WEDDINGS@AOL, America Online's New Weddings Area, Helps Members `Walk Down the Aisle' With Style and Ease

Business Wire, Jan 20, 1999

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 1999--

The Knot, Inc., AOL's Premier Wedding Content Partner, Programs

New Channel Dedicated to Weddings

Valued Registry Partners including: The Knot Wedding Gift Registry, Macys.com Bridal Registry, WeddingChannel.com and Wedding Network Take

the Hassle out of Registering and Buying Wedding Gifts

Members Can Enter to Win a Million Miles

in the "Honeymoon for Life" Sweepstakes

The location, the dress, the rings, the cake, the reception hall, the band, the invitations, the flowers, his parents, her parents! BREATHE!

Getting married used to be as complicated as the love that brings them about, well not anymore -- WEDDINGS@AOL is here to make planning a wedding virtually effortless.

Today, America Online announced the launch of its new Weddings Channel, WEDDINGS@AOL, an online resource designed to help brides, grooms and their families research and plan their weddings with ease.

From picking a gown, to registering for china, to picking a Honeymoon spot, WEDDINGS@AOL, available at Keyword: Weddings, is programmed primarily by The Knot Inc., the No. 1 online wedding resource according to Nielsen I/PRO, and was created to take the guess work out of planning a wedding and to make sure no details are overlooked.

In celebration of the launch, The Knot invites members to enter to win the "Honeymoon for Life" sweepstakes where one winner will receive 1 million frequent flier miles provided courtesy of Click Rewards. The Winner will be announced during The Knot's own national holiday, the third annual Wedding Day Celebration on Saturday, June 19th, 1999.

"WEDDINGS@AOL makes researching and planning a wedding a fun, easy and stress-free experience for our members," said Jonathan Sacks, Senior Vice President of Programming for America Online. "With over 2.3 million marriages occurring every year in the U.S. and to-be-weds accounting for almost $35 billion of retail sales, the wedding industry is booming."

Additionally, WEDDINGS@AOL has teamed with leading bridal registry partners to offer AOL members the most comprehensive registry resources available online.

The Knot Wedding Gift Registry, Macy's Online Bridal Registry, WeddingChannel.com, a leading bridal registry and planning resource, and Wedding Network -- the exclusive online registry for Modern Bride offer services that allow couples to register online in half the time it would take them in the real world.

Online bridal registries are also extremely convenient for family members and guests of the wedding party allowing them to easily view the registry, shop, purchase and ship their gifts from the comfort of their own home.

With searchable databases, guest access, traditional and nontraditional items, brides and grooms can pick exactly what they want and guests can easily oblige.

Weddings@AOL offers AOL's 15 million members valuable resources like:

Planning: Decisions, decisions! You'll have to make hundreds of them while planning your special day. WEDDINGS@AOL will walk couples through every step of the process.

AOL Gown of the Day: Selected from The Knot's Bridal Gown Search where members are invited to browse through more than 8,000 wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses from 160 of the leading designers.

Wedding of the Week: Each week AOL members can submit their own wedding story to be featured.

AOL Wedding Toolbox: Featuring a premiere suite of wedding planning tools including the interactive budgeter, Wedding Chat, The Knot's Ultimate Wedding Checklist and Etiquette Q & A featuring personal replies from The Knot's Editor-in-Chief, Carley Roney to today's "sticky subjects" questions. Etiquette Q&A is the place to find out how to best handle the overbearing mother-in-law.

Honeymoons: With so many places to choose from, this honeymoon resource will tell you where to go, why you should go there and how to get there.

Grooms Rehearsal Guide: From the rehearsal dinner to the bachelor party this guide offers valuable advice that no groom should be without.

WeddingScopes: No bride or groom should forget to consult the stars when planning their big day.

Message Boards: Read the words and wisdom's of thousands of brides-to-be and newlyweds - avoid their mistakes and reap their wisdom!

America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in branded interactive services and content. America Online, Inc. operates two worldwide Internet services: America Online, with more than 15 million members; and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members. America Online, Inc. also operates AOL Studios, the world's leading creator of original interactive content.

Other branded Internet services operated by America Online, Inc. include AOL.COM, the world's most accessed Web site from home; Digital City, Inc., the No. 1 local content network and community guide on AOL, CompuServe and the Internet; AOL NetFind, AOL's comprehensive guide to the Internet; AOL Instant Messenger, an instant messaging tool available on both AOL and the Internet; and ICQ, an instant communications and chat technology on the Internet.