Chic Vendor Spotlight: 'Nearly Newlywed' Reinvents Wedding Dress Shopping

Be it a bridal shower, birthday, or bridesmaid dress, if you're a fashion-focused NYC girl, chances are you have rented a designer dress for at least one special occasion or another. And now that you're engaged {and seeing the crazy-high costs of designer wedding dresses}, well you've likely found yourself in a pickle.  You have had your taste of Oscar.  You have shimmied into Lanvin.  Your have potentially even donned a Chanel accessory or two.  Granted, you've had to give them back at the end of the rental period... But now your tastes are high, and your budget, well, not so much... What's a stylish girl to do?
Luckily, fashion-publicist-turned-entrepreneur Jacqueline Courtney has the answer - and we were thrilled to chat about all the juicy details with her.  Her new company, Nearly Newlywed, offers gently worn designer wedding dresses that you can purchase, alter, and sell back after your wedding.  Pretty awesome, no?  Read on for more!

Merci: What inspired you to begin Nearly Newlywed:
Jackie: Growing up in a small town in Iowa, at an early age I started dreaming about the fancy dresses in the pages of magazines. After graduating from Parsons, I embarked on a career as a fashion publicist. While dressing celebrities and editors in my client's fashions, I became more and more interested in how these ladies would borrow, alter, and often send back {but sometimes keep} their red carpet gowns.
When I got engaged and it was time for my own 'red carpet moment' I wanted the access, selection, and affordability that I afforded to A-list ladies, but couldn't find something that was quite what I wanted; renting didn't offer enough flexibility and selection, sample sales left me feeling frazzled and were so final, and options to purchase a used dress online were overwhelming and risky. So, I decided to create Nearly Newlywed for ladies like me. I want it to be an upscale, curated environment, with hard-to-find and fashion forward dresses, all of which are 'nearly new', and to be a place for girls to sell them back after their big day, if they so choose.
I am also personally selecting dresses for brides and connect with them via Pinterest, which is a fun way to help girls discover dresses they hadn't thought of, as well as discuss their inspiration. We also have our Nearly Newlywed Guarantee, so girls can sell their dress back after they wear it, if they so choose.
 
Merci: What do you enjoy the most about running Nearly Newlywed?
Jackie: What I enjoy the most is talking with girls, brides-to-be and former brides, and of course, all of the fancy dresses! Being engaged and recently married are one of the happiest moments for a lot of girls, and getting to share in that with them, whether by discussing dress options before their wedding or looking at their wedding photos while chatting about selling their dress, is one of the most fun, and gratifying, experiences. I am able to share in such a happy and beautiful time, and share in their excitement, so that is a really happy and positive aspect of it all.

Merci: What keeps you inspired in your work? 
Jackie: I am very inspired by strong and confident women, so enjoy meeting girls from all walks of life across the country and hearing about what they do and what inspires and drives them. I am a big Pinterest fan, so love to look at all of the visual boards that creative people all over the country are curating. And I am still an avid magazine, blog, and book reader - I especially love looking at artistic uses of photography, it is such a beautiful art and can capture the nuances of personal experience and emotion.

 

Merci: Where is Nearly Newlywed located? How can brides outside of NYC work with you?
Jackie: My company began and is still i, NY. We sell our dresses online at www. nearlynewlywed.com and have plans to organize some special pop up shops in the near future.
We were recently featured by Martha Stewart Weddings and Lucky Magazine online, too!

 

Merci: What sets the Nearly Newlywed experience apart from other less traditional ways to shop for your dress? 
Jackie: We really care about brides and want to create a personal and fun experience for them, while offering access to the prettiest dresses we can find. We are passionate about offering the best and we think that comes through in our selection, site, and experience. Plus - the dresses are gorgeous! 

Merci: I think there's something just as special in repurposing an existing wedding dress, as there is buying new.  Don't you agree?
Jackie: I hope to break down the 'used' stigma of a dress that has been worn once or twice, as when I was a publicist for high-end fashion designers, I saw gowns that had been worn for multiple uses adorning a-list celebrities on the red carpet - which all goes to say that a dress has a lot of life in it, a lot of the time. That is why we offer brides the options to their dress back if they buy it from us {aka 'The Nearly Newlywed Guarantee'}.

   

Merci: So explain this Nearly Newlywed guarantee to our readers... it sounds fabulous!
Jackie: Most of the dresses that we sell have a little pink N next to them, and that means they are NN guaranteed. If they are and a bride buys it, alters it, and wants to sell it after, she can. She is guaranteed 30% of what she paid if she 'sells' it back to us, or she can reconsign it for the going consignment rate, which for a limited time is 70%.