What inspired a 24-year-old to open a boutique bridal business Uptown this month
Twenty-four-year-old Temily Wardlaw is opening her dream business in Brevard Court Uptown May 25. Refined Grace, her second-floor bridal concierge boutique, is a modest, bright loft with a giant ornate mirror, a white couch and racks of colorful dresses at 127 Brevard Court, Suite A.
“I just love, love,” said Wardlaw, who studied mass communication at Winthrop University and worked in event planning and PR in her Greenville, SC hometown before returning to the Charlotte area as an event planner for Teach For America. “It’s just so pretty. It has substance to me. I don’t know, some people think weddings are superfluous, but I don’t think so. There’s nothing greater than love.”
So it’s no surprise that Wardlaw loves to write about weddings. She has written about weddings for publications like Carolina Bride as well as the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
One day, she was writing a story for Carolina Bride, looking through pictures of bridesmaids dresses.
“And it just kind of dawned on me that that’s not an oversaturated market and I could come in with a hinge of experience,” she said. “Experience is the thing that bridesmaids want.”
So with a background in events, coaching from her entrepreneurial father and some credit to God’s grace, Wardlaw is bringing her business to the Charlotte market, with a focus on the bridal party. Refined Grace will offer private appointments for dress fittings (she sources designs from brands that she loves like Kelly Faetanini and Watters), bridal party gift arrangements and event planning (like bridal showers).
As someone who has had her own rough experience as a bridesmaid, Wardlaw said, “The one-on-one attention is a thing that’s missing, and there’s not a lot of minority-owned businesses that are in the bridal industry.”
Brides can call Wardlaw for an quick phone chat about their price point and color palettes, before scheduling an appointment with their bridesmaids at the boutique space.
Wardlaw will preselect several dresses based on the conversation to get started, with sizes ranging from a bridal 8 to a 22 so the women can try on sample dresses.
All the styles fit her goal of carrying pretty and timeless designs — all refined.
“I think bridesmaids should be refined,” Wardlaw said. “They should hold themselves in a certain way, and hold a bride in a certain way. Very polished, refined.”
A post shared by Refined Grace (@refined.grace) on Apr 18, 2018 at 9:01am PDT
She also thinks this part of the wedding planning process should be an experience — hence her Uptown location. Brides and their bridesmaids can easily get out and experience the city from here.
She said, “Everything in the wedding process should be something fun and memorable.”
Photos: Courtesy of Refined Grace
This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 12:00 AM.