The quest for the dream wedding dress turned into a nightmare for 18 Connecticut brides-to-be and the wrath is being unleashed on the bridal shop the shut its doors before delivering the dresses.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is suing Classic Images, a Danielson bridal shop that closed abruptly, leaving the angry bunch without bridal gowns, according to a news release Monday.
“Classic Images is a runaway bridal shop,” Blumenthal said. “It has cost tens of thousands of dollars -- as well as panic, heartbreak and major inconvenience -- to couples planning the biggest day of their lives."
The shop sold bridal dresses, bridal party dresses, groom attire and accessories. It also cleaned and stored wedding dresses for more than a decade before closing abruptly late last year. Brides who dropped off their gowns for cleaning also lost their expensive wedding keepsakes, Blumenthal said.
He's taking issue with the company because it failed to fulfill orders starting more than a year before closing. A thread on theknot.com began in November 2008 complaining about the shop.
“Classic Images made the classic mistake of soliciting sales and taking money when it knew it couldn’t deliver,” Blumenthal said. “Our goal is full refunds for the brides, even if we cannot bring back the wedding. Tough economic times do not excuse -- in fact, they exacerbate -- the harm done.”
Customers who prepaid for products or services that they never received repeatedly tried to contact store owner, Cindy St. John by phone, but most messages were not returned, Blumenthal said. When St. John did return calls, she repeatedly represented that she would provide the dresses or other attire, but then failed to do so, he said.
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“Classic Images broke the most basic vow -- betraying trust and commitment,” Blumenthal said. “It took deposits, then failed to provide bridal gowns, and ignored consumer calls. Classic Images turned lifetime dreams into consumer nightmares for more than a dozen couples with unfulfilled gown orders.”
Nothing like a bride scorned.
