Samantha Malone
Soon-to-be-brides across the country went into a panic last week after the abrupt closure of 61 Alfred Angelo Bridal stores left many of them without their carefully selected dresses just weeks or, in some cases, days before their big moment.
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With this crisis taking over much of their thoughts, those in distress can take a breath and relax because Kasia’s Bridal and Special Occasions is ready to save their special days.
Located at 6039 W. Irving Park Road, the mother and daughter duo owners of Kasia’s announced anyone who saw their dress disappear from Alfred Angelo’s is invited to choose from among their collection of 4,800 gowns at discounts of 50 to 90 percent off.
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“We’ve had girls coming in frantic, saying their wedding is two weeks away, and they don’t know what to do,” Kathy Labedzki, a co-owner of Kasia’s said in an interview. “So we opened up our inventory. The fact that they got screwed over isn’t their fault, and we want to help them.”
While the discounts are not being extended to custom orders, brides in need are welcome and encouraged to select from the independently owned store’s inventory.
The deal goes as far to say “any size, cut and style” can be chosen from among the designer names such as Casablanca, Pronovias, David Tutera and Azura.
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If a bride is particularly bent on having that Alfred Angelo look, Labedzki said Kasia’s is even stocked with a few of those, as well, which they were reportedly able to snag before the bankrupt chain closed its doors.
With many brides turning to online retailers or large chain stores, Labedzki and her mother, who founded Kasia’s in 2001, said they want people to feel assured by small businesses, which are “here to help them:”
“We’re talking about something that happens once in your lifetime, if you’re lucky. This is not the way we want you to remember your wedding.”
