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3 weeks ago
11
A bride-to-be was left out in the cold after the store that she'd bought her wedding dress from suddenly shut down just two weeks before the big day.
Akila Yejide Mwongozi, of Pittsburgh, California, worked three jobs to save up enough money to afford to pay for her wedding.
She'd picked out a dress at Bellisima Couture, located in the city's downtown area, last fall, and her final fitting was in July.
But when she went to pick up the gown earlier this month - she was horrified to discover the shop was completely empty and shut down, ultimately resulting in her losing $1,000 and being stuck with no gown.
The owner had instructed Akila to meet at her home to get the dress on August 20, but when she arrived, no one was home.
Akila Yejide Mwongozi had picked out a dress for her wedding at Bellisima Couture in Pittsburg, California, last fall, and had paid for it in full
Akila then drove to the store, but was baffled to discover that it was apparently shuttered, and the space emptied out.
A resident of the neighborhood told local channel KTVU that she'd witnessed the owner moving everything out of the store two weeks prior.
The last time she'd been by the shop, it had been packed with dresses and jewelry, she added.
'And [now] there's nothing there,' Akila exclaimed. 'Kind of felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. It's just weird.'
A Google Maps Street View image of the storefront shows ornate dress displays through its windows as of October 2022.
Along with her dress, the shop had been holding onto her veil and a flower girl's outfit.
She'd already put down $1,000 for the items.
When Akila wasn't able to successfully track down the shop owner, one of her bridesmaids, Carlina Williams, posted for help on social media - and strangers instantly began reaching out.
But when she went to pick up the gown earlier this month - she told local channel KTVU that she was horrified to discover the shop was completely empty and shut down
A Google Maps Street View dated October 2022 shows a shop that's fully in business
Along with her dress, the shop had been holding onto her veil and a flower girl's outfit
The last time she'd been by the shop, it had been packed with dresses and jewelry, she added. 'And [now] there's nothing there,' Akila exclaimed. The empty shop is seen
'Who does this to someone?' Carlina told ABC7. 'It's disgusting to me.'
Akila and her bridal party were pleasantly surprised when people started responding to Carlina's social media posts with offers of other dresses ahead of the wedding, which will be held in San Diego on September 1.
'I have one person that didn't even know me, that saw a post on Facebook, and sent a dress to UPS in San Diego. So if I can fit [in] it, that may be the dress,' Akila told ABC7.
'And then I have a friend who has two dresses. So we're working with those three dresses.
'I don't know if I can fit [in] them. I'll have about three days to figure it out once I get to San Diego.'
Akila also expressed relief she didn't also take her groom's tux and her goddaughter's dress to the same business to be altered, given that the Bellisima Couture owner 'was already taking a while' with Akila's dress.
In the end, Akila added that details like her dress wouldn't really matter in the long run when it came to her marriage.
'I'm getting married. Two years, three years, dress is not going to be important. The marriage is going to be important, and how I'm going to build my family,' she told KTVU.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Bellisima Couture for comment.
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