The Pop-up Bridal Boutique Fighting Child Marriage

If you’re a long-time reader of Bridal Musings (thanks for sticking with us!), you’ll know that fighting child marriage is a cause very close to our hearts.

Every year 15 million girls are married before they are 18. That’s 28 girls every minute.

Last year for International Women’s Day, we teamed up with UNICEF to launch our End Child Marriage campaign and raise awareness for the issue among the wedding industry and couples in parts of the world where getting married is an occasion filled with excitement, joy and love.

The campaign was a huge success (it went a bit viral!) so this year, as a new batch of brides and grooms plan their weddings, and International Women’s Day approaches on March 8th, we wanted to bring attention to the issue once again.

And we wanted to share how you can use your wedding to do real good for girls at risk of child marriage, with Brides Do Good.

Photo by Claire Graham Photography

About Brides Do Good

Brides Do Good is a website founded by Chantal Khoueiry, that buys and sells pre-loved designer wedding dresses, with proceeds going to organisations that help fight child marriage.

Brides who sell their dresses with Brides Do Good get a third of the profit for the sale of their gown, while a third goes towards programmes with their partner charities – Plan International & Too Young to Wed. So your beloved wedding dress hanging up in your wardrobe, gets a second love story to be part of, and the chance to help protect girls around the world.

For brides who buy from Brides Do Good, you can find gorgeous, designer wedding dresses for a fraction of the price, and put some of your wedding budget towards giving back – which feels awesome! How special would it be to walk down the aisle in a dress you know is contributing to such an important cause.

Brides Do Good normally operates as an online service with international delivery all over the world, but for 10 days in February, they are setting up shop…

Image via Brides Do Good

The Brides Do Good Pop-Up Shop

The Brides Do Good pop-up shop will open in Bicester Village from February 9th-19th, giving brides the opportunity to try on dresses from the likes of Valentino, Marchesa, Temperley, Vera Wang, and Ian Stuart – all with 40-70% off the original retail price!

You’ll also have a chance to get to know more about the mission behind Brides Do Good, and learn about the impact your dress purchase could have for girls at risk of child marriage.

To celebrate the pop-up shop, Caterina Occhio, founder of SeeMe, a luxury fair trade brand which produces jewellery handmade by women who have suffered violence, has created an exclusive range of jewellery in collaboration with Brides Do Good.

Visitors to the boutique can join the movement by purchasing an exclusive “I do” bracelet and necklace.

And that’s not all…

View More: http://photos.pass.us/blushweddingphotography

Photo by Kristy Ryan of Blush Wedding Photography for Truvelle

Bid on a Louise Roe’s Designer Wedding Dress

Louise Roe, TV presenter, model and lady behind rather addictive lifestyle blog, Front Roe, has very generously donated her wedding dress to Brides Do Good.

Her gown, a couture Pronovias wedding dress was custom-made for her wedding in October (so it’s fresh from the aisle!) was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings. It took over 850 hours to create, and will retail from £4,500 (half its original price).

The one of a kind wedding dress will be featured at the pop-up store and any brides-to-be will be able to view it and register to buy the dress, online or in the store.

The winner will be announced at the end of February and will be able to come in and try the dress before paying for it. Email info@bridesdogood.com to make an appointment to try on the dress.

It’s pretty gorgeous, right?

Photos by Polly Alexandre Fine Photography via Martha Stewart Weddings

How You Can Help

If you’re interested in buying a wedding dress from Brides Do Good, visit their website to see some of the stunning gowns on offer, or come in person their pop-up boutique in Bicester Village in Oxford, from February 9th-19th.

We’ll be visiting ahead of the opening next week, so make sure keep your eyes peeled to our Instagram Stories for an exclusive behind the scenes look at the boutique, and a chat with Louise Roe about her gorgeous wedding dress, and why she’s chosen to donate it to the Brides Do Good cause.

Visit our End Child Marriage page to find out more about the issue, the organisations working to fight it, ideas for how you can help, plus other ways to use your big day to give back.