Meet Casey Townsend | Party Princess and President of Wonderland Celebrations

We had the good fortune of connecting with Casey Townsend and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Casey, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
I started Wonderland Celebrations with the intention of spreading joy to families and children all around me. Getting to dress up and act like the princesses is a ton of fun, but what really makes this career so rewarding is getting to see the birthday girl’s face light up when I walk into the room. It feels like I’m bringing the magic of Disneyland right to the home of my clients and get to create an everlasting, magical memory for them. I’m in the business of making children happy!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It’s always been a dream of mine to open my own princess party company!

I’ve always had a love for performing arts and have been singing since before I was able to speak. My parents got me started in musical theatre at the age of nine when I landed my first role in our community theatre production of “The Sound of Music” as Brigitta VonTrapp. I was instantly hooked on acting after that and continued on to be in many more plays up until the end of my high school days. Some of my favorite parts I’ve played in other productions include Mary Lennox in “The Secret Garden,” Lady Larken in “Once Upon a Mattress,” Sarah Brown in “Guys and Dolls,” and Lili in “Carnival!,’ and so many more. The last musical I starred in was “The Sound of Music” once again, but that time, I played the lead, Maria!

My performing experiences didn’t end after that! Throughout the years, I’ve had the opportunity to sing for weddings, perform the National Anthem for baseball games, and even had the honor of singing ‘Let it Go’ for a third-grade class in South Korea.

It wasn’t long after that I started working for a princess party company where I grew up in California. It taught me just how much I enjoyed being able to use my passion for performing to make other people happy, especially children! This job was what sparked my dream of one day opening a character party company of my own!

Now that I’ve launched Wonderland Celebrations, I want everyone to know just how much care and attention I’ve put into the construction of my company. I’ve spent many hours researching and purchasing the most high-quality costumes and wigs I could to make sure that my portrayal of these princesses is superior. The party packages I offer were designed based on my years of experience working with children as a party princess and, more recently, as a nanny. Something special that I knew I wanted to implement in my own business is having a character assistant attend every Wonderland Celebrations event. This helps to preserve the magic for the kids as the princess can be solely focused on entertaining them rather than setting up and cleaning up after the fun. Our assistant also takes photos of the party, so every parent can download moments from this magical day to keep forever. And, of course, every birthday princess will receive a crown!

If you were to ask me what I’ve been watching recently, I’d probably name one of the many Disney princess films and TV shows. It’s so important to me that these characters come to life at a child’s birthday celebration! When I arrive at a party in costume, I’m no longer myself. I’ve embodied the character I’m portraying, and so I find it so important to study the mannerisms, personalities, and speech patterns of these characters regularly to ensure an accurate performance.
I think there’s a lot to learn from our favorite princesses, too. They teach us life lessons that never age, even as we do. We learned forgiveness and the importance of familial relationships from “Brave.” We learn resilience and how to have a continuous excitement for life and its adventures from “Tangled.” I’m sure we’re all familiar with the amazing act of true love between sisters we witnessed in “Frozen!” And there are so many others. I want to leave every party knowing that I left a positive impression on the children, just as these characters do for us in the films.

While I’ve only just recently opened Wonderland Celebrations for business after nearly a year of preparation and research, I’m so excited about the future and growing my team! I know that every new character actor I welcome into the company will have as much passion for performing and love for children as I do! It will be a blessing to be able to provide a truly rewarding career for other young women just as the opportunity was extended to me.

Wonderland Celebrations was created to spread happiness and magic to others and to help create lasting memories for families and their children. It’s my honor to call this ‘what I do for a living’ and to be able to offer it to you!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would call myself a bit of a country girl! Though I grew up in California, it was a small town surrounded by farmland and fruit orchards. My very first job was mucking my neighbors’ horse stalls. I’d bring visitors out on hikes around the area. My dog Sophie would come along, too, so she could run around with us and jump into any body of water we come across. My husband, friends, and I love visiting places with outdoor seating for dinner and drinks, like Truck Yard in The Colony, or The Rail Yard in Frisco. We also love finding new coffee shops to hang out at; our favorite so far being Duino’s in McKinney. For great steak and stunning atmosphere, our go-to is always Haywire in Legacy West.
My husband and I once stumbled upon Sugarbacon in downtown McKinney and had the most amazing cocktails! We’ve since brought many friends back there with us to enjoy the experience as well!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m so grateful to have had so many amazing friends and family members supporting me throughout my journey of starting my dream business. I’d like to take this moment to shout out to my seamstress, Susan (Susan’s Sew ‘n’ Such) for helping me alter and create the most accurate, quality costumes I could ask for.

I’d also like to thank Heather (Heather Marie Hair Studio) – it was you who really encouraged me to take the risk to make this dream of mine a reality!

And last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank my photographer, co-marketer, biggest fan, and the most amazing husband I could have ever dreamed of, Chris. Christopher, you’ve supported me in everything I’ve ever gone after since I’ve known you, and it was no different when it came to taking this huge leap to start this business. I could never have done it without you. You’re my shining star and every success of mine is ours!

Website: https://www.wonderlandcelebrations.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderlandcelebrations/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderlandcelebrations

Image Credits
Josy Bassoto