The new wedding coordinator for the Equinox came into the shop yesterday. She started a few weeks ago and comes to Manchester’s largest resort from another popular resort up north. Her GM suggested that she visit JOY as she gets acquainted with Manchester and the local bridal scene. I gave her the tour of the shop and our recently expanded bridal section. I also took the opportunity to tell her one of my favorite bra shop bridal stories. It happened on a Saturday last summer when a group of well-heeled young ladies came into the shop. Their friend, the bride, was getting married at the Equinox Pond that afternoon, and lo and behold she had forgotten her veil in New Jersey.
We get women in all the time that find us after finding themselves in a hotel room in southern Vermont staring at their suitcase in disbelief that they left a key part of their special event outfit at home. Courtney and I thrive on this “life-saving” opportunity. Bras? Spanx? A slip? Hose? No problem. We’ll get you all set up and back in action quickly. But a veil? This is kind of like “Houston, we have a problem.” Unless of course, you are dealing with JOY.
The posse of friends asked if we had any ideas about where to get a veil in Manchester. As the closest thing to a bridal shop in town, we knew we were kind of the end of the line. Time was ticking and they relayed that while the bride was not “freaking out” about going veil-less, it would be really awesome if they could find her one.
I struggled to think if I knew anyone with a veil – maybe a friend of mine had recently gotten married and had a veil somewhere in the closet. At age 47, I just don’t have a lot of friends who fit that bill. Then Courtney came up with the excellent idea of calling Zippy Chicks and the Dorset Exchange, two local consignment shops that always seem to have just the right thing whether you need it or not. “Hi Ellen/Stephanie, it’s Joy. Do you guys have any wedding veils?” They didn’t, but they both offered to think of a solution… and they both sincerely wished us all luck. Now, there were multiple minds and hearts in town working this problem. We decided to cast an even wider net because, well, this stuff is important.
I posted a 911 on the need for a veil on the JOY Facebook page and within ten minutes there was a 
local woman offering one up. Not only did she have a veil, she was willing to deliver it to the Equinox ASAP. She could get it there in 10 minutes. Talk about a rock star Vermonter rising to the occasion! Courtney and I rejoiced and texted the good news to the posse. They were out of their minds with glee. I received this picture later in the day. It pretty much says everything.
Thanks for the visit, Charlotte, and good luck in your new gig at the Equinox. Here’s hoping you and all the other amazing venues around here bring lots of weddings to town. Send us those “problems.” Send us those lovers. This JOY community is ready, willing, and able to help with just about anything.
Look at that veil of yours on that bride, Kayla. Vermont strong. You rock.
Peace. Love. Get married in Vermont.
– Joy
Joy Slusarek is the owner of JOY all things underthings in Manchester Center, Vermont and the author of the Joy on JOY blog.
