Where every day is the big day.
The women of Carolina Bridal World are growing their business through expansions and everyday banking services.
A #togetherforgood story.
Mandy Fields and Connie Riddle are sisters. They grew up with Amanda Jones in Burlington, North Carolina. While many childhood friendships fade over time, theirs never has. As adults, these three remained close and found themselves working together in the wedding industry where they discovered just how special it feels to help someone realize the wedding of their dreams.
“Helping a bride find her dress is really a big reason why I do what I do,” says Amanda Jones. “When you see them have that kind of ‘a-ha’ moment—it’s an awesome feeling.” That feeling, and that passion, that these three ladies share is what sparked Carolina Bridal World to be born in a small shop in Smithfield, North Carolina.
Since starting their business in 2002, the wedding industry has boomed. The average cost of a wedding in 2019 rose to nearly $30,000, according to WeddingWire.* Weddings are a serious investment, and the women of Carolina Bridal World knew they could provide the expertise and personal attention that brides value so much when making those big purchases.
Tailor-made for growth.
When Amanda, Mandy and Connie began, they started out small. “We started in 2002 right down the road in 6,000 square feet,” Amanda explains. However, as their business grew, they needed a bigger space. They also had dreams of opening a second location in their hometown of Burlington. That’s when they found United Community Bank.
Setting business leaders up for a successful tomorrow is part of our job at United Community Bank and we always have your next steps in mind. We have tailored our financial products to scale with you. If you need to find a new space, expand your existing location or even purchase rather than lease, we can help. The best part is, like a wedding gown, we’ve got just the right fit for you.
Commitment to continued success.
Beyond those big moments that fuel your business’ success, we are a bank that is there for you every day. After all, it’s the day-in and day-out that really keeps the gears of your business moving. The wedding industry can be tiring. The women who work at Carolina Bridal World are on their feet for most of the day working with brides as they come in, stocking, restocking and continuously improving their shop. Some days they don’t have time to sit, let alone go to the bank!
Amanda and her team have opted to use the variety of digital services United has to offer, so they can manage their business’ finances from anywhere. “We do a lot online. They offer bill pay services. They offer a lot where you don’t even have to walk in that bank. We do our daily deposits and we run our credit card systems through them. Anything we need we go to them,” explained Amanda.
Passion and purpose.
Looking back, the Carolina Bridal World team has come so far from where they were in 2002. “We’re in awe pretty much every day about where we are now,” Amanda exclaims. No matter what happens, we remain focused on our purpose: to impact the lives of the women that walk into their store.
United Community wants you to succeed, so that you can continue to do good in the communities where you live and work. We have certainly found that to be the case in our work with Carolina Bridal World. “We will bank with United as long as they’ll have us. They’re just a great bank to bank with. I would highly recommend them,” Amanda says.
