Who is Raylee Rukavina? All we know about the TikToker’s wedding dress controversy

Raylee Rukavina is a TikTok influencer and entrepreneur from Colorado. Her wedding dress designer, Cenderra Ca'Zanthia publicly came out on August 24, 2024, and accused her of stealing a couture wedding gown. According to her, Rukavina has refused to pay for the remaining balance. She also said that the influencer has since blocked her.

She took to TikTok to voice her accusations just days before the big day, and the video has since spread like wildfire. In the video, she described Raylee Rukavina's behavior as "unsavory." In the video, she shared a clip of the model wearing a dress from her couture line, Casze Atelier. She followed it up with a clip of the influencer in all smiles as she tried on the dress during a fitting.

She wrote,

"Raylee has our dress and won't pay us the balance. It's a bridal gown and at this point, she will not return or pay her balance, so the dress is stolen. If anyone has any information about this Colorado bride, let us know!"

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Cenderra Ca'Zanthia accuses Raylee Rukavina of ghosting her

Ca'Zanthia then put out another video to clear up all the confusion. She explained that the dress was hurriedly made, and subsequently sent out to her hair stylist just before the wedding. The final invoice was emailed and sent via SMS, but Raylee Rukavina never got back to her. She claimed that both, Rukavina, and her husband, David Wells, have since blocked her.

The Daily Mail reported, on August 29, 2024, that the designer launched a GoFundMe page to help her situation. She claimed that she needed to "fight back for the possession of the custom gown and/or payment for the final remaining balance due," and tried to raise $12,500. The cost was supposed to cover salaries and other legal costs she incurred. However, the page has since been deleted.

In contrast, Raylee Rukavina's sister, McKenzie Tyner tells a different tale. In a statement that came out on August 28, 2024, Distractify reported that the sister wanted to "set the record straight." She said,

"[Raylee] put 60 percent down for payment. Her final dress fitting was canceled two days before their agreed appointment. The designer also failed to show up for the agreed Zoom meeting after canceling the final fitting."

McKenzie also claims that Ca'Zanthia defrauded her sister by lying about shipping the dress and providing a fake tracking number. However, Distractify further reported that the fake number was simply a technical issue, and the dress was indeed delivered, albeit just two days before the wedding--in the wrong size.

McKenzie claims the dress was "at least two sizes too small" when it finally did come, she said,

"The bride and her mother tried to communicate with the designer, but there was no willingness whatsoever on her part. They requested a return label to ship the dress back to the designer. Understandably upset, the bride and her mother decided to table the entire issue until Monday to frantically find a dress that would work for Raylee to walk down the aisle."

According to Distractify, though, it looks like Raylee Rukavina and her family were the unflexible ones. They waited it out until it was too late to let the label know the dress didn't fit, and when the brand reached out to remedy the situation, they were reportedly ignored.

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Raylee Rukavina's husband, David Wells, issued a statement in defense of his wife, saying, that they did not steal the dress.

The designer's claims are supposedly "making life difficult" for the newlyweds, and that they eventually didn't even end up using the dress. They are "in the works of getting an attorney to end this nonsense." The influencer has since deactivated all her socials and has yet to comment on the situation herself.