A bride-to-be was left stranded after the store where she had purchased her wedding dress suddenly closed just two weeks before the big day.
Akila Yejide Mwongozi of Pittsburgh, California, worked three jobs to save enough money to pay for her wedding.
She had chosen a dress at Bellisima Couture, located downtown, last fall, and her last fitting was in July.
But when she went to pick up the dress earlier this month, she was horrified to discover that the store was completely empty and closed, ultimately leaving her out $1,000 and without a dress.
The owner had instructed Akila to meet at her house to pick up the dress on August 20, but when she arrived, no one was there.
Akila Yejide Mwongozi had chosen a dress for her wedding at Bellisima Couture in Pittsburgh, California, last fall, and paid for it in full.
Akila then headed to the store, but was shocked to find that it was apparently closed and the space empty.
A neighbor of the neighborhood told a local channel KTVU who had witnessed the owner moving everything out of the store two weeks earlier.
The last time she had been in the store, it was full of dresses and jewelry, she added.
“And now there’s nothing there,” Akila exclaimed. “I felt like I was in the twilight zone. It’s just weird.”
A Google Maps Street View image of the store shows ornate dresses displayed through its windows as of October 2022.
Along with her dress, the store had kept her veil and a flower girl outfit.
She had already paid $1,000 for the items.
When Akila was unable to successfully locate the shop owner, one of her bridesmaids, Carlina Williams, asked for help on social media and strangers immediately began reaching out to her.
But when she went to pick up the dress earlier this month, she told local outlet KTVU she was horrified to find the store was completely empty and closed.
A Google Maps street view from October 2022 shows a store that is fully operational.
Along with her dress, the store had kept her veil and a flower girl outfit.
The last time she had been in the store, it was packed with dresses and jewelry, she added. “And (now) there is nothing there,” Akila exclaimed. The store looks empty.
“Who does this to someone?” Carlina said. ABC7“I find it disgusting.”
Akila and her bridal party were pleasantly surprised when people began responding to Carlina’s social media posts with offers for other dresses ahead of the wedding, which will take place in San Diego on Sept. 1.
“A person who didn’t even know me saw a post on Facebook and sent a dress to UPS in San Diego. If I can wear it, that could be the dress,” Akila told ABC7.
“And then I have a friend who has two dresses. So we’re working with those three dresses.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to fit them in. I’ll have about three days to decide when I get to San Diego.”
Akila also expressed relief that she didn’t take her groom’s tuxedo and her goddaughter’s dress to the same shop to be altered, given that the owner of Bellisima Couture was “already late” with Akila’s dress.
In the end, Akila added that details like her dress wouldn’t really matter in the long run when it came to her marriage.
“I’m getting married. In two or three years, the dress won’t be important. What’s important is the marriage and how I’m going to raise my family,” she told KTVU.
DailyMail.com has contacted Bellisima Couture for comment.
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