For a bride-to-be in London, Ontario, a nightmare became a reality when she Wedding dress Fell off a truck and now lost Just a few days before her cross-border wedding.
Lorena Pereira and Norman Lewis, who have been together for 6 1/2 years, traveled from London to Toronto Pearson Airport on Thursday morning for their weekend wedding in Lake Garda, Italy.
But when the couple arrived at the airport, they discovered some of their luggage was missing, including a black carry-on bag containing Pereira's wedding dress.
“She’s very upset about this,” said Barbara Simas, a friend of Pereira. “The wedding will be this Saturday (June 8, 2024).”
Photos by Lorena Pereira and Norman Louis of London, Ontario.
By Barbara Simas
Simas told Global News the dress was sent to Robert Q London, a company that provides transportation between Pearson and Detroit Metropolitan Airports and various locations in Southern Ontario, and will be delivered to Pereira and Luis upon their arrival in Toronto.
Emails needed on the day
Top news from Canada and around the world.
However, Simas said the dress had been “misplaced through a chain of events”.
“The van wasn't locked,” she said. “We're guessing it's more likely to be in London, but we're not sure.”
In a statement to Global News, Robert Q Airbus Operations Manager Helen Wieler confirmed that they were “immediately aware of the situation.”
“The vehicle experienced a malfunction in the door,” the statement continued. “This incident has been a top priority for our team since it was first reported. We are continuing to actively search for the missing luggage.”
Simas said she and some of the groom's family had been searching the streets of London Thursday afternoon.
“Once they got to Toronto, Lorena called me and said, ‘The luggage isn’t here. We think the door is open somewhere between Commissioners Road East and Wellington Road, can you look for it?’ So, we looked all over the place, (but) we couldn’t find the luggage,” she explained. “We hope that if anyone has seen anything, please contact us.”
“We just need this dress,” Simas added.
She said the dress was custom-made by VIVAZ, a company based in Brazil, where Perea is also from.
The lost wedding dress was custom-made by Brazilian company VIVAZ.
By Barbara Simas
“This dress took months to make,” Simas told Global News. “She was very upset, it was a really bad day.”
The carry-on suitcase containing Pereira's wedding dress was black and had a New York City sticker and a Canadian flag luggage tag.
Simas said the vehicle is believed to have first traveled south on Wharncliffe Road, then continued east on Commissioners Road, turned right onto Wellington Road, and then traveled east on Highway 401 toward Toronto.
“Right now our only concern is the dress,” Simas added. “We are doing our best to find it and get it to her so she can have her moment.”
“I don't want to put any finger on anything, we just want to find the dress.”
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the dress is asked to contact Barbara Simas at 226-700-5748.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
