A third Australian wedding dress store collapsed in less than three weeks, leaving dozens of brides worried about receiving their gown on time, if at all.
The closure of outlets operating in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide has been followed by the closure of the Brisbane-based Stunning Wedding Dress store.
The first hint that something was wrong came when the store’s website and social media pages disappeared.
This prompted one person to ask a relative to come to the store in the affluent Brisbane suburb of Paddington, but what they found shocked them.
A third Australian wedding dress store collapsed in less than three weeks, leaving hundreds of brides worried about receiving their gown on time, if at all. A bride-to-be is photographed looking at wedding dresses.
“The store had been completely destroyed, there was a sofa and empty shelves, but there were no dresses,” they said. news.com.au.
Then last Friday, brides-to-be received an email saying that Stunning Wedding Dress had closed for good due to “circumstances beyond our control.”
The email told customers there was no need to be alarmed as all reserved dresses had been completed and would still be delivered.
“You don’t need to panic, your wedding dress has now been completed and will be delivered directly to your doorstep or wherever you designate,” he said.
“We thank you for your support and look forward to seeing photos of you in your stunning wedding dress.”
An email (pictured) told customers there was no need to be alarmed as all reserved dresses had been completed and would still be delivered.
Hundreds of Australian brides have been left ‘begging’ for their wedding dresses after a popular bridal boutique abruptly closed its doors.
But some brides have reportedly been sent incomplete orders.
The store was operated under a single merchant registration by Oleksandra ‘Sasha’ Manteit, who was contacted by Daily Mail Australia for comment.
Because the business is a sole trader operation, Ms. Manteit will have to personally pay off any outstanding debt.
The latest closure follows two bridal outlets that closed within days of each other at the end of June.
First, Bridal Atelier, which had stores in Sydney and Melbourne, went into liquidation leaving hundreds of potential brides in the lurch.
Georgia Schroeder, the company’s sales and operations manager, called it a “broken woman” in a lengthy LinkedIn post.
Since the lockdown, she has received ‘hundreds’ of calls from devastated brides-to-be ‘crying and begging’ for their dresses and the loss of money.’
“The last few days have been the most difficult I have had to deal with professionally and personally,” he wrote.
‘Being hired as the new Sales and Operations Manager at Atelier de Novias was a dream come true. Or so I thought…
“After less than two months in the role, I received a text on Friday notifying me that the company was closing, effective immediately.”
Adelaide wedding retailer, Bridal fusion by Mascia (wedding dress shop pictured), has gone bankrupt
Ms Schroeder claimed the store owner “disconnected her phone” and had to answer hundreds of calls from girlfriends desperate for answers.
He claimed that hundreds, if not thousands, of brides had run out of their dresses.
“They don’t have a website, they don’t have social media, and they haven’t told any brides that they’re going to close or pick up dresses that are fully paid for,” she said.
“They have not announced anywhere that they are closing.”
Three days after the collapse of Bridal Atelier, Adelaide-based Bridal Fusion by Mascia announced it was holding a clearance sale.
“Bridal Fusion clearance sale by Mascia right now,” her social media post read.
Over 700 dresses and accessories on sale! Also fixtures and accessories for sale according to price.
The dresses sell for as little as $100, $200, or $300, when some of the dresses originally had a retail price of $8000.
The company was operated under a sole trader registration by Mascia Paradiso.
Customers lamented the demise of the business.
The Bridal Atelier, which had stores in Sydney and Melbourne, went into liquidation with a public notice posted on the ASIC website.
“Absolutely beautiful dresses, an absolute shame, you are also shutting down such a lovely person,” one wrote.
Ms. Paradiso she had declared bankrupt due to a combination of factors meaning she just ‘couldn’t take it’.
“The business has closed, we are getting rid of stock,” he said.
“Due to the fact of Covid and a marriage breakup, as well as storms and many external problems, and also stress and personal problems, I decided to declare bankruptcy.”
