How I Handled the Hollywood Movie Premiere in my Small, Alabama Town

(Me and Lisa Swift)

So, you hear there is going to be a movie premiere in your town. We are not just any town, we are a small town in Alabama, named Auburn. We are home to Auburn University, best know most for its sports teams. However, today was a different day.

I had heard about this contest on social media, but I don’t think it sunk in that this premiere was going to take place in a college town. I just was not paying attention. I had heard about it and then I heard that Auburn, Alabama, home of Auburn University, would be home to this movie premiere. Again, I just did not pay a whole lot of attention to this. Then, the day of the premiere came. I was reading about it online when I found out Melissa McCarthy and some of the other stars would be at our beloved Toomers Corner. I was talking to my friend, Lisa and told her and she said, “we have to go.” She was headed to spin class and I had just gotten home from my workout. We were a hot mess, but we wanted to go. I threw on a smidge of makeup and a hat and drove to meet her after workout. We then headed to our star studded adventure on the campus of Auburn University.

We got to Toomers and there was a small crowd. It was actually finals day, so there were not too many students out and about. We saw the limos at a nearby BBQ restaurant and just knew that was there they were. We waited awhile and then the police and security began to show up. We knew it was only a matter of minutes. Then the golf carts drove up. The golf carts that carried the stars of the day. We were excited! Everyone was clapping, screaming and holding out their cameras for the best shot. It was great.

Melissa was so eager to talk to anyone she could and take pictures with them. I just could not get up close enough to get a picture with her, but I was not far away. They were doing an interview with Extra, the Hollywood TV show, so we got to see that. Then Melissa and the other stars rolled our beloved trees.

After this, we were standing there talking to two women who had VIP tickets and they could not find anyone to take the other two, so they offered them to us. We were over the moon and so excited. As we were standing there, we started talking and I said, “you know they are headed over to the concourse.” This is where the students kind of gather between classes. We all knew what our next step was and ran over there. We got to see more of her and the stars. It was just amazing! We decided to leave, but as we were walking to our cars, we saw the entourage in front of our sign, so we again headed over there.

(Melissa McCarthy)

(Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Debby Ryan and Adria Arjona)

(Melissa McCarthy filming her spot on Extra)

(Melissa McCarthy and a fan)

(Up close and personal with Melissa McCarthy)

We then had to get back to our cars to get ready for the night ahead. We talked about what we were going to wear and headed home to get ready. This premiere was casual, so thank God, I had a ton of options to pick from. I was so excited that I created a poll on my Insta story and got some good response. I actually wore one of the most voted on outfits. Details are below!!!

Lisa and I are were meeting the other two ladies with our tickets and we were hungry, so we were going to get food. The ladies called and said we needed to get there ASAP and not to worry, because there were free concessions. We headed over and the parking lot was a zoo!!! We lucked up and found a close parking spot! We got there and got our tickets and wrist bands and headed into the theater.

As we entered, we were waiting on the stars to get in, but they did not want people in the lobby, so we were rushed into our theater, where we walked through metal detectors. We got our seats and were so excited to get this started. As we were sitting there, the stars started coming in. We were thrilled! We were getting to watch the premiere with the actual stars of the movie. Then, in walked Melissa McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone, and they talked to us for a few minutes and the movie started. It was actually such a cute and funny movie. Just so much fun and lots of laughs!

My Outfit: Dress: Pleione | Shoes: Boden | Clutch: Boutique

The concessions were ready!

(Julie Bowen and Jimmy O. Yang)

There was an after party and we were excited for that also. We walked in, it was in the parking lot, and were in awe. There was a bar with everything from water to beer to wine. The food was extraordinary. It was a menu that featured some fun southern favorites, such as ribs, macaroni and cheese and pecan pie shooters. Fantastic! There was even a deejay from 106.7 iHeartradio who played music to dance to and boy were people dancing. Everyone was having fun. And then we noticed that the stars were there to join us. They were mixing and mingling and taking pictures with everyone. It was a blast! We left around 11:00 PM and if I did not have to work and do a million other things the next day, I would have been tempted to stay much later!

(with the fantastic Jessie Ennis)

(Debby Ryan and Mollie Gordon)

(Luke Benward)

Wow! What an experience! I will never forget the fun. I want to say I am not much of a camera person. But, with the blogging, I am learning to get better. So bear with me, because I should have taken so much more and if I am ever in this situation again, I can promise you, I will. As for my outfit, all of these pieces are older. But I have linked similar styles for everything!

Here are my outfit details!