JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Dozens of brides in the Jacksonville area are facing a wedding-day nightmare after a well-known Mandarin bridal shop suddenly went out of business.

Last week, the Riverside Gown Shop on San Jose closed its doors for good, leaving some soon-to-be-wed women wondering if they would have gowns for their big day.

Several women called Channel 4 after the story aired on Monday afternoon saying they didn't know the gown shop had closed until they turned on the news.

"I started to cry," said bride-to-be Heidi Gwynes, who ordered her dress in January. "If I don't have a dress, then it better be refundable."

"I'm very stressed. My wedding is in four months. I don't know if I have to order another dress or if I have time to order another dress. It's just crazy," said bride-to-be Jackie Brown.

After the stress of finding the perfect wedding dress, making sure it fits just right and spending thousands on one, some brides said they're concerned because they haven't received the dresses they ordered from the shop before it went out of business.

"Completely cleared out without any kind of way to reach them. It's really disheartening," said a woman who arrived Monday to find the bridal store empty.

Tiffany Griffin works next door to the gown shop.

"I have absolutely been horrified. The one that got me is a woman who had given them her grandmother's broche to attach to a dress and it's gone," Griffin said.

Edie Anderson also works at a different store next door to the bridal shop. She said she has been inundated by brides asking her questions, and now she wants answers too.

"You cannot not know when all these people come in and get fitted for dresses and money has been deposited and then all of a sudden you close down and you don't even notify the people. There's not even a phone number on the door -- there's nothing," Anderson said.

The company leasing the space to Riverside Gown Shop told Channel 4, "The owner closed because of financial problems and their business was not able to survive."

A former bridal shop employee's comments reflected what the leasing company said and spoke on the phone with Channel 4 reporter Emily Pantilides about what she called severe financial problems at the store. Pantilides: "Were you surprised to hear the shop was closed?"

Former employee: "Not at all."

Pantilides: '"Were you surprised to hear brides say they were owed money?"

Former employee: "Not at all. At one point, I was trying not to take orders … because I was in fear of the bride not being able to get their gowns." The owner of Riverside Gown Shop, Alison Curtis, said she has personally called all of the brides to assure them their orders would be honored, and added the store did not close because of financial reasons.

"A very difficult decision was made to close the store this month. Although this situation may cause undue stress to many of our customers, we fully intend to fulfill all orders that have been placed and paid for. The owner is in continuous contact with customers that have an outstanding order to ensure that merchandise is delivered timely for their event/occasion," Curtis wrote.

After hearing that nearly a dozen woman contacted Channel 4 saying they had not heard from the bridal store, Cutis was contacted again and given the phone numbers of the women said they had not been contacted by the store owner.

Curtis said she would contact the women by Tuesday morning.

One woman has filed a police report against the store on fraud and grand theft charges.