St. Catharines bridal shop closure leaves brides stranded without gowns

Dozens of brides in the Niagara area are left scrambling to find new gowns after a local bridal shop in St. Catharines went out of business. The owner says there was a big hit to sales during the pandemic and the business never fully recovered.

All that’s left of Feather and Pearl bridal shop in St. Catharine’s is an empty store and a lease sign. That means some brides have been left without the dresses they purchased for their big day.

The store was also a consignment shop, and sold wedding dresses for brides who didn’t need their gowns anymore. But many have no idea where those dresses are now.

“It’s very disheartening to hear we don’t even know where my dress is, and it’s a special moment and now I’m not just out the dress but the money we could have sold the dress for,” said a customer.

“It’s upsetting the way that it was such a special day that you put your trust in some one and a business to follow through with the contract,” said another customer.

The store owner, Jennifer, didn’t want to go on camera, but on a phone conversation with CHCH News, she said she ran into very difficult times during COVID-19, especially when government funding ran out.

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She said she tried to make it work after the pandemic, but a variety of unfortunate things happened, including dresses coming from Ukraine that were cancelled.

A TikTok video also went viral online when a bride showed up and the store was closed.

The owner also said she’s doing her best. She said she had to cut back on staff and is now working alone to fulfill current orders, return consignment dresses and pay out on dresses that have sold.

“I’m still moving forward with my wedding in September but it’s really just tainted a lot of brides experiences and unfortunately,” a bride said. “That’s what we are going to remember when we think back to planning our wedding.”

“I am very sorry for the stress this is causing my brides and consignors alike,” the owner said. “I will continue to use everyday to the fullest of my abilities to maintain my commitments.”

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