A vision in a dream led to the creation and eventual opening of Grapevine Bridal Boutique.

The gist

Tracy Terrell, who has experience owning a business, said she spent about a year looking at options and trying to find what her hometown needed.

She said a dream the night after Memorial Day changed her trajectory.

“I was sound asleep and at 3 o’clock in the morning, God woke me up from a dead sleep and said, ‘There's no bridal shops in Grapevine, Texas.’ And I just sat straight up and I went, ‘There's not!’


"I grabbed my phone and I Googled it, and I was like, 'There's not even one in Southlake.'”

She spent most of May 28 doing research on this idea. She called her daughter-in-law, Emily Terrell, who does wedding photography and is a permanent makeup artist and esthetician, as well. They planned to meet for dinner to talk about it further.

The fit between Emily Terrell's skill and the bridal store idea was a perfect fit, Tracy Terrell said.

How we got here


Tracy Terrell said her friend, Monica Housewright, had just closed the brick-and-mortar location for House of Mo Boutique, so she called her. Housewright delivered news that the location she was leaving was already leased and 30 other applicants had expressed interest in the spot near Main Street and Northwest Highway.

With her location plan foiled, Tracy said she looked into an open spot next to Sauce’d Pizza. The negotiating with that space dragged along, Tracy Terrell said. Emily Terrell said she called the owner of the House of Mo Boutique building about six weeks after the initial conversation and found it was still available.

That day, the two saw the location and got approved to take it over in early July.

“It's all divine,” Tracy Terrell said. “God did it. He did it. It's pretty cool. When God tells you to do something, you do it."


The goal was to open by GrapeFest and the family accomplished that, putting the finishing touches on the bridal boutique a little after midnight, about 12 hours before the gates for GrapeFest opened. The paper was removed from the windows around 12:30 a.m.

“We were all just out in the street bawling and having a moment,” Emily Terrell said. “It was such a surreal and beautiful moment.”

Tracy Terrell said some of the workers for the festival noticed the family outside crying and asked what was going on. When they were informed the business just opened, the Terrells were met with cheers and applause.

“It’s almost 1 a.m. on Main Street in Grapevine, Texas, and there was so much going on out there,” Emily Terrell said. “It was beautiful.”


Current situation

The opening of GrapeFest also turned into the first customer walking in and setting an appointment for the next day. On the penultimate day of GrapeFest, the store sold its first wedding dress.

In the weeks that followed, even more dresses have been sold. In a unique twist, both the wedding dresses they each wore on their wedding days are in the store.

“Everyone who comes in here is so happy,” Tracy Terrell said. “They're so excited about the future, and it's just really neat to help them find their dream dress. You know, every girl in the world, I'm pretty sure most of us, our whole lives, can't wait to buy the dress and try it on. It’s really neat today what an experience it is. Where they get to come with all their friends and family, and people get to be a part and share in it. Then they find their dress and it’s a whole moment.”


Emily Terrell, the vice president of marketing, is often trying on dresses and making social media posts or TikTok videos to drive engagement. The Terrells plan to use the store to hold classes in the future to teach etiquette for teenage girls in small groups.

Tracy Terrell said manners have been a valuable tool in her life since taking classes in her teenage years.

“It’s been so much fun; it’s been a whirlwind,” Emily Terrell said “We’ve met so many people. It's been amazing. It kind of feels like a Hallmark movie right now.”

The background

Tracy Terrell grew up in Grapevine and her family history is intertwined with the growth of the city. She’s a fourth-generation resident and her grandfather, Willis Pirkle, was on the City Council in the 1960s and appointed mayor in 1969 after the death of Ira E. Woods. Pirkle served in that role until 1972 and was replaced by current Mayor William D. Tate in 1973.

Her great-grandmother owned a boarding house off of Main Street located behind what is now Messina Hof Winery.

Her grandfather Pirkle’s dairy farm was located in south Grapevine and he also had cows that roamed a pasture where Great Wolf Lodge now sits.

“This is my hometown and I wanted to have a business here in Grapevine,” she said.