Bridal parties out of luck after wedding dress stores abruptly close

Thousands of brides are in a panic after one of the largest wedding dress manufacturers in the world suddenly closed all of its stores.

People showed up all day Friday at Alfred Angelo locations in Arlington, Garland and Frisco. Many of the brides were cut off from dresses they'd already paid for.

They were greeted by a locked door and a sign that included a phone number for a Miami attorney. FOX4 tried calling throughout the day, but could not get an answer.

Kyla Terry had already paid $1,200 toward her $2,000 wedding dress.

“I had an appointment today. They told me I could come in at 5,” Terry said. “I ordered a Disney Princess Collection dress, and that was the dress. It breaks my heart. That was the one when I put it on. That dress made me cry.

Now she feels like crying for a different reason.

“It had these details. When you dimmed the lights, it sparkled,” Terry said.

Terry, like thousands of other brides, is now wondering if she will ever get her dress or her money back.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is planning to file for bankruptcy protection. If the company files for Chapter 11, a bankruptcy attorney said those who paid with cash could be out of luck.

It's not just brides who are scrambling -- so are their bridesmaids.

“We're already out the money. We already paid for it,” Kelsey Crase said. “I drove from Oklahoma to get the dress.”

Parma Moses, a maid of honor in an upcoming wedding, said six dresses were ordered for and paid in full and now she can’t get any of them.

So many frustrated customers showed up that a former manager called Frisco police to help her get to her car.

Alfred Angelo is a Florida company in business since 1933, so customers say they never saw this coming.

“My wedding theme is fairytale. That's what I wanted -- a fairytale princess dress,” Terry said.

The former store manager told Frisco police that even though she is now out of a job, she felt bad for the brides, so she took dresses to her car with plans to ship them to brides.