New owner for Lace & Glam Bridal
Rheaghan Haynes, who previously worked at the shop, bought out former owner Sherry Hovan Jan. 1, opening the shop Jan. 4.
“We really only sell bridal gowns, veils and hair accessories,” Haynes said. Her main goal, as was former owner Hovan’s, is to offer luxurious gowns at an affordable price “… because weddings are really expensive and not a lot of girls in Knoxville have $5,000, $6,000 to spend on a wedding dress to wear for one day.
“I think that we’re a really small bridal boutique rather than a large store” sets apart Lace & Glam Bridal from larger shops, she added.
“I think girls enjoy a personal bridal boutique experience.”
Wedding dress shopping “is overwhelming as it is, so having a more condensed space to look, with not as many people looking around as well, I think, is a nice opportunity for brides to have,” Haynes said.
At one point, the store sold bridesmaids’ dresses. But Haynes decided to only focus on the bride “because of our small size, it’s not really beneficial for us, as a business” to sell bridesmaids’ dresses, she said.
Haynes added that bridal attendants’ looking for their own dresses also detracted from the bride’s experience.
“(Hovan) opened the store in 2019,” she recalled. “She was looking for extra help. She asked around with ladies at my church if there was a young lady who was interested in working, and I was absolutely interested.
“She called me in May 2020, right when things started opening back up from COVID,” Haynes added.
After just graduating from high school in June 2020, Haynes began working for Hovan. However, Hovan then moved with her family to Wilmington, North Carolina.
Hovan returned to Knoxville in June 2023, and she asked Haynes, now in her last semester at UT, if she would be interested in buying the store at the beginning of 2024.
Haynes is majoring in business management, “which I feel is very fitting for what I do now,” she said.
Lace & Glam Bridals does business by appointment only.
To book an appointment, visit online at laceandglambridals.com or call 865-328-2251.
