Heather Blair, The Agenda Bride

As a bridal writer, I find that nothing embodies "WEDDING" more so than one word: b e a u t i f u l.

Heather Blair, The Agenda Bride

By Pamela Heath

"'I felt a wink from God as if to say, this is the place and this will be your day!'"

Heather Blair, actress, model, and bride, is spotlighted in Agenda Bride.   We chose to interview this charismatic personality for her thoughts on meeting her soul mate (now fiancé), orchestrating a cross cultural wedding, and becoming a step mom, embodying the profile of Agenda Bride.

Tell the story of how you and your fiancé met each other.

Marco and I met at my first L.A. audition. It was for a pilot about

Super-heroes...While waiting to audition, we struck up a conversation.

I asked him where he was from and he replied, "I am Armenian." I looked at him and said, "Oh. Um...where is that?" We kept in touch, having occasional lunch dates, and building a friendship, while encouraging each other in our careers. We didn't begin dating until almost a year later!

What are your professional acting backgrounds?

We are both actors. Marco has been acting professionally for about nine years. He will be featured as the villain "One Eye" in the big budget Warner Brothers film 10,000 B.C., released December 2007, directed by Roland Emerich of The Patriot and Independence Day.

My work has concentrated on the theatre arena since I was in school: commercials, spokesmodeling, and print work for companies such as L'Oreal, Coca-Cola and Aquafina, and acting on Vista Yoga on ABC, MTV, and the Discovery Health Channel programming.

How did you become engaged, or how did your soul mate propose?

We pray about our relationship very often. At his birthday last year, we were at a turning point to either move forward together or go in different directions. Up to that point we had experienced many external challenges to overcome and were finding it difficult to join our lives together. Literally, the next day, he received a phone call that he would be filming in South Africa and New Zealand in two days for a six-month shoot. Long story short, we felt it was a sign for us to go forward together.

I visited him on set in New Zealand for a few weeks and then met him inSouth Africa. His son Alekzander, nine years old, came with me on his first international flight. During that visit, it was July 4th. In full costume, Marco stood up to recognize a very important holiday for Americans and said that he hopes it will be a reunion of sorts for years to come. He said, "Heather, will you please stand up?" I thought, "Huh?" The publicist was videotaping. He got down on one knee and said it had been two and a half years of ups and downs but he knew I was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with . . . He asked me to marry him and I said yes. Followed by a sea of hugs, Alekzander said he was so happy we finally got married! I had to explain to him that it was just the engagement, and the marriage was yet to follow. Needless to say, he was disappointed, but we laughed it off.

What is your time frame in order to plan the wedding?

Although we were engaged in July, we were in Africa until mid-September. We didn't have much Internet access, so we decided to wait until we returned to Los Angeles to discuss details. We came close to simply eloping there and having a reception back here. That would have been much easier! But I'm happy we are having a ceremony here. It was challenging to locate a reception site with availability. I found a church overlooking the ocean and it is an amazing place and vista. I inquired and they told me there were no openings for the entire year of 2007 and we could look in 2008. Just out of curiosity I asked if she had May 12, 2007, open and she said there was ONE cancellation for the entire year on that day at 4:00 p.m. I felt a wink from God as if to say, "This is the place and that will be your day!"

Ideally, how do you envision your wedding, for example, theme, setting, colors, etc.?

The actual wedding will not need too many extra additions because the church is ornate and incredibly beautiful. The detail on the walls and ceiling are amazing. The church overlooks the ocean and the entire city of Los Angeles.

I have narrowed down my dresses to just two. They are completely different from each other. One is a white, modern runway-type dress with a classic Hollywood flair. The other is gold with a Victorian European feel to it with hand-sewn detailing and a gorgeous long train. The dress choice will lead to the colors of the flowers and the bridesmaids' colors.

My favorite flowers are stargazers and I would like to make the bouquets consisting of mostly those in various colors. The reception site is exquisitely decorated as well with a Tuscan feel. As you enter and listen to the accordion player, you feel you have truly stepped straight into Italy.

Describe yourself as bride on your day, such as jewelry, hairstyle, and attendants.

Jewelry will depend on the dress as well. I would like to wear a veil and a tiara. I am working on selecting attendants. My last count was twelve but I'm thinking eight-to-ten. My attendants will be my decorations and will look lovely standing by my side. I have amazing girlfriends and it is difficult to choose. I want them all there on my special day.

What are some of the challenges in planning and executing a wedding with cultural elements, such as the Armenian-American rituals?

One of the biggest challenges has been the amount of people who are typically involved in an Armenian wedding. It is a huge celebration with a few hundred people, abundance of food and alcohol. Although Marco and I have been attending an American Protestant church together for the past two years, he wanted to have an Armenian priest marry us. Another challenge posed would be no clue as to what is said in Armenian for most of us. I don't know what I would be agreeing to or when to say, I do (I do speak and understand a little though)! It will be nice to have an Armenian wedding blessing at the wedding.

What routines or special things are you doing for yourself to keep sane during the planning phases?

It has been really insane approaching and getting through the holidays. After finally securing the reception site my sanity was restored. I truly believe that came about from prayer. We have participated in premarital counseling, reading books pertaining to creating a healthy marriage, and I adhere to a regular physical routine of yoga, pilates, swimming, dance classes, rollerblading, and walking on the beach.

Understandably, details are the key to a successful event. What special details will signify your wedding or the little things you will want to remember from your day?

Friends, family, and fun is our theme and most important aspects of the day. We have discussed doing a movie theme for the reception. Some of the ideas are a surprise, so I cannot reveal them. We want to explain and integrate as much personal detail as to why the places we have chosen are special to us. And make the wedding really fun! Dance is important to us and my father is a part-time musician in his band, The Part-Time Party Time Band.

This will be the first marriage for both of us and the whole process has been incredibly important to us as a family. He has been involved thus far in all of the decisions, which makes it fun to plan together. And we very much look forward to being a family.

Pamela Heath

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