Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacquie Westney.
Hi Jacquie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My Wedding Angels Story began when I had the privilege of being a Wedding Angels Bride myself! When my husband and I were married in 2006, I said “YES” to my wedding dress at the original location of Wedding Angels Bridal Boutique. Little did I know I had just said “yes” to my dress and also a whole lot more! About six months after my own wedding, I was looking to make a change and leave my corporate role as a marketing director for a large paper company. The opportunity to purchase Wedding Angels fell into my lap, and I haven’t looked back since. In 2007, when I took over the boutique, we had two fitting rooms and three employees. We have now grown to multiple locations, more than 14 fitting rooms and just under 50 employees. It’s been quite the journey, but when I traded in my corporate badge for the keys to the boutique – I had no idea the joy that working with brides would bring to my life. I have found my true calling! There is nothing that compares to watching the sense of joyful disbelief move across a woman’s face when she sees herself as a bride through her own eyes. Helping the bride feel like the most beautiful version of herself is a privilege that never loses impact on me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Anyone who tells you that their entrepreneurial road has been smooth is either lying or just wasn’t paying attention to their journey. When I bought Wedding Angels in my early twenties, I had to learn how to lead teams, command respect from veteran industry vendors, run our accounting, develop a brand identity, and so much more that never revealed itself during due diligence. To break it down, I’d say I was 50% scared out of my mind and 50% too excited to actually focus. In addition to this, I was also a newlywed and a new mom shortly after that! There were a LOT of things I had to learn and work through, and I did so simply by just making a huge mess and then untangling it all to forge a new path forward.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Wedding Angels Bridal Boutique?
At Wedding Angels, we take pride in being able to nurture brides of all shapes and sizes who may be feeling nervous, anxious or any number of things—and empower them through finding their perfect gown, allowing each bride to feel more beautiful and confident than she’s ever felt. The business and team culture of Wedding Angels is built upon the foundation of our brand promise of empowerment and inclusion, allowing us to set a new standard for the bridal experience.
I can truly say that every one of our amazing employees sincerely believes in and lives out this brand mission. Additionally, the culture we’ve built for our internal Wedding Angels team is one that places a unique focus on nurturing careers and lives, creating incredible opportunities for growth and mentorship for all Wedding Angel team members. We’re truly a family at Wedding Angels, and we’re so honored to help give brides in our community that special “Yes!” to the dress moment. In addition to bridal gowns, we also offer bridal accessories and an extensive collection of stunning mother of the bride/groom dresses.
We grew our company significantly during the global pandemic and opened our second storefront in Portland, Maine this past January – which has been such an incredible experience and which we’re SO grateful for! We’re absolutely loving serving brides on the East Coast and bringing our brand to an entirely new market.
How do you define success?
Success to me is a moving target. I’m naturally driven to try to be all things to all people in my personal life and my professional life. That’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because I know that specific drive is apart of what has gotten our company to where it is. It’s a curse because balance is a mythical concept. I’m convinced of it. I am capable of being a rockstar mom and wife. I’m capable of being a rockstar leader and mentor and coach. I’m rarely capable of being a rockstar at both of those facets of my life at the very same time. However, I’ve put in a lot of work this past year to give myself permission to enjoy a win in one area of my life without allowing an improvement area elsewhere to detract from that win. So I suppose all that is to say that my current definition of success is recognizing the small wins and not allowing my perfectionism to cost me that feeling of enjoying those wins- be they big or small, personal or professional.
Pricing:
- Bridal gowns ranging in price from $1,500-$10,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.weddingangels.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weddingangelsbridal
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeddingAngelsBridalBoutique/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wedding-angels-bridal-boutique-roswell?osq=wedding+angels
- Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/wedding-angels-bridal-boutique-roswell/0c0854ccb33f1c1f.html
