Royal Events Princess Parties brings magic across the Island
Like most little girls, Rachel Margolin dreamt of becoming a princess when she grew up. And like all good stories, this tale as old as time has a happy ending, as last year, the Massapequa Park 20-year-old took the throne of her own company.
Since November of 2016, Royal Events Princess Parties has been bringing the magic to Long Island by having princesses attend birthday parties, charity events and special occasions like luaus and tea parties. Royal Events is even the official company for Make-A-Wish Suffolk County; they bring their princesses to children in need and make annual appearances at the Make-A-Wish ball.
Margolin, who co-owns Royal Events Princess Parties with her mother, Debra Klein, said the idea to start her own princess company stemmed from a poor experience working with a company of a similar nature. With help from her parents and grandparents, Margolin acquired her first costumes and started her brand with three princesses. Through word of mouth, vendor shows and attending anything where princesses could be wanted, Margolin was able to make a name for her company.
Now, as her company has grown, Royal Events offers more than just princesses, with a roster that includes more than 15 characters and 13 actors and actresses. Klein, who also works as the financial manager, recently became the latest addition to the brand’s cast as the fairy godmother.
Emily Festa, who initially met Margolin when they worked at a haunted house, had also worked with Margolin at their previous company. Once Royal Events was getting on its feet, Festa jumped on board and became the company’s actor manager.
“When [Rachel] decided that she wanted to start her own company and bring the magic to these kids even more, I hopped on the bandwagon,” said Festa, a 20-year-old Massapequa resident. “I knew it would be a better environment for me and for the kids, and this is what I really wanted to do because I love the idea of working with kids in that sense where you bring the magic to them instead of them having to travel.”
While Margolin does everything from hiring, booking and costume maintenance to managing social media and writing acting guides for each character, she also plays Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, the Ice Queen, Rapunzel and Beauty.
“I do a lot, but it’s so worth it,” Margolin said. “If there’s anything in the world to make me tired, I’d want it to be this. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a child’s face when one of our girls walks in.”
In addition to her responsibilities of assisting princesses at parties, helping the actors with whatever they need and training them, Festa plays the Little Mermaid, the Snow Princess, the Fairest Princess and the First Princess.
“Just because the characters who I portray don’t normally go out as much, I am more known as Miss Emily than I am as a princess,” Festa said. “Assisting is everything that goes on behind the scenes and you make sure that everything looks good. You have to keep an eye out for everything, so it’s a lot of work put into it.”
Margolin prides herself on having created a brand that revolves around accuracy. From shoe bows to bracelets, she says every princess will have a full inventory of everything you’ve seen on TV or in a movie. The costumes and wigs are all custom made from various suppliers, depending on who Margolin feels has created the most accurate representation of that character. She said she likes her actors to look as if they stepped out of a theme park.
“I love creating magic, I love being a part of the magic. I’ll look at pictures of the real princesses and I’ll be like, ‘How can we do that as best as we can?’ I feel like no detail is too small, everything is just as important,” she said.
Klein said she’s in a perpetual state of trying not to cry from pride of who her daughter has become.
“To watch my daughter do this, it’s really a wonderful thing because it comes from such a good place. She doesn’t make a living out of this, but she’s not in it for the money. [The cast is] truly a family,” she said.
Margolin said the success of her company doesn’t come only from her perfectionist nature, but rather it comes from their team and the children they work with.
“You could say they’re our cast, but we’re a team, we’re a family. If this little girl wants to meet a princess that I don’t play, I get to say yes because of the dedication of these other amazing people that we’ve taken into our family,” she said. “But I would owe our success to the innocence and the beauty of children. Without children, magic could not exist. Because of their innocence, because of their purity and just the positive light and energy that these children exude, because of them it makes our business possible.”
For more information, visit www.royaleventsli.com.
