Be Wary of Paying Big Deposits For Bridal Studios As Sudden Closures Are ‘Norm’

Just a week ago (wait has it only been a week?) a total of 34 complaints were made to the Consumers Association of Singapore with regards to the sudden closure of bridal studio Beautiful Love Wedding.

So What Exactly Happened?

Customers claimed that they were not able to contact anyone from the company when it unexpectedly closed down after they had paid deposits for bridal packages.

They lost a grand total of $103,000.

This happened despite the bridal company posting on social media and insisting that they were vehemently trying to contact their affected customers and were actively trying to issue refunds.

Of course, their clients were in a state of shock.

One client even left a comment on their Facebook page asking what they could do to resolve the situation because their wedding was in a matter of weeks.

Apparently though, bridal studios closing down is not an uncommon occurrence here in Singapore.

Be Wary of Paying Big Deposits For Bridal Studios As Sudden Closures Are ‘Norm’

Just last year, two bridal studios named For You Wedding Services and The Aisle Bridal Boutique closed their stores.

Back then, customers lost a total of $164,000 in payments, which was much more than what was lost in the aftermath of Beautiful Love Wedding’s closure.

But if these statistics aren’t convincing enough, let me give you more stats that will blow your mind. Or at the very least worry you enough to make you more cautious.

In 2018 alone, CASE handled 138 complaints about bridal services like photographers, studios and co-ordinators. In comparison, there were 102 complaints the previous year, in 2017.

Most noticeably in 2015, Sophia Wedding Collection’s closure resulted in 339 complaints.

But why is this happening? Why are bridal studios forced to abruptly close?

The reason is pretty simple actually:

The bridal industry, specifically bridal studios, are riddled with high operational costs such as rental, photographers, and expensive dresses, which a lot of them simply cannot upkeep if business ain’t good.

What Can You Do

Now that I’ve highlighted just how pertinent this issue is, you might want to give up on bridal studios altogether, or maybe sew your own wedding dress.

But the truth is, the only thing you can really do is be very wary of placing big deposits way in advance on bridal studios.

Also, be sure to do your due diligence and check the credibility of the studio and the reviews of past customers.

In other words, be extra careful.