A popular bridal boutique with stores in Sydney and Melbourne has announced its shock closure, leaving hundreds of Australian brides-to-be without their gowns.
The Bride Atelier, which stocks bridal gowns from different designers, has entered liquidation, a notice posted on the ASIC website revealed on Monday.
TikTok account “party girl clauds”, which specialises in wedding planning, urged anyone affected to make a claim with Fair Trading and the ACCC as soon as possible and to contact their designer to see if they could help.
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“They have no website, they have no social media, and they have not communicated to any brides that they are closing down or to pick up dresses that are fully paid for,” she said.
“They have not advertised anywhere that they are closing down.”
She added hundreds if not thousands of brides have been left without their dresses.
Many devastated brides-to-be shared their “awful” experiences with the retailer in the comments.
“I am one of the affected brides … my dress was literally meant to come in this month, and now I don’t know what’s going to happen,” one woman said.
“Devastating! I’m waiting on 2x dresses that I’ve paid for in full,” another added.
The company’s retail and operations manager Georgia Schroeder revealed the devastating news of the closure in a lengthy LinkedIn post on Monday.
“I’m a broken woman,” she said.
“The past few days have been the toughest I’ve ever had to deal with professionally and personally.”
Schroeder added the owner has “disconnected her number” and she herself had instead been swamped with hundreds of phone calls from brides “begging and crying” about their gowns and loss of money.
“I am personally completely crushed. And even though it won’t mean much to the hundreds affected, none of the staff have been paid,” she said.
“We have all been left in the dark.”
The boutique is now set to be managed by liquidators Mark William Pearce and Michael Dullaway.
Designers who had gowns stocked in the boutiques have urged affected customers to get in contact.
Anna Campbell Bridal Gowns described the news as “sudden and heartbreaking”.
“Even in these (uncertain) times, you, our bride, are our number one priority and focus,” it said in a social media update.
“Rest assured that we remain dedicated to upholding our commitment to you and will ensure that the highest level of service and care is provided through every step of your remaining bridal journey.”
Brides who have recently placed an order for an Anna Campbell gown via The Bridal Atelier are urged to get in contact with Anna Campbell.
Brides who bought a Love Honor gown are encouraged to email [email protected].
“While it breaks our heart to see another small business end, we want to assure our brides we are committed to fulfilling your dream gown,” the designer said.