A well-known bridal shop in Paddington has shut down with very little warning, leaving numerous brides worried about when (or if) they would get their dresses in time for their Big Day.
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Customers of Stunning Wedding Dress first became worried when the store’s social media pages and website suddenly became inaccessible one day. Unable to find the store online, some went to the Paddington shop, only to be met with an empty store.
A subsequent email from the shop, informing them about the permanent closure, attributing the decision to “circumstances beyond our control,” confirmed their worst fears. The shop had closed permanently.
In the email, customers were advised that there is no need to panic, as all wedding dresses that were in progress had been completed and will be delivered directly to the customers’ designated home addresses or any other preferred location. The email also urged brides to coordinate delivery and any remaining payment arrangements via email.
Public records show that Stunning Wedding Dress is owned by Oleksandra Manteit, under a sole trader registration.
Wedding Industry in the Doldrums
Stunning Wedding Dress is the third bridal shop, after The Bridal Atelier, which had branches in both Melbourne and Sydney, and Bridal Fusion by Mascia in Adelaide folded under similar business circumstances. Worried brides everywhere are hoping the trend would stop at three.
The latest report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests that the number of marriages being conducted each year is decreasing.
Based on the data, there were a total of 89,164 registered marriages in Australia in 2021. Whilst this number is lower than pre-pandemic figures, it surpasses the historic low of 78,989 recorded in 2020.
Various factors related to public health orders and pandemic restrictions affected many couples’ marriage plans, particularly during the Delta variant wave that began in June 2021 and the economic downturn that followed.
With the average cost of an Australian wedding reaching a staggering $36,000, couples are also opting for a stripped-back celebration to tie the knot.
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In an effort to manage skyrocketing wedding expenses, many Australian couples are choosing to have a more intimate ceremony with only a select few guests and wedding dresses have become one of the areas where budgets have been cut.
Published 7-July-2023
Disclaimer: The wedding dresses shown in this article are not by Stunning Wedding dress and are stock images for illustrative purposes only.