Grace Loves Lace thriving in the online wedding dress market

As wedding dress retailers across the world go bust, leaving brides in a fluster, an Australian company has found a way to not just survive, but thrive.

When Yiscah Marcatili saw multiple bridal businesses had gone under over the past month, she rummaged through her wardrobe to find her old wedding dress.

Like many other generous Australians, the Bondi illustrator took to Facebook to offer her gown to someone left without for their big day.

“I’d used my dress, I had a great day but people put so much pressure on weddings and they put a lot of money into it, I felt for the women who either didn’t have enough time to organise a new dress or didn’t have the money. If my dress can bring someone else some happiness, that doesn’t seem like a very generous offer to me.”

Countless Facebook groups are dedicated to women and their weddings, many of which have received similar generous offers.

Last month, Australia’s The Bridal Atelier and David’s Bridal in the US both folded as they faced ­increased financial pressures and an ever-changing market post Covid.

Burleigh based bridal business Grace Loves Lace is the biggest direct to consumer wedding dress brand in the world. Model Zasha wearing Grace Loves Lace. Picture: Luke Marsden.

David’s alone laid off 9000 staff after filing for bankruptcy. And For Aussie brides, it has meant a mad dash to find replacements.

It is not all doom and gloom though. Australia’s Grace Love Lace is thriving as the biggest ­direct-to-consumer wedding dress business globally.

Operating out of Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, Megan Ziems started the business out of her mum’s lingerie factory 12 years ago.

With a workforce of 250 and 26 boutiques globally – 21 in the US alone, from New York to Nashville – and shipping to 90 countries worldwide, the brand sees more than 72,000 brides searching for the perfect wedding dress every year.

“We haven’t done things the easy way, and it’s been a strategy of its own to scale the business and have commercial success whilst staying true to our mission and values,” Ziems told The Daily Telegraph.

“I’m a firm believer that if you are filling a gap in the market, and do things with authenticity and integrity, with a strong business model and passion and resilience, you will have success.”

Grace Loves Lace founder Megan Ziems with a model at her Gold Coast headquarters.

Ziems wouldn’t comment specifically on the failed businesses but said Grace Loves Lace has succeeded under difficult circumstances by being nimble, “staying true to the customer experience” and “evolving our product offering”.

In sleepy coastal Burleigh, Grace Loves Lace is by no means a small business. They produce thousands of gowns annually, each taking roughly 55 hours to make from development to cutting, sewing, quality control and packaging.

“Authenticity, quality and care,” Ziems said. “We evolved our product offering as the world was changing, those that didn’t are hurting. In May 2021, we launched Disco Daydream – three gowns under $2000 USD that were ready to wear only – that means delivery in three to five business days. We knew that brides would be coming out of lockdown and wanting to get married quickly and not invest at the top end for their dresses.”

Planning a wedding gown is a lengthy process.

Burleigh based bridal business Grace Loves Lace is the biggest direct to consumer wedding dress brand in the world. Picture: Luke Marsden.

Inside Grace Loves Lace.

In response to consumer demands, earlier this year the brand pivoted the business to a ‘Standard Size Made to Order’ dress offering that they say gives the power back to brides, who want faster turnarounds, a dress that they can alter themselves and gowns at accessible price points.

While top line ateliers charge well over $10,000 for a dress and can take up to 12 months to deliver, Grace Loves Lace prices range from $2200 to $4400 with a turnaround of under a week.

They also customise made to order with a maximum five month turnaround.

“We have seen almost 40 per cent of our brides are now opting for a standard made to order at a slightly cheaper price and they prefer to get their gowns altered themselves,” she said. “Also, we made some calculated investments into technology in areas of production, operating systems, our people and digital to help deliver the growth we were predicting. We also expanded our retail footprint at a time when the world (and our competitors) were just holding on during Covid, that strategy has paid off for us.”

Model Zasha wearing Grace Loves Lace. Picture: Luke Marsden.

Wedding trends too have changed since Covid, she added, noting that the ‘micro wedding’ with a limited number of guests continuing to be a trend.

“We were fortunate that our business continued to grow during Covid thanks to our production being 100 per cent based in Queensland at the time so we were less effected by lockdowns and we continued to deliver gowns to brides,” Ziems explained.

“We saw brides strip back and simplify, with the evolution of the ‘micro wedding’ trend, which worked in our favour.”

As for current trends, 90s minimalism is the thing for bridal fashion right now. Think silk slip dresses and high neck glam.

“We are seeing lots of brides choose more simple gown styles so they can go big with accessories such as jackets, hats and shawls,” she said.

“Our new style, Jones, was developed specifically with to cater to this bride.”