Jennifer Ferry is your average happy-go-lucky college student at Washington University. She bakes cookies in her free time, her apartment is tidy, and there’s a row of Disney-themed mugs on her kitchen shelf. But Ferry’s chipper attitude lends itself well to how she spends her weekends—as a princess at various events across town through the St. Louis–based entertainment company, Enchanted Events. She also has started taking to social media with her Instagram account, documenting all of her favorite princess looks. It’s not your typical part-time job, but Ferry says there’s no better way to spend a weekend.
How did you begin working as a princess entertainer?
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JF: It’s actually really funny. I was reading this financial planning article for teens—because that’s what I did in high school—and it was about the best jobs to get when you’re in high school. One of the jobs listed was “princess.” They tend to get paid more because you have to have special skills—you have to act, you have to sing. I thought, “I’ve taken singing lessons for nine years. I love kids. It’s perfect!”
When I started looking at companies, it turns out, one of the biggest in the area, Enchanted Events, is less than a mile from my house. I emailed her to schedule an appointment—actually got canceled three times—and then one day, she called me and said, “Hey, we have a party in two hours. Do you want to come and watch, see what it’s all about? You’re hired!”
I’ve pretty much worked every weekend since then. That was my junior year of high school.
What was the onboarding process like? Was there a song session—something like that?
JF: We definitely get trained. When I walked in, and I had no experience with makeup. Nothing. We had to do makeup training sessions, we do acting sessions where my boss Kelly, she rides with us and watches us and she says, “Okay, this is what you did right. This is what you did wrong. Try to flip your hands like this for Elsa. Hold one finger out to the side, small smile. Tilt your head to the side, back to back.” She teaches you poses. It’s so much. You have to learn probably l20 songs, different makeup looks, about costume slips, petticoats, shoes, wigs. It was a lot to learn. But I definitely got there.
Do you feel like a master now?
JF: I definitely feel like a master. I feel like I’ve improved so much. And it’s funny, we had a training day and [my boss] used before and after images of when I started versus now to show what the improvement looks like. I feel way more comfortable acting in front of people and talking to kids and singing. I used to be so scared to sing in public. My knees would shake and my hands would shake. But now, I sing in front of probably 100 to 200 people a weekend.
Does anyone ever ask you trivia questions?
JF: Oh, yeah. Sometimes adults. But not super often. I once had a guy come up to me. He was like, “Do you know your original voice actress? Hmm? Do you know who wrote the song? Do you? Do you know?” I was like, “I’m a princess. I’m the real one. There is no voice actress.” Like, stop, I’m surrounded by kids! Sometimes you’ll get older siblings. They know. And they’re not keeping it a secret that they know. I had one little boy take the end of my wig and try and yank it off my head. I was glad I pinned that thing on. I said, “Oh, that’s my hair!” And he said, “Oh, that is real.”
What is your favorite part of the job?
JF: I love so many aspects of it. I think it’s hard to choose one because the girly part of me wants to say the makeup and the dresses the wigs. But I really do genuinely think that my favorite part is when the kids believe that you are this princess. They truly do. I had one grandma [tell me], “I just want you to know she’s been talking about you coming for a month. She’s so excited to see you. She’s so excited.” I had another little girl and she [says], “Excuse me, Princess Cinderella? Can I hold your hand? Can I please hold your hand?” I was like, “Of course we can hold hands!” She wanted to ask because I’m a princess. You can’t just hold a princess’ hand without asking. They are just so sweet. They truly, truly believe that you are Cinderella who went to the ball, who lost her slipper, who has a prince, the mice talk to you—they truly believe that.
How has being a character changed how you act when you’re not at work?
JF: I don’t even curse at all anymore. I didn’t do it a lot before, but, you know, if you stub your toe, a bad word comes out. I [now] stub my toe and I go, “Oh my goodness! Oh my!” Or when I talk to adults, my voice raises into that “princess voice”… I definitely have a princess’ outlook on life a little more now.
Do you have a favorite character to play?
JF: I love Cinderella. I have since I was a little girl. She has that big dress, the gloves. I love it. Cinderella is one of those characters that’s like a complete transformation for me: my hair becomes blonde, I get this giant dress, I get my glass slippers, I have my gloves all the way up. I just I feel like her. She was my favorite when I was little, so I go to these parties and these little girls are like, “Cinderella, it’s you!” I had that same adoration for her when I was a little kid.
What is one of your favorite moments as a princess?
JF: I love the little girl who asked to hold my hand. That was my favorite party ever. Another one was, I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. And this little girl said, “The beast wasn’t nice to you.” And I said, “No, but you have to remember to be kind to everyone, no matter what they look like because you don’t know what they feel like inside.” And she’s like, “I promise I’m going to be just like you.”
