Wedding Dress Chain’s Closing Panics Thousands of Brides

Alfred Angelo is seeking bankruptcy protection
By Linda Hervieux,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 15, 2017 8:00 AM CDT
Wedding Dress Chain’s Closing Panics Thousands of Brides
Wedding dress chain Alfred Angelo is seeking bankruptcy protection.   (Getty Images/ KaeArt)

Wedding dress retailer Alfred Angelo shuttered stores nationwide on Friday, sending brides-to-be into a panic. The Sun Sentinel reports the Florida-based company filed for bankruptcy protection after failing to find a buyer. The chain has at least 60 shops in the US, and its dresses are sold in more than 1,400 spots worldwide. Little information was available for angry brides who vented on social media after finding they were shut out of shops holding their gowns. "I'm glad orange is my wedding color because I'm gonna be married in jail if I can't get my dresses," one woman tweeted. Alfred Angelo hasn’t commented, but company lawyer Patricia Redmond tells the Sun Sentinel she has been bombed with more than 3,500 emails from worried brides.

Redmond says the chain will work with a court-appointed trustee to release all the gowns in the shops. With her wedding a week away, Yadira Castro, 27, was no doubt hoping that was the case. "I don’t have the money to buy a new dress," she tells the newspaper, after paying $1,200 for an ensemble featuring a gown inspired by the Disney character Princess Jasmine. Some customers blamed Alfred Angelo workers for not being honest, but one mother tells the New York Times an employee in the Houston shop found her daughter’s dress and "gave us one hour" to pick it up Friday morning. "We have a happy ending," she says. Meanwhile, competitors liked David's Bridal rushed to offer discounts and alterations for betrayed brides and bridesmaids. (This wedding registry is not for everyone.)

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