SHEFFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio — In April of 2021, Lindsey Boyer and a few loved ones made the trip from her home in Clyde to Sheffield Village for a very exciting day – wedding dress shopping.
Boyer said on April 18, she found a dress at the store Candlelite Bridal, describing the gown as an A-line silhouette with beading on the top and sparkle.
“I’ve always said, my dress has to be all sparkly,” she said.
Boyer had been to Candlelite Bridal before when she tagged along to go shopping for her best friend’s wedding dress. She described that experience in September 2019 as “fantastic.”
When it was her turn in April, Boyer went back to Candlelite Bridal and ended up buying a dress off the rack and paid in full in cash. According to her receipt from April 18, 2021, she paid a total of $938.33.
“They told me that they suggested that I store it there until after alterations so I didn’t have to worry about taking it back and forth,” she said. “And I was also concerned that I’d be too excited and I would end up showing my fiancé my dress. So I was like, ‘I’ll just keep it there so I don’t have to transport it.’”
On Sunday, Boyer and her mother were talking about the wedding which is taking place in June, when she decided to call Candlelite Bridal to schedule her alterations. That’s when she knew something was wrong.
“I typed in Candlelite Bridal in Google, and it pops up ‘permanently closed.’ So I’d say yesterday (Sunday) as of 3:30, we realized they were closed,” she said.
Boyer said from there, she and her mom started calling the numbers they could find online for the business as well as the owner, but found the numbers were disconnected. Boyer said she also tried messaging the shop’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
“Then I messaged their Facebook page and I messaged the Candlelite Bridal account on Facebook. And they read my message and never responded.” Boyer said she kept trying to reach out to the shop. “Last night before I went to bed, I messaged them on their personal page again and then I went to message Candlelite again since I knew that they read my message on the actual Candlelite Facebook page. When I went to read that message, an exclamation point came up and said my message could not be sent to that user."
3News searched for the Candlelite Bridal Facebook page on Monday and received the message “This content isn’t available right now.”
“It’s definitely every bride’s worst nightmare,” said Boyer, who is a student teacher.
When 3News went to the Candlelite location Monday, we found an empty and locked storefront. We spoke with a nearby business who said they believed the shop was initially owned by a woman. When that woman passed away, they believed her son took over the business, but that he had been evicted.
3News also reached out to the leasing and management company for the property and have not heard back.
3News called the phone number listed for the shop, and received an automated message stating the call could not be completed. 3News also sent messages to the shop and owner, as well as knocked on the door of an address we found for the owner of the shop.
The Better Business Bureau Cleveland said they do have one complaint filed on the business from earlier in the month from a consumer in Huron. The BBB shared that the company did not respond to the complaint, and that the consumer reported putting money down on a dress in 2020 and now is unable to reach the business.
Then, about 30 minutes after 3News knocked on the door Monday, Boyer reported receiving a text from the owner of the shop, saying he could deliver the dress to her home.
After our initial report aired on "What's New," 3News' Isabel Lawrence also received a message from the owner stating that "we've contacted the bride and delivering her gown."
3News will stay on this story until Boyer gets her dress back.
More Headlines: