Brides, staff ‘broken’ as wedding company collapses into liquidation

As many as “hundreds” of weddings have been plunged into disarray and staff are devastated after a bridal shop collapsed.

As many as “hundreds” of weddings have been plunged into disarray after a bridal shop collapsed into voluntary liquidation.

On Monday, The Bridal Atelier Pty Ltd, a bridal shop in Melbourne, appointed liquidators.

Staff at the company are shocked and have been left to field calls from distraught brides concerned their wedding plans have gone up in smoke.

The Bridal Atelier’s website and Instagram pages have been removed while the company’s phone number is disconnected. It has stores in Melbourne and Sydney. Although the Sydney store has yet to go into liquidation, it has closed down.

Michael Dullaway and Mark William Pearce from Pearce & Heers Insolvency Accountants, are the appointed liquidators.

Mr Dullaway told news.com.au the company had “never recovered from the Covid lockdown” so had made the difficult decision to shut down for good.

One of the Melbourner workers, Georgia Schroeder, said she had only been hired as the New Retail and Operations manager less than two months before the collapse and that she was devastated.

“I’m a broken woman,” she posted online, adding that she is “completely crushed”.

The website is now a private site.

What the website looked like prior to shutting down, according to the Way Back Machine.

Ms Schroeder said she had thought scoring the gig would be a “dream job” but it’s turned into more of a nightmare, as she has been left dealing with the fallout.

“I’ve had hundreds of phone calls from brides begging and crying about their gowns and loss of money,” she said.

“And even though it won’t mean much to the hundreds affected, none of the staff have been paid. We have all been left in the dark.”

She added that she wanted to apologise “from the bottom of my heart” for what had happened.

News.com.au has contacted Ms Schroeder for additional comment.

The two staff members at the Melbourne shop – including Ms Schroeder – were informed on Friday that they would be losing their jobs effective immediately.

A sister company in Sydney has not yet gone into liquidation but it’s two staff were also terminated.

The liquidator, Mr Dullaway, told news.com.au it is too early to tell at this stage the exact number of weddings impacted, or the company’s assets and liabilities.

“We’ve contacted a number of people,” he said.

He said that staff like Ms Schroeder would be fully compensated for their unpaid wages under a government scheme called the Fair Entitlements Guarantee.

Have you been impacted? Get in touch | [e-mail]

The Melbourne shop has officially closed, while the Sydney store has not yet liquidated.

Anna Campbell, one of the brands stocked by the boutique, is trying to help brides as they panic over their weddings.

“We are devastated to hear of the sudden and heartbreaking closure of our Sydney retailer, The Bridal Atelier,” the company posted online.

“Even in these uncertainty times, you, our bride, are our number one priority and focus.

“Rest assured that we remain dedicated to upholding our commitment to you and will ensure that the highest level of service and care is provided through every step of your remaining bridal journey.”

One of the suppliers is trying to help affected brides.

It comes as another bridal shop collapsed earlier this year, leaving couples thousands of dollars out of pocket.

In March, news.com.au reported Sydney wedding company Eden and Bell had collapsed, leaving a local couple $2500 out of pocket and with no floral arrangement for their big day.

The Surry Hills based flower shop owed $530,000 to 85 creditors, primarily customers.

Ms G and Mr Bennett, who did not want to share their full names, had planned to pay $10,000 for their floral arrangements and styling, which was the second biggest expense besides the wedding venue itself. As part of the terms of agreement with Eden and Bell, they paid a 25 per cent deposit, which was $2500.

Eleven staff members also lost their jobs as a result.

[e-mail]