Candace Cameron Bure has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. She is releasing her ninth Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel in just a few weeks, helping son Lev Bure and his fiancée, Taylor Hutchison, plan their upcoming nuptials and will have all of her kids home for Christmas.
In an interview with TODAY, Bure shared the inspiration for her upcoming movie, marriage advice she’d give the newly engaged couple and how COVID-19 has affected their wedding planning.
What it’s like planning a wedding during the middle of a pandemic:
“We have a plan A, but in case COVID affects that, we're working on a plan B,” she revealed about her son and future daughter-in-law’s big day.
Bure disclosed that the pair, who got engaged in August after dating for about a year and a half, plan to marry next year. However, she noted that the pandemic has “impacted it greatly so far.”
The soon-to-be mother-in-law explained that a lot of venues are unavailable for booking because of the restrictions on the number of people that can gather together during the pandemic.
“It’ll just in general probably be a smaller wedding than everyone would have wanted just because of those types of things,” she said. “We're just rolling with the punches.”
Because of the potential guest restrictions, the actor said she’s not sure if any of her “Fuller House” co-stars will be in attendance. “I honestly would love if all of them were there but COVID may have it down to a very small family wedding.”
Regardless of size, we know what guests will be offered to drink: Wine from the family’s label, Bure Family Wines.
“Oh, 100 percent that is what will be served,” she said, laughing.
Bure also confirmed that the bride-to-be said yes to a dress and made it a family affair.
“It was so great. I went with her and her mom and my daughter Natasha went as well,” she shared. “She found a winner, so that was exciting.”
While she hasn’t talked to him about it yet, Bure expects Lev, who “loves ministry” and “has a way with words” to have a hand in crafting the ceremony.
“I can't imagine that it wouldn't be a part of the ceremony that he will take that part upon himself to make it super special.”
Wedding advice she would give to the engaged couple:
Lev, 20, is the same age as his famous mom when she got married. After being married to her husband, former NHL hockey player Valeri Bure for 24 years, Bure has words of wisdom for the upcoming newlyweds.
“I think what's most important is that you grow together, especially when you’re a young couple, as my husband and I were.” She added, “Keep dating each other through the whole marriage, keep having fun together.”
Why she posted that PDA photo:
The 44-year-old recently made headlines for posting a photo to Instagram of her husband placing his hand on her breast while the couple posed for a photo op.
“I posted it just because my husband and I had a fun lunch together and we were taking pictures on this bridge because it was pretty,” she shared. “The last photo my husband put his hand on me and it was just funny so I was like, ‘I’m going to post this’ and we both laughed. It was as simple and thoughtless as that.”
She said that she didn’t expect there to be controversy around the photo because she looked at it as “just a silly, fun-loving picture of a married couple.”
Bure added that she hopes the post serves as encouragement to married couples, especially those that have been married a long time. “You don’t have to stop flirting and stop having fun because you’ve been married. That’s part of what keeps the marriage going.”
The inspiration behind her upcoming Christmas movie:
Hallmark’s leading lady is gearing up for the release of her ninth Christmas movie for the network, “If I Only Had Christmas,” airing Nov. 29.
In the film, Bure plays a cheerful publicist who teams up with a cynical business owner and his team at Christmas to help a charity in need.
As executive producer of her Hallmark movies, Bure shared that one of the most challenging parts of creating Christmas movies nearly every year is making them feel different and unique.
“This one's different because yes, it's a romantic comedy, it's all about Christmas and it's all about finding love. But, if you like 'The Wizard of Oz,' there are so many nuggets to the movie and Easter eggs in there, within the character names, with the themes of having a heart, having courage, having a brain, even the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Bure deems this Christmas movie her favorite “because of my love for 'The Wizard of Oz,'” which is also the inspiration for the film.
How she and her family will spend Christmas:
“Our biggest tradition that we've done for more than 10 years is that we serve at a homeless shelter every Christmas morning very early,” Bure said.
Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, they’re not allowed to do it this year. “That part’s disappointing, but I'm sure we'll still find a way to be a blessing to the people that are there this year.”
The mother of three expects a full house this Christmas as all of her kids — Natasha, 22, Lev, 20 and Maksim, 18 — will join her and Valeri at home to celebrate Christmas. However, she noted that it might be a quieter Christmas this year because of COVID.
“We love to travel over the holidays because it's the time when we're all able to. It’s like we all get a Christmas break or vacation but I don't know if that will happen.”