Brides-to-be await word on fate of Alfred Angelo gowns

They thought they had found the perfect wedding dress.

But those visions turned into nightmares for thousands of brides-to-be who are now trying to learn the fate of the wedding gowns they purchased from bridal retailer Alfred Angelo, which abruptly closed its stores Friday and filed to liquidate its business under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

On Monday, the main avenue available to customers for information was an email address posted with an apology note on the retailer’s website.

“If you wish to be contacted regarding your order status once information is available please send an email to: alfredangelo@mjstrustee.com,” the company said on its website. “We will post additional information regarding the status of dresses on this web-site as it becomes available. We apologize for the inconvenience and hardship resulting from this event. We appreciate your patience. Thank you.”

Nationwide, the retailer operated at least 60 stores and maintained operations in Canada, Europe and Japan.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court appointed Margaret J. Smith of West Palm Beach to manage the estate. Efforts to reach her by phone and email Monday were not successful.

Last Friday, the company’s Miami-based bankruptcy attorney Patricia Redmond of the law firm Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, said she planned to ask the trustee to release dresses that were in store awaiting pick-up. She also said she would try to persuade the trustee to release a $1.2 million shipment coming from China so that affected customers could get their ordered dresses.

Redmond also could not be reached early Monday for an update on the gown-retrieval process.

Late Friday, she said her law firm email address had been deluged with inquiries from more than 7,000 people.

One customer, now scrambling to find a new dress, was at least fortunate to have received refunds of her deposit.

Erin Jones of Altamonte Springs had contacted Alfred Angelo as soon as she heard Friday the bridal shop was closing stores nationwide.

But since she only paid a deposit, $500 of the $766 total cost, she was told she would not get the dress or her money back, she said.

However, she was issued a credit over the weekend by her credit card company.

“I was in love with that dress,” lamented Jones. “I kept envisioning walking down the aisle in that dress.”

On Friday, she planned to begin the hunt again for a new dress at David’s Bridal ahead of her November wedding.

“Just hoping I find something that doesn’t take too long to come in,” she said.

A creditors meeting is set for Aug. 28 , according to bankruptcy court papers.