East Bay bride escapes wedding nightmare, less than 2 weeks before wedding

PITTSBURG, Calif. ( KRON ) — A wedding nightmare was narrowly avoided by an East Bay woman less than a week and a half before the big day. The bride-to-be was devastated to learn the bridal shop holding her wedding dress closed up and left.

It was an off-the-rack wedding gown that caught Akila Mwongozi’s eye. Casting her imagination forward a year, she could envision wearing it down the aisle in San Diego, where she is set to recite her wedding vows and begin the next chapter in life with the love of her life on Sept. 1.

“I’ve had that dress since October of last year,” Mwongozi said. “It’s been in the wedding shop.”

Soon after she became engaged, with money earned from working three jobs, Mwongozi bought the dress late last year from Bellisima Couture in downtown Pittsburg. She forked over close to $1,000 for it and a few other services.

She had the shop’s owner, Brisa Bernal, store the dress in the bridal shop until the big day, while alterations were being made in the months ahead.

Mwongzi’s last fitting was in early July. That was the last time she saw the dress and the shop owner.

A few weeks before the wedding, the two made arrangements over the phone to meet up and finish the alterations. But Mwongozi said Bernal stopped answering her calls and didn’t show up to appointments. This week, when she stopped by the shop, it was cleared out.

There was nothing left, including her dress.

“My heart sunk. I think I was calm all the way up to that moment,” said Mwongozi.

Shortly after KRON4 met with Mwongozi, as her friends scrambled to find her another gown, fielding generous offers from the public, Bernal returned our phone call, accepting responsibility for leaving Mwongozi at the proverbial alter.

“I am learning my lesson,” said Bernal the shop owner. “It’s my fault.”

She said her store’s lease was up at the end of July and she spontaneously chose not to renew it. Instead, he planned to save some money through the rest of the year, before opening up in a bigger space downtown in January.

So, she packed everything up and is storing her inventory in her home until she moves into her new spot.

“My season is finished. August, September, November, December — it’s winter; quiet,” Bernal said. “So, already only have this dress for her and one Quinceanera and my season finish.”

Bernal started her business in Bolivia 20 years ago and operates five shops there. The Pittsburg location is the only one in the United States and Bernal prides herself on keeping customers happy.

She said she accepts responsibility for leaving a few clients, like Mwongozi, in the dark.

“It’s my mistake because the day she came, I’m not here,” she said. “And, I not call her because I lose my phone. So, it’s my fault.”

“It’s going to go on whether I have a dress or not, ha-ha,” said Mwongozi.

Fortunately, she will not only have one, but the one, that like her fiancé, caught her eye and captured her heart.

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