Bridal boutique setting up shop in downtown Hamilton

“I would run up the stairs with my laptop and sit on her couch for hours and hours at a time, organizing our daydreams into a plan,” Gordon said. “We’ve always been best friends and worked really well together so our brainstorming and prepping fell together pretty seamlessly.”

Gordon said she had worked in the wedding industry for years, and Mariana has been into fashion, “so our collected experience has been perfect for a bridal store.”

Maus, who was married three years ago, said when they were planning their bridal store, they knew “Hamilton doesn’t have anything like this, and it would be cool to have.”

Hamilton is home for the sisters, both of whom graduated from Badin High School (Maus in 2016 and Gordon in 2019).

“We’re both born and raised here, our grandparents and all our family were born and raised here, and we love this city,” Maus said.

And so Frannie and Joe Bridal is a tribute to not only their Hamilton roots, but their family roots. Frannie and Joe Meehan are the sisters’ grandparents, who were married in 1953 and together for nearly 70 years before Joe passed away in 2021. Together, they co-founded Meehan Electric in 1972.

Frannie and Joe Bridal is expected to open this fall, though work on the storefront is pretty much done.

“We’re waiting on more inventory, more dresses,” said Maus, who added that some of these dresses are coming from as far away as Spain. “We want to be able to cater to many budgets, so some of our more economical dresses are around $900 and the more expensive ones are around $4,500.”

The sisters will start out as the company’s only employees, dubbing themselves as “personal bridal assistants.” The business is by appointment, and brides will receive a 90-minute session during which they can see a collection of gowns, jewelry and accessories curated for each bride. A fully booked day would give them five to six clients.

The shop on High Street, which is right near the High Street statue of Alexander Hamilton called “The American Cape,” was chosen mostly because of the visibility.

“We grew up here, and High Street feels more appropriate for a bridal shop,” Maus said.

Though their grandparents were the inspiration, the courage comes from Hamilton.

“I don’t think we would’ve had the confidence to open a business on our own if we had been living anywhere else,” Gordon said, “but living in Hamilton, it is super inspiring to see all these small business owners take the leap.”