Even if, like me, you’ve never had to buy a bridesmaid dress, there are enough pop culture references that paint the picture. Enter a row of women, all different body types and with unique personal styles, battling the bride-to-be on why they’re all stuck in sequinned, strapless mermaid dresses. The process is notoriously frustrating.

Enter Name of Love, an online, direct-to-consumer bridesmaid dress destination that’s innovating the industry. Canadians Merrill Moskal and Simona Popvassilev founded the company after serving as bridesmaids numerous times and seeing the faults (and room for disruption) first-hand. The site acts not only as a destination to buy matching dresses, but also as a digital showroom where the bride and her party can share their favorite styles and discuss options. The bride can also track when her bridesmaids have purchased their dresses, and nudge the procrastinators of the bunch.

“Dressing somebody else is such a unnatural idea,” says Moskal, “It’s a little bit dated and we’re trying to breathe new life into this tradition and give the idea of choice back to the women.” Name of Love carries over a dozen dress styles, from the Joan, a classic strapless column dress (and the their best-seller), to the Chelsea, a lace-covered mini. Each dress can be ordered in a range of classic and trendy colours, from wine to mint. That way, even if bridesmaids select totally different dress styles, the colours will always match, “because there are a million different kinds of blush,” adds Moskal.
 

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A selection of dresses by Name of Love

Name of Love offers a live chat, a comprehensive sizing chart and free returns to make the process as close to a traditional fitting as possible. Currently, dresses come in sizes zero to 14, with an even more inclusive range on the way. The price range, between $198 and $238 USD, sits on the lower-to-average end of the market, something that was important to the founders. “We’ve heard so many stories of girls being strong-armed into buying and expensive dress, and we want to avoid that,” says Popvassilev. And unlike so many online-first companies, Name of Love ships to Canada.

Moskal and Popvassilev are slowly expanding their tight edit of dresses, and listening to their customers for feedback. At the top of the list? Adding sleeves and straps to some of their most popular styles, just in time for the peak of wedding season.