Once upon a time, in a far away land, lived Princess Aurora, a beauty with a contagious laugh, but quite the dilemma on her hand. All her life she had always put others before herself, and because of this valiant trait, it also seemed to leave her stuck with less. All of the other girls in this story had so much more than her it seemed, but what no one realized is that she had everyone tricked you see. She had all the love in her heart, a positive attitude, and enough charisma to move mountains, but monetary things didn’t matter to her, for her loved ones and fiancé meant more to her than material things. She found herself wishing for a fairy godmother to come and waive her magic wand to make her feel like the princess she knew she was, but instead she got something even better. One beautiful sunny day in Los Angeles, CA is where our story begin and this is unlike and fairytale you have ever seen before…

Aurora opened the door and I am sure every one of the neighbors heard her scream with joy, as I was almost tackled to the ground! She was beyond ecstatic and even pinched me to see if I was real! This has got to be one of the most exciting meet and greets I have ever had with a bride, and I could not help smiling from ear to ear. Aurora has this presence about her, that makes you want to be a better person because her effervescence is positively glowing! Yet out of the corner of my eye I could see something else glowing in purple, and believe me, this was a glow coming from a different fantasy land. Her coffee table was filled with the color purple. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the color purple, and Aurora knew that it was a majestic color, but at some point there has to be a limit.

The table had every type of purple you can imagine on them down to glittery purple baby’s breathe , linens that looked satin and were a little muted, to a floral display that the girls said belonged in a funeral home. The centerpieces were going to have beta fish in them, and I am thinking at this point, you have got to be kidding me. This princess was in true need of help. Now it was time to see the bridesmaids dresses and they had thought since the dresses worked at her sister’s wedding, they would be fine for Aurora’s as well. It seems as if we have some evil stepsisters busy at work… The dresses did not compliment their bodies whatsoever and were black and silver colors, completely out of the color scheme of Aurora’s vision. If this fairytale seemed like it was going down a dark windy road, there were more surprises waiting to jump out at me. And boy, did they ever. Aurora walked out in an entirely purple gown, because she felt it was the most exquisite dress meant for her big day. A completely purple gown? No fairytale wedding has a purple ball gown, especially not one of my princess’. Something needed to be done, so just like Aurora said, I took out my magic wand and suddenly became, David Tutera, Aurora’s Fairy Godfather.

Before I could whisk her away from this dreadful state she seemed to be in, we had one last place to visit; The Wedding Factory. Many brides get rushed for time and strapped for money, so places like this come in and try to do it all for the bride and groom. Yet this specific factory was not suitable for my princess. Low ceilings, too many pillars, not enough guest space, and my once excited Aurora seemed to be saddened to show me a venue she now knew was not acceptable. Serious action needed to take place, because I had three weeks to turn this princess’ fairytale into a reality. So our journey began…

First on my list, we needed Aurora to truly feel like the princess she is. I was now going to make her a princess bride without the purple, on her dress. Brides can have a favorite color and incorporate it in their wedding as much as they’d like, but in the case of Aurora, I wanted to surround her in a sea of purple and have her stand out in a crème color. She tried on three gowns giving her a different feel than an overwhelming purple. She could slowly start to see what I was trying to do and by the end of the day, completely forgot about her original dress she thought I would love. Next on my list was changing the black, silver, and boring dresses that did not fit the girls, and it was now time to give them a little color. Aurora’s sisters had a blast trying on the dresses and were confident they could wear the gowns, look elegant, and still move on the dance floor in each purple dress the tried on. After a day of dresses I had to let Aurora get her Princess beauty sleep so that we could continue our magical fairytale journey.

