Concerned brides-to-be are anxious that their forthcoming nuptials could be devastated after Scottish branches of a wedding store closed down suddenly and without any prior warning.

Pronuptia, a French wedding chain has closed the doors of its franchises in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, reportedly leaving more than 150 brides without wedding dresses.

Lauren Smith, one of the distraught brides affected by the closures, put down a deposit of £300 on her dream dress a the Glasgow branch of Pronuptia and was knocked for six when she received a letter in the mail one week later confirming that the store had closed. The classroom assistant from Stewarton, Ayrshire who is due to wed her fiancé Amer Hussain in April of 2009 said:-

“It was awful. I was in tears. I thought they were one of the most trusted companies.”

Trading standards officers in the region confirmed that they have been swamped with complaints from distraught members the public affected by the closures, and confirmed that they had been in contact with the director responsible for the two Scottish stores, Robert Devlin.

Mr Devlin issued a statement from his £1million home in Sussex which is currently on the market. He said:-

“Pronuptia were not supplying goods on time and that’s why one or two closed. Another bridal shop has taken on orders and there’s no problem.”

Perfection Bridal and Menswear in Glasgow have confirmed that they will step in and ensure that all the brides involved receive their ordered wedding gowns.

A spokesperson for Perfection backed up Mr Devlins statement, saying:-

“Pronuptia in Glasgow will reopen as Perfection and all orders will be fulfilled. We’re not making any money out of this.”

The owner of a bridal wear shop who stopped trading without any warning has been forced into hiding after her pet dogs were allegedly kidnapped and she was threatened in her home by a band of brides that she left high and dry without wedding gowns.

Arvella Brides of Lyndhurst in Hampshire closed suddenly last week leaving furious brides in the lurch and out of pocket. Hampshire police were called to disband a number of irate couples who had visited the premises but found it locked up with whitened out windows.

Troubled proprietor Lisa Clarkson held failing market conditions and lack of support from suppliers responsible and declared that she did not consider that she was to blame. She has since publicly apologised to customers who have been affected by the closure, announcing that whilst the situation was unfortunate, it was unintentional. Clarkson rejected claims that she had knowingly taken cash for orders which she was already aware would not be fulfilled.

However a report uploaded on the Companies House website proves that Arvella Brides neglected to present its financial records when they were expected in January 2008.

A number of dejected clients recently made contact with the BBC, with a relative of one a distressed bride-to-be reporting that they had contacted the dress designers after the closure of the store who had verified that they had not even received the order for the gown in question, even thought Arvella Brides had taken full payment for the dress sometime before.