Just this past week, now-closed bridal store Alfred Angelo said it would no longer be able to make good on orders. While some brides have been left stranded, others are seeing the kindness of strangers.
Leighann Coleman of Princeton is less than two weeks out from starting a new chapter. She almost didn't have bridesmaids’ dresses.
“We called and of course no one answered,” Coleman said of trying to reach Alfred Angelo after news it was shutting down.
Her girls ordered from Alfred Angelo. They had to start from scratch from Baley's Bridal.
“We have three weeks to order a dress, wait for it to ship and get it altered,” she said, remembering the panic.
Grace Outreach Center in Plano heard about her story and stepped in to help.
“They wrote us a check for all of our dresses which was a blessing,” Coleman said. “It was just so nice, people that I don't even know wrote us little congratulations cards, bought us a wedding gift. It was amazing.”
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And Coleman wasn’t the only bride gifted with kindness.
When we last met Kathy Udvarhely she was blindsided, out of a job as assistant manager of the Frisco store and heartbroken for the brides-to-be.
Since then, a bankruptcy trustee allowed her one-time access to Alfred Angelo and she was able to match about a dozen former clients with gowns.
“We went through all the files for every month [thinking] 'hopefully we could find somebody' and that's what we did, and then we took those dresses,” Udvarhely said.
She and her Frisco colleague Terri Broussard were hired by Bridal Boutique in Lewisville. Just like some lucky brides, both are grateful for the second chance.
“Just feels good to be with another co-worker you know and being able to help brides again,” Udvarhely said.
“At first it was like what are we gonna do? And then it was like, just a saving grace decided to show up and turned everything around,” said Coleman, who marries her fiancé on August 19.
The bride-to-be, now turning the page to her new beginning.
