Brides, bridesmaids left in the lurch as Alfred Angelo closes

DEDHAM, Mass. — Brides and bridal parties across the country are panicking after Alfred Angelo bridal stores across the country closed with less than one day’s warning.

More than 800 stores offer Alfred Angelo merchandise according to the company's website, including several in the Boston area.

“It's extremely frustrating to have spent thousands and thousands of dollars, literally,” Kayla Cotter said two weeks before her wedding.

Workers called customers on Thursday, informing them the stores were closing at 8 p.m., and their dress needed to be picked up before then.

Dozens of other brides and bridesmaids at the Alfred Angelo in Dedham were feeling the crunch too.

“Very angry. I mean, my dress can be replaced, but the bride's dress can't,” Cotter's future mother-in-law Denice Hatch said.

For some, the potential that their dresses weren’t back from being altered was more than they could handle.

“My boss had to let me off early. I vomited on my way here. you know, the usual for brides,” Carline Pierre said.

Pierre's dress was ready to go, so that’s one happy ending, but for Cotter’s future mother-in-law it was a different story.

Some disappointed brides were forced to find a new dress, but one woman in Washington D.C. found a creative solution.

“I work for Dedham Town Taxi. I just got a call from Washington D.C. she asked me to come to the shop and pick up her dress before they close at 8 p.m. she called at 7:50,” Hassan Kassab said.

But for those still waiting, an already stressful time is feeling unbearable.

Cox Media Group