By Famin Ahmed 

 You probably remember Joanna Garcia from her role as teen mom Cheyenne on Reba but her latest role is playing a wacky bridesmaid trying to prevent a loveless marriage in ABC Family’s Revenge of the Bridesmaids on Sunday, July 18 at 8/7 Central. Garcia and Raven-Symoné play two best friends who return to their hometown only to find the conniving Caitlin (Virginia Williams) has stolen away their friend Rachel’s (Chryssie Whitehead) love and plans on marrying him.  

Garcia took some time to do a phone conference with us to talk about the movie, her new ABC sitcom Better With You, and her own upcoming nuptials.

Question>        I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about the new movie, Revenge of the Bridesmaids.

JoAnna>  Well, Revenge of the Bridesmaids, it's a pretty cute, sweet chick flick if you will.  It’s a movie about girlfriends and the lengths that we would go to stick up for each other and to do the right thing.  It definitely is the kind of movie that I like to sit down and watch, and especially the kind of movie that I like to do as an actress.  It’s all about girls binding together and kicking butt.

Question> The movie sounds like a lot of fun.  I heard that you got engaged yourself recently.  Obviously, everyone is excited that you're getting married.  Did you learn anything from this movie that will help you in planning your own wedding?

JoAnna>  I learned that I will not make my bridesmaids wear material that itches as much as our bridesmaid dresses did in the movie [laughs].  No, it was actually really fun.  It was a majority of women that were on the movie, with the exception of my lovely co-star, David Rogers, who could handle us pretty well, and our director, Jim Hayman, who is married to an actress, so he was ready for it.  But it was like bridal magazines everywhere, and a couple of the girls were getting married, some had already been married, so it was a lot of fun.  It was wedding topics for sure in the air.

Question> What did you enjoy the most about filming Revenge of the Bridesmaids?

JoAnna>  I really think that working with the people that I worked with was great - they were so amazingly talented and very funny and we all had a good time.  We were in New Orleans during Jazz Fest and also during the oil spill.  It was sort of mixed emotional journey to be in New Orleans, and it's such a beautiful city, too.  The people have so much pride in their city that it really blows my mind.  I think just the whole experience was really unique and special.

Question> Did you do anything special to prepare for the role of Parker?

JoAnna>  No, I think Parker was right down my pipeline.  She is fun, a little sarcastic.  There's obviously some things that Parker got involved with that I would never do, but it was still really great, Parker and I have a lot in common.

Question> You and Raven actually seem to be best friends on Revenge of the Bridesmaids.  Did you two know each other before filming?

JoAnna>  We didn't at all.  We knew of each other's work I think. I was really impressed with her, just her communicability.  She just rocks and rolls and she makes everything fun.  It was total girl fest.  And Raven and I aren't even that terribly girly, but we definitely had a lot of fun.

Question> Do you think you'll ever work on something together again in the future?

JoAnna>  I sure hope so.  I love to believe that I have some sort of control over my career, but if history is telling me anything, I kind of go with the flow.  But I think that we would love to team up again and have some fun.

Question> Out of all of the little pranks that you guys pulled on the bride, which one was your favorite to film?

JoAnna>  There is a scene where we are filling these small little baggies with Jordan Almonds as party favors.  Raven, and it wasn't even scripted this way, but she just started to put them in her mouth and suck on them a little bit, and then spit them into the bags and tie them up and put them in the pile of party favors.  It was very subtle, and actually after having seen the film I was glad that came out.  It was one of my favorite moments.  It made me laugh out loud when she was doing it.  That stuck with me as one of my favorite pranks.

Question> Have you ever been a bridesmaid before?  And if so, what was the experience like for you?

JoAnna>  I have.  I've been a bridesmaid a few times actually.  Most recently, I was the bridesmaid to my best friend, who actually just had a baby last week.  We had the best time.  There were a few moments where I thought I was going to have to regulate a little bit, keep the other bridesmaids in check, but at the end of the day, we had so much fun.  She was not a bridezilla at all.  She even let us pick our own dresses, but it was a blast.  She got married in Park City and the altitude definitely helped keeping the wedding jolly going.  So it was a lot of fun.

Question> In those different weddings, have there been any "ugly" bridesmaids dresses that you've got to wear?

JoAnna>  No, I've been blessed.  People have been kind to me.  I was thankful for that and I'm going to return the favor to my bridesmaids.

Question> In terms of the wedding planning, how is that going?  Have you picked a place to get married, have you set a date, how is that coming along?

JoAnna>  We've hired the most delicious wedding planner on the planet, and he is doing it all with my mom.  Nick and I, we're just excited to get married.  So the fact that we're having a wedding is more exciting than anything, but they're taking the reins.  We are both so thankful, we both are really busy. 

 We're trying to get Nick into the All-Star Team, and I'm trying to get my show up and running and promote this movie.  I'm so excited about this movie coming out in.  We have a lot going on.  So it's so nice, my mom is like Martha Stewart so it's amazing to have her help.

Question> I heard you have a big birthday coming up next month.

JoAnna>  I don't know if it's so big, but yes, I do have a birthday.  I love it, I don't mind aging.

Question> Do you have big plans set up for your birthday bash?

JoAnna>  I'm going back to work actually.  I'm going to be with my love in New York until I have to go back to work, and then I will be working on my birthday, which sort of always has happened for me.  When I was on Reba, we went back to work my birthday week every year.  I celebrated big time last year.  This year I think we'll probably lay low.  We've got a lot of celebrations in our near future.

Question> I was wondering if you could describe some of the characters from Revenge of the Bridesmaids?

JoAnna>  Parker is sort of a struggling actress, a little bit sarcastic, a little jaded if you will by her life experience.  Abigail is a wisecracking, a fast talking writer, and they're best of friends.  And then you have sweet Rachel, that's really the best way to describe her, just so sweet.  It's to her detriment how sweet she is.  And then you Caitlin.  Caitlin is “me, me, me,” fantastically, deliciously villainous.  One of my favorite characters is Caitlin’s mother, played by Beth Broderick.  She is as cougar as, she is a gorgeous little minx who would stop at no end to keep her mansion and her livelihood intact.

Question> Do you have any advice for girls who would like to pursue acting?

JoAnna>  Wow, yes, I do.  I mean, where do I begin?  I think that the most important thing is to commit and know that this business is filled with ups and downs, and make sure that you listen to your instincts, and put yourself with the right people, and never give up.  Really, I think is the most important thing.  There isn't an actor that is "successful" that does not have bumps in the road and have been kicked in the teeth.  It's a really tough business.  You sort of have to bind together.

 My actor friends are people that I rely on so much, because you're in the trenches together.  You have to stick together and just be in it for the long haul.  If you really want to do it, it takes a lot of determination.  And be good and don't get into trouble.  That's the other things, it's so easy to get caught up in all the chaos that our world kind of brings.  And just to stick your nose to the grindstone and just keep on it and never give up.

Question>        I heard that you're involved with this group, “Make the Commitment,” can you tell us a little about that and how you got involved with them?

JoAnna>  I do a lot of work with Stepleman Network and that particular campaign was a part of my involvement with the Stepleman Network.  And I'm just really proud to be associated with that organization as a whole.  What it does for women all around the world, it's pretty impressive.  I'm all about supporting women and our youth and specifically young girls.  Teaching girls to embrace each other and not hate each other and to really lift each other up, that's pretