About Us

Bella Bleu is a couture wedding boutique featuring designer bridal accessories. In 2010, Bella Bleu entered the bridal industry online, filling a void in the luxury accessory market. Founded by Chicago native and former MAC Cosmetic executive, Andrea Novak, it was Andrea’s own experience as a bride that left her disappointed with the selection and service in the bridal industry. Her experience and knowledge of the fashion industry coupled with her desire to offer accessories of uncompromising quality in a beautiful online setting against a backdrop of exceptional personal service led to the launch of Bella Bleu.

Bella Bleu creates confidence with brides and surpasses their expectations in all aspects of the bridal accessory experience, from personal assistance with product selection to the delivery of exquisitely packaged merchandise. A wedding is one of life’s most important milestones and Bella Bleu is honored to be able to provide so many brides with an unmatched selection of wedding accessories.

I absolutely love my job. It connects me daily with what’s important in life….passion, love, and relationships. My journey has been amazing and I am fortunate to be where I am today. The wedding industry has to be the most inspiring place to land! I have always had a passion for fashion+beauty+business which explains my long career with MAC Cosmetics as the Executive Director for the Midwest….until love, marriage, and the baby carriage! 2009….my son and Bella Bleu were born!

My vision was simple…or not…as my husband reminds me…nothing I do is “simple”. It was my own experience and adventure as a bride that left me disappointed with the selection and service in the bridal industry. I was to create a beautiful online destination catering to the chic, style conscious, distinctive bride with unparalleled service that would create confidence with brides and surpass their expectations. With blood, sweat, and tears (literally), and the help of many (you’ll see their pictures below!) Bella Bleu Bridal is one of kind and continues to evolve into the ultimate resource for luxury bridal and specialty goods.

I am…passionate, driven, tenacious, creative, meticulous, enterprising, high maintenance, all or nothing, a horrible singer, analytical, a shopaholic, a mother, animated, a fierce animal lover, and a maniacal gum chewer!
I love…my son’s deep belly laughs,  pizza, bling, my iPhone, Facebook, pedicures, Italy, Starbucks skinny lattes, warm weather,  big/soft pretzels, road trips, the smell of my dogs’ feet, tulips, and my husband .
I will….try and eat organic, use sunscreen, work out more, not worry about the future, enjoy my son, never know the true color of my hair, dance, always have back up batteries or a charger, get more calcium, and never settle!

My life has changed dramatically over the past few years, from a bachelor with no discernable mechanical abilities whatsoever to a husband and father who has assembled a myriad of children’s cribs, toys and furniture, not to mention a snow-blower, generator, exercise equipment, office furniture and the like.  I have evolved into “Mr. Fix It” with just enough carpentry, landscaping and electrician skills to make me dangerous.
If you would have asked me ten, five or even three years ago where I saw my career path taking me, I would not have answered “the wedding industry”.  When Andrea and I got married, I was probably far more involved with the planning than the average groom.  At least I was involved enough to know I didn’t want to be involved.  I’m a businessman at heart; I like to make the numbers and other logistics of a deal work and I don’t have much of a passion for the frilly details.  When Andrea planted the seed that would grow to be Bella Bleu, I sat up and took notice.  We did our homework and realized that there was a significant need in the industry for high-quality accessories complemented by even higher-quality service.  And just like that…BAM…I was in the wedding industry.  I saw tremendous opportunity and potential, especially with Andrea leading the charge.  We continue to realize that potential every day at Bella Bleu.  We are constantly improving, evolving and striving to be the best.

I am… the behind-the-scenes part of Bella Bleu’s operation, the voice of reason, the calm before the storm (Andrea).  For that matter, I am the calm during and after the storm too!  I am a premier father, a confidant, a fantastic singer, sensitive, passionate, dedicated, fiercely loyal, generous (sometimes to a fault), quick-witted, somewhat impulsive, and the one without a Face Book page.
I love…my son’s head on my shoulder,  golf, a good cigar, the Green Bay Packers, my wife, bucking the system (I have never, nor do I plan on ever tweeting),  doing something different, and standing out in a crowd.
I will…try to not completely discount the merits of eating organic, stay in shape, worry more about the future and always strive to make my family laugh.

Rachel Lemieux-Social Media/Bridal Blogger

I went through the motions at school and while my fellow classmates all knew what they wanted to do, I had no idea.  I was told I had a talent for writing, so I followed that, not knowing if it was true , and I majored in Journalism at St. Ambrose University. I graduated in 2007 and immediately went to work at a department store…in their cosmetics department.  Nothing to do with my major, but the love for makeup kept me coming back. I was fortunate enough to be able to “make over” many women here and even got to do make up for a bride before her wedding, after she took me for a “test drive” a few days before, of course.

I also had developed a love for electronics and the internet in general while I worked as the online producer for a metropolitan area newspaper in Iowa. After that I knew I always wanted to work online. I wanted to be a part of awesome websites, however I could be.  I also wanted to combine my love for beauty and girly things with the online world, and writing for BellaBleu I feel that I am actually able to do that.  It’s funny how life takes you where you should be, even if you have no idea where to go on your own.

I am…an absolute contradiction, I am a complete girly-girl, and a tomboy combined.  I am shy but extremely outgoing at the same time. I am a daydreamer, but remain completely grounded.
I love…Sleeping, food, my cat, other peoples’ cats, makeup, electronic gadgets and the internet and Korean pop music.
I will…try to cut down on the amount of lip gloss I carry around with me- who really needs 8 shades of the same color in their purse.  I will learn Korean, and become more fluent in French, I will stop worrying about everything…I wonder how I’m going to do that.