Brides were left hanging after a bridal store closed, leaving them without the wedding dresses they paid for

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. (WNEM/Gray News) – Brides in Michigan are panicking as they say they never received the wedding dresses they paid for after a local bridal store suddenly closed.

Several brides who purchased dresses from Love Story Bridal in Frankenmuth said they had similar nightmare experiences.

These brides believe they were taken advantage of by store owner Casey Schultz.

Bride Taylor Jarnigin said she agreed to the dress at Love Story Bridal in May.

“Go in and go through all the dresses you try on. You have a great idea to “say yes to the dress,” Jarnigin said. “Like, hey, I’m shopping for a wedding dress.”

But that fairy tale turned into a nightmare.

“She (the store owner) was unsure about when it (the dress) would arrive, which, again, I don’t think is very strange because they can’t give a precise delivery date,” Jarnigin. said. “We went to Frankenmuth, where there was a store for Oktoberfest, and we happened to drive past the store and there were no signs. The windows were covered with paper, so it turns out the store was closed.”

Love Story Bridal’s Facebook post in July said they were closing but all orders would be filled.

“So we called a phone number that was on a Facebook page and it took us to some random auto parts store. Any number associated with their website or anything online was disconnected or simply not working,” Jarnigin said.

It’s a situation all too familiar to brides like Holly Heiser, who bought her bridesmaid dresses at the store.

When the dresses arrived, her bridesmaid’s dress was wrong and another dress was missing. But Schultz, the owner, made sure the right people showed up.

Heizer recalled how she felt when she realized she needed to reach out to Schultz.

“I haven’t heard anything from her. I should probably reach over and see where those bridesmaid dresses are because my wedding is in two months,” Heiser recalls.

But like Jarnigin, Heiser ran into the same problems with store phone numbers.

“I tried to call the store number and was completely disconnected. She also disabled her personal cell phone number,” Heizer said.

Meanwhile, after Love Story Bridal closed in Michigan, Schultz moved to Iowa, where she bought another bridal store and named it Celebrate QC.

Both brides eventually heard back from Schultz via Facebook.

Long story short, Schultz told Jarnigin that her wedding dress would still arrive, and she told Heiser that she had bridesmaids’ dresses and made plans to meet her.

But then both brides say Schultz went silent.

“It added a lot more stress on top of everything else you’re trying to plan,” Heizer said.

“At this point I’m just angry because I had to go through all this. So I’m angry not only at myself, but also at everyone who dealt with this woman,” Jarnigin said.

So, brides took it upon themselves to find out where their dresses were and contacted the manufacturers.

“It turns out that the dresses remained with the manufacturer. The owner of Love Story Bridal has never owned a dress. She also never sent any money to the manufacturer. So, she took all the money that was paid for my bridesmaid dresses,” Heizer said. Schultz told her that she had the dresses.

As for Janigin, she learned that her wedding dress was in Schultz’s possession, even though Schultz said she did not have it.

“My manufacturer informed me that my dress, as well as several other identical dresses in different sizes that she ordered at the same time, were shipped and delivered to the store several months ago,” Jarnigin said. “She’s not just stealing our money, she’s stealing our dresses, that’s what I’ve learned. At least in my experience.”

But it’s not just brides who say Schultz took advantage of them. Morgan Short, a former Michigan store owner who sold her business to Schultz, said she, too, had problems.

Short said health issues and pregnancy forced her to sell her store to Schultz at the end of 2023.

“What she bought from me was technically my reputation, my name, my orders and all the inventory and assets inside the building that can be moved,” Short said.

Short said she hasn’t received payment from Schultz in more than six months.

“She took all the inventory that she still owed on, took it to Iowa, and I’ve been fighting ever since to get payments or even just to get my dresses back,” Short said. “I have an eight-month-old baby at home and I just started a new job. It’s not like we’re standing on our own two feet and getting paid.”

Short said she just wants Schultz “to be held accountable for what she did.”

WNEM called several numbers associated with Schultz and sent Facebook messages but never received a response.

“I hope she gets better with everyone she has agreements with,” Short said.

Jarnigin said she wants Schultz stopped.

“I want this to stop. Stop traveling to different states. Stop opening bridal stores,” Jarnigin said.

Celebrate QC, the bridal salon opened by Schultz in Iowa, has already closed, a close source said.

Luckily for Jarnigin, she purchased the dress using a debit card and was able to receive a full refund through her card company.

Heizer wasn’t so lucky. She had to pay for the bridesmaid dresses and send them to another store.

There’s a little light for brides left without a wedding dress, thanks to the owner of another bridal shop nearby who wants to help.

“Obviously we’ll have to look at it on a case-by-case basis depending on when the bride’s wedding is and her budget, but we’d love to help any bride,” said Michelle McFarland, owner of a bridal shop in Berkeley. “Please contact us. And all you have to do is provide a receipt or credit card statement proving that you purchased your dress there (Love Story Bridal) and we will be more than happy to help you in any way possible.”

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