In 2010, Kerrie Hileman was living in Jacksonville, working as a certified public accountant, and planning a wedding with her then-fiancé.
She went through the standard notions of wedding preparation — dress shopping and venue searching galore – but found that her experience was lacking the pizzazz she had always imagined.
Hileman searched high and low for a more unique wedding dress-shopping experience but couldn’t find any in Northeast Florida that quite fit what she was looking for. So, in 2010, she set out to change the game, and the very first of The White Magnolia boutiques was born in the San Marco area.
Hileman grew up in Ponte Vedra Beach, a dancer who loved sparkly dresses and the bridal magazines peppered in grocery store checkout lines.
“Looking back, I feel like maybe bridal work was always in my future,” she said.
This August will mark The White Magnolia’s 15th anniversary in the Jacksonville community, though the bridal boutique has grown leaps and bounds since its humble days as a standalone boutique.
In 2013, three years after welcoming brides from across the state, Hileman finally heeded her clients’ requests for another location of The White Magnolia. She opened a new store in Tampa that same year.
The following year, Hileman joined forces with her now-business partner Mallory Thorburn to open a White Magnolia boutique in Atlanta, Georgia, the business’s first venture outside of the state.
The White Magnolia blossomed in popularity as Hileman and Thorburn opened more locations across the Southeast together every year. As of today, there are eight locations of The White Magnolia scattered across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
“It’s evolved into something larger and more impactful than I ever imagined,” Hileman said.
What sets The White Magnolia apart and makes it such a beloved choice for incoming brides is the boutique’s attention to customer service and cultivating a one-of-a-kind gown shopping experience for every customer.
Brides can expect private, 90-minute appointments with an experienced and knowledgeable stylist who takes the time to understand each bride’s unique taste and guides them through the entire gown-shopping experience.
“We’re very much experience-based,” Hileman said. “It’s such a special time for a bride, and many haven’t been through this experience before, so we feel it’s important that each bride who walks into our store has the opportunity to work with an educated stylist one-on-one.”
In 2021, Hileman and Thorburn opened a sister brand to The White Magnolia named Magnolia Lane. The newer boutique still offers all the same classic styles and exceptional customer experiences, but this particular subset offers franchise opportunities to encourage women in business and entrepreneurship. There are currently seven Magnolia Lane locations.
As the business approaches 15 years of service, Hileman says she looks back with gratitude and a bit of stunned delight.
“It’s very rewarding for me to look back and see that we’ve impacted so many brides on the most important day of their life,” she said. “It’s fun to be a part of that process and see the end result. It’s really made this journey very enjoyable.”
