Brides left at the alterations as dressmaker closes stores
Alfred Angelo Bridal goes bankrupt, leaving thousands without gowns
DELRAY BEACH — In a business collapse that disrupted wedding plans nationwide, dressmaker Alfred Angelo Bridal closed its doors and filed to liquidate its operations in bankruptcy court in West Palm Beach on Friday after failing to find a buyer for the company.
The shutdown left brides-to-be across the country locked out and with little information about their timesensitive wedding purchases. A lawyer for a Miami law firm retained to manage the case said she will work with a court-appointed trustee to release bridal dresses being held by the stores, which closed Thursday.
Patricia Redmond of Stearns Weaver Miller, Weissler Alhadoff & Sitterson, said in a telephone interview she had received more than 3,500 emails from panicked brides.
Alfred Angelo operated at least 60 locations in the U.S., and maintained stores in Canada, Europe and Japan. Its dresses were placed with 1,400 retailers worldwide.
In South Florida, its stores in Boynton Beach, Sunrise and Coral Gables are all closed. The headquarters offices at 1625 S. Congress Ave. in Delray Beach are also shut.
All of the stores posted “closed” signs, directing customers to contact Stearns, Weaver via email at predmond@ for more information.
Misty-eyed Yadira Castro, 27, was one of the brides seeking answers. Standing outside Alfred Angelo’s Boynton Beach store on Friday, she was desperate to
learn about her wedding dress. Her wedding is a week from Saturday.
“I don’t have the money to buy a new dress. I have no time to buy a new dress,” said Castro, showing a picture of the Disney character Princess Jasmine-inspired dress she had purchased from Alfred Angelo for more than $800. With veil and accessories, she has nearly $1,250 invested in wedding attire at the store, she said.
Castro is among countless brides and bridesmaids who are scrambling after the Delray Beach-based wedding dress company closed its doors. Therewere reports from multiple cities of brides appearing at stores to pick up their wedding gowns, only to find the locations closed.
Redmond said she will ask a court-appointed trustee for the case to release dresses being held in the stores awaiting pickup by brides-to-be, and will do her best to persuade the trustee to release a $1.2 million shipment coming from China, so brides can receive the dresses they ordered.
All told, the business filed voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions for nearly 20 related companies in the U.S. and abroad. Top creditors of Alfred Angelo, the main company, are Czech Asset Management of Connecticut, a portfolio company, for $54 million; and CardConnect, a credit card processor for up to $5 million, Redmond said. After that, there will likely be dress manufacturers in China filing claims, she said.
The cases are assigned to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Hyman in West Palm Beach.
Alfred Angelo’s board of directors met July 10 by telephone to authorize the bankruptcy filing sand to retain Stearns Weaver Miller, court documents show.
The business was started more than 80 years ago by Alfred Angelo Piccione and Edythe Vincent Piccione, according to the corporate history on the company’s website.
Alfred Angelo’s current CEO is Richard Anders, named in 2016. He could not be reached for comment on Friday. Anders previously was president of retail at Nautica, a brand of VF Corp., and held positions before that at J. Crew and Old Navy, according a January 2016 story in the Sun Sentinel. He joined Alfred Angelo in 2014.
In Coral Gables, bride-tobe Jessica Ringler whose Disney Belle dress, veil and belt were inside the store, stood outside the store Friday morning seeking information. “It just sucks. I don’t even understand what happened,” said Ringler, 33, who ordered the $2,500 dress in March for her wedding next February. “It’s beautiful ...It was supposed to be my dream dress,” she said.
Ringler said “it would have been nice if they had given some kind of heads up. Now I can’t get my dress. This is somebody’s future.”
Alfred Angelo’s store on Miracle Mile was a prime destination for brides-to-be, along with other bridal and wedding-related stores.
Nora Ares, an employee at nearby Bijou Bridal & Special Occasion store, said she would often refer customers to Alfred Angelo. “You would never think that something so drastic would happen to a chain like that,” she said. “It’s going to be devastating for those brides.”
Chris Phillips of Boynton Beach arrived at the local Alfred Angelo store to check on the news for his son, whose wedding party has bridesmaid dresses at the store. His son, 25, is scheduled to get married in September.
Phillips was on his cellphone telling family members it was time to shop elsewhere. “It’s a done deal,” he said, adding tha the is concerned about finding new dresses in time. David’s Bridal had told the family they were too late when they went shopping a few months ago.
But the family may get a reprieve.
On Friday, David’s Bridal tweeted that it was offering discounts to brides-to-be who have been impacted by the Alfredo Angelo closings. David’s Bridal said it will offer a 30 percent discounts on replacement wedding gowns to those with an Alfred Angelo receipt and 20 percent discounts for bridesmaid dresses. It also said it is waiving rush fees on alterations for those with wedding dates around the corner.
In Sunrise, the David’s Bridal shop at12605 Sunrise Blvd. took a higher than usual volume of calls, many from affected Alfred Angelo customers in search of replacement wedding or bridesmaid dresses, said store manager Heather Dadic.
Bridal apparel and formal dress retailer Camille La Vie, which has South Florida outposts in Sunrise, Pembroke Pines and Doral is also offering discounts to help displaced Alfred Angelo customers.
“We are happy to accommodate those brides/ bridesmaids affected by the @AlfredAngelo closing with a discount. Visit stores for assistance!,” Camille La Vie said in a tweet about 2:30 p.m. Friday via Twitter.
The news of Alfredo Angelo’s closing was upsetting to wedding planners aswell.
“Those poor brides,” said Carmen Mesa, a master wedding planner for the Association of Bridal Consultants in Cooper City. “You hear sometimes about venues closing, but I have not heard of a national bridal chain this huge closing and leaving people in the lurch. It breaks my heart that these people are not going to get their gowns in time.”
Other bridal salons are trying to step in to help, she said.
“I know other bridal salons are trying towork with these brides,” she said. “The industry does pull together. But this is devastating.”