Bride-To-Be Says Southern Bride Not Delivering On Wedding Gown

Bride-to-be Brandi Crowe says few things are more important to a bride than her gown.

"It's everything," Crowe said. "The caterer, all that stuff is important, but the dress is the main thing."

That's why she planned ahead. She claimed she placed the order for her gown with Southern Bride in Greenville a year and a half before her May 2011 wedding day. She said she was told it would arrive by June. When it didn't show up by August 10th, she called the owner.

"She called me and told me my dress was at UPS and she had been closed, the package didn't get received," said Crowe. "So I said, 'Perfect when can I come and try it on?', she said it would be that day."

Crowe said she never got a call back that day. So, she called the dress manufacturer in California.

"(The manufacturer) said she had my dress there but she was waiting on (Southern Bride) to give them, I don't know, I guess payment," Crowe said. "Now she's not answering her calls or anything. So what do you do?"

The doors of Southern Bride are locked and no store hours are posted. The owner, Missy Spearman, hasn't returned our calls. We sent e-mails, text messages and even stopped by two home addresses listed with her name but found no one home. The only response we received was in a text message from Spearman that said she was in business and fighting to take care of existing customers.

Dimitra Mandala, owner of Dimitra Designs Bridal Emporium in Greenville, said at least a dozen customers from Southern Bride have come to her saying they were told their dress would arrive at her store.

She said Spearman asked her to help with Crowe's dress.

"She had a balance of $175, so Missy Spearman begged me and said 'Can you just please let her have it for $175'," Mandala said. "I said, 'sure', because she promised to me she would give me two of her latest bridal samples to replace the cost of the dress. I never heard from her again."

Mandala said she couldn't absorb the cost of selling the dress to Crowe for $175 without those samples. So she offered 20% off a new gown and Crowe agreed.

Now Crowe is just hoping someday Spearman will give her her money back.

"Your financial problem is not ours," Crowe said. "We took hard earned money to get our dresses and you are leaving us out to dry to fend for ourself."

A spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs says they have received two complaints about Southern Bride. One was closed satisfactorily in 2009, the other was received recently. The agency says brides who have paid for dresses and not received them can file a complaint with them (click here to file a complaint with SCDCA), sue the company in small claims court, or file a complaint with the sheriff's office.

The white collar crimes unit at the Greenville County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 864-467-5240