From Engagement Session To Empowered Princess Photoshoot

This has got to be one of my favorite Disney-related stories EVER.

Cliff Notes Version: After ending her engagement with her fiancé, Brooke Lowry decided not to cancel her engagement photoshoot at Disneyland, and chose to do a solo shoot instead.

Brooke Lowry, you are my hero. I have a feeling we'd be pretty good friends. 

[No, really: if you want to talk to someone about getting a Master's Degree in Children's Literature, I am happy to talk with you about it! I highly recommend it. Oxford is my favorite place in the world, but London is a super close second.]

Longer details: According to HuffPost, "Lowry, a former Disney Television Animation employee says she has loved watching Disney redefine what it means to be a “Disney Princess” while staying true to the classics. “These remarkable female characters are put in extreme circumstances, but still display qualities that we all have- strength, beauty, compassion, and courage.” This was the perfect opportunity to practice what she preaches even when it wasn’t easy."

PC: DPark Photography via HuffPost

What I love the most about this story is the positive interpretation that Lowry has on the Disney Princesses. I know she worked for Disney, but that's not always a guarantee of a positive experience. According to Buzzfeed:

“These women are kind even when others are not,” she said. “They are loyal and compassionate, inclusive and accepting, elegant and discerning, dreamers and doers. They look for the best in others, they bring honor to their families, and they work hard and stay true to themselves.”

Another quality she said she admired was the ability to be “positive amongst tragedy.” She decided to emulate these qualities and view the shoot as a new beginning.

“So, instead of being the cutesy couple out for a Disneyland date, it became the ‘I am a Princess, long may I reign’ shoot,” she said. “Having Disneyland itself as the backdrop was symbolic, too — a place for me to begin a new dream and imagine a new narrative for myself.”

Thi is exactly the kind of narrative I wish circulated more about the Disney Princesses. Too often the focus is that they promote unhealthy images and unrealistic expectations -- and that is certainly true, to an extent -- but there's so much more to those stories. Who are we to judge and specify what someone takes away from a film? This is also a big part of the "Dream Big, Princess" campaign, 

PC: DPark Photography via Buzzfeed

And, if you need even more of a reason to love/be jealous of this, here's what Lowry told HuffPost of her experience at Disneyland during the shoot:

“I was feeling vulnerable and self conscious of course that morning, but everyone was so, so kind. My hair and makeup artist Tatiana gifted me her services, a precious Disney employee named Pearl “Jay” Wang heard me talking to the photographer and escorted me on a private tour of the Royal Hall, the princesses inside treated me so gently, I got into the park for free, I had a few guests ask me which princess I was, which made my day, and my photographer Drexelle Parkwas absolutely amazing in every way and made me feel like royalty. It honestly couldn’t have been a more beautiful experience, and I was filled with the peace and comfort that only comes from above. I’m so glad I decided to go through with the photos, and more importantly I’m so grateful for the smallest acts of daily kindness that make all the difference in a broken world."

Never underestimate the power of Disney Customer Service -- they have the capability to go above and beyond for you, and when they do, it can make any experience magical.

PC: DPark Photography via HuffPost

The only thing that irks me about this story is the fact that "photo shoots at Disney" are an absolutely legitimate thing. As in, you can hire a professional photographer and have a photo shoot at Disneyland. Which...cool. But you can't do this at Magic Kingdom in Disney World.

Disney: please explain WHY to me. Why is Disneyland okay, but Magic Kingdom is not?!