Wedding resale event helps brides save dollars and the planet

In late August, brides said “yes to the dress” at Mulberrys Garment Care in Eden Prairie.

The wedding dress resale event, a collaboration between Freya Wilde Dresses and Mulberrys Garment Care, allowed brides to find their dream dresses from among many pre-loved dresses being sold by former brides.

“This was our first event with Freya Wilde and we’re thrilled with its success,” said Alec Carraux, director of customer experience for Mulberrys. Both partners are looking forward to future events together.

With many gowns priced at a fraction of the original cost, the brides eased their wedding budgets while also helping the environment.

Resale shopping has long promoted a more sustainable approach to fashion, and wedding attire is no exception. Yet it does have its own set of challenges.

Andrea Fischer removes some of those barriers through her bridal rental and resale business, Freya Wilde Dresses.

“Reselling of bridal dresses has been tried out in many different ways, and it’s my belief that it is just more difficult to do virtually,” she said. “Wedding dresses are one of those things where you just have to come in and put it on your body and see if it’s good for your body type, if it’s flattering, if it jibes with your style.”

Fischer’s sales allow brides to try on a variety of dresses in person, many from high-end designers. Some have never been worn and still have the tags on them. 

Traditional bridal boutiques continue to play an important role in serving brides. Resale offers an additional option. “One of my goals is to add a little more stability to the dress-buying process,” Fischer said.

A seamless fit

With both parties focused on sustainability, the partnership between Freya Wilde Dresses and Mulberrys Garment Care was described as a natural fit.

“Mulberrys uses only 100% toxin-free cleaners. We don’t use any chemicals that pollute the environment. That is something we pride ourselves on,” said Jayson Kovich, multi-unit leader for Mulberrys’ Edina and Eden Prairie stores.

Fischer had already partnered with Mulberrys for cleaning bridal gowns, so this event felt like a natural extension of that partnership.

“The commitment of Mulberrys to sustainability has been ongoing. Freya Wilde was a perfect match for us with what we are trying to do,” Carraux said.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and being eco-friendly, we’re always looking for new opportunities to get involved with our local community.”

From bride to business owner

Freya Wilde Dresses officially launched in 2019, but Fischer said the business’s inception really started with her own wedding. At that time, she learned firsthand just how arduous the process of buying a wedding dress can be – from ordering months in advance to troubleshooting problems when the dress finally arrives.

In the bridal industry, Fischer said, many dresses are made overseas only after an order has been placed. Such situations “can lead to a really long lead time, and not very much room in the system if something goes wrong,” she said. “That kind of happened in my wedding, and it really just highlighted the sustainability piece.”

She tied her experience to a larger issue, saying global supply chains have little resilience.

“The supply chains have gotten very brittle, so if anything happens anywhere along the line, it’s going to take a lot more effort to correct than maybe it would have prior to the pandemic,” she said.

Fischer pointed to the bridal dress industry as an example of both fragility and waste.

“My question has always been: why are we funneled into this process of people who are getting married that is very wasteful, when a lot of these dresses were worn for maybe six hours and they’re beautiful? There’s so much craftsmanship that goes into them, and it’s a shame for them to be scrapped so that, essentially, the same dresses are made the next year,” she said. “Instead of going through that whole supply-chain process, why not tap into all the beautiful dresses that are here in your community really close to you?”  

In addition, those saved resources can be used to pay for customization of an existing dress.

“Building on the idea that the likelihood that there’s a bride with a body type similar to yours in your community is pretty high, and if you found a dress where that customization process is already started, you can really put all the money that you would spend on something brand-new into that customization. Then you have something that’s really unique,” Fischer said.

The business also helps former brides give their dresses a new life and recoup some of their expense by selling them. “I think the perception is that brides want to hold onto their dresses forever, but that is not what I hear,” Fischer said. She often hears from former brides that they would love for their dress “to shine again,” and for someone else to be able to enjoy it.

The sustainability benefit is compounded when a dress is sold multiple times.

“I can remember two dresses in particular that have come through the sales two times each. They get bought and then that bride will have her wedding and bring it to another sale,” Fischer said, adding that it also sometimes creates a special connection between brides.

One time, “the incoming bride met the outcoming bride and they were both so excited. They were swapping ideas for how to customize it. It was really cool,” Fischer recalled.

Stitching it all together

The concept also makes it easier for reselling to take place conveniently and safely. Fischer said she has seen people “really struggling with the whole resale process,” because of the difficulty of finding a dress online and guarding against online scams.

“Because reuse is all about building infrastructure,” she added. “We all want to reuse, and it makes sense. But when there is no base or infrastructure to make that happen, it’s very difficult. … So my goal was to build out an infrastructure where it makes this process so much easier.” 

Mulberrys’ newest storefront, which opened in January in Eden Prairie, has been transformed into a vision of white and tulle, with a private dressing room and Fischer on-site to help with fittings. Kovich stood by to schedule alteration appointments with the franchise’s tailors.

Carraux explained that before the sale weekend, sellers bring in their dresses and the Mulberrys team ensures they are pristine.

Then Fischer and Mulberrys curate a boutique-like environment for buyers to shop the resale dresses, in a variety of sizes and styles, many from popular designers. 

Though modern in concept, the old-fashioned sentiments around buying a wedding dress remain. Brides reserve a time slot and are encouraged to bring family or friends. They have a dedicated dressing room, along with Fischer’s expertise and eye to help with decisions.

“It is a private event,” Carraux said. “It is an important moment for them, shopping for dresses, and we want to honor that.” 

Sometimes referred to as a “just between friends sale,” it is not a consignment sale. Sellers set their own prices and the buyer pays the seller directly via Venmo.

“A fee covers expenses and things like dress bags, hangers and display,” Fischer said. “We don’t take any percentage of the sale or buy the dress from the bride.”

Perhaps with a new and more sustainable twist, the wedding dress shopping tradition still stands.

“This is a new thing that I don’t think really has existed in the past, so people come into it wondering how it will work,” Fischer said.

“But there is an excitement they feel when they all jump into the process with each other. I’ve had groups helping each other because they’re getting to know each other. They were total strangers, and now the mother of one girl is bringing dresses to the other girls. It’s really great. I love that community spirit that has evolved out of this.”

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