MIAMI – After the Alfred Angelo Bridal heartbreak, some brides-to-be started their last-minute search for their dream dress on the annual National Bridal Sale Day.
The Saturday event includes 37 stores in Florida. Merlili Bridal Boutique in Coral Gables and Molle Bridals in Palm Beach Gardens were on the list.
With weddings approaching, brides-to-be who trusted the 80-year-old dressmaker were frustrated. The Delray Beach-based company filed for bankruptcy on Friday afternoon and closed all of its stores without warning.
There is a tsunami of stressed bridezillas. Alfred Angelo had 60 signature stores and also sold dresses at 1,400 locations worldwide.
Breast Cancer Charities, a non-profit raising funds for breast cancer research, joined the list of organizations hoping to help them on Saturday.
They have couture dresses ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 and were offering a 30 percent discount on already discounted used and sample dresses.
The brides are not the only ones suffering. The company employees said they didn't know anything about the plans until this week. They packed their belongings in boxes and were asked to leave the corporate headquarters.
Patricia Redmond, a lawyer for Stearns Weaver Miller, helped the Delray Beach-based national chain to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in Florida. Redmond told USA Today that the company would work to fulfill all orders that had already been purchased and said that some of the dresses were sent by mail before the closures.
"It typically always gets better after the bankruptcy filing for customers who have goods that have already been purchased," Redmond said.
The company debuted their Truly Yours bridal collection in March at the National Bridal Market in Chicago. It was supposed to be available beginning in the fall. They were also planning the release of the Bella Vita collection in 2018.
They were marketing their Signature and Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings, Sapphire and Modern Vintage collections. Jessica Ringler fell in love with the Disney Belle dress in Coral Gables. When no one answered her questions at the store on Friday afternoon, she felt helpless.
"I don't have another $2,500," Rindler said in tears.