When planning a wedding, buying dresses for bridesmaids can be a hassle. Whether it’s the expensive prices, picking the right design or having to get them altered, the process can be tedious on top of all the other tasks a bride has to manage. And most of the time, the dresses are only worn once.
To make the process of getting bridesmaids dresses easier, BridesMade, the latest pitch on The Disruptors, has created a service that lets people rent or purchase bridesmaid dresses. Co-founders Mallory McKewen and Kaleah Baker created the service because they felt that the majority of bridesmaids don’t wear their dresses again, which suggested a need for a service that lets them rent dresses at an affordable cost.
Through BridesMade, a wedding party can choose from its collection of size-adjustable dresses. On its website, people can input their measurements into a fitting algorithm form, which then tells the renter what size of dress they should get. “We are disrupting the wedding industry,” said McKewen. “Our long-term goal is to change the bridesmaid dress shopping landscape. There’s no need to own these dresses or to have them filling landfills later because they’re proven to only be worn once.”
The Disruptors co-host Amber Kanwar said while BridesMade is just starting out, they have the potential to create something great. “The average dress is $300 to $400 and considering you’re never going to wear it again, there is a huge need for this kind of thing.”
BridesMade was recently announced as a participant of the first cohort of Fierce Founders Accelerator, a program that supports female-led startups.
Watch the full pitch below:
BetaKit is a production partner on The Disruptors. Tune in to BNN every Thursday night at 7pm for full episodes!