Dozens of brides-to-be were left thousands of dollars out of pocket and without a dress for their big day after a popular bridal boutique suddenly closed.
NOA Bridal owner Elizabeth Lyndon-James emailed her customers on Tuesday to say her North Perth boutique had closed its doors because it was “heavily” in debt.
In shocking news for brides who had already paid a deposit or the full amount, Ms Lyndon-James added that she had filed for bankruptcy and was no longer able to deliver wedding dresses already ordered.
“If I could still give something, I would,” he wrote.
‘However, I have now reached a point where there are no more options or resources available.
Customer Melissa McPhail has since claimed Ms Lyndon-James contacted her three months ago to say she was making the “incredibly difficult” decision to go to the store because of her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Western Australia reported.
“Weddings are something I love and thought I would continue doing them forever, but due to loss of mobility and the fact that this will only get worse from here, I simply cannot continue with NOA Bridal,” the email to Ms. McPhail said.
Ms Lyndon-James assured her that her dress, paid for in full last November, would still be delivered to her tailor for alterations.
Perth bridal boutique Noah Bridal (pictured) has gone bust, leaving brides to scramble to find their wedding dresses.
Some brides have lost thousands of dollars after discovering their order was never fulfilled and the wedding dress designers never received their deposit (stock photo of a bride)
Ms McPhail was “super, super understanding” because her sister-in-law also has the disease.
But when the bride-to-be received the email on Tuesday, she contacted the dress designer and discovered that her dress had been ordered but they had never received a deposit, let alone the full amount.
Fortunately, Ms. McPhail was able to buy the dress again, this time directly from the designer for next year’s wedding, but she lost $10,000.
Another bride, Mandy Hopper, paid NOA Bridal $6,000 for her New Year’s Eve wedding dress that was supposed to arrive next month, but was left without a dress less than six months before her big day.
Ms. Hopper called the designer directly and was told they had no record of her order or any payment.
“My partner just tells me ‘get another one, that’s fine, I’ll work harder, that’s fine,’ and I’m like, that’s not the point, the point is I just burned through $6,000,” she said.
It is not known whether brides-to-be will receive any of their money back (stock photo of a wedding dress)
Andrew Bell of the Bankruptcy Advisory Centre confirmed that Noa Bridal, which originated in Margaret River in 2021, had filed for bankruptcy.
He warned that the process could take “between six and twelve months” to determine whether customers can be reimbursed.
Brides and their families have been venting on social media, with many lamenting the amount of money they have lost.
‘(My daughter) had paid for the dress in full in February, but her $5,000 was never transferred nor was her order to the designer,’ one wrote.
Daily Mail Australia attempted to contact Elizabeth Lyndon-James, but her Fitzgerald Street boutique shut down its website as well as all social media accounts.
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