Meet Kiara Massey of Isn’t She Lovely Bridal Boutique

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kiara Massey.

Hi Kiara, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Absolutely! First off, I would like to thank you for taking the time to interview me once again. I’m super appreciative and excited! Since I was a little girl, I have always been interested in fashion. My grandmother, Louise Massey, is a trailblazer in fashion and was the first one to introduce me to how to uniquely put a style together. My grandma does it all from being a mother, wife, career woman retiring from the city, a phenomenal cook, and she made clothes! 

She would make her children’s clothes and would make beautiful dresses for my cousin and me for the holidays. When I got to middle school, I really started to try to express myself uniquely, especially since I didn’t grow up rich. Back then, they didn’t really have pants for long-legged girls, so I would cut my pants that were too short into shorts! Even though I didn’t have a lot of clothes, I always made sure I stood out by accessorizing my outfits with jewelry pieces. I never wanted to be a fashion designer or make clothes, but I always admired seeing how certain people put clothing together. 

Fast forward to 2016, a newly engaged bride-to-be; I was so ecstatic that I got to book appointments to try on wedding dresses! I then quickly became disappointed and frustrated. Not only was I not able to find any dress that I absolutely loved, but the prices were outrageously high for my budget. After about four bridal appointments, I searched online for custom wedding dressmakers. The process wasn’t easy, as I was being extra careful and cautious, given that there are a lot of online scams. 

I found a dressmaker and sent a combination of different dresses that I tried on, and they turned my dream into reality! From that point, I had the idea of collaborating with the production team to create my own line of affordable dresses! My mother helped me pick the name Isn’t She Lovely Bridal Boutique! 

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Unfortunately, the road of Isn’t She Lovely hasn’t been perfect or smooth. From the beginning, my then fiancé was not a fan of my idea and told me I would not make any profit. That was hugely discouraging, but I kept going anyway! Not only did I have my dress custom, but his tux jacket was also custom, and no alterations were required. Still, he was not convinced of my dream. Sales were coming in, magazine interviews, etc., were starting to flood in, and I named my men’s line after his middle name, hoping it would excite him to be more involved, but it sadly didn’t. 

When the pandemic happened and everything was shut down, I actually had more orders in a year than ever before since the Shop is 100% online! I did have some hiccups with shipping delays, but other than that, business was doing great! In 2021, I fell into a major depression due to the pandemic, and my private life as my own marriage was struggling. I ended up putting my business on hold for nearly two years with very few sales. In 2023, business started kicking up again, but still not as many orders as I’ve been getting before. I was still going back and forth on whether to completely give up my dream and move on to something else or to keep pushing! 

2024, I made a hard decision to file for divorce for many reasons, including the lack of support of my bridal business and dreams. Even though I had orders in place, I was considering making those my last orders. I couldn’t imagine running a bridal business while going through a divorce. Although I’m happy for my clients, I will be honest and say it was hard not looking back on my own wedding day and feeling like a complete failure. 

With much prayer and healing, I decided to delete my entire old Facebook page that was linked to my business page and made a new one, ISLBB! Even though I had nearly 3,000 followers, I felt it was necessary to bring new energy to every aspect of my life, including my business page! I still have the same IG and TikTok @isntshelovelybb, but my Facebook carried too many sad memories as it was connected to my personal page, which I had for over a decade. 

Currently, we are rebranding and rebuilding to be better than ever! I still have brides placing their orders and trusting us to make their dream gown come to light! A storefront is also in the works, but slow and steady wins the race! I’m just grateful to still be in business. 

As you know, we’re big fans of Isn’t She Lovely Bridal Boutique. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
ISLBB is an online bridal shop that specializes in custom dresses and tuxes for all occasions for a low price! Traditional customs (simple or lace only with minimal beading) are below $1,000, and luxury (heavy beading lux detail) is under $2,000! Our clients get to pick everything that goes on in their garment, from fabric to beading. 

We custom-tailored flower girls, bridesmaids, birthday, prom, evening, and wedding dresses, as well as men’s suits and tuxedos! We are 100% online, but final photos/videos are sent to clients before shipping. We also ship and service worldwide! So far, we have had the luxury of shipping to the US, UK, Australia, and Canada! 

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Resilience. I learned that in order for you to see your dream through, you have to keep going even when things don’t look promising. Staying positive and not letting negative remakes stop me from following through is what keeps ISLBB running. 

Pricing:

• Under $2,000 for luxury.
• Under $1,000 for traditional.
• Payment plans are offered.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.ISLBB.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isntshelovelybb?igsh=b2dqc2w4M3J6ZTVp&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsntSheLovelyBB
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@isntshelovelybb?_t=8lswAX4ccTS&_r=1