BRIDAL BETRAYAL—A Thousand Oaks bridal gown shop has come under fire as brides and their families step forward with accusations about money taken and promises broken. MAKENA HUEY/Acorn Newspapers
Many women spend years dreaming of their weddings, never imagining that they would one day say yes to a dress . . . only to never receive it. But multiple Ventura County brides say that is exactly what happened to them.
Bella Bridal Couture at 2388 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. is now temporarily closed after nearly a decade of business. Brides told the Acorn that the employees consistently ignored their messages, leaving them with last-minute challenges.
The shop did not respond to multiple interview requests.
“The dress is a large part of the wedding and how you feel and what you remember and show your kids one day,” said Brooke Sullivan, who has not received her dress or a refund from the store ahead of her August wedding. “And they ruined it.”
Three brides who spoke with the newspaper said their initial impressions of the shop were positive. The sales associates were helpful, and they had a wonderful experience trying on dresses surrounded by their loved ones.
GOWN GRIEF—Bride-to-be Brooke Sullivan is one of many brides who allege they paid Bella Bridal Couture for a wedding dress that was never delivered. She’s shown here trying on a dress at the shop. Courtesy photo
All three said they paid for the dresses in full, with costs ranging from roughly $2,200 to $3,200. They said staff promised their gowns would be ready to pick up by a certain date with plenty of time for alterations before their big day.
But they began to worry when that delivery date approached and their dresses hadn’t been shipped.
Angie Luna was supposed to receive her dress in July 2024 in time for her October 2024 wedding. Morgan Siebers was supposed to receive hers in May for her October wedding. Sullivan’s wedding is in August and her dress was supposed to arrive in April.
As dates for their dress arrivals drew close—or passed—the brides began calling the store daily for updates, but no one at Bella Bridal answered the phone. On the rare occasion they did receive a response, staff either provided no information on the status of their dresses or extended the delivery dates.
Luna resorted to sharing her experience on social media in an effort to draw out a response. Owner Melissa Morhar did respond, Luna said, but it wasn’t what she was expecting.
“Not once did she take any accountability. The first thing that came out of her mouth was, ‘I want you to delete your post because you’re spreading false lies,’” Luna said. “I felt unheard and unseen as a bride.”
Luna received her dress 25 days before her wedding, though Morhar refused to provide the shop’s proof of purchase or a discount due to the inconvenience, the bride said.
“I am thankful that I was one of the few brides that, even though it was a very close call, did get my dress,” Luna said. “I loved my dress, but knowing the experience I had, I felt a lot of resentment when I was wearing it.”
Other brides weren’t so lucky. As of press time, Siebers and Sullivan still have not received their dresses—or communication from the shop nor any refund, they said.
Yelp indicates the business is temporarily closed and scheduled to reopen July 4.
The inside of the shop visible from the front windows, however, is empty of dresses and furniture, and Bella customers who called the Acorn to discuss the closure said they saw items being removed and loaded into a U-haul trailer.
A sign on the door reads, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Bella Bridal Couture is closed.” The sign goes on to list a phone number and says the store will “return your call at our earliest opportunity.”
“My heart sank,” Siebers said of the moment she learned of the closure. “My heart was set on that dress and then this experience almost feels like that got ripped away from me. Thank God I have time.”
“It’s definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Sullivan said. “They literally just took my money and ran and it’s sad that they don’t even care.”
Both Siebers and Sullivan decided to repurchase dresses identical to theirs from Ever After Bridal in Moorpark. One bride said her sales associate there was helping nearly 100 other Bella brides.
Taylor Young, owner of Ever After, confirmed her boutique has assisted many Bella Bridal customers who received neither their gowns nor any updates from the store, often very close to their wedding dates.
“It’s a moment that should make a bride feel confident, beautiful and celebrated—not stressed or uncertain,” Young said. “We’ve met brides who feel heartbroken over what’s happened. Some no longer feel connected to their gown because of the stress, while others are struggling to trust that everything will come together.”
Young said the designers themselves for all of the Bella brides have fulfilled their responsibilities, and Sullivan said the manufacturer told Ever After that her dress never shipped because Bella Bridal never paid the designer for it.
Bella Bridal’s social media accounts were filled with comments from brides asking when they would receive their dresses; however, the store’s Facebook account no longer accepts messages, with many comments no longer available, and the store’s Instagram account is now private.
Clients then began commenting on the owner’s personal Facebook account. A person identified by customers as a sales associate replied to several concerned clients saying that Morhar was in the hospital. Those replies are also unavailable now.
Public records indicate Bella Bridal’s business license is active and in good standing with the California Secretary of State but that there have been four lawsuits filed against the company since 2022.
Two of the lawsuits, one of which was dismissed, were filed by brides who claimed their dresses did not arrive by the time promised. One bride was refused a refund and the other was offered a damaged floor sample with no discount, the court records state.
If the store does reopen, the brides interviewed warn others to take their business elsewhere.
“I would suggest that no bride goes there and they choose a different bridal shop because the experience has been nothing short of heartbreaking,” Siebers said.