Artyse Custom Footwear happened to be the next stop, wear Aurora would be trying on pairs of glass slippers and I would be revealing a MAJOR change to her big day, but something whimsical happened that was right out of a storybook as she walked up to meet me. Suddenly I saw her stumble a bit, and little did she know where we were going to be, she finally met me and said, “My shoe just broke”! My mouth dropped as she laughed it off, because you couldn’t have staged a more perfect moment. We went up stairs to get her to try on slippers, and they also gave her a brand new pair of heels, because our next location we were heading, any princess had to look their best. She tried on and fell in love with the glass slippers, and I felt as if the animals on the streets and the birds in the air were going to start singing when I told her my next big news. I did not like her original venue. They specific Wedding Factory was not worthy of my princess Aurora, so where else would be fit for royalty? Disneyland. Screams, hugs, and tears filled the air for the next few minutes as Aurora took everything in. I wanted to give her everything she deserved on this momentous occasion so I pulled out all the stops. We had to keep ourselves composed as we headed to our next journey, with Aurora now strutting a new pair of heels.

I wanted to show her how a princess needs to be on the day of her wedding so I took her to the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills where she and I spent the day in a private suite learning the correct etiquette for a princess. From crossing her legs, to small bits, to dabbing your mouth with the corner of your napkin, down to a more personal handshake, she was absorbing everything wonderfully. I could tell she wanted to learn, as so few brides initially want to do, which truly made my heart happy. I had an extra special surprise for her at the end of a very long etiquette class that she aced perfectly, and in to our room came Simon G and associate with three different rings for Aurora to try on. I took her breathe away as another set of rings came out for her to choose a ring for her groom as well. She was so overwhelmed she told me she could not accept these gifts, but I assured my princess bride that she deserves everything that her fairy godfather sends her way.

And now for the big day…

We had a long full day at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, where we started with Aurora arriving at the Dream Suite in Disneyland that is an exclusive suite that Walt Disney designed himself to be an apartment for him and his family back in the day. The rooms he designed were magical enough to take any worry in your world and put a smile on your face. Aurora and her bridesmaids were greeted by a hair and make up artist team that have worked with celebrities like Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce. I also revealed to her the dress and shoes I picked out and again, Aurora was overjoyed with excitement and tears. This was a day she would never forget. While she was getting ready and I made sure her first location where dinner would be served, I called her and told her some people would be helping her get ready during the day, and in walked some of the Disney Princess’ to help her get ready.

I wanted to make Aurora’s day a bit different, so I had her dinner first, and then have her move to the ceremony, and then reception. I think if you want to make your wedding nontraditional, then you can change up simple things, like the order of how the events are presented to make the style more unique and cater to your own personality. Before the reveal to the guests, I had given all of Aurora’s bridesmaids their bouquets, each one looking stunning in purple, and finally Aurora, looking like the most glamorous princess to grace Disneyland. I then escorted her to her next surprise that literally came out of a fairytale. Of course no story can be complete without a horse drawn glass carriage! This was a pivotal moment for her, and she broke down in tears with me and we shared a beautiful moment in the carriage before I sent her off to her guests. I could tell she was overwhelmed with nerves, but kept her head high and let the carriage lead her way. She was greeted by guests taking pictures, all of her friends and family in loving adoration saw her as she came in by carriage and they all enjoyed a dinner, bathed in purple light under the setting sun, while violinist and harpist played beautiful music, and they were served by very fancily dressed waiters.

Aurora and her fiancé were married in the fantasy fair stage where there was a castle tower and beautiful set pieces of the most exquisite forests and flowers. It was a beautiful ceremony and Aurora truly embraced what it meant to be a princess. The reception took place and the Disney princesses joined her on the dance floor, welcoming her into her royal title and celebrating the union of two hearts and two families. This wedding was by far an extremely challenging, but oh so rewarding treat for me to do. Like one of my heroes says, “If you can dream it you can do it” and Walt Disney truly knew how to take something ordinary and make it magical. I wanted to give that same gift to Aurora, and by the looks of this princess, she truly had her fairytale happy ending, at the most magical place on earth. As a creator, to see my brides overjoyed and happy is the best gift I could ask for, and nothing else in the world can explain the satisfaction I get from making the dreams of a bride in need, come true.