Friday, Jun. 13, 2008

Modesto store slams the door on weddings

Bridal business closes but does not give clients refunds or clothes they paid for

A steady stream of brides, bridesmaids, grooms and groomsmen stopped by Special Days Bridal and Tuxedo Store in Modesto on Thursday, staring in disbelief at the taped-over windows.

A sign on the door read, "Special Days will be closed until further notice."

"Me and both my guys are out $130. I have no idea what I'm going to do," said Joshua Nunn of Oakdale, who is planning an August wedding. His fiancée, Manda Peterson, is out more than $1,000 for her wedding dress, Nunn said.

Jennifer Grivette has a June 21 wedding and went to the store with the best man for a fitting. All the gowns and tuxedoes for the wedding are coming from Special Days on Dale Road, she said, and it has all been paid for.

Candia Povoor is planning a quinceañera for her daughter, Angelina. The 15 boys involved in the traditional Mexican coming-of-age celebration are out $60 to $100 each for tuxedo rentals, she said.

"It sucks," said Justin Mungaray, one of the boys in the ceremony. "It was my money that I earned. I mow lawns to get my own money."

The store closed Wednesday. Owner Keith Farish said Thursday that the store fell victim to the weak economy. The store was closed abruptly on the advice of his attorney, he said.

"I understand people are very upset and very angry. My heart really goes out to those people, and I apologize," Farish said.

The store isn't likely to reopen, he said, and he is referring people to other bridal and formal wear shops or suppliers that may be able to get them the gowns and tuxedos they need. They likely will have to pay again for the formal wear, however.

Farish said he could not comment on where the money went from people who had paid in advance, on advice from his attorney. He also declined to comment on whether a bankruptcy will be filed.

"I've been contacting the customers that I can. I know people want answers," Farish said. "I'm not trying to neglect or shove them away. ... It's very upsetting, it saddens me. I'm really broken over this whole thing."

Bought the store in 2004

Special Days has been in business in Modesto for 22 years. Farish and his wife, Stephanie, purchased the store in 2004, and moved it recently from Oakdale Road to 3250 Dale Road, Suite G. The sinking economy, along with growing competition from larger bridal stores, doomed Special Days, Farish said.

The apologies are scant comfort for people with weddings looming.

Nick Dennehy of Modesto is getting married Saturday, and his nine groomsmen had paid $160 each for tuxedoes from Special Days. When he went to pick up the tuxedoes Wednesday, Dennehy found the store closed.

"We are scrambling," he said. "And we are going to have to pay again for a set of tuxedoes we already paid for."

Dennehy said most of his wedding party put the tuxedoes on credit cards, and he hoped they would be able to cancel the transactions.

Janice Garcia of Modesto is planning her daughter Jillian's wedding in September, and the maid of honor and bridesmaids' gowns were ordered and paid for at Special Days. "They required everyone to pay up front to get the order in," she said.

The five bridesmaids are out $1,000, she said, and time is running out for reordering the gowns. "Ordering takes three months. We are looking at a really close call," Garcia said.

The bridesmaids are in their 20s and will have trouble absorbing the loss, she said. "They work hard. It's a terrible thing to take advantage of young people."

Garcia said she would file a police report if the money isn't refunded.

Povoor, who is planning the quinceañera, is having a bad case of déjà vu. The girls in the ceremony had ordered gowns through ABC Bridal in the fall, and that business also closed, leaving them without their money or gowns, she said. The event, scheduled for March, was postponed, Povoor said, and some girls dropped out because they couldn't afford to pay for another gown.

Now the boys are apparently out their money as well.

"It's been a nightmare. What do I do now? Do I start all over?" Povoor asked. "I don't know what to do."

Her son, Julian, who lost his deposit on a tuxedo for the quinceañera, was more confident.

"We are all family," he said. "We will make it. We will all stick together."

Bee staff writer Tim Moran can be reached at tmoran@modbee.com or 578-2349.