Jilted brides get their wedding dresses after all

In the end, it wasn’t a veil of tears for summer bride Brittany Smith, whose bridesmaids will have dresses after all.

The 24-year-old Centralia women and three dozen other prospective brides were left in the lurch a week ago, when an Olympia wedding dress shop was abruptly abandoned by its new owner.

But it all worked out, if not exactly happily ever after.

Smith picked up her four dresses at Weddings with Joy in Olympia on Wednesday. She said Angela Brossard, the former longtime owner of the shop, ended up paying the manufacturer for the dresses out of her own pocket.

“I guess she did that for pretty much everybody,” said Smith, whose wedding will be Aug. 29.

Bossard, who owned the business for 16 years, sold the bridal salon on contract to a former employee, Jennifer Garwick, in September 2014. Bossard, who still owns the building at 3003 Pacific Ave., said that Garwick returned the keys two weeks ago, saying she “couldn’t do it anymore.” Garwick also was behind on her rent, Bossard said.

Garwick could not be reached Thursday, although The Olympian tried to reach her through a relative.

Smith contacted The Olympian, concerned about her own orders. Other customers had raised concerns on the Weddings with Joy Facebook page.

Bossard then returned to the scene, trying to sort out and placate at least three dozen women upset about outstanding orders that weren’t filled.

Smith said Thursday that she felt for Bossard. “She’s taking it in stride and really trying to help the brides,” she said.

Bossard said the community rallied around her, including other bridal shops that reached out to offer their help.

Despite some tough comments on social media, Bossard said the community has been awesome.

“I didn’t lose any sleep and can rest easy knowing I tried to do the right thing,” she said.

Weddings with Joy held a sale last Saturday and the business will do it again this Saturday, selling gowns at a 50 percent discount, she said.

Bossard added that she’s also heard from several people willing to be the next owner of Weddings with Joy.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Jilted brides get their wedding dresses after all."