Emerald based business Desert Moon Bridal brings affordable dresses to brides.

“The vision was to bring affordable gowns to Australian brides”: Emerald woman’s side hustle grows into a full flown business within months after going viral on TikTok.

Desert Moon Bridal wedding dresses, a new boutique wedding and formal dress brand at Emerald.

A recently established Central Queensland bridal boutique has already started servicing international brides after just three months in business.

The Emerald based business, Desert Moon Bridal, was brought to life by local wedding photographer Jemma Isherwood after planning her own wedding.

She said the idea first sprung to mind about nine years ago, but she didn’t have the financial backing at the time.

When coronavirus lockdowns set in in March, 2020, putting a halt to her full time work and wedding photography, she decided to take the leap and set up the new business aimed at producing high quality products for smaller budgets.

“I’m blown away by how much support I’ve had,” Mrs Isherwood said.

“I just thought it would be a poke along little side hustle and I might sell a dress here and there and take a few years to get the gears rolling.

“But I’ve been blown away.”

Clancie Tasker in one of the boutiques wedding dresses.

Desert Moon Bridal is currently only based online, while working towards an Emerald based shop front and showroom for potential clients, showcasing the dresses ranging from $450-$1000.

Just weeks after launching, the boutique went viral on Tik Tok and Instagram, with more than two million views across the two social media platforms, prompting a major influx of orders across Australia and as far as America.

Mrs Isherwood said the closest order has been from Rockhampton and the furthest from California, a mammoth task for a one-woman team.

“It’s certainly been a busy time and so amazing to see this dream become real,” she said.

“One day I woke up to 700 messages.

“It’s just been really exciting and a little overwhelming at times.

“I never thought we’d be this far along this quickly. But to know that our dresses have gone to America is really cool.”

The thorough process is designed to leave every bride with the perfect fit when the dress arrived, with custom sizing and all necessary measurements.

“I love getting messages from people after getting the dresses, how excited they are and how happy they are,” Mrs Isherwood said.

“It’s a relief to know they’re happy and that you’ve been able to help someone.

“One bride was so excited that she spent less than expected on her dress and could then purchase the flowers she wanted.

“They can save money on their dresses and can spend the money on something else.”

The online based boutique is expected to open a store at Emerald, with pop-up shops in other regional communities.

Desert Moon Bridal officially launched its products to the local market at the weekend’s AgGrow Field Days, with a whole new collection of dresses coming out in November, featuring a range of new designs.

Mrs Isherwood said while she worked towards an Emerald showroom, she would also love to travel to other small regional communities across the area.

“The vision was to bring affordable gowns to Australian brides, formals and photographers for photo shoots, and originally we thought start small online only but have had such a huge amount of support that we now hope to do pop up shops further west where they don’t have access to bridal or formal wear,” she said.

“I would love to do a little pop up shop in Longreach, Roma and other regional towns that don’t have a bridal shop or formal shop so people can come try them on and view them.

“That’s the end goal.”

While she’s sent out plenty of wedding dresses, Mrs Isherwood is looking forward to August to see the first bride walk down the aisle wearing one.

“It will be really exciting to get some photos back from the brides, that’s the part im really looking forward to.”

Browse the collection or find out more about Desert Moon Bridal through the website, Facebook and Instagram.

Originally published as Emerald based business Desert Moon Bridal brings affordable dresses to brides.