‘The Young and the Restless’ Duo Cricket and Danny Get Married: How Selena Gomez and ‘Sex and the City’ Inspired the Bridal Gown Hunt (EXCLUSIVE)
The long wait is officially over. After three decades of anticipation, devoted fans of “The Young and the Restless” are finally getting their wish — their favorite soap supercouple, Cricket and Danny, are giving marriage a second chance. The highly anticipated wedding is set for Nov. 21, with a huge reception to follow on Nov. 24.
A last-minute change to a wedding gown would typically send any real-life bride into a complete, nerve-racking spinout. But on “Y&R,” that same adjustment translated into a moment of pure Hollywood inspiration — drawing inspiration from Selena Gomez and “Sex and the City.”
“We found this incredible dress that the viewers voted on,” says Lauralee Bell, who has portrayed Cricket since 1983. When the day came for taping of the wedding and reception, the actors and crew put in long, long hours. They realized that Cricket was doing lots of standing and sitting and standing and sitting again. At the end of the day, costume designer Mandi Line approached Bell with the idea of a second gown, with Cricket slipping into another, more casual and comfortable wedding dress for the reception.
‘The Young and the Restless’ star Lauralee Bell in Cricket’s wedding gown and with Michael Damian (Danny) at Cricket and Danny’s wedding reception. (Howard Wise/jpistudios)
Literally the night before, Bell and Line were talking about the Selena Gomez wedding and the three stunning custom Ralph Lauren dresses she wore that big day. It was a lightbulb moment. Line happened to have the perfect dress already as a potential contender, but it wasn’t one of the three specific options that fans had voted on. “Mandi was like, ‘The fourth dress that we loved so much, that we thought might be a little too casual as a contender, what do you think about switching into a reception dress?’” Bell recalls. “Mandi’s like, ‘Go to bed and think about it.’ … It was just a really smart choice. And the fans won’t expect this at all.”
Up to that point, gathering potential gown choices for fans to choose among had been a time-consuming process. “Number one, it’s about getting down the silhouettes,” Line says. “Lauralee and I talked about what are the silhouettes that worked best for her and her body, what Cricket would choose, and what Lauren [Fenmore] would also have in her archives and arsenal. I said to Lauralee, ‘Can we have a Carrie Bradshaw moment?’” Line said of Sarah Jessica Parker’s fashionista “Sex and the City” character. “As a woman who’s never gotten married, I needed a Carrie Bradshaw moment. She’s like, ‘Girl, do your thing.’ So Lauralee and I went to downtown L.A., and we spent a day down there, and this is on top of me already spending time online. We spoke to the dress designer at Q Bridal. They said because they watch the show, ‘Take what you want.’”
Danny and Cricket’s wedding on ‘The Young and the Restless’ (Bill Inoshita/CBS)
CBS
Dressing the groom, played by Michael Damian, was a whole lot easier. “I had like six layers of Spanx on. Nobody cares about my Tom Ford tux,” jokes Damian, who tried on the tux and right away was, “This is it.” The pin on Danny’s lapel is a diamond “C” (for Cricket/Christine).
Fans who have shipped Cricket and Danny since the ‘90s are in for a treat. This couple was always a fan favorite, not least because the actors were actual teens when their friendship grew into love. They married on-screen in Maui in 1990, but just five years later, a web of actions and lies tore everything apart.
“This shoot is special because it’s 30 years in the making, so there’s this bubbly excitement about it,” Damian says. “The fans have been probably the most supportive on the planet and really just have stuck with us all these years and have not lost faith. And, Friday, I don’t think they’ll be disappointed because there’s really some nice surprises. We’ve got some returning wonderful castmates like Patty Weaver (Gina) my sister, and Tricia Cast (Nina), and there’s a lot of really nostalgic dialogue talking about things connecting to the past.”
Lauralee Bell (Cricket), Christian LeBlanc (Michael) and Michael Damian (Danny), ‘The Young and the Restless’ (Bill Inoshita/CBS)
CBS
And for those that missed Cricket and Danny’s first wedding, you can watch it this Thanksgiving when CBS reairs it.
There’s something almost fairytale-like about reuniting, reconnecting and remarrying your first love 30 years after splitting up. Neither Cricket or Danny have thought twice about committing to each other again. “First love is more powerful than you can ever imagine, and you always think of that person. Always,” Bell says. “I think they would’ve always stayed together except for what happened with Phyllis (who Danny married because he thought she was pregnant with his child) and Paul was a friend that she fell in love with and had a very nice, safe marriage. But when it comes to the one love of your life or the ‘what if,’ yeah, it’s always Danny.”
Damian doesn’t hesitate to agree. “If you look at clips of Danny, he’s got no doubt; he’s always saying, ‘It will happen. We will be together.’ He’s been saying that from day one. He’s never lost faith. He just had to convince Cricket.”
Michael Damian and Lauralee Bell at Danny and Cricket’s wedding; costume designer Mandi Line, inset
