Forty Years Of Service—

April 1st Anniversary

Is No Joke For Julie Allen Bridals

 

 

By Nancy K. Crevier

Julie Allen Bridals celebrated 40 years of business, Thursday, April 1, and as owner Melanie Mattegat recalled her mother and founder, the late Julia Allen, telling Ms Mattegat’s father that April day in 1970, “If the business doesn’t go well, it will be a great April Fool’s joke.” 

Four decades later, though, the bridal salon is no joking matter. From a home-based business run from Julia Allen’s Head O’ Meadow home for 20 years and at two South Main Street locations under the ownership of Melanie and Jay Mattegat, the local bridal shop has become the second largest such shop in the state, and one that is respected throughout the industry for quality and customer service. “We’re proud that we’ve set the standard in the area for how things are done in the bridal business,” Ms Mattegat said.

It was a given growing up that she would be in the business, said Ms Mattegat, who spent many hours typing up dress descriptions for her mother’s burgeoning in-home bridal store, and who sold her first wedding dress at the age of 13. “My mother would send out personal, handwritten letters to brides-to-be inviting them to view dress samples in the privacy of her home,” Ms Mattegat recalled, and worked with merchandisers out of New Jersey and New York to provide up-to-date fashions for brides. It was Julia Allen, said Ms Mattegat, who invented the pouf for bridal veils that became a nationwide fashion in the 1980s. The pouf, a gathering of tulle at the back of the veil crown, was Ms Allen’s answer to the dilemma of a bride’s unruly hair cowlicks, but was such an attractive change that brides everywhere picked it up.

Ms Mattegat helped her mother sporadically throughout her high school and college years, and even though she acquired an associate’s degree in fashion business from Post College, there was a time when she was not sure if she had picked the business or if the business had picked her. “But I realized that this is what I love and what I want to do,” she said. “You have to want to live and breathe this business. This industry is not here for people who want to play.”

After she and her husband purchased the business from Ms Allen in 1990, they moved the shop to its first retail outlet at the South Main Shopping Center. Three years later, they moved into the 7,800-square-foot space that they built at 154 South Main Street, half of which is dedicated to display space. Julia Allen continued to work with them until 1997, her presence creating a comforting sense of continuity in the business and her in-depth knowledge of brides and the merchandise proving invaluable.

“I think the success in this business is in owning our own real estate,” Ms Mattegat said. “The rent will kill you. And when you are financially invested in a property, the incentive to make it work is there,” she said.

But it is primarily the customer service that she believes has given the store continued success, even in a world where gowns can be purchased online and huge, corporate-backed shops crop up. “We have a very good reputation within the industry. We’re doing second-generation dresses now. Mothers who bought their wedding gowns here are bringing in their daughters. And the Internet has helped us in some ways. Message boards, like weddingreports.com, draws positive comments from many of our customers,” Ms Mattegat said.

The customer base is far-reaching. Most customers come from out of the area or out of state, some from as far away as Florida and California. Recently, a bride showed up in the shop from Bogotá, Columbia, at the urging of a stateside friend who had purchased her gown from Julie Allen Bridals. “We had just one week to turn that wedding gown around,” said Ms Mattegat.

Melanie and Jay Mattegat rely on the skilled staff that works with them. Their daughter, Lauren, a recent graduate of WestConn with a degree in business and interactive marketing major, has contributed greatly to giving the business an online presence, said her mother. Seven other part-time associates work at Julie Allen Bridal, one of whom is a justice of the peace and has actually performed weddings in the store. Each sales person brings something different to the floor, and is skilled in all aspects of the business — transacted entirely on paper and without computerization of the process — from sales to fittings to delivery. “I trust my staff completely, and that’s important,” Ms Mattegat said.

From the moment a customer puts herself into the hands of a Julie Allen Bridal consultant a special bond is created. Customers’ values have remained consistent over the 40 years, she added, and what they want is always the same: “Someone who is in sync with what is in fashion and the personal attention.” Four decades of experience have given Ms Mattegat the knowledge of body types, gown styles, and merchandise expertise that cannot be found elsewhere.

“Every dress is custom made and fitted to the individual bride. You can’t duplicate this once-in-a-lifetime experience on the Internet. The expertise that you want for your wedding is the irreplaceable service that can only be provided at a specialty shop,” Ms Mattegat said.

Jay Mattegat does not remain just behind the scenes. He is in charge of tuxedo fitting for the grooms and groomsmen. “He is very particular about the fit and every groom comes out of here with a perfectly fitting suit,” said Ms Mattegat. Mr Mattegat also serves as the presser, providing perfectly finished gowns, and carefully packs each wedding dress into its delivery bag. “Jay even leaves handwritten notes to each bride in the bag, about all of the accessories and where he has packed everything, in case a dress tie is packed separately or something — and wishes them a happy wedding day,” said Ms Mattegat.

That care continues down to the last moment of delivery. “We hand deliver every single dress out to the customer’s car. No matter what the weather, we walk that dress out,” she said.

Lauren Mattegat agreed with her mother that the intimacy found at their store is part of the experience that brides desire. “We get to see the bride over such a long period of time, all of the ups and downs. We are with them for some very emotional experiences. Some, we become very bonded to,” said Lauren. The plus side, said Lauren, is truly the happiness that they witness. “It’s such a happy industry to be in. All of the brides are so happy and excited,” she said.

Along with the growth in the dress collection — more than 200 wedding gown samples and 500 gowns suitable for mothers, bridesmaids, and attendants fill the floor — four decades of business have witnessed changes in gown styles, as well. “Once strapless dresses emerged on the scene in the late  90s, they have pretty much stayed. Only now are we starting to see a little bit of request for a sleeve,” Ms Mattegat said. Forty years ago, a woman was resigned to the fact that a formal gown was going to be a bit uncomfortable and restrictive in fashion, but better fabrics and the demands of today’s brides means that comfort has become a major player in the design of modern gowns.

“Fashion used to mask the body’s flaws, but girls now spend more time in the gym and want to show off the results of the hard work,” Ms Mattegat observed, “so we now see a lot of fitted, sheath-type gowns.” Fashion, however, goes in cycles, reminded the bridal expert, so she has not been surprised to see the return of the baby-doll look of the 1960s in several styles this year.

Ms Mattegat looked around the store on the day of the 40th anniversary, taking in the soft pink walls of the room, the cozy corner set aside as a waiting area, the jewelry case filled with sparkling wedding accessories, and the racks and racks of elegant dresses and fashionable tuxedoes. It is a scene of which her mother, who died last year, would be proud. “There’s nothing better than taking pride in your work, and doing it well,” said Ms Mattegat. “Julia never dreamed how big this business would get to be.”