Nine months.

That's how long in advance it's advised to pick and pay for your wedding dress according to Brides, if you factor in alterations, fittings, and final tweaks.

However, for some brides in the US right now, months of planning for their wedding dresses have just come to an abrupt halt after decades old bridal gown chain Alfred Angelo just filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the closure of 60 stores across the US and leaving thousands of women in the dark as to what will happen to their pre-ordered and purchased bridal gowns.

However, Twitter has come to the rescue.

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Within days of the 84-year-old bridal company's closure, women took to social media offering their own dresses – for free – to women who had already purchased their gowns from Angelo's stores, with pictures of their dresses, their sizes, quality and colour of their gowns.

Are you crying right now or is that just us?

The dresses on offer vary in size, shape and colour meaning there should be a dress to suit every bride currently in a pickle with finding a last-minute dress to wear on their big day.

The kind messages are currently spreading through the US, with women across the country responding to the crisis on social media and radio stations such as Southern Californian network KPCC organising the hashtag #dressmatchmaker to help women connect with each other.

If that wasn't enough, several bridal shops are offering discounts on gowns to women who have kept their receipts from Alfred Angelo purchases.

Brides and bridesmaids who have already bought the dresses from Alfred Angelo have been informed to contact the company's bankruptcy lawyer who is handling the case.

According to NPR, the lawyer has already received over 7,300 since Thursday relating to reimbursements.

In the meantime, we're glad to see women coming together to help brides prepare for their big days.

Hurrah for the internet and humanity!

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Katie O'Malley
Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.