TOPSFIELD — Heather Carver walked down the aisle Sunday in what’s usually a candy aisle. A special one, at that.
Carver was married in her family’s general store Gil’s Grocery, a cherished community spot that’s operated in Topsfield for nearly 80 years.
“It was a very honorable, extraordinary gathering of friends and family and loved ones from our store,” she said. “It was just like a fairy tale.”
Carver, formerly Croteau, has worked at the shop alongside her family since she was a teenager. She’s stocked shelves, bagged candy and used to put together stacks of newspapers for customers to buy.
On Sunday, the store’s two aisles of shelves were pushed aside and Carver stood in front of the store’s counter in a blue and white wedding gown, saying her vows instead of helping customers.
She was greeted by a bagpiper and longtime customers as she arrived at the store’s parking lot in a horse-drawn carriage driven by another of the store’s regulars, Eugene McKay. The grand entrance was a surprise from her mother, Polly Croteau, the daughter of Gil’s founder, Elbridge “Gilly” Gilford III.
“It almost felt as though my grandparents were there in spirit,” Carver said of her wedding. “It couldn’t have gone any better.”
Gil’s first opened in 1946 after Gilford came back from serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He went on to marry his wife of 62-years, Grace (Taylor) Gilford, and together they raised three children.
The shop originally sat on Main Street where the Institute for Savings is now, and moved down the block to 30 Main St. in 1959.
Along with running the store, Gilford served as a Topsfield Select Board member, was active in the American Legion Post No. 255 and played and coached in the Inter-Town Twilight League, which he was later inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame.
“He was the best friend, best person, and the most amazing, kind-hearted soul you could have met in your entire life,” Carver said. “If somebody had nothing, they could come into the store and he would say, grab your groceries and give me $5 next week.”
The shop remains a family affair. Son Jim Gilford took over the business in the 1980s with assistance from his sisters, though the founder still visited the store daily ahead of his death in 2015 at age 95.
Gil’s has served as a meeting house of sorts for Topsfield locals, Jim Gilford said. The same goes for the family, as the store has hosted loved ones’ birthday parties over the years. But never something as big as a wedding before Sunday.
“My two parents would be so pleased to know that this was going on in a store that they built,” said Jim Gilford, who officiated the nuptials between his niece and her new husband, John Carver.
Jim Gilford adjusted the store’s product displays to make room for the ceremony and reception, even turning the ice cream chest into a food table. It was a lot of work to put the store back into place Monday, but well worth it, Polly Croteau said.
“When Heather first floated the idea of having the wedding at the store, we all kind of raised our eyebrows a little bit,” she said. “Then we thought, you know what? This is an extension of our home, this is where her grandparents basically lived.
“Our whole life is wrapped up in the store so it was just fitting. Their spirits and all of our friends and family and good wishes are all held in that little building.”
Contact Caroline Enos at CEnos@northofboston.com .