Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hell hath no fury...

Like a bride-to-be scorned; especially when their bridal shop closes before their wedding:

COLD SPRING, Minn. — Police and the Better Business Bureau are investigating the closure of a bridal shop in Cold Spring after several brides-to-be said they'd been stiffed.

A sign on the door of Lori's Bridal & Formal Wear says, "This business has closed due to the economy."

An Associated Press call to a home phone number listed for owner Lori Parsons went unanswered Tuesday. A phone number listed on the shop's door says brides can leave contact information, but the number has a full mailbox.

Angela Doty says she's angry and frustrated by the closing. Doty is set to be married May 10, and she's missing a pair of shoes that the shop was supposed to dye ivory.

Police in Cold Spring say the office was "bombarded" with calls on Monday.

Lori Peterson finally came clean today, and is trying to make things right:
The woman who owns a bridal shop in Minnesota that closed recently said she's sorry and never meant to hurt anyone.

Lori Parsons talked with WCCO-TV over the phone late Tuesday afternoon from another state. She explained the whole situation and what led up to her making the difficult decision to close her shop, Lori's Bridal and Formal Wear in Cold Spring, Minn.

"I could not win," said Parsons. "And I knew that many people got hurt, but there was no way out of it."

She said she's going through a bitter divorce right now. Her ex-husband, she said, hasn't been paying the mortgage on their home, so it's now in foreclosure.

Parson said her business has been going through tough economic times too. And because of the foreclosure on her home and divorce, she said, she can't refinance her business loan.

Last Friday morning, Parson saw an attorney who immediately told her to lock up her business after 17 years.

"And I didn't want to hurt anybody," said Parsons. "This has been the most painful thing that anybody could ever experience. This was the most painful decision of my entire life."

She's now working with one of her former employees and Phil Jones, the Cold Spring Police Chief, to get 37 wedding dresses to brides-to-be.

"I've gotten a crash-course in wedding 101," said Jones. He and his staff have gotten 150 phone calls from women wanting their dresses.

"Occasionally, we're been able to tell someone we do have their dress. And in a split-second, it's all worth it," said Jones. "They're happy."
If I had dozens of brides angry with me, I'd probably move to another state, too...