EDITOR'S NOTE: After the publication of this story, Melanie and Jay Mattegat decided to remain in business. They have not closed Julie Allen Bridals & Tuxedos. The couple decided they loved the business too much "and just couldn't leave it," Mrs Mattegat said. 

By Kaaren Valenta

When Julie Allen launched a small bridal gown business in her Newtown home on April 1, 1970, she did not envision that it would become one of the largest bridal stores in the state. She quipped, on that first day, that if it did not work out, it would be a good April Fool's joke.

Instead, the business grew steadily, moving from her home to a shopping center and finally, in 1993, into a new building at 154 South Main Street. But on December 31, after 31 years and two generations in business, Julie Allen Bridals & Tuxedoes LLC will close its doors forever. Owners Melanie and Jay Mattegat, the daughter and son-in-law of Julie Allen, say the events of 9/11 helped convince them that they want to spend more time with their family than operating the business will permit.

"It's a lifestyle change," Jay Mattegat said. "We're really looking forward to the change - and so are our children. When you work for yourself you don't t get to call in sick. We've only had three vacations in 12 years."

Working Tuesday and Thursday nights until 9, plus all day Saturday, left little time for family life, the couple said.

"We'd often go home on Saturdays and spend from 6 to 10 pm on paperwork, and finish on Sundays about 2 pm," Melanie said. "Our daughter Lauren is 14 and a freshman at Newtown High School. She's very bright - all but two of her classes are honors classes - and we want her to do well. Jacey, our nine-year-old, is a fourth grader at Hawley School. We just don't have enough time for them while we have to commit all of our time and energy to the business."

Last week the couple sent a letter to all of their customers assuring them that all orders will be processed and all dresses will be delivered.

"We are closing this business with the dignity, honesty, and integrity that we opened with," Jay said. "We put $15,000 worth of rush orders on all of the dresses - at our own expense - to make sure we have fulfilled all of our commitments. Unlike most store closings, we have paid all of our manufacturers - we don't owe anyone a dime. We're fulfilling every obligation that we have."

"It's been a heart-wrenching decision, like letting go of an old family friend," Melanie admitted. "It's sad because we will miss all the people. But it's also exciting because new avenues will open. And now that we've made the decision, I feel relieved."

The couple had been watching changes in the bridal services industry and not liking what they saw. Chain stores that design gowns, have them made overseas, and sell them off the rack in their own stores had begun to erode the customer base of many shops that buy their gowns from the design houses. Recently one of the largest suppliers, The House of Bianchi, went out of business.

There is instant gratification for a bride to go to a chain store and walk out with her dress, something that does not happen when each designer dress is individually made to order, a process that generally takes several months, Melanie explained. Some brides have even begun to shop on the Internet.

The changes had not hurt Julie Allen Bridals, she said, but no one can predict the future.

"We did better this year than last, but we aren't willing to put in the time that will be needed to compete with corporate bridal businesses," Melanie said. "When you make a commitment to a customer, you are taking on a tremendous commitment. You want to keep your finger on their wedding like it was your own. You have to be in tune with everything that is going on in the industry. When we heard that Bianchi may go out, we took $18,000 worth of samples that we had purchased off the floor to protect our customers. But keeping your finger on the whole industry isn't easy when you are stuck in your own store for so many hours each week."

And after September 11, everything changed.

"I wanted to be home with Jay and our children that day, but I had to stay here in the store because I had a business to run," Melanie said. "Then so many of the bridal manufacturers are in Chinatown (in New York City) and they couldn't get their dresses out. The airports were closed. September and October are such big months in the business. We realized that no matter how hard you try, events are just not under your control."

The following weeks were stressful for the Mattegats and for the brides.

"These are high emotional issues," Melanie said. "The wedding dress is the most important dress they will ever wear."

The crisis prompted the couple to evaluate what they wanted from their lives, and make the decision to close the business rather than sell it.

"My mother is elated," Melanie said. "She feels she will have closure to a business that she started and nurtured from her house to one of the largest bridal stores in Connecticut. It's like seeing the whole thing from start to finish."

Julie Allen worked in the clothing industry in New Jersey for years before her husband, Frank, was transferred to Connecticut and the family settled in Newtown in the 1960s when Melanie was in sixth grade.

"My mother opened the Lane Bryant store in Hartford, then commuted for years to the New Haven store. Finally, to be closer to home, she took a job with JayMar Fashions in Newtown, in what was then called the Wheeler Shopping Center on Queen Street."

Friends from New Jersey, Mildred and Neil Mulcock, convinced Julie Allen to work for herself. Mildred's sister operated Mildred's House of Brides from her home in Ridgewood, N.J., Julie started her business as a division of that company, then the following year went out on her own.

"It wasn't considered a retail business because she had samples - it was more like Mary Kay [cosmetics home sales]," Melanie said. "So it wasn't in violation of zoning."

Melanie, meanwhile, had met Jay Mattegat when he returned to Newtown after service in the Army in Turkey. The couple married, and eventually took over the bridal business in 1990, moving it into the South Main Marketplace. In 1993 they bought four and one-half acres at 154 South Main, tore down the existing building and built a 45x90-foot showroom. Jay designed the building and was the general contractor.

Frank Allen died that year, but Julie Allen continued to work in the business part-time until she retired in 1997.

There were many exciting events over the years. At least twice each year Julie Allen Bridals did fashion shows at the mall, at the Ethan Allen Inn, and at the Fireside. The shop supplied the dresses for

The Bee's bridal issue each year.

"We did a show at Macy's in October," Melanie said. "We supplied 50 dresses for the movie

The Bachelor. We did the bridesmaid's dresses for the wedding of Harry Reasoner's daughter, Ellen, and for the daughter of author Joanna Cole and for Judge Judy's cousin's daughter's wedding. We've met designers and over the years we've had a ball with the business."

The building and the land, which include 1.5 acres of commercially zoned land and 2.5 acres of residential land in the back, are for sale for $625,000.

"It's a nice property and a great location," Jay Mattegat said. "There's already some interest [by potential buyers] in it."

Despite the fact that the business is closing, customers still have been coming in to order bridal and bridesmaid dresses, and the Mattegats have been helping them.

"They want us to do their wedding," Melanie said. "The manufacturers are disheartened, wondering how they will replace us. We have been getting notes from them telling us that we will be missed."

"If we needed to stay an extra month we would have - that would have been no problem at all - but it looks like we will be closing on December 31," she said.

The prices of all of the samples - brides, bridesmaid, and mother-of-the-bride dresses - in the shop are 50 percent off.  And the Mattegats have already begun to cut back on their hours, closing at 5 instead of 9 on Tuesdays, and at 4 pm on Friday and Saturday.

"It's been wonderful," Melanie said. "It's not like we dabbled in this business. We've given 31 years of two families' commitment time. We want to end on a good note, and we are."