Our story
It started with consignment. It became my village.
Twelve years, one storefront on K Avenue, and a list of services that exists entirely because somebody asked.
We did not set out to become a wedding company. We set out to sell some secondhand décor.
Something Blue opened in 2014 as a consignment shop — wedding décor and bridal, both secondhand, both a bet that people in small-town Iowa wanted good things at a price that made sense. That was it. That was the whole plan.
Then someone asked whether we could hem a dress.
We could. So we did. And then someone asked whether we could get her mother a dress too, because the shop an hour away had made her feel like an afterthought. Then whether we could source tuxes, because driving to Des Moines four times for fittings was ridiculous. Then whether we could set the centrepieces up, because her aunt was seventy-three and it was not fair to ask. Then whether we could just… run the day. Please.
Every single service we offer exists because a customer asked and the answer was “we can help with that.”
Nothing here came out of a business plan. The alterations room exists because brides needed one. The 685-piece rental inventory exists because buying décor for one day means storing it forever, and people kept asking what to do with it afterwards. The planning packages exist because couples kept coming back and asking who was going to actually run the thing.
Twelve years in, we cover the whole span: the dress, your mom’s dress, the tuxes, the alterations, the centrepieces, the setup, the teardown, and the person quietly making sure the timeline holds. Nobody else locally does all of it.
What I did not expect was the other part. Clients who became friends. Employees who became family. People who came in for a dress in 2016 and still stop by when they are in town, now with a toddler in tow.
Something Blue built my village.
Relationship first. Then everything else.
We don’t want to start with your colours. We want to start with you.
Not because it is a nice thing to say on a website, but because it is the only way this works. We cannot protect a vision we do not understand, and we cannot tell you honestly that something is not worth the money unless we know what you actually care about.
So the first conversation is not about linens. It is these:
- How did you two meet?
- Who are your people?
- What matters to you — really?
- What do you want this day to feel like?
Then we talk about linens.
- 12 years
- of Iowa weddings, since 2014
- 1,000+
- gowns in store, sizes 4 to 32
- 685
- décor pieces we own and rent
- One team
- from the dress to the last candle
Meet the team
The people you will actually be working with.
Six of us. Small enough that whoever picks up the phone will know your name by the second call, and will remember which dress you were torn between.
Katie Clement
Owner and creative directorSince the beginning, 2014
“I started Something Blue because I saw a gap in the industry. People needed a one-stop shop where they could feel supported, inspired, and totally themselves.”
Meet KatieEleanor
Seamstress and tuxpert8½ years here, 10+ in the trade
“Every day is different. I love working on people’s beautiful gowns, and educating them on garment construction and sewing.”
Meet EleanorMaria
Bridal stylist, and the voice on the phoneNearly two years
“I really love getting to make brides feel special in their own bodies.”
Meet MariaMissy
Décor designer — florals, centrepieces, vignettesA year
“I love working with beautiful things, and making someone’s day what they envisioned. I’m a boho, vintage, midcentury kind of girl.”
Meet MissySuzy
Décor rentals — pulls, packs, sets up, tears downA little over a year
“I love having a creative outlet, plus seeing beautiful events come to life. I am Miss Fix It.”
Meet Suzy
Come and see it
We are at 516 K Ave in Nevada, Iowa — a storefront on a small-town main street, between the other shops, with whatever we are currently building in the window.
This matters more than it sounds. The rental inventory is ours. It is not a catalogue we order from; it lives in this building. You can come and pick up a charger plate and hold it under real light, and see the colour of a runner against the linen you are actually using, instead of guessing from a photograph on a phone.
Wednesdays we stay open late, until 7pm, for anyone who cannot get here during the day.
Appointments are best — especially for bridal, where you want a stylist who is yours for the hour. But you are welcome to just walk in and look around.
Designers we carry
- Martina Liana
- Allure
- Mori Lee
- Justin Alexander
- Pronovias
- Madison James
Formalwear partners
- Jim's Formal Wear
- Milroy's
Which is how an out-of-town groomsman gets measured where he lives and has the tux shipped to him.
Tell us everything.
Come as you are, tell us what you’re dreaming about, and we’ll figure out how to make it happen — together.