New Bay Ridge boutique caters to local brides and bridesmaids

Wedding bells are ringing and, for once, Bay Ridge brides don’t have to leave the neighborhood to get everything they need for their big day.

Third Avenue’s Luxe & Lace Bridal Boutique – the sister-shop of nearby Nile Boutique – celebrated its official grand opening on Friday, February 2, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

It’s the second boutique for Bay Ridge resident Dina Morra, who opened the jewel box of a store in December, 2017, just two years after founding Nile – a formal gown shop located just across the street from Luxe – alongside her father.

Luxe caters to the finishing touches a bride or bridesmaid might need, and carries everything from headpieces and veils to shoes, belts, shawls and even garters.

“Honestly, we opened because I felt a huge need in the neighborhood,” Morra said. “I live here, I shop here, and I own an evening gown boutique down the block. Any time a customer would ask for these specific items, I would send them away to big department stores or somewhere super far away. One day, it dawned on me, and I said to myself, ‘Why am I sending these people away when I can serve them right here in Bay Ridge?’”

Morra’s main goal, she said, is to provide high-end products at affordable costs (veils start at just $100, the owner said).

“I want to make everything affordable,” she said, “because, the truth is, there’s nowhere really to find these things, and when you do, they’re outpriced because these places have no other competition.”

Price-tag aside, Luxe impresses with a wide array of inventory, from Swarovski crystal-embellished headpieces (which can be completely customized thanks to Luxe’s partner designer) to handcrafted jewelry and Badgley Mischka shoes (for the latter, Morra said, Luxe is the exclusive retailer).

Feedback so far, the shop’s owner said, has been phenomenal.

“It’s been overwhelmingly amazing,” Morra said. “We’ve had so much local support which is really, really important, and customers just keep coming in and saying, ‘We needed this.’”

As for the grand opening, the Ridgeite said, “Everything was perfect.”

“So many people came out,” Morra said (among them, State Senator Marty Golden and Councilmember Mark Treyger, as well as one lucky local who walked away with $5,000 worth of bridal accessories after winning Luxe’s grand opening raffle). “It was just so inspiring to feel so much love and support from so many people who just really want to see you do well. We’re so grateful.”

From here, the sky’s the limit. “We really want to grow,” Morra said, paying homage to such big-name bridal superstores like Kleinfeld (which, like Luxe, was born in Bay Ridge). “We couldn’t be more excited.”

Luxe & Lace Bridal Boutique is located at 8718 Third Avenue.

For more information, find Luxe on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat – the latter added by Morra to get a little bit more personal with potential clientele. “It feels so much more intimate on Snapchat,” the business-owner said, “and that is something that’s so important to us.”

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