One bride who had noticed the sign on the door mentioning Saturday named Kelsey did get a refund on Saturday and posted this on the BAM Facebook page: when I went to BAM to cancel my bridal gown order and obtain a refund I was told by Kathy herself in front of my maid of honor that the new owner took over yesterday…

Another bride named Dana who also went into the store on Saturday, posted to the Facebook page this: She (Kathy Strukel) said that there would be a new manager in place this week… 

Two different people, two different excuses given to. One claiming there was new ownership of the wedding gown shop and another excuse saying there was going to be a new manager. Which is true or if there is another reason entirely we can not say.

Wednesday the 15th came and went and the store did not open. On Thursday the 16th the sign pictured here disappeared and all that remains is the closed sign. After the 15th passed numerous brides went on the Facebook page, demanding to know what is going on, how to get a refund and just asking what they should do. No announcements were made and no answers from the owner Kathy Strukel were forth coming.

What does this mean if you are a customer, waiting on an order to come in? It means you need to start taking steps to protect yourself! In our opinion, at this point Brides A La Mode can be written off as history. We were willing to give the owner the benefit of the doubt, somewhat up to the 15th, but with the date having come and gone with no announcement even this is not a owner to trust.

So the first thing you need to do as a customer is start shopping for a gown again, or whatever product it was that you had on order. Below we will list a couple of the wedding gown shops in Michiana that we trust and who have a history in the market. Next if you paid for your purchase with a credit card you are fairly safe and should be able to get a charge back to your card issued. Many credit card companies allow you to protest a charge from 6 months to a year after purchase. Even if you are beyond that time you should be still be able to protest if you have not taken possession of your merchandise!

Did you pay by cash or check? If yes, your situation is far more difficult. But most likely you won’t get an answer back so your alternative is small claims court. But depending on the amount of money involved it may cost more to pursue in court than just writing it off to lesson learned. And even being rewarded an amount of money in court does not mean the defendant will pay it to you.

Was your gown in and you were storing it at BAM until needed? If you haven’t heard from Kathy Strukel and your attempts to contact her have resulted in nothing, there is the option of contacting the police. Several years ago a Michiana photographer vanished on his clients and after several complaints to the police by customers, the police opened his office and carted off all the negatives and prints they could find to distribute to the rightful customers.

If the original sign was right and Kathy Strukel’s intent wasn’t to go out of business, we don’t know of any worse way she could have handled the situation than this. From the start she showed a complete lack of understanding of her market and her customers. And an inability to handle a crisis.

In our opinion that doesn’t say they will reopen on the 15th but tell us more in two weeks.

In our opinion the reason for this closing makes no sense. remodeling can be done after hours and the store can remain open during the remodeling. Very few stores just close to remodel because frankly they loose money and customers. Also this is a small wedding gown shop, how much inventory can there be that it will take over two weeks to count?! Also why aren’t they answering the phones? Many brides are reporting calling with no answers. Questions posted to facebook and twitter are going unanswered.

In our opinion this isn’t making much sense and brides are being left stressed out, worried and upset. There may be hope, if you have a dress sitting at Brides a La Mode, contact WNDU if you can’t get a hold of a representative at Brides a La Mode. Also this was posted to the Brides A La Mode Facebook page by South Bend Tribune writer Heidi Prescott: Heidi Prescott Please contact me via email today if you have a dress at this store. Tell me what you have heard and the concerns you have. This sounds like a huge stress on all of you. I’m trying to get to the bottom of it. Thanks! hprescott@sbtinfo.com (Market Basket, SBT)

We urge Brides a La Mode if they read this, even if a remodel is going on contact your customers and open the doors so that the brides may pick up the gowns that they paid for, even if alterations haven’t been done!

We recommend to anyone shopping for a wedding gown seeing this, shop elsewhere, until Brides a La Mode proves they have their act together again. There are several reputable wedding gown stores with long histories of being in business in the Michiana area. Our favorite is Bernardo’s for the Bride by Farmers Market. Also check out Greta’s on Lincolnway. Both of these gown shops are in South Bend. In Plymouth there is Treats. In Elkhart there is Stephenson’s.

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]]> http://michianaweddings.net/index.php/michiana-weddings/feed/ 0 http://michianaweddings.net/index.php/golden-globes-fashion-inspiration/ http://michianaweddings.net/index.php/golden-globes-fashion-inspiration/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:06:28 +0000 Amy http://michianaweddings.net/?p=176 Last night was the Golden Globes and as happens every year, Hollywood brought out the glamor. So Michiana Brides lets get a little wedding day fashion inspiration from the event!

Lisa Edelstein (Georges Chakra),            Kate Hudson (Marchesa),              Kristen Bell (Jasmine di Milo)

All in white these gowns are gorgeous! I especially love the De Milo that Kristen Bell is wearing, and while a little high cut it would make a fantastic bridesmaid dress.

Sofia Vargara (Carolina Herrera),        Fergie (Dolce & Gabbana),           Dianna Agron (Reem Acra)

I just love Fergie’s Dolce & Gabbana gown! Gorgeous! All three of these I believe would work worderfully in bridal white.