Numerous brides ordered their wedding dresses from the glamorous boutique run by an ex-model and were furious when their gowns didn’t arrive.
Lauren Stanley, 26 has claimed Abigail’s Bridal Boutique, Leeds has abandoned as many as 50 brides just days before the wedding.
Lauren was featured on Playboy’s cover, as well as in FHM magazines. She has claimed that Lauren left many brides weeping and that she has made hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Bride-to-be Bianca Esterine, 28, ordered a £1,300 gown by Stella York from the store to wear when she marries her partner Jessica Richards next year.
But after contacting the dress designer directly, she was told they had not received an order from the outlet, despite her putting down £586 deposit with Abigail’s, which she claims she has now lost.
Numerous brides ordered wedding dresses from Abigail’s Bridal Boutique, Leeds. Lauren Stanley founded it in 1996.
Bianca said: ‘I loved the dress as soon as I tried it on in Abigail’s Boutique, it was exactly what I was looking for and I was asked for a £200 deposit to reserve it.
‘It was agreed I would then pay the rest in instalments of £77.26 until our wedding in September next year.
“I was delighted that I had found the gown I wanted, and I could make a payment plan.
“But, in October, I received a text from the company telling me the bank had closed its account. This seemed odd and suspicious to me but I did not want to loose the dress. So I gave it my money as requested.
Lauren was featured on Playboy’s cover, as well as in several other magazines including FHM. She has made brides cry, and sometimes hundreds of pounds, in many cases, it is claimed.
“While I was trying to contact the shop, I saw some really bad comments on Facebook. It was taken down.
‘Through comments from other brides on social media I became aware of the group – but by then I had paid £586 by bank transfer which I can’t get back.
“When I reached out to the dress designer, they told me that they hadn’t received my order from Abigail’s bride.
Stella York wrote Bianca to inform her that Abigail’s Bridal is no longer an authorized retailer. She would be sending her to another branch in order to fulfil her order.
Bride-to-be Bianca Esterine, 28, ordered a £1,300 gown by Stella York from the store to wear when she marries her partner Jessica Richards next year
Bianca stated that it was shocking to find the dress she thought was mine had not been ordered. I have seen another one I like, but I’m £586 out of pocket and don’t know how I’ll pay for it,’
Carrie Pearson (37) a lawyer, said that her problem was not her own dress, but seven of the dresses for bridesmaids, which she had discovered were never ordered.
Carrie stated that three dresses had been ordered for her 2019 wedding. However, the event was canceled by Covid.
In August, she was able, with Matthew Shotton (34) to help, to organise the cancellation of their wedding. Her bridal party had grown to seven by that time.
Carrie stated that she had received three of the original dresses but they were not available in the store when she returned. She contacted Dessy, who confirmed she hadn’t received her order.
Bianca shared that she was shocked when she discovered the dress she believed she got from the bridal shop hadn’t been ordered. Jessica is the right-hand woman.
Bianca said she has now seen another dress which she likes but after losing £586, she doesn’t know how to pay for it
Carrie eventually ordered seven of the dresses from the designer.
She said: ‘The wedding was coming up and I just had to pay for all the dresses, with Abigail’s agreeing to give me a £1,500 refund for the original ones.
“That was agreed to in August, but it hasn’t arrived yet. I’m now wondering if it will ever arrive, considering other people’s experiences.
“Even though I had ordered the gowns directly from the designer, Abigail kept telling me that they would soon be in their store. I knew this was false.
Lynette Procter (50) was furious that five of her appointments for Ashleigh Sheppard’s final dress alterations were cancelled by Abigail.
Lynette, 50, was angry that five appointments she made to Ashleigh Sheppard (26), for final dress modifications were cancelled at Abigail. Carrie Pearson (37) was furious that her daughter Ashleigh Sheppard’s five appointments to have her final dress altered were cancelled at Abigail’s. The problem was not with her gown. It was seven dresses from the bridesmaids she had discovered hadn’t been ordered.
She explained they were forced to pay another seamstress and were promised a £300 refund by Lauren Stanley’s boutique, which has not been paid.
She stated that she received many excuses for cancelling appointments. One was that the seamstress of her garment had Covid. This we discovered after we asked her.
“The wedding date was approaching and Ashleigh was not yet in her final stages of getting ready.
“It was extremely stressful and upsetting to Ashleigh as well as for me. She lost her love for the gown during all the stress and that shadowed her wedding, which was heartbreaking.
“The last message Abigail sent me on October 18th was that Abigail had blocked their bank account so they were unable to send and receive any payments. It is unlikely that I will see the money.
Cathy Hateley (44), who owns her own bridal shop, was made aware of the dire situation of brides last year when she started doing business with Ms Stanley.
Model Lauren has more than 60,000 Instagram followers and said that Covid was the reason for trading difficulties.
She stated that she became increasingly suspicious of her business model and discovered that many women were furious about having been overlooked.
“These people are preparing for their biggest day and have been heartbroken by the fact that the gown they had hoped to wear down the aisle in has not come true.
“In some cases, the bride has discovered it within days of her wedding.
“We created a group that is growing by the day. The group has 52 members and they all have grievances against Lauren Stanley’s business.
Cathy sells ex-sample wedding dress samples – gowns that have previously been tried on by brides to be – and has agreed to purchase some at Abigail’s Boutique.
Cathy noticed that her orders weren’t coming in on time, and she was unable to continue business.
She stated, “I wasn’t going to bite the hand who was feeding me so initially I didn’t speak up. However, more and more dresses didn’t turn up as promised.
‘At one point I was owed £2,000 and 21 dresses but every time I rang the shop I’d get a different person and could never get hold of Lauren.
“I am currently owed six dresses. I call the shop 5-10 times per day, but don’t get an answer.
Lauren has responded by blaming Covid lockdowns which have decimated finances for those involved in the wedding industry for Lauren’s cashflow issues
They have formed a group of brides to press for refunds as well as to caution potential customers against Abigail’s Bridal Boutique, Leeds.
Lauren responded by blaming Covid lockdowns for depressing the financial health of wedding industry professionals and insisting that she works hard to fulfill orders and ensure no customers lose cash.
Lauren claimed that Covid and the lockdown were to blame for trading difficulties.
MailOnline was informed by her: “Covid has brought many small businesses to the brink, including ours. We received no assistance from the government.
“We are willing to help our customers solve their problems because it is our duty of care.
Playboy’s model has previously posed with Playboy. She told MailOnline that Covid had caused her shop to close for months.
“We’ve been shut down for several months, but we still have to pay our bills and have experienced supply problems since our opening.
“But we remain open to our customers and provide the best service possible, because it is our duty of care.
Because of her depression and mental illness, she said that she wasn’t able to speak further.
The group of customers who were disappointed remain scathing about the shop’s inability to fulfill orders. They claim that the shop shouldn’t have taken any more orders and are now begging for their money back.