Interior Photo Credits: www.KimberlyKimblePhotography.com
Driving by Rina’s Bridal Boutique & Atelier, you’ll notice what some might call a definite “cute factor.”
Located in a renovated 5,000-square-foot building that dates back to the ‘70s on the busiest street in Jackson, Tenn., it is eye-catching with its white façade, bubblegum-pink trim, inspirational signage, potted plants and large windows reflecting beautiful displays.
It’s been that way since 2011, when co-owner Rina Cerdeira and her mother, co-owner Rina Bustillo (called Miss Rina), moved their previously established business into this new locale. Yet it’s not just the outside that’s made Rina’s Bridal Boutique & Atelier a vibrant and sought-after resource for Southern brides. This boutique has an intriguing story dating back to Rina’s childhood, which began more than 2,000 miles away in Honduras.
Rina’s grandfather was a successful businessman with a degree in sewing. He taught his craft and attempted to instill his love for sewing in his grandchildren as soon as their small hands could hold a needle. While not all of his grandchildren shared his passion, young Rina did. Though her grandfather passed away when she was just seven, he left a lasting impression on her heart, igniting a lifelong spark for sewing, which she brought with her upon their family’s move to the United States when Rina was 14. Over the years – and still to this day – her mother has often noted that Rina not only inherited her grandfather’s sewing smarts but also a strong instinct for business.
“Sometimes my mom says to me, ‘Your grandpa used to do it just like that,’ and when she says it, that is just very special,” Rina says. “I was born to sew and be in business. And it’s not just me…I can see my little niece, she, too, is so talented and is so artistic. And my family says, ‘Just like Rina.’ I love that. It’s very special…means a lot.”
From Hodgepodge to High Demand
Rina’s Bridal started in 2010 as a bit of a hodgepodge, offering an array of wedding-related services and items, not so much bridal gowns at first but décor, invitations, flowers, dress alterations and a bit of prom. That latter niche, however, soon segued into carrying one line that included a limited number of bridal dresses, as well as Quinceañera and dama dresses. To Rina and Miss Rina’s surprise, the customer base for wedding gowns quickly picked up, driving the ladies to expand the store into adjacent, available spaces within a year’s time.
“It all happened pretty organically,” Rina says. “We had people asking for more wedding dresses, and that’s when we saw the need and started doing that more. We started with about 20 dresses. . . now, what we sell is 73% wedding gowns.”
The ongoing demand for growth quickly surfaced the benefits of owning versus renting store space. This inspired Rina and her mom to seek out an affordable location, Rina says, noting that while this dream of launching a new business would likely be impossible now, given Jackson’s high real estate prices, in 2011 it was within reach.
Also within reach was and continues to be a steady stream of clientele from Jackson and the surrounding region. Known as “the hub city,” Jackson draws 360-degree commercial traffic from the north, south, east and west. Today, while many customers come to Rina’s Bridal from their own backyard, they commonly travel from Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and other areas of Tennessee – lots from Memphis and a significant number from Nashville, particularly brides seeking something specific or needing alterations.
Magical Alterations: Transforming Challenges Into Beauty
Speaking of alterations, the sewing roots that took hold for Rina have remained a steady and strong part of her and Miss Rina’s business. Not only does the boutique offer alterations, but it specializes in those special requests, excelling in the arena of modest wedding fashion, often with customized, fashionable twists – what Rina calls “solutions.”
“Like with the Pentecostal church, sometimes I’ll be on Facetime with them, showing them the gown, making adjustments and getting approval,” she says. “Alterations give me an edge over some of the larger stores that do not offer alterations. We do not sell anything we cannot change or fix in alterations. It’s our responsibility to make sure we are selling something that will work out for her and fit correctly. Alterations has been so valuable for us.”
Each dressing room has a unique name, and one such room, known as the “atelier,” is specifically designated for assessing and handling alterations. Located near the alterations department, the atelier provides convenient access for the team of five alterationists to make necessary adjustments efficiently, offering solutions for not just those requiring modest fashion or perhaps other types of sewing magic, even miracles.
“Sometimes, we have people who don’t feel comfortable in their bodies or they may have some kind of deformity or physical challenge,” Rina says. “But to be beautiful, one must feel beautiful. . . we highlight people, not hide people.”
For instance, Rina recalls one bride who struggled with fashion due to her scoliosis. Using her alterations expertise she got creative with a solution so this bride’s deformity “disappeared.” (See full story in sidebar Most Memorable Moment).
“She was so happy, and it was wonderful,” Rina says. “She was such an incredible human being. And I feel like our alterations department. . . they can do that. . . make magic in that aspect.”
And it’s this magic, along with a slew of other solutions-oriented and traditional alterations, that have built the boutique’s reputation of success. It’s the reason why so many brides and customers drive from all over the South to find their gown and be seamlessly outfitted by Rina and her expert alterations crew.
“If you have a problem, we can fix it,” Rina says. “Not everything in life is like that, but for wedding gowns, that’s how it is for us.”
During the pandemic, when the store couldn’t receive customers in person, Rina and her alterations crew took their expertise to customers, guiding them in being the seamstresses’ “hands” for fittings and markups, making alterations still possible for brides and the business productive for its store and staff.
They’d tell the mother or sister or whoever was there with the bride in her home, ‘Put the pin here’ or ‘Mark it there’, then they’d get the dress back and make those changes.
“We were altering dresses through Facetime. . . and had I been a younger (newer) store, I don’t know if I’d been able to survive,” she says. “We had to get creative to deliver the dresses and deliver them well. We all felt then that we had no control over anything, but we’d tell our brides that we do have control over the wedding gown.”
Core to this can-do attitude are values that center on treating people like they want to be treated. This mindset isn’t just about Rina and Miss Rina practicing this thinking, but it’s an outwardly marketed and communicated principle rooted in Rina’s Christian values, which extend to their staff. This way of thinking and treating people is a mutually shared expectation, with kindness ingrained in the store’s culture and customer’s experience. Anyone who comes in is respected, cared for, and made to feel beautiful and special – because they are!
“Simply listening to the bride goes a long way,” she says. “And advocating. . . we advocate for our brides. Sometimes there are mothers or others in their lives who are making things difficult, and we feel the responsibility of making them feel valuable and understood as much as we can.”
Dialing in on What Works
With kindness and mutual respect being timeless virtues upheld by Rina’s Boutique, the business has also evolved over the years, sharpening its competitive edge with not only its proven and renowned alterations offering but also by becoming highly relevant to today’s brides.
Over the years, the store has woven itself into the fabric of its local customer base by participating in a homegrown city celebration, Jackson Home. During this community-wide, Jackson-themed event, the boutique offers memorable discounts and promotions creatively spun around the city’s area code (731).
Also of note, in 2021, Rina’s Boutique held an exciting ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration in becoming an official Morilee Boutique. As part of that opportunity, the store underwent a renovation, resulting in a more polished, tech-savvy and functional shopping experience, complete with stylish branding, merchandising and décor, ongoing giveaways, special promotions and sales training unique to this particular vendor. The change has been a huge hit with customers as well as the store’s consultants, who – very tuned into Gen Z traits and wishes – have embraced this exclusive nature of such customer service approaches, procedures and systems that cater to this core audience’s needs.
Tuned into Gen Z, Rina and her team understand that this demographic of brides researches before shopping. To prepare for this customer, as well as streamline and personalize the shopping experience, stylists ask their brides to send pictures of gowns they love in advance of appointments, allowing them to pre-select options. Customary appointments are by reservation only, last 1.5 hours and are optimized with this preparation. For out-of-town brides, extended appointments are scheduled, enabling gown selection and on-the-spot alterations, with lunch breaks timed so brides can return for another fitting. This approach reflects the boutique’s commitment to efficiency and respect for customers’ time.
“The brides are happy to not have to drive back and forth multiple times,” Rina says. “Sometimes we make it so they can take their dress home with them that day or, if they are spending the night, the next day. If she drove this far to see us, we have a responsibility to make sure it was worth her time.”
Keeping all the ordering and gown details on track, the store optimizes tech like BridalLive, plus Miss Rina’s meticulous, time-tested approach to double-checking all orders with her expert eye and historical knowledge of the business.
“She’s like the eyes in the back of my head!” Rina says. “She learned sewing first. . . from my grandfather. She helped me get better at it, but today she’s a big part of the accounting and handles paperwork and such. She also helps me with my children … she may go pick up my baby, Emilia, or do simple things like that to help, and that’s made life so much easier and more wonderful.”
To be sure, Rina leans on her mom’s help, as Miss Rina has perfected many policies and procedures that have created efficiencies within the business. Equally so, Rina depends on her loyal staff, who she says can be trusted when Rina takes vacations with her family or who have been so gracious when Rina happens to bring family to work. Setting up her daughter to play in a specially designed play area allows Rina to manage the juggle of being both a storeowner and mom.
Rina’s Bridal consultants also enjoy flexibility and vacations and, in seeing how Rina prioritizes the work-life balance, feel they can ask for personal time off as needed. Supporting the staff in this way reinforces that culture of mutual respect. The result? Brides, too, experience a strong sense of trust from a team and storewide culture that’s empowered and appreciated personally and professionally.
Finally, when it comes to sustaining this store’s stability and competitive edge, Rina’s Bridal has gotten creative, connecting with today’s brides in fun and exciting ways.
One example: Like a number of boutiques across the country, Rina’s Bridal is capitalizing on lengthier, luxury private appointments (e.g., featuring mimosas and elegant charcuterie boards). However, more recently, Rina and her team have discovered the thrill of throwing tea parties – a newer offering that’s totally taken off. Think: fancy teas, sweet treats and savory sandwiches, all laid out in a delightful, dainty display, which bridal parties, including flower girls and younger friends, simply love.
Big-eyed and in awe, the “littles” nibble on heart-shaped sandwiches while the bride and other guests enjoy special touches of their own, making the entire event personalized and unforgettable.
The bride receives a custom sketch of her dress with her name in calligraphy, transforming the gown shopping from a buying event into a full-blown, memorialized experience.
“With these appointments, we’ve sold 100% of the time – everyone!” Rina says. “The bride who comes in for this party comes to shop. She’s serious. It’s extra work but it’s really fun.”
Looking ahead, Rina says that, per their ever-nimble ability to respond to growth and demands organically, Rina’s Boutique has plans for a second location in Nashville. The traffic and customer response have indicated it’s likely a strong market and with her recent assistant manager, Nicole Catania, recently relocating to “Music City,” she’s got a shoo-in for a solid manager and lead alterationist in this bustling southern mecca. “Rina Nicole Bridal Atelier” is slated to open in mid-2025.
“We truly love Nashville, but we’ll rent first and test the waters,” says Rina, both hopeful yet eternally humbled. “And by the grace of God, it will work out!”
