Bella Bleu Bridal Accessory Shop Opens Uptown Park Ridge Location

When Andrea Novak got married, she was a bride in her late 30s.

"I was a more mature bride, and I had an extremely difficult time finding accessories," Novak said.

So when she was looking to open a business two years ago, she said the decision to open a bridal accessory store seemed natural.

She began Bella Bleu as an online-only wedding accessory boutique. The store opened its physical location in January and celebrated its grand opening earlier this month.

"I wanted to do something that there would be a demand for and that I would enjoy," Novak said. "And I love pretty things."

Novak started Bella Bleu online in 2010 and business started booming.

"The initial start was slow because nobody knows you're there," she said. "But then we got a few customers, people started writing about us and it just blew up."

Eventually, local customers started asking to see the accessories up close and Novak saw a need for a physical location.

She and her husband are Park Ridge residents — they live less than a mile from the store — and saw the storefront opening at 143 N. Northwest Highway downtown while they were driving by one day.

"It was so perfect," she said. "And we believe in cities with businesses downtown."

The shop sells all sorts of wedding accessories, including clutches, jewelry, veils and more. The designers are from all over the world, Novak said.

"We have unique designers, some exclusive to this shop, and some that are very popular," she said. "It's all very high-quality. I try to have things that are different and you can't find anywhere else."

The store is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Novak said her customers come from throughout the suburbs and the city.

"The response has been overwhelming," she said. "It's better than we ever thought it would be."

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