Northwood's own 'Bridezilla': TV series features Megan Cantu as one of its bossy brides

8/13/2008
BY RYAN E. SMITH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Megan Cantu 
<br>
<img src=http://www.toledoblade.com/graphics/icons/video.gif> <b><font color=red>VIDEO</b></font color=red>: <a href=Bridezillas Episode 12 Sneak Peek (Megan tries to put the fear of God in her not-so-receptive (or mature) bridal party.) " rel="storyimage1" title="Northwood-s-own-Bridezilla-TV-series-features-Megan-Cantu-as-one-of-its-bossy-brides.jpg"/>
Megan Cantu &lt;br&gt; &lt;img src=http://www.toledoblade.com/graphics/icons/video.gif&gt; &lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=red&gt;VIDEO&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font color=red&gt;: &lt;a href=&quot; http://wetv.com/video/1709866891/bridezillas-episode-12-sneak-peek&quot; target=&quot;_blank &quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Bridezillas Episode 12 Sneak Peek&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt; (Megan tries to put the fear of God in her not-so-receptive (or mature) bridal party.)

It's hard to say when Northwood resident Megan Cantu became a bridezilla, one of those demanding, fire-breathing brides who wants to control every element of her wedding.

Was it when she threw her fiance's "SINGLE" T-shirt in the toilet a few days before the wedding and said, "He belongs to me. I own him. He is not single"?

Maybe it was when she got mad at her dad for not having selected a father-daughter song and told the DJ, "I want a song that says: I'm your dad and I get on your last nerves and I won't be quiet. Is there any cute song like that?"

Or it could have been when Mrs. Cantu told one of her bridesmaids that she ordered her a larger dress because she thought she had put on some weight?

Viewers across the country can decide for themselves when these scenes and others begin to play out on Sunday's 9 p.m. episode of Bridezillas on the WE cable network and continue on Aug. 24 and 31. (WE, formerly called Women's Entertainment, is available on DirecTV and Dish Network but is not currently carried by Buckeye CableSystem in the Toledo area.)

Mrs. Cantu, whose maiden name is Stevens, has her own theory.

"I've been bossy since I was born," she told The Blade last week. "I was born giving orders."

The 23-year-old dance instructor who also works at Bay Park Community Hospital in Oregon married Cory Cantu, 22, on Leap Day at Nazareth Hall in Grand Rapids. The couple applied to be on the show on a lark.

"It just sounded like fun," said Mrs. Cantu, who hasn't seen the episodes featuring her yet. "I'm sure I'll come off as a bridezilla but hopefully not too bad."

Her husband, a pharmacy technician who is studying computer science at Owens Community College, was excited too.

"I thought it was the coolest thing in the world," he said. "I hope I don't come off as a pushover but I'm sure that's exactly how I'll come off."

The show follows the couple in the days leading up to the wedding. Mrs. Cantu seizes control from the beginning, giving strict instructions and making it clear that having fun is not a priority. She goes off on her fiance and his groomsmen at the rehearsal dinner over a missing wedding notebook and makes it abundantly clear that she does not approve of most of Mr. Cantu's pals.

"After the wedding you're not going to see your friends anymore," she tells him at one point. "You'll just have my friends."

(For the record, Mr. Cantu said that hasn't happened. "We still hang," he said. "Maybe she doesn't know, but we still hang.")

Mrs. Cantu acknowledges being bossy but said it's not because she's mean but because she wants things to be done right, a common trait among bridezillas, according to executive producer Danielle Ostroske.

"That common thread that runs through all the bridezillas is perfection, their quest for perfection," she said. "Megan Stevens, for example, it was obvious that she would stop at nothing to get the perfect day that she wanted."

The Cantus beat out hundreds of other couples to be on the show and were so entertaining that they achieved an even rarer feat.

"Megan was so good we put her in three episodes," Ms. Ostroske said. "I love her. I love her episodes."

What will viewers think?

"They're probably going to think I'm the worst friend ever," Mrs. Cantu said. But "most of them have been my friends for a long time. They know how I am and they love me for it."

The same goes for her hubby. After the wedding, he lovingly calls his new bride the "ultimate bridezilla" and adds: "It feels good to be owned, just because I know she loves me and she'll treat me right." Pause. "Although she doesn't really own me."

Both the bride and groom said they enjoyed the Bridezillas experience.

"It made the whole week an event instead of just the wedding day," Mrs. Cantu said.

In the end, everything turned out fine for the wedding and even this bridezilla had a good time. She may have ruffled a few feathers along the way, she said, but what bride doesn't?

"I would definitely do it again," Mrs. Cantu told The Blade. "Or ask me after I see it, I guess I should say."

No matter how the show turns out or how others react to it, one thing's for sure.

"We're happily married," she said. "Everything's going great. I'm in charge."

Contact Ryan E. Smith at: ryansmith@theblade.com or 419-724-6103.