Cherry Blossoms is one of the oldest and largest international marriage agencies still in operation today. It was established in 1974 as a picture catalog, but has now switched entirely to a web-based format. Ridge Consultants distribute three different publications, of which the top two are Cherry Blossoms and Lotus.

Statistics

The site that there have been more than 100,000 matches through the service. According to a USCIS -funded study, approximately 6,000 women are listed on the website at any given time. However, according to a company rep, the site has "over 35,000 women from 108 countries". Bob Burrows, president of Cherry Blossoms, reports that his agency serves over 1,000 men per month who pay up to $200 each.

Controversy

Cherry Blossoms is often mentioned in news articles about the "mail order bride" industry, although Mike Krosky, head of Cherry Blossoms, states, “It is an antiquated, uninformed expression. One hundred years ago there were mail-order brides. There is no such thing today." There have been several prominent cases of abuse and murder involving couples who met via Cherry Blossoms, including the case of Jack Reeves, who was convicted of murdering two of his wives; the case became the subject of a 1999 book called Mail Order Murder. But Burrows has defended the industry, saying that divorce proceedings could end the abuse of wives, even if the marriage grew out of a mail-order service. He has also stated that no agency regulates the business.