients on this track receive one full year of free advertising on The Knot and WeddingWire. The dollar value of this award is not publicly disclosed by WeddingPro and varies by market and vendor category. Applicants may apply for both tracks but will receive only one.
• WeddingPro Storefront: WeddingPro's vendor listing product on The Knot and WeddingWire platforms. A year of free advertising through this program would likely take the form of an enhanced Storefront listing. Vendors already advertising through WeddingPro should consider whether additional advertising adds meaningful new visibility or whether the cash award is more useful for their stage.
• Grantee: A selected recipient of the WeddingPro Grant. Grantees will be notified by May 1 and publicly announced by May 31, 2026. Grantees receive the financial or advertising award plus mentorship, education access, editorial spotlights, and community membership.
• Application cycle: The structured period during which applications are open, reviewed, and decided. For 2026: applications open February 23, close March 27, are reviewed in April, and winners are announced in May. Whether the program will run again in future years has not been confirmed.
• Fellowship for Change: A separate and still-active WeddingPro program offering mentorship, advertising, and education specifically for underrepresented and underserved wedding professionals. It has no cash component and runs as an annual cohort. Distinct from the Grant Program in structure, audience, and purpose.
• Video pitch application: The primary submission format for this grant. The video must cover three elements: the business and its work in the wedding industry, the need for support and the growth vision, and how grant funds or advertising would be used over the next 12 to 24 months. The video is scored against the three-pillar rubric by the judging panel. Technical specifications including format and length are available on the apply page.

Before You Submit: How Grantaura's Expert Review Improves Your WeddingPro Grant Application

Most applications that get passed over in this program will not fail because the vendor was ineligible. They will fail because the video did not clearly address all three scoring pillars, the Execution plan was too vague to be credible to a judging panel, or the Resilience story felt like it could apply to anyone. Those are not character flaws - they are preparation gaps that are entirely fixable before you hit record.

Here is what Grantaura's expert review does specifically for your WeddingPro application:

Video script review mapped against all three scoring pillars -- where you are strong and where the panel will score you lower,Narrative structure assessment to confirm your story moves in a logical order that works for the multi-stakeholder judging panel,Execution plan specificity check -- are your dollar amounts realistic and does your 12-to-24-month timeline actually add up,Award track alignment review -- is your narrative more naturally positioned for cash or advertising and does it match your stated preference,Submission readiness check so no form field is missed and no element of the scoring rubric is left unaddressed before you submit]

This is not about having someone check whether you qualify - that information is already in the eligibility section of this page. It is about whether the application you actually submit gives the panel a reason to put your business in the funded pile. That is a different question, and it is one most applicants cannot answer objectively about their own work. For a first-cycle program with no historical winning examples to reverse-engineer, expert review is not a luxury - it is risk management.

About the Author: Imran and the Grantaura Team

Imran built Grantaura to close the gap between funders and founders - specifically the small business owners and creative professionals who are serious about growth but consistently overlooked by traditional capital channels. His focus is on owner-operated businesses: the ones too small for institutional funding but too capable to leave grants on the table. The WeddingPro Grant Program sits exactly in that space - a well-funded, industry-specific opportunity from the dominant platform in the wedding market, designed for vendors who are building real businesses but have rarely had an institutional funder come to them. If you have questions about whether this grant fits your situation or want expert help strengthening your application, the options below are the right next step.

About Imran
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    "url": "https://grantaura.com/grant/small-business-grants-for-women/",
    "custom_description": "A high-relevance alternative as the wedding industry has a majority of women-owned businesses. Eligibility and focus overlap significantly."
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    "url": "https://grantaura.com/grant/grants-for-photographers/",
    "custom_description": "A core category grant for wedding photographers. This is one of the primary vendor types eligible for the WeddingPro program."
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    "url": "https://grantaura.com/grant/marketing-grants-for-small-business/",
    "custom_description": "Directly relevant for vendors considering the advertising award track of the WeddingPro Grant, offering alternative funding for growth."
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    "url": "https://grantaura.com/grant/grants-for-event-planners/",
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    "url": "https://grantaura.com/grant/small-business-grants-for-minorities/",
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