'Devastated' Swansea bride claims store 'ruined' dream wedding dress before closing doors for good

A bride from the Vale of Glamorgan has been left "heartbroken" as alterations to her wedding gown have allegedly left the dress ruined. 

Having spent almost £2,500 on her "dream" dress at the Allison Jayne Bridalwear store in Cardiff, Victoria Pemberton, 24, was shocked to find her gown a “mess”  just days before the wedding. 

After numerous appointments at both the Cardiff and Swansea branches, Victoria received a phone call to go and retrieve her dress. 

She said she was informed that pick-up from the Swansea store was not possible as it had closed due to the lease running out. The Cardiff store was also said to be closing the following day for the same reason.

Victoria said: “I asked if the dressmaker was going to meet me in Cardiff in case further alterations were needed.”

She was allegedly told this “wasn’t required” as the alterations had been made.

Mother-of-the-bride, Julie Lakin, claimed: “We got in there, Victoria put the dress on and the look on her face was just heartbreaking because her dress was a mess. 

“It looked like the alterations had not been done by a dressmaker. The dress was in a worse state than before alterations had even started.”

Commenting on her dress, Victoria said: “There was even a section that they had not sewn back together which resulted in a hole on the side of the dress where the bodice met the skirt. 

“I can’t even explain what they had done to the back of the dress where the corset top met the skirt, but it looked like they had just lifted the skirt to the bodice and sewn it.

“The wedding at that point was in 13 days and the dress looked awful; I was devastated.”

When Victoria enquired about the veil she had ordered and paid for, she was allegedly told it would be sent in the post. 

Further questions were asked directly to the veil’s supplier who Victoria claims said the veil was never ordered by the bridal wear store.

Other brides have also faced additional stress due to the store’s sudden closure.

Rosie Moore, 27, from Cardiff, has claimed her wedding dress appeared to be missing. Rosie explained she had missed a phone call from the store before hearing of its closure. Her £1,350 wedding gown was waiting to be altered, and she claimed to be unaware of its whereabouts. 

Following the missed call from Allison Jayne Bridalwear, Rosie claims she has called multiple times and also reached out on social media, but has not received a response or update on her dress. 

She said: “I feel absolutely devastated. I don’t have enough money to buy a new one (dress) at the moment so will have to save up and hope I can get one in the sale.”

Bride-to-be Diane Dickson, 61, from Carmarthenshire was also left “devastated” by her experience with the store. She was allegedly told the store was undergoing work on its windows before hearing through the media that the store had closed.

Diane’s daughter, Danika Dickson, claims to have received a message from Allison Jayne Bridal stating her mother’s dress was safe and the store would make arrangements shortly. They remain worried that that this may not happen. 

ITV Wales News has contacted Allison Jayne Bridalwear for a comment. A spokesperson said: "We are in the process of contacting all our brides which is currently proving hard with all the inquiries we are having.

"We would like to discuss this with you, however, wish to complete speaking to our brides before doing so. 

"We hope you can appreciate this is a challenging time for us right now."

A notice on the Swansea shop door reads: “It is with regret that we have to notify all customers that our business has closed today, 4 November 2023.

"This is despite our best efforts to continue trading, however, the wedding sector has struggled to recover from Covid lockdowns and the current economic conditions.

"It has been our honour and pleasure to serve thousands of brides and their guests for over 51 years. All enquiries can be sent to swansea@allisonjayne.com.”

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