(Note to readers: I recently found out that the teddy bears I’d hoped to buy were no longer for sale, so I wrote a letter in the hopes of salvaging my dreams of a “fuzzy” wedding, and it honestly states my point of view better than any separate blog post can, so I’m sharing it with you.)

Dear Vermont Teddy Bear Company:

I have long been a fan of the bears you create, not only of the amazing craftsmanship put into developing these bears so that they can actually stand and not just sit, but in the awesome characterizations you’re able to make and the awesome colors that they come in to make the bears purchased beautiful and unique.

I first purchased one of your bears years ago as a Mother’s Day present. I spent quite a bit of time perusing the website for one that would fit her to a tee. Sadly, I didn’t find one that looked like a farmer with overalls, a flannel shirt and maybe a cowboy hat to reflect the mother that raised me, but I decided on a bear that looked like a bee with a honeycomb crown complete with antennae as well as a black and yellow dress to symbolize that my mom was the queen bee.

I really took a plunge with the next bear I bought. My sweetheart, Todd, means everything to me, and I came across one of your special limited edition holiday bears, a Christmas angel. Knowing how much faith plays a factor in Todd’s life, it was the perfect bear with a golden, luxurious robe along with real feather wings and even a dove sewn into its left paw. I knew he would love it.

He more than loved it. He adored it. It was the perfect gift for someone so rooted in the belief in a higher power, and it didn’t even matter to me that it cost $600. If anyone thought I was crazy for spending that much on a teddy bear, who cares? To me, that limited edition angel bear symbolized the eternal love I have for Todd.

Well, now Todd has become my fiancé, and we’re planning to get married. One of the things I wanted to include were a pair of teddy bears I’d seen on the Vermont Teddy Bear website ever since I first checked it out five years ago. There was even a page where you could order two of the groom bears together, which warmed my heart, because there are some businesspeople in the world who would rather not associate with gay people and their plans to get married.

Over the weekend, I decided that now was the time to get the bears. Even though Todd and I haven’t set a date yet, I somehow had this vision of where we would get married, and in this place, the two groom bears would face each other as symbols of me and Todd saying our vows. I thought it would be especially poignant to have Todd’s angel bear standing with the two grooms, looking like our union was being blessed by God.

Imagine my surprise when I went to the website, ready to fork out the money needed to get the bears, only to find out they weren’t there anymore. I looked under the tabs for Valentine’s Day and love, and no sign of them. Out of sheer desperation, I went looking under all the tabs, thinking that maybe there was a revamp of the website and they might have been mislabeled. Zero joy.

I know that they aren’t gone due to any pressure from organizations like One Million Moms, who just can’t stand for gay people to have anything or even to exist. I know this because you still have your True Colors United bear, a rainbow colored bear that benefits the True Colors organization created by Cyndi Lauper that is dedicated to helping homeless LGBT youth.

I also know that, from time to time, you remove the bears that might no longer be selling well. I know this because at one time I thought about buying a Santa and Mrs. Claus bear pair to display in my home, but by the time I was ready to pull the trigger, Mrs. Claus was no longer for sale. You also at one time sold bears dressed like snow queens and even one that was connected with the “Fifty Shades of Grey” books, so I know that your customers enjoy a wide variety of teddies.

However, the last time I checked, people were still getting married, and the bride bears you used to sell have also up and disappeared, so I must say this decision to stop selling wedding bears shocked me. The website is currently showcasing bears suitable for Valentine’s Day, including some zombie bears. Of course, I’m not sure what kind of message Todd and I would be sending to wedding guests with those bears, as though once we kissed the groom, we’d start eating their brains.

I implore you, please consider bringing back your wedding bears, both the grooms and the brides. I can imagine those bears made the special days of a lot of couples even brighter, whether the betrothed gave them to each other or they got the bears from their guests. I still hold out hope of making my wedding dream come true, but to do that, I need a couple of bears in tuxedos to make it happen. If you could accomplish this, I’d appreciate it—beary, beary much.

Sincerely, Lee Pulaski