Janie Maddocks, seen Jan. 16 at her new store, Lady J’s Elegant Attire and Event Planning in downtown Hallowell, says she wants to give local shoppers a place to get bridal and formal wear, and have a good experience while doing it. She plans a Feb. 1 opening. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

HALLOWELL — Janie Maddocks struggled to find the right wedding dress when she got married in September.

Bridal stores and showrooms in New England’s biggest cities didn’t have dresses that fit her properly, and she said she “didn’t have a lovely experience” with attendants. She said her daughters also struggled to find the right prom dresses without traveling to Portland, Bangor or Boston.

“I told my daughters, ‘I want to open a place where everyone can have a good experience,'” Maddocks said.

Now, just a few months later, Maddocks is aiming for a Feb. 1 opening for Lady J’s Elegant Attire and Event Planning, with a planned Feb. 13 ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Soon after their conversation, one of her three daughters, Madison, who works in downtown Hallowell, found out that the space at 89 Water St. — at one of the busiest corners in the area — was available for rent.

“Jump on it — don’t lose it,” she told her mom.

Maddocks’ newlywed husband, Jason, has spent the three weeks since the lease began renovating and remodeling the space, and Maddocks has already placed vibrant dress displays in the store’s street-facing windows.

The exterior view of Lady J’s Elegant Attire and Event Planning at the corner of Winthrop and Water streets in downtown Hallowell showcases some of the stores offerings Jan. 16. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Weddings had become a $1 billion industry in Maine by 2019, before temporarily stalling during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, though, with most pandemic-era restrictions lifted, the wedding scene in Maine — which brings in thousands of people from out-of-state each year and millions in spending for businesses like Maddocks’ — has begun recovering.

Maddocks said she hopes to use her prime location at the corner of Water and Winthrop streets as an opportunity to collaborate with other downtown businesses, such as Berry & Berry Floral and City Drawers. She said she hopes to build a bundle experience, with customers jumping from one store to the next to build their event plans and outfits.

Two of her daughters will be partners in the store, offering hair, makeup and event planning services in addition to the formal wear inventory. While Lady J’s will sell and fit customers for bridal dresses, Maddocks said she plans to include most other kinds of formal wear, including prom dresses, tuxedos, shoes, jewelry, gloves and mother-of-the-bride dresses — a personal soft spot for Maddocks, as her daughters get closer to their own weddings.

The interior view of Lady J’s Elegant Attire and Event Planning, with racks of dresses and a flower-covered wall, is seen Jan. 16 in downtown Hallowell. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Unlike many other formal wear boutiques in the region, Lady J’s plans to work primarily on a walk-in basis, with appointments only available on Sundays. Maddocks said affordability was also a priority of hers: Not everyone can afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a dress, and she hopes to build relationships with dressmakers to keep price points as low as possible.

She said she even plans to donate surplus clothing to schools as part of the Cinderella Project at Gardiner Area High School, where her daughters went.

That business model, she said, is part of the accepting and comforting message she wants to send to customers.

“There will be a one-on-one consultant for everyone who walks through the door,” she said. “Everyone deserves to feel special and welcomed.”