Tied In A Knot: Twin Cities Brides Say Delayed Dresses Caused Stress, Anxiety

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (WCCO) -- Brides across the Twin Cities say their wedding gown dreams turned into nightmares after their dresses were delayed.

They say late timing and a lack of customer service resulted in immense stress and even forced three women to buy another gown.

WCCO's Mary McGuire spoke with some of the women.

After finding the perfect man, finding the perfect dress was the next big task for Raven Baker. She knew she had found the one at Posh Bridal Couture in Wayzata.

"I got it on and I was like, 'This is the dress,'" said Baker.

She paid for the dress in full when she ordered it last October and was told she would receive it in about 6 months. When the dress wasn't there in April, she started to worry.

"Every time I would call, a new date it would arrive, a new week it would arrive. It was out for shipment, oh, it wasn't out for shipment. It was this, it was that," said Baker.

It was a similar story for Lauren Johnson, who bought her dress in December.

"No one could provide any sort of tracking or paper documentation of where anything was, so you just lost all faith in them. At the same time, you are at the mercy of them because they have your dress and there is nothing you can do because you have already paid for it," said Johnson.

After months of phone calls, e-mails and confusion, she finally got her dress, just a month before her big day in October.

Leah Schultze waited nine months, then bought another gown, before hers arrived at Posh -- just 20 days before her wedding.

"The reality of it all set in. I just wasted so much money there. I may not get this dress. I need to start over," said Schultze, "You plan your whole wedding over what that style of dress looks like and then to have to change it all at the last minute."

Shelby Peters waited 10 months for her dress.

"It definitely causes a lot of anxiety, a lot of extra stress," said Peters.

Buying a wedding dress isn't like buying any other piece of clothing off the rack. Once a bride-to-be picks one out in the store, they are measured and a size is ordered through a designer. The dress is then tailored to fit like a glove, a process that typically takes two to three months, according to The Knot.

We reached out to Posh Bridal, and owner Marie Suchy agreed to sit down for an interview with us on Sept. 3, but abruptly cancelled. Since then, she has declined our repeated requests for comment.

The Posh Bridal contract states the business is not responsible for any delays in delivery of an item. Dresses are delivered approximately six months from the order date. That's similar to contracts WCCO reviewed from two other stores -- which also don't guarantee delivery dates.

What's different in the Posh contract is that the day you buy the dress isn't necessarily the day the shop orders it from the supplier.

After months of uncertainty, these soon-to-be brides and newlyweds say they just want to make sure other women know what they are signing up for when they buy a dress from any bridal shop.

"Chaotic and unnecessary. It didn't have to end like this," said Schultze.

"Disappointing. Everything that I thought it wouldn't be," said Baker.

"I think I would say disrespected," said Johnson.

"It was a nightmare," said Peters.

All of the brides WCCO-TV spoke with on camera say they got their dresses eventually.

We also reached out to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. They want to hear from people who experience problems like these. The office can often mediate between the customers and the business. Filing a complaint can help them track behavior that might warrant an investigation.

The Better Business Bureau recommends brides do their research, get any guarantees in writing and be sure to ask if the store will compensate them or help with priority alterations if the dress is delayed.