‘DWTS’ Pro Cheryl Burke Details Why She Was a ‘Bridezilla’ and Why You Should Be Too

Dancing With The Stars pro Cheryl Burke is hoping to reverse the negative stigma around the term “bridezilla,” and suggests every bride make sure their wedding is perfect.

Last month, Burke tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend, Boy Meets World actor Matthew Lawrence, at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego. On Friday, she opened up about the wedding ceremony in an interview with Glamour, and explained why she does not think being a “bridezilla” is necessarily a bad thing.

“I say embrace your inner bridezilla. I sure did,” Burke, 35, admitted. “But there’s a way of doing it without having people hate you. A bridezilla can either be b–y [to the point where] friends ghost them after the wedding or there’s a bridezilla like me that expected perfection from myself, not from anyone else.”

The two-time Mirror Ball Trophy winner compared being a bridezilla to practicing for DWTS.

“If I know I didn’t do my best, I won’t be able to sleep at night. It’s important for me to follow through with whatever expectations I have for myself,” she said.

Burke continued, “Everyone says, ‘You’re going to forget something on your wedding day,’ and it makes me proud to say I did not forget one thing. I was like, ‘I deserve an award for this!’ It’s so important to me for things to run smoothly and on time. I went to a wedding once that started an hour late, and I don’t appreciate that. I think it’s really rude. Honestly, now that my wedding is done, I’m pretty sure [wedding planner] Mindy Weiss would hire me.”

Burke said she even showed Weiss a PowerPoint presentation of her dreams for her wedding during their first meeting. She was surprised Weiss was actually happy about it, since it showed Burke had a clear vision for her nuptials.

“Listen, I’m not telling people to do backflips down the aisle. This isn’t a circus act,” Burke told Glamour. “I’ve been to enough weddings to know what works and what doesn’t. And what doesn’t work is when you tell your bridal party, ‘Do whatever you want or wear whatever you want,’ when you actually have an opinion. I think it’s rude to give people that freedom if you’re just going to judge them afterward.”

Burke admitted choosing a dress was a “nightmare” and her first two dress designers quit. Eventually, she found Romona Kaveza, who “was the best.”

The wedding ceremony was star-studded. Actress Leah Remini was Burke’s matron of honor, while her sister Nicole was a bridesmaid. Fellow DWTS pro Kym Johnson Herjavec was a bridesmaid as well. Burke and Lawrence exchanged vows in front of 200 guests.

In the end, Burke said she understands that her “work ethic and intensity” might not be for everyone, but “that’s ok.”

“I have to embrace it instead of pretending that I whipped up a routine or a wedding in two seconds,” Burke said. “And I’m proud of that. I’m proud of the sleepless nights. It’s not something you want to brag about, but I don’t think you should pretend the results happen on their own either. Achieving your goals is not glamorous. You just have to take one rhinestone at a time.”

DWTS Season 28 will air this fall on ABC.

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