Tradition Never Graduates – Lindsay Fork ’97

Published: May 26, 2023

Like many young girls, Lindsay Fork ’97 used to dream about her wedding and the elegant dress she would wear one day as a bride. Unlike many, however, planning the wedding and all the intricacies wasn’t her obsession – rather, it was the bridalensemble and the details surrounding the fashion.

From a very young age, when she would visit the library, instead of browsing through children’s books, she would make a beeline for the periodicals – and spend hours flipping through bridal magazines. “This continued into adulthood, purchasing bridal magazines at the grocery or bookstore. I wasn’t engaged, but everyone congratulated me anyway.” shares Lindsay.

After she graduated from NDA, Lindsay attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, and planned to earn her bachelor’s degree and move on to law school. But at the end of her freshman year, she needed to declare her undergrad major. “I was searching through the course catalog and my eye caught on the word: ‘Entrepreneurship,’” she recalls. “I read through the classes, and immediately got excited to see classes such as Creativity and Innovation and knew this could be my path. So, I switched to the College of Business and declared my major as Entrepreneurship.”

Still, it would be several years before the pieces started to fall into place for Lindsay. In 2008, she was living in Columbus, when she decided to approach the owners of – what else? – a bridal boutique to see if they might be interested in selling. As it turned out, they were – and Lindsay purchased La Jeune Marieein Worthington. “In the beginning, I don’t recall having specific goals around growing the business to multi-location. I was simply excited to be living out my dream – not only working in bridal, but owning a store.”

After a few years, Lindsay found herself running out of space, and with a plethora of dress inventory. So, her creativity kicked into gear, and she launched “Luxe Redux Bridal,” a store that functions like a sample sale – all of the time. “I wanted to give my brides the same experience they would at a designer boutique and allow them to buy off the rack at a discountedprice,” she explains.

While growing her business beyond central Ohio was not Lindsay’s original goal, the growth happened organically anyway. She is now getting ready to open her seventh Luxe Redux store in Detroit this summer, and already runs boutiques in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Houston. Lindsay is fully invested in many aspects of the business, serving as the CEO and visionary for Luxe Bridal, LLC. Her team of 45 women (and growing) manages the day-to-day operations of the stores while she continues to build the brand.

“My goal is to create careers in retail – not just jobs,” Lindsay shares. “Being headquartered in Columbus with so many well-known retail brands, building a company where people can see themselves long term has been my vision.”

Lindsay credits her time at NDA for helping her realize many of the skills she uses today. “I recently found the letters from my Kairos retreat – and spent two hours reading all of them,” she says. “Some of the people who wrote knew me, and some didn’t.It’s funny to read the inspiring messages someone wrote to you at 17, and how, even in your mid-40s, those words and encouragement still hold true. You need to hear those things to pick yourself up from time to time and remember how strong you really are.”

As a young adult, “If I didn’t understand something in class or felt like everyone else knew something I didn’t, I would stay silent.” Lindsay reflects. “I likely missed opportunities to learn. My advice to NDA students today would be to speak up, be confident in your questions, be a learner, seeker and never fear asking questions to those who can assist in your growth.”

Lindsay lives in Columbus with her husband, Kurt, and three children.