Woman’s wedding dress ‘held hostage’ over $42,000 billing dispute with Bed Bath & Beyond

A woman says her wedding dress was “held hostage” by a clothing preservation company because of unpaid debts to Bed Bath & Beyond, from whom she bought the $120 package.

Jesse Moltenbrey, 40, bought the package from Bed Bath & Beyond in March and sent it to Memories Wedding Gown Preservation in Houston for safekeeping. The New Hampshire native was married in 2018 and wanted to keep the dress safe because she has no immediate plans for it.

However, weeks after she shipped the dress, Moltenbrey received an email from the Texas company saying they were holding onto the item due to Bed Bath & Beyond’s unpaid debts, totaling $42,000.

“I read it and I felt a little sick and helpless for a while,” she said. “I think, how am I supposed to get a bankrupt company to pay a debt?”

Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 23 and announced that all 360 stores nationwide will eventually close, putting 30,000 jobs at risk.

The trumpet style wedding dress is unique in its color, midnight black, and is embossed with white flowers adorning the skirt from the hem to the ribcage.

The strapless dress has a long train that will suit any bride and was a perfect fit for Moltenbrey, who said she knows it might not be for everyone.

Moltenbrey said she bought the package from the now-bankrupt retailer, who describes the product as an option “to clean and keep your dress after your wedding.”

The woman told outlets that while she had no immediate plans for the dress, she wanted it preserved before her second child arrived.

Moltenbrey said she planned to move the wedding dress to the basement to make room for her new addition.

“I had to clean out that closet and I was afraid something would happen to it,” she said PEOPLE. “And it’s a very unique dress. It’s a black wedding dress. My kids probably won’t want to wear it.’

The woman told the outlet that while she doesn’t believe her own children will want to wear it in the future, she felt it was at least important to “have that option.”

“I mean, who knows, but I just thought, it’s special to me. I’m holding onto it, and if any of them want to do anything with it in the future, that’s up to them. I wanted it to at least have that option,” she said.

And it’s just the principle. It’s my property and they have no right to hold it,” Moltenbrey continued.

The woman immediately contacted the company and begged for her dress, to no avail.

She claims she told them she didn’t care if the preservation was complete, she just wanted her dress returned to her.

“Then after a few hours of thinking and taking a few deep breaths, I was like, okay, ‘We’re going to do a TikTok, we’re reaching out to the news. We’re going to do everything we can,'” she said.

In a TikTok posted on April 25, the woman is begging users to help her get her dress back.

The nearly three-minute video has since racked up around 65,000 views and several thousand likes.

Hundreds of TikTok users have weighed in on the situation, offering everything from support to ideas to force the company’s hand.

“Their battle is with BB&B, not the dress owners. They are so wrong!!!’ wrote a user.

“I mean, did they think it was better to let their small business go all over TikTok than just send people back their dresses,” chimed in another.

The comments and suggestions forced Moltenbrey to continue pursuing her dress.

She said she eventually contacted Memories and the company provided her with a tracking number for the dress.

“I received a tracking number, but there is no movement on it. It says the label has been created, but it hasn’t shipped yet,” she said.

In Facebook posts, the woman says she is now fighting for other women who have been affected just as she was.

“I told the VP that my goal is for ALL dresses to be returned. Not just mine. So I don’t feel bad that they still get bad press. And the story will have the update that mine is returned,” she wrote.

In a statement to outlets, Memories Gown Preservation said they are working with affected brides to remedy the situation.

“We informed Bed Bath & Bed Bath brides as of March 11, 2023 (before they filed for bankruptcy) that we would no longer be processing their dresses.

“At that point, Bed Bath had outstanding invoices dating back to March 2022. Memories is a small business and could no longer afford to ‘clean, store, box and ship dresses’ without payment.”

“We work with Bed Bath brides on a case-by-case basis, do not hold dresses, and give them two options for returning their dress: 1) Unprocessed – $30 before shipping/handling. 2) Cleaned and preserved at Bed Baths at a very low wholesale price.’

This is a bad situation all around. In a perfect world, we could prevent bathrobes from being shipped to us, but that’s not how UPS labels work. Both Memories Gown Preservation and Bed Bath brides owe a huge apology from Bed Bath & Beyond and their management.”

DailyMail.com reached out to Bed Bath & Beyond for a statement, but did not hear back at time of publication.