A Fairytale Wedding in Beverly Hills

John Schlatter, a financial planner, proposed to Camille Anderson, an actor, in a carriage in New York's Central Park, where city lights glittered like diamonds and the stars winked approval from a velvet sky. At that moment, Camille began creating her fantasy wedding.

John, 40, and Camille, 28, had met at a Beverly Hills party. "A girlfriend had been talking to him, and he told her he had his eye on me," Camille recalls. "He got my number. She encouraged me to go to lunch and that was it. After only a month of dating, even my mom knew." That girlfriend was maid of honor at their wedding.

"I had never thought about a wedding until I was engaged, so I had this idea of an ethereal, magical ceremony," Camille says. Flower girls in fairy wings and purple hues were her first images. "From there, I built around the feeling," she says.

A Fairytale Venue
Her creation would bear little resemblance to the wild and wacky extravaganzas depicted in the film, Wedding Crashers, in which she had appeared. Her fantasy did not include the surprise interlopers played by Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and she gave no thought to such boorish behaviors as she and John scouted their ideal ceremony and reception venue for their 280 guests.

"If I was going to do this best wedding ever, my only wedding, I needed to have a good reception site," John says. As soon as they saw the Crystal Garden and the adjacent Crystal Ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel, they knew they had found their perfect palace.

"The Ballroom has a beautiful fairytale feel with its amazing chandelier. I felt like a princess," Camille says. She chose a big ball gown that she says was inspired by the ballroom.

"We knew the Garden was right for the ceremony," John says. "It's so romantic; it's quiet, quaint and intimate. Also it was a place where Camille could do her fantasyland decorating."

She did everything herself, she says, until the month before the wedding, when she hired a "month-of" coordinator. To make her fantasy come true, she says, "I focused on the details."

Tapping the Resources
Because she had only been to a couple of weddings, she almost didn't know where to begin. But a wedding resource guide in a gift bag she had received at an Oscar party before she and John were engaged proved invaluable, adding that she found her florist there. Magazines and the internet provided other resources, as did people she met and talked with. She chose her vendors carefully.

"I think it's really important never to feel pressured when you are with a vendor," she says. "You'll be working with this person for a year, and you want them to get your ideas."

A Magic Garden
Her inspiration for the ceremony was "a magic garden," with crystals and ribbons hanging from trees, drapes of fabric with a rich look and "lots of florals and golds," she says. There would be tall vases with little votive candles hanging from them to glitter and twinkle.

The couple wanted to incorporate a sand ceremony, as well as keep the religious ambiance of a church. "We incorporated the church into the garden," Camille says. "So we placed a beautiful cross on the table that held the sand, so it gave the feel of a church."

The ceremony was their favorite part of the day, John and Camille agree, even though Camille was nervous beforehand.

"Everything was going well, but it was such a big deal," she says. "I told my parents, Ok, you have to hold me up." But, as soon as I touched foot on the aisle, I was fine. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face."

"Watching my future wife, my beloved bride walking up the aisle and having all our family and friends whom we love and respect most in our life all there together," John says. "It's a very powerful thing." He adds, "It's the only time it will ever happen until your funeral.

"We didn't want it to end," he says. "After our ceremony, we looked at each other and said we wanted to go back and do it again. Those memories I will carry with me forever."

Special Favors
They wanted their guests to know how important they were. "I wanted people to take something home that was special," Camille says. They decided to make CDs of their music, but that meant burning and labeling each one. Fortunately, Camille says, their families came to their aid, and they made an assembly line to put their special favors together.

"What I learned is that every detail requires so much work," Camille says.

Their first dance was a classic example.

"It was our big special day. I had a ball gown and a tiara," Camille says, "and he was so handsome."

To make sure the dance reflected their fairytale wedding, they took secret dancing lessons. They brought in a special white floor to overlay the parquet of the ballroom.

"Our dance was professionally choreographed, and we rehearsed, so we were gliding on the dance floor," Camille says. "It was unforgettable." All John's friends were impressed.

"Our parents loved it."

Before the couple began their dance, they introduced each member of the wedding party. "It gave each of them a chance to shine," Camille says. "It was nice to give back to people that way."

Details
Her beautiful ballroom gown had almost been a disaster. As the wedding day approached, Camille says, she kept calling to see if it was ready. Finally, just the Saturday before the ceremony, her dress was there.

"I got there and put it on, and it was way too tight," she says. "I'm a size 2, and I couldn't breathe in it. I almost had a panic attack!" Instead, she waited while the gown was altered, and drove home with it at 9:30 p.m.

"There were lots of challenges," she says now, reflecting on all the planning and details. "There were a lot of extras," she says, remembering the sofa seating in the lounge adorned with festive go-go lights. "But your guests notice an attention to details."

Well, most of them noticed. The real life wedding crashers were paying attention only to the pretty females at the party. Camille tells how they were caught.

"At end of the night, my maid of honor came running up to me and said, 'Who is this guy who says he went to high school with you?'"

I said, "No one I went to high school with us here."

Two men who had attended a wedding upstairs had crashed Camille and John's party afterwards.

"We had to boot them out," John says. "They didn't do as well as the guys in the movie, so I knew right away they didn't belong there."

The crashers missed the last treat enjoyed by all the legitimate guests.

"We wanted everyone to go home with Krispy Kremes and chocolate milk," Camille says. "Something fun and sweet." That meant a wedding party member had to pick up the donuts at the shop at nine p.m. "You really need to trust the people you delegate," Camille says.

She and John advise every bride and groom to pay attention and savor every moment. "It goes so quickly," John says. "We embraced every moment."

"It did go by fast, but I was warned," Camille says. We didn't want it to be over." "Everything was great!" John says. "What really makes a wedding is the people who are there. We have loving families and friends, and we could have had it at Dodger Stadium and it would have been wonderful. "But we're glad we did everything the way we did."