But there is one very special princess that I just had to write about. The Fairy Godmothers in Training in the boutique are always looking for their "forever princess," meaning the princess you'll never forget. When you "turn 1,000 years old" and become a real fairy godmother, this is the princess you'll take care of and make her dreams come true forever, like Cinderella's fairy godmother. I'm fairly certain nothing will top my time with Princess Naelah. You'll understand why I chose "Breakaway" for the song title once you read the post. I wish I had just one picture from this very special evening, but unfortunately, the princess takes those pictures home and I'm left with special memories.
Now, here is the story of Princess Naelah - or should I say Tiana.
Princess Naelah was a very special princess from the moment she walked in the door. She was one of the last girls in for the day, so the boutique was pretty quiet. Princess Naelah pranced through the door, with a special princess spunk that is rarely matched. She was quickly escorted to the royal dressing room. That did not stop her from trying to sit in a beauty chair (or two) on her way to the room. Once she had her dress, she was happy to model it in front of the mirror. As she walked past my chair, I looked to the fairy godmothers in the front of the boutique and mouthed "oh my goodness, I love her!" I mean - how could you not LOVE this girl! One of my coordinators brought me her slip and told me that she was all mine and the hairstyle was already picked out and ready to go - it was perfectly ready for a fairytale. She told me to have fun and that I could bring her right from the dressing room. She told me her mom was worried about sizes and she was posing in the mirror, saying "I'm a princess! I'm a princess!" When I saw her in the dressing room in her perfectly tailored Tiana dress, I was not disappointed. She was STILL twirling around in her dress, and it was fabulous. Tiana was her favorite princess. Her mom told me she met Tiana the night before, and burst into tears of joy. So much Disney magic! Finally, it was time to bring her to the chair!
She jumped into the chair with such excitement, and I began on her hair. Another Fairy Godmother came to buddy (meaning she did makeup and nails). We led the boutique in singing "Let It Go" and danced around her whole transformation. It was super magical. Princess Naelah showed us her Simba doll and a fairy godmother ran to get a tiara for the doll. While she took care of that, my coordinator pulled me aside and told me that I would be doing a princess parade with this special princess. This isn't common for our location (as in it never happens) so that was super exciting because I knew it would be very magical for her, and her Mom!
By the way, her mom was laughing and smiling just as much as the princess, if not more. It was so wonderful to see the two of them so happy without a worry in the world. You see, Naelah was a special princess with some extra challenges, so it was so wonderful to see the two of them with no restrictions, where she could just be herself.
Her mom told me that her Facebook was already exploding from comments on her first picture, and I told her that the surprised had only just begun. Tiana delivered a very special gift to the princess, already decked with a Tiana crown, a sash and a birthday button. The weather was a bit chilly that evening, so we had a special winter shawl for her. She and her mom were ecstatic. It is absolutely beautiful and really keeps the princesses warm on chilly nights. Then, my coordinator told me that instead of ending our princess parade at carousel, where I would take her to the line of the ride, I would bring her to the photo studio because Tiana wanted to give her another special gift - a special photo package to remember every moment from that special night. It was amazing.
After giving Simba and Princess Naelah's mom some pixie dust, we took out a special princess book. This book is very special and is very rarely signed by a princess, but there was a special Tiana spot just for her. She signed it with some scribbles, and I wrote her name above in bold letters so everyone who looked through the pages would know about this special princess.
After the book signing, I did a brief princess lesson with her- how to walk, talk and wave like a princess, and told her that while hair, makeup and nails is fun, what makes you a princess is having a kind heart. This princess certainly met that very important requirement. Then, the princess parade happened. Now, if you've ever seen that moment in Princess Diaries 2, where they have a princess parade, that is basically what happened, except it was Princess Naelah in the center, with her mom and I holding her hands, and a group of fairy godmothers following behind. Sorry the quality isn't great, but it gives you the idea.
Okay, the parade wasn't quite as big and there wasn't music in the background, and Princess Naelah CERTAINLY wasn't as shy as the princess at the front of this parade, but the emotion was just the same. We paraded her all around Fantasyland. People cheered for her and wished her happy birthday (did I mention it was her birthday? Best birthday ever!). People clapped and waved and she curtsied and twirled and it was just wonderful. One of the fairy godmothers took her mother's iPad to record so mom could enjoy this moment with her princess instead of worrying about recording it, and the princess had her very own personal photographer to capture each curtsy and twirl.
We ended in the photo studio, where Princess Naelah and I practiced her poses and smiles. One princess posed with Naelah. They didn't know each other, but she had become quite the celebrity, so everyone wanted a picture with her. Another girl who was in the boutique at the end of the day bowed to her and greeted her with "you look lovely Princess Tiana." It took some time, but Princess Naelah finally curtsied back and said hello to "Queen Elsa." It was so nice to see so many girls treating her with such respect and kindness - and it made us all tear up even more, especially her mom who was practically bawling at this point. They took so many photos of princess Naelah in the studio, some with Simba, some with mom, and then pictures of all of us together. It was so magical.
The princess started to give everyone hugs, and she gave me the biggest hug and wouldn't let go. It was amazing. Then her mom started giving hugs too. She grabbed me real tight and said "Oh Ellie, thank you so much!" I told her that while it was all so much fun now, we know that it is not always this easy and fun at home, and that during those tough times to remember that there are so many people that care about her and her daughter, and we hugged again. We had to clock out, so we said farewell to Princess Naelah. When I arrived back at the boutique, I turned around to find that a little princess had followed me back! I brought Princess Naelah back to her mom and told her that she had to stay there. Mom was looking at all of the amazing photos picking out prints and didn't even realize she had followed me back! After one last hug, I returned to the boutique with tears in my eyes and thanked my coordinator for making all of these special moments possible, and for letting me be her fairy godmother. It was truly one of the best nights of my life.
While the princess was so happy and felt so special, it was her mom that truly impacted me. She was so touched and so appreciative of every moment, and when a mom is so grateful, it makes the experience that much better. When we were in the lobby of the boutique, someone said "Oh, someone's mom spent a lot of money tonight to get all that," and it made me so upset. Why can't people just let a child have a moment where she can feel special and included? This family goes through extra challenges every day, and if we could make up for that in the slightest way and give them a special memory, it was worth it. So many people cared about her daughter, hugged her and admired her, and that was so impactful for all of us. I'll never forget this absolutely amazing night in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where I found my forever princess.
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