Bride who worked three jobs to save up for her wedding left scrambling for new dress after bridal store closes two weeks before her big day
A bride-to-be was left out in the cold after the store where she bought her wedding dress suddenly closed just two weeks before the big day.
Akila Yejide Mwongozi from Pittsburgh, California, worked three jobs to save enough money for her wedding.
Last fall she had chosen a dress at Bellisima Couture, located in the city center, and her last fitting was in July.
But when she went to pick up her dress earlier this month, she was shocked to find the store completely empty and closed. She ended up losing $1,000 and was left without a dress.
The owner had instructed Akila to meet her at her home on August 20 to pick up the dress, but when she arrived, no one was home.
Akila Yejide Mwongozi picked out a dress for her wedding at Bellisima Couture in Pittsburg, California, last fall, and paid for it in full
Akila then drove to the store, but was dismayed to see that the store was apparently closed and the space was empty.
A local resident told the local broadcaster KTVU that two weeks earlier she had seen the owner taking everything out of the store.
The last time she had been to the store, it was full of dresses and jewelry, she added.
‘And 1724693086 “There’s nothing,” Akila exclaimed. “It kind of felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. It’s just weird.”
A Google Maps Street View image of the storefront shows ornate dresses displayed in the windows in October 2022.
In addition to her dress, the store also kept her veil and a flower girl’s dress.
She had already paid $1,000 for the stuff.
When Akila couldn’t find the store owner, one of her bridesmaids, Carlina Williams, posted a call for help on social media. Strangers immediately began contacting her.
But when she went to pick up the dress earlier this month, she told local station KTVU she was shocked to find the store completely empty and closed.
A Google Maps Street View from October 2022 shows a store fully operational
Along with her dress, the store had kept her veil and a flower girl outfit
The last time she had been to the store, it was full of dresses and jewelry, she added. ‘And 1724693086 There is nothing,’ Akila exclaimed. The empty shop can be seen
“Who does this to someone?” Carlina said ABC7“I find it disgusting.”
Akila and her bridal party were pleasantly surprised when people began commenting on Carlina’s social media posts with offers for other dresses ahead of the wedding, which is set for September 1 in San Diego.
“I have one person who didn’t even know me who saw a post on Facebook and sent a dress to UPS in San Diego. So if I can try on [in] “That could be the dress,” Akila told ABC7.
‘And then I have a friend who has two dresses. So we work with those three dresses.
I don’t know if I fit in [in] them. I’ll have about three days to figure it out once I get to San Diego.’
Akila also expressed relief that she didn’t have to take her groom’s tuxedo jacket and her goddaughter’s dress to the same shop to have them altered. After all, the owner of Bellisima Couture “had been taking a while” to have Akila’s dress altered.
Akila eventually added that details like her dress wouldn’t really matter to her wedding in the long run.
“I’m getting married. Two years, three years, clothes are not important. Marriage is important, and how I’m going to build my family,” she told KTVU.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Bellisima Couture for comment.