Hallmark's “Royally Ever After”: The Other Fairy Tale Wedding of the Weekend

As royal wedding fever sweeps the globe, Hallmark Channel is delivering a dose of its own fairy tale  romance with the premiere of Royally Ever After -- and its star, Fiona Gubelmann, couldn't be more excited about her third project for the network.  "This is the royal weekend, and all day Saturday after the [actual] royal wedding people can watch back-to-back movies by Hallmark with royal romance themes,” she explained to MediaVillage during an exclusive interview.  “The jewel in the crown is Royally Ever After, but with the other wedding happening at 3 a.m. I won't be watching live.  But I definitely will be recording it.”  Gubelmann stars as Sara DeMarco, a schoolteacher with a sunny disposition and an extremely charming (and handsome) English suitor named Danny (Torrance Coombs).  Life for Sara is already a fairy tale, so when Danny pops the question she's thrilled.  However, the admission that follows the proposal jolts her into another reality -- not only is Danny a struggling writer, he's also Prince Daniel of St. Ives (a tiny monarchy located just off the coast of Great Britain) who’s next in line for the throne – and Sara must earn the approval of his parents if the wedding is to happen.

Filmed on location at Markree Castle in Ireland, Royally Ever After is glorious in scope and provided the perfect setting for the story.  “[Ireland] really is that beautiful,” Gubelmann explained.  “But it was really cold while we were there.  It was an incredible location and the castle was stunning, so I see why it's a wedding destination.  Not only did we get to film at the castle, we stayed at it!  I got to live like a princess -- that never happens.  My room was beautiful and like my character I would actually go running in the morning, so I got to live what I was filming.”

Gubelmann also adored working with her handsome co-star, Torrance Coombs (The CW’s Reign and The Originals).  “He really is that charming and handsome,” she said.  “Torrance is one of the nicest people I've ever met.  He's a sweetheart and we instantly became good friends.  When you're working with someone you trust and feel comfortable around, you're much more likely to take risks, have fun and be playful.  And yes, he is so handsome, so sweet and silly, we had so much fun cracking each other up.

 

Steve Gidlow

Steve Gidlow, a long-time columnist for MediaVillage ("Behind the Scenes in Hollywood"), has written about television and pop culture since 1994, beginning in Australia.  Since moving to Hollywood in 1997, Steve has focused on celebrity interv… read more