Roughly 20,000 couples get married in Aotearoa every year, an occasion for which, prior to the pandemic, a good chunk of brides bought a new wedding dress.
But all that changed during Covid when most of 2020's big weddings got cancelled.
As more couples opted for minimonies rather than ceremonies, and the big, poofy gowns were replaced with second-hand wedding dresses, it inspired bridal designer Trish Peng to create an online and in-store platform that sells pre-loved bridal wear.
"There was no-one really doing preloved or sample wedding dresses, there were online stores but no real physical stores and so this was just perfect," Peng told Seven Sharp.
The consumers thought so too. The in-store and online platform was launched just three months ago, with more than 300 wedding gowns on site.
"We had a lot of our brides wanting to sell their dresses and a lot of brides wanting to buy their dresses so we were just the middle man and then I just thought you know what let's create an actual business for this," Peng said.
The store also donates a portion of each sale to one of the charities it’s taken on board.
"We’ve got seven charities on board like Women’s Refuge, SPCA — New Zealand ones [charities] and the brides who purchase the dress can choose which charity means the most to them," Peng said.
For more on Peng’s wedding dress revolution, watch the video above.
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