Wedgewood Weddings

Quick Stats

Leadership: Bill Zaruka
Prospect Team: Erik Maurer, Brett Holcomb, Colin O’Donnell
Location: Temecula, CA
Industry: Specialty Service (B2C) / Consumer
Investment Date: January 2014
Exit Date: Recapitalized June 2025

Overview

Wedgewood is an all-inclusive wedding services platform, operating an asset-light model with 70+ locations across eight states, and hosting over 11,000 weddings per year. Wedgewood provides consumers with a superior solution that reduces stress, saves time, and offers price transparency, while allowing couples to enjoy their wedding journey and wedding day.

Our investment in Wedgewood is a great example of how we back successful family-owned businesses with strong management to assist in navigating leadership transitions while further building out the executive team, making significant investments into technology, expanding geographically, and completing numerous add-on acquisitions.

We were introduced to John Zaruka and Bill Zaruka via an investment banker outside of a formal sale process. John and Bill were looking for a partner to help them build out the infrastructure and better position the company for scalable growth, while John transitioned day-to-day leadership to Bill. After positive conversations with our portfolio company references, the Zarukas selected us as their partner based on our proven experience building middle-market companies and navigating family business leadership transitions.

Partnership Rationale

We saw an opportunity to partner with a unique market leader in the fragmented wedding services sector. Wedgewood had built a strong brand and operational model but needed to add infrastructure to reach its potential and strategic support to scale beyond its California roots and golf course oriented properties. The business exemplifies what we look for – a talented management team passionate about building a much larger business with a superior consumer value proposition. As a result, Prospect Partners made a control-equity investment in Wedgewood and focused on leveraging the company’s brand and market reputation to build the largest wedding service venue operator in the U.S.

Growth Initiatives

Tripled the number of properties managed since 2014 and established new venue acquisition engine focused on expanding outside of California and from golf course properties – added over 50 venues since 2014 and now operate in eight states ·
Engaged strategic consulting firm to help prioritize geographic expansion; resulted in openings in across two east coast MSAs ·
Implemented updated pricing model and refined all-inclusive package offering

Strategic Partnership

Successfully transitioned leadership to Bill Zaruka from his father
Implemented equity incentive plan for senior management and other key employees
Established formal financial reporting capabilities and board governance procedures
Developed KPI reporting by function (sales, marketing, finance, etc.)

Infrastructure Building

Upgraded financial systems, budgeting software, and corporate structure to streamline reporting process across the company’s 70+ locations
Built out robust IT/ERP platform to enhance data availability and manage each step in the customer journey from booking through post-event follow-up
Refreshed website and company branding

Management Team Additions

Hired key senior executives (CFO, VP of Operations, Director of People & Culture, VP of Marketing, VP of Facilities Management, General Counsel)
Created Chief Growth Officer role to lead M&A strategy and accelerate new property additions
Developed Manager in Training Program to build internal talent pipeline and support rapid expansion

Exit

In 2025, Prospect Partners sold its majority stake in Wedgewood Weddings for a significant gain to a large private equity fund. Prospect maintains an equity stake in the company supporting Bill Zaruka and his team’s continued efforts.