GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Planning a wedding is stressful: Everything has to be just right. The food, the music, the venue. And the dresses.
So, when Nicole Sevensma showed up Monday to retrieve her bridesmaid dress after dropping it off for some tweaks at Kim and Kim Alterations in Grand Rapids and saw the store was closed, she was confused, followed swiftly by panicked.
She realized the store would be closed until four days after the October 8 wedding in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“There was no phone number, no information about [coming] at a different time just to pick up. There was nothing,” said Sevensma. “Panic came over me, because the wedding is on the 8th and the 12th is now a few days after. What am I going to do?”
Nicole is still trying to answer that question.
The sign said the store was closed because of a medical emergency, and Nicole isn’t without sympathy.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” she said. “I don’t wish any bad things about people. If she’s sick, I apologize and I’m so sorry for that, but you own a business. You would think that you would’ve contacted anyone with pickups in that time frame.”
Nicole tried to track down the owner of Kim and Kim's by checking adjacent businesses. She called police, she called the Better Business Bureau, and she even reached out to the owners of the property to rent to Kim and Kim's – all to no avail. The alterations are already paid for in full, and now Nicole is faced with the task of making alternate plans.
“They’re holding it, and I have this dress I bought specifically for this wedding that was paid for months ago that is specifically for this event,” said Nicole. “I’m never going be able to wear it now. And how do I explain to friend: I don’t have a dress for your wedding?”
With the cost of the original bridesmaid and cocktail dress, the alterations, and new replacement dresses, Nicole is out about $300. But she says it isn’t so much about the money as it is about her friend’s big day.
“You can’t put a price tag on her day and what extra stress this is putting on her. And to make that phone call to her was extremely difficult.”
The FOX 17 Problem Solvers are looking for any tips that could connect Nicole to the owners of Kim and Kim Alterations. Reach out to the Problem Solvers by email or at 616-447-5291.
