Since I was a little girl – Beauty and the Beast was one of my favourite films, which always made me cry I might add! Out of all the Princesses in Disney, Belle certainly had the most beautiful dress; I wish I could wear it to my future wedding!
I was absolutely thrilled to be doing two Princess Belle parties at the weekend, it was a dream come true for me. The first party was a house party for a beautiful young lady named Ava; I was so welcomed by the family even before I could knock on the door! The family were so enthusiastic and excited for the party, and that was brilliant. The party room was so cosy and every birthday girls dream. I took with me a Rose and an old mirror I’ve had since I was seven years old, that looks like a very good replica of the enchanted mirror from the film. I made my big entrance from the top of the stairs, and straight away I was greeted with lots of cuddles and big overwhelmed smiles!
I felt wonderful in the big yellow ball gown and the children loved it too! We played beauty and the beast themed games, along with the famous musical statues of course! The children also did some singing on the microphones before the grand princess coronation! Ava completely loved this, there’s nothing more rewarding than crowing the birthday girl a real princess! You can tell by their expressions they are completely living a dream, after I presented Ava with her birthday present from me – she couldn’t open it quick enough, it was a Disney princess floor puzzle. We talked lots about the characters, and they enjoyed dancing to ‘Be Our Guest!’ so much that the children requested I played it twice! I ended the party singing ‘Tale as old as time’ and all the children sat around me completely in ore. There were sad faces when I had to leave, but this should always be taken as a good thing – because you know you’ve done a good job for the birthday girl and all her friends. I was so delighted to also be told that Ava was writing me a letter during the week (addressed to Belle of course!) to say thankyou for her birthday party – how sweet! Those are the little things that make this job even more amazing, receiving princess fan mail – as I like to call it. So I’m really excited to get that letter through my mailbox soon!
Then it was time to visit the beautiful Princess Isabella – where I was happy to find out her mummy and some of the other parents had also dressed up as Disney Princesses, how cool is that?! We played the party games again (musical statues/dancing competition/pass the parcel ect), and did lots of singing and dancing with the bubble machine, before having our birthday tea and yet again crowing our lovely Isabella as a real Princess. All the other parents liked it so much I was asked to give out countless leaflets, all of their little girls eager to also become real princesses and be visited by their favourite Disney characters! I was even happy to find out that a lady attending the second party was actually from America/Canada and asked me which part of the states I was from, she was shocked to find out I’m a Nottingham lass! Although, if a lady who actually comes from the states believed I was American, then I’ll take that as a good thing! As an actress I’m fluent with many accents, but I guess the American accent is now becoming second nature to me – seeing as every weekend I become a real live Disney character! I know its like this for the other princesses too!
After playing Belle at the weekend, I have to say it was just as magical for me as it was the children. One of my favourite parts was when we all gathered around my mirror to see if we could ‘see the beast’. The great thing about children is they love to play make believe, so they could all see the beast in the mirror when we passed it around. I think I always knew the mirror I got at my christening as a child, always had another purpose in life yet to be discovered!
It was just absolutely lovely to be playing Belle; she is a very kind and sweet character – with such a beautiful grace. I can’t wait to play her again soon, it wasn’t just fun for the children, it was fun for me. I even enjoyed applying ‘Belle Makeup’. I applied pink and bronze blusher to my cheeks, for that golden yet rosy glow she has in the film, a pink lipstick and sparkly golden eye shadow for the eyes to compliment her dress. I then defined my eyes with a black eyeliner and mascara to still give her that ‘cartoon’ look. Afterall, what we are basically doing as Princesses is bringing animated movie characters to life. Its interesting how often a child will ask why we aren’t a cartoon when we show up to their party, you then explain to them a similar scenario to what happened to Giselle in ‘Enchanted’. I always like to speak to them about what’s happening ‘back at the Castle’ aswell, when I leave a party I will tell them who I’m going home to see. In the case of playing Belle, I told them I was going back to the castle to help Mrs Pots bake a birthday cake for ‘Lumiere’ because it was his birthday today too! This amuses the children greatly. Both parties were just fantastic, and I’m so happy I left magical memories behind, looking forward to getting back into that stunning yellow ballgown again soon! 
