The Hallmark star also addressed whether she'd be open to appearing in the 'Mean Girls' musical movie.
Lacey Chabert leads the follow-up trilogy to Hallmark Channel's Wedding Veil movies and the network favorite sat down exclusively with ET's Rachel Smith to explain why she was excited to continue the story of best friends Emma, Tracy and Avery.
"The reason I was so excited for this story to continue is typically these movies end with that last kiss or the characters falling in love, and we finally get to see what happens when they’re in a relationship and what happens in these marriages and what they’re doing next," Chabert said. "Are they starting families? Are they having homes together? Are they building their careers? And what kind of complications and problems are they having? You want to see the fun they’re having together too."
In the first of three new Wedding Veil movies, which kicks off Sunday with The Wedding Veil Expectations, Chabert's Avery has exciting news to share with her husband, Peter (When Calls the Heart's Kevin McGarry), but is waiting for the right moment. As the couple undergoes the tall task of renovating the old house they've purchased, Avery leans on BFFs Emma (Autumn Reeser) and Tracy (Alison Sweeney) for support. When Tracy returns the antique wedding veil to Emma, the pals find they haven't seen the last of its magic. The next two films put the spotlight on Emma and her relationship with Palo (Paolo Bernardini) in The Wedding Veil Inspiration, and Tracy and Nick's (Victor Webster) romance takes them to Greece in The Wedding Veil Journey.
"It’s been an honor to work with [Autumn and Alison,] and to get to know them as women and mothers and actresses who understand what it is to be part of the Hallmark family and to share the stories and experiences," said Chabert, who also is an executive producer on the film. "We have had so much fun making these movies. They’ve all been a real adventure in this trilogy. We actually got to go to Greece. We went on this trip together, sharing stories of motherhood and being actresses and being a part of the Hallmark family. It’s a unique experience and I just adore them both and we’ve had so much fun."
The 40-year-old actress acknowledged many people have mentioned connecting with the trio's onscreen friendship with their real-life BFFs.
"A lot of people have given us that feedback, like, 'I see myself and my sisters or myself and my friends in the friendship.' They’re the kind of friends who would drop anything and they do drop anything to be there for each other," Chabert said. "We had the beautiful romantic storyline, but we also have this relationship and love story in and of itself between these three women and how they’ve always been there for each other and they continue to be as they navigate life."
Because weddings are a part of the fabric of the Hallmark franchise, Chabert reflected on her own special day when she said "I do" to her husband, David Nehdar. The couple will be celebrating 10 years of marriage this December.
"At the time, when you’re getting married and you’re planning your wedding, you think about, 'The flowers have to be perfect and the music and this and the food and I want everybody to have [a good time,' and when you reflect on it after it's happened, none of that actually mattered," she said. "It's really the memories that you carry. That beautiful conversation that I had with that one person or dancing with my friends and laughing so hard. And my husband and looking at each other for the first time after we were married and just being like, 'I can’t believe we did this.'"
"I think one of my most memorable parts of my wedding was my dad walking me down the aisle. It was just really, really, really special and I know I was blessed to have that moment," Chabert recalled. "And what’s really special is we have a video of our wedding and letting our daughter watch that now 'cause she wasn’t there. She gets to see the experience of us in that time of our lives and what a special day it was."
Chabert admitted she hasn't thought about her 10-year wedding anniversary plans just yet, but she imagines it'll center around "tradition and celebrating as much as possible."
"I’m all for any reason to have a party, get people together. I love to host, I think it’s a very Southern thing, right?" she said. "There needs to be an amazing meal and so we'll definitely do something special."
Chabert said the key to keeping her marriage healthy is spending time with each other and setting aside that time. "And really just remember what it is you love so much about each other and make sure you really see the other person, that you communicate," she shared. "It's a real journey and I'm blessed to have a wonderfully supportive husband."
As Chabert continues to put her stamp on Hallmark, the favorite said she still gets "excited" every time she steps onto the set of a new project for the network.
"I love the opportunity to share these stories," she explained. "There’s a certain sweetness to them and it’s a real challenge for me to figure out, OK, what’s the best way in to this story? What’s a different take on this story? What is something that might be exciting and new for the audience? We’ve traveled the world making them. We’ve done mysteries, comedies, did a comedy for Christmas last year and we’ve done some that are a bit more emotional and a little bit deeper and then I love the rom-coms. So it's a real mix and the stuff that we have planned for this year, I’m so excited about because it is really a little bit of everything."
And Chabert is 100 percent behind Hallmark's expansion in telling stories about all walks of life. "It’s really important to Hallmark that they want their audience to see themselves in all of their movies," the actress said. "I’m thrilled for all of my friends' success and I’m rooting for everybody and I’ve loved being a part of these sweet stories."
While she's been busy with Hallmark, Chabert expressed enthusiasm over the possibility of appearing in the upcoming musical movie of Mean Girls, in which she played the memorable Gretchen Wieners in the 2004 movie.
"Absolutely," she said when asked if she'd be interested in a cameo. "I mean, I'd love to know what Gretchen's up to these days."
Though she's unsure who would be a good candidate to play Gretchen in the musical movie, Chabert praised Emily in Paris' Ashley Park for her performance as Gretchen in the Broadway musical. "She was so incredible and it was a surreal experience for me to sit there and watch something that we'd all been a part of come to life in this new way," she remembered. "It was just surreal and wonderful and I thought they did such a good job at adapting the movie to the show. She was amazing and I loved meeting her afterwards. We've kept in touch a bit on social media and I'm just always rooting for her. She's awesome."
For now, Chabert is keeping busy with a slew of projects she could play coy about.
"We have some other really fun things planned, which I wish I could tell you about but it's stuff that the audience is gonna be really excited about," she promised. "I got to spend a lot of time with people who watch the movies and [are] fans of the movies... To have this one-on-one time with the people that actually tune in, it meant so much to me to hear people tell me their stories of what the movies actually mean to them and I just cherish that experience. The stuff that we have coming up, I think the audience is gonna love it."
The Wedding Veil Expectations premieres Saturday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel.
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