Damaged glass at Storybook Wedding 

By Nathan Jordan

Break & Enter

Local bridal shop out 30k after brazen back to back smash & grabs

Feb 13, 2023 | 5:20 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – In 20 years of bridal shop business, close to 15 of which at this very same downtown location on 5th ave, Mary Simoes has never experienced a break-in quite like this one. Her losses from back to back weekend thefts rings in at close to $30,000 worth of jewelry, wedding dresses, shoes, and bridal accessories, including items for kids….and of course, there’s still the damages to the building itself; shattered glass, trash strewn everywhere from broken display cases and mannequins, trampled dresses, and even a trail of blood, courtesy a gash on the thief’s right hand that she earned on her way in, by smashing though the building’s pane glass windows.

This isn’t the first break-in Storybook Wedding has experienced, and it’s not the first time the storefront has suffered signifiant damages… it’s actually the 9th time the business has been hit by brazen thieves, and within the last calendar year, the dress shop suffered major smoke damage after a suspected warming fire in a back alleyway spread out of control, the resulting blaze filling Mary’s shop with toxic smoke and causing huge losses, prompting a lengthy, and painful process with her insurance company. A claim that’s still on going today, and even has Mary considering a change of location.

The Prince George RCMP have an open investigation into the theft, and have confirmed that they are following up with a number of leads about potential stolen dresses for sale sourced from a number of online marketplaces. Cpl. Jenifer Cooper of the PG RCMP is reminding the public not to contact them via social media with tips, but to contact the Crime stoppers or the local detachment instead at: 250-561-3300