Brides and bridesmaids were scrambling after David’s Bridal announced it was filing for bankruptcy for the second time in five years.
“It’s pretty nerve-wracking. My wedding is in July so I’m just nervous if everything is going to be OK,” said Taylor Knupp, of Killingly.
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WATCH HEREThe company promises to keep stores open as it looks for a buyer. But that didn’t fully calm nerves as people raced to pick up dresses on Monday.
“If there are any other brides and bridesmaids out there and even people with proms coming up, if they have alterations it’s all kind of uncertain,” said Figen Agis of New Britain.
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SIGN UP There was relief for some customers we talked with after rushing to a David’s Bridal shop in Manchester.
“They said my dress was ready so I was like, 'I should get there as soon as I can just to make sure it all went through,'” said Hailey Boucher of Manchester.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the retailer wrote in part:
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“David’s Bridal stores in the Connecticut area are open for business, we intend to fulfill orders without disruption or delay…”
This comes soon after the company announced it was laying off about 9,000 workers nationwide. As David’s looks to sell, it says it’s faced operating challenges.
“I wasn’t too, too surprised because they also said because of COVID they’ve hit a lot of financial issues because of COVID. So it didn’t shock me too much,” said Boucher.
In general, picking up a dress as soon as it’s ready is a good idea, according to the Better Business Bureau.
And don’t pay 100% upfront.
“Especially when we're talking about dresses, where it's special order, there's alterations involved, you need to look closely at that contract and see if you have an out. If you do, how much you're going to owe? You're probably going to at least lose the deposit that you've already put down,” said Kristen Johnson, BBB director of communications.
David’s says it is still honoring gifts cards, returns and exchanges at this time.
