"It's an awful situation, handled like trash," one Connecticut bride said.
Brides across the country have been left scrambling for last-minute options after wedding dress retailer Alfred Angelo abruptly closed its 62 locations amid reports of bankruptcy.
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On Thursday night, the Florida-based business that began in1933 and sold merchandise in more than 1,400 bridal stores across the country quietly closed its doors.
Rumors of the closure began spreading on social media as brides attempted to drop by the store to pick up dresses or discuss alterations — only to be met with signs splashed across the doors: “Closed, sorry.”
Alfred Angelo has not responded to InsideEdition.com's multiple requests for comment.
Brides who have placed orders at the store, which lists wedding dresses costing more than $2,000 on its website, are now being asked to reach out to the company's lawyers.
“What they are doing is crap. I understand businesses have hardships, but to close with no notice and no answers is unacceptable,” Laura Nekola of Grand Rapids, Mich., told InsideEdition.com. “The fact they just shut their doors and now have no explanation blows my mind.”
Nekola said she spent more than $2,000 at Alfred Angelo for her wedding gown and accessories, including jewelry and a veil.
“Now, I have no idea if I am going to get my money back or if I am getting any of those items,” said Nekola, who is getting married next May. “There were a few tears shed because my dream dress is gone.”
Molly Palmer, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl., said she purchased five bridesmaid dresses from the Jacksonville location at a cost of more than $800.
“It’s sounding like if you don't already have your dresses from them you won't get them,” she said. “And since it's bankruptcy, I don't think we will be seeing a refund either.”
She said she is lucky her wedding is not until January and that she purchased her wedding dress from a different retailer. She said she feels for the women who bought their gowns from the company.
“I can’t imagine losing my dress," she said.
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Soon-to-be bride Sara Banfield of Rocky Hill, Conn, said she ordered her wedding dress and her mother’s $400 gown from the store. While she was lucky enough to have picked up her wedding dress days before the store's closure, her mother’s gown was not slated to arrive until mid-August, and she now has no idea whether it will arrive at all.
“Not only did they close [but] we also had no notice of them closing," Banfield told InsideEdition.com.
She said she heard the rumors around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and called the store right away. The line rang through each time, and eventually she was directed to a voicemail box that was full.
“They've messed up in a huge way,” she said. “It's awful and in poor taste, not only for their customers, but also for their employees.”
Customers added that there were tell-tale signs before the company closed.
Amber McGraw, a specialist in the Ohio Army National Guard, said she was given the run-around after trying on a dress in June.
First, she said, she was told there was a change in the order because the dress was being discontinued, and she was told she could only purchase it off the rack.
When she selected a $1,300 dress that had been discounted to $800, employees said she had to pay in full in check or cash because of a change in their credit card company. They added that a Nebraska location would mail in the same dress in better condition, she said.
“There were a dozen warning signs, but I just trusted that my consultant was looking out for my best interest,” McGraw said.
Now, all she can do is wait, and hope the dress is mailed out to her home before her wedding in two months.
"I can't even purchase another dress right now because the majority of my dress budget is in the dress I purchased that is MIA," she said. "The check has already cleared my account, so I can't cancel it."
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Banfield, who said she's tried to reach out to the company several times, added: “It's an awful situation, handled like trash. They tossed every single person who gave them business in the ocean to drown.”
