From bail bonding to wedding bonds, business booms for west Charlotte bridal boutique
The Mackins sisters have traded in the family bail bonding business to help Charlotte-area couples celebrate their marriage bonds.
Tracie and Jennifer Mackins opened Mackins Bridal Boutique in February at 2023 Beatties Ford Road in west Charlotte. It’s the only Black-owned boutique in Charlotte, the Mackins sisters said.
The Mackins, have several years of wedding concierge experience. And unlike major wedding retail chain David’s Bridal which filed for bankruptcy last month, the Mackins say their wedding season business is taking off.
Business has spiked 20% since opening the store, the Mackins sisters said.
“It’s definitely helped us to have brick-and-mortar,” Jennifer said on a recent afternoon at the 750-square-foot shop.
Intimacy is a selling point for Mackins Bridal with a one-on-one experience, Tracie said.
Bridal background
The Mackins sisters got started in the bridal business five years ago helping one friend choose a dress. It grew into a concierge business helping more friends, and friends of friends and then into planning clients’ weddings — all from Tracie’s living room in Westerly Hills area.
“That’s how we go into it,” said younger sister Jennifer, who studied at Johnson C. Smith University just over a mile from the store.
She was the wedding planner, while Tracie, who studied fashion at the America University in London, designed wedding gowns, bridesmaids dresses and other custom clothing.
Mackins Bridal can customize dresses such as adding sleeves, more beading or corset backing, to a fully, custom-designed gown.
The Mackins Bridal experience
Mackins Bridal Boutique offers inclusive sizing from 00 up to 30 with three sizes in each dress available to try on.
Every dress is under $2,000. But expect custom designs at a higher price. Each dress is ordered to the bride’s measurements so there are little to no alternations, Tracie said.
“The price is the price,” she said.
Dress turnaround is typically up to 10 weeks, the Mackins said, explaining that’s quick in the wedding industry.
The store also sells accessories, including veils that can be customized, as well as cake toppers.
The entire bridal shop also can be rented out by a bridal party to try on everything in the store, along with champagne, charcuterie and music.
Community ties
Th Mackins have strong ties to the west Charlotte community, including the store’s location between BW Sweets and Archive CLT coffee and books on Beatties Ford Road. Their godparents owned a beauty salon. there.
“We spent our entire childhood in this building,” Tracie said.
Their grandparents lived off LaSalle St., and their parents, Gwen and Larry, own G-L Mackins Bonding, about four miles away in uptown Charlotte. Their grandfather, Alonzo Mackins Sr., started the business in 1961. The sisters worked at the family business before starting their own venture.
“We always worked together,” Jennifer said
The sisters, who are about four years apart in age, say skills learned at the bail bonding business transfer to their bridal business, such as customer service.
“You treat everyone the same,” Tracie said.
Future wedding store plans
David’s Bridal filed for bankruptcy on April 17. And, wedding industry revenue over the past five years has dipped by 4.1%, according to industry publication IBIS World.
The Mackins sisters are undeterred.
David’s Bridal, with two stores in the Charlotte area, cited reasons for failure including the pandemic, fewer weddings and people attending less formal occasions. It’s unclear if a buyer will be found. If not, all stores will close in August.
Traditional large weddings have returned post-pandemic, the Mackins said.
“Everybody loves a wedding gown,” Jennifer said.
Last year, in-person weddings and traditional ceremonies returned following a significant drop in pandemic-related health and safety measures, according to a recent study from theknot.com that surveyed 12,000 couples nationally.
Looking ahead, 30% of couples surveyed said inflation and the shifting economy are impacting wedding plans this year.
The Mackins are making their own wedding plans. Their long-term goal is to expand their intimate boutique concept into other cities nationwide.
Want to go?
Mackins Bridal Boutique is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and by appointment only on Wednesday and Sunday.
What’s trending in wedding fashion?
According to the Mackins sisters, here’s what’s trending in bridal wear:
▪ Color from flowers and veils to black and red dresses. That includes three shades of white bridal shop: bright white, blush and champagne.
▪ Beading, lots of beading.
▪ Lace, if not on dress used in veils.
▪ Sleeves from long and sheer to cap, “We add a lot of sleeves to dresses.”
▪ Two in one dresses are popular, especially removing the bottom skirting from a ballgown at the ceremony to simple and short at the reception.
▪ Trains are really in. “They want them long.”
