Find the perfect fit at Cinderella Couture
By MANDY SHELTON | Photos by SKEEBO
“Thank you for calling Cinderella Couture; how may I serve you?”
It’s not quite Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, but this is how Betty Cucker begins to weave her spell.
Cinderella Couture Bridals & Formal Wear in Killeen is a bridal boutique worthy of a princess … or anyone who wants to feel like one on her special day.
“I chose Cinderella because I wanted something beautiful, something that had a happy ending,” Betty says. “Cinderella has always been my favorite Disney character, always. When I was growing up, whenever Cinderella came on, I was there to watch it.”
The couture portion, she says, represents a place where beautiful things are manufactured, sewn, or created, and then made available. If a fairy godmother went into business for herself, it would look a lot like Cinderella Couture.
Not everything can be as easy as waving a magic wand, though, and dresses may require multiple fittings and an in-house seamstress. They can’t all be conjured out of thin air or handsewn by cartoon birds and mice.
In this version of the story, the princess is played by Killeen’s own Jasmine Suino, who took the stage as Cinderella in Vive Les Arts’ production of Into the Woods, the Stephen Sondheim musical in which fairytale characters get lost in the forest together, sharing their stories with mixed results.
Forces beyond our control can put Happily Ever After in jeopardy. A global pandemic can disrupt your opportunity “to fulfill a lifelong wish of performing as Cinderella,” as Jasmine said in the program for Into the Woods, or it can preempt your dream wedding. Either way, the show must go on.
Just ask the woman who has been making women beautiful on their special days for the past two decades. “Right now, what seems to be continuing to happen when everything else is not are weddings,” Betty says. “People are still getting married.”
Many brides may be shrinking the ceremony, and she works on fewer bridesmaid dresses because the wedding parties have downsized accordingly. “A lot of girls are scaling down the wedding, but they’re still getting beautiful gowns,” Betty says. “They just said: ‘I’m not compromising with my gown. I’ve already had to cut back on my number of guests, but the gown…no compromising.’”
For Jasmine, Betty chose a dress with a “sheer plunging back” and a flare that falls “within the mermaid family” but includes the traditional train. Three separate veils were considered.
In Sondheim’s version of the scrambled fairytales, Cinderella gets married at the end of the first act. On the VLA stage, Jasmine wore another wedding gown as Cinderella wed Prince Charming. After intermission, however, the story takes a dark turn.
Whether for a royal ball or a military ball, Betty works her magic for all sorts of formal events. She has always wanted to incorporate appointment shopping, and COVID-19 forced it upon her. “Really, appointments have just worked out wonderfully for me. I’ve tried to do appointment only for over two years now and it just didn’t work. But it’s working beautifully now,” Betty says. When she has an appointment, she locks the door and gives the client two hours of her uninterrupted time. All her fittings include the flute of champagne that puts a little sparkle into the shopping experience.
Betty offers bridal masks as well, done up in the style of the chosen dress. In a way, brides-to-be have always worn masks at Cinderella Couture. “We have makeup masks,” Betty says. “It’s a very thin film that goes over your face, but it keeps cosmetics off the dresses.” For her fitting, Jasmine wears a Disney princess mask.
Betty is originally from Holly Springs, just outside Memphis. She earned a degree in chemistry from Alcorn State University and did graduate work at the University of Mississippi. She has lived in Texas for 38 years.
After more than 13 years at her Belton location, Betty began looking for a new home for Cinderella Couture in 2012.
“Opportunity came when the shopping plaza was built and we were invited to come in,” Betty says. The store has been located in the pedestrian-friendly Village Square, Killeen’s own version of the brick-lined Rodeo Drive, for the past five years.
During a normal November, the Village Square businesses are preparing for their annual fashion show. The event, first started by The Jewelry Lady, involves all the businesses in the shopping center. Some provide food, others haircuts and styles, while a few of the businesses offer employees as models.
“That’s what the goal was, to get everyone involved,” Betty says. “That show was all about promoting this shopping plaza.”
The team chose to forgo the Fashion on the Square event in 2020, which turned out to be a blessing. “And lo and behold, look what happened,” Betty says. “It was really being led by God.”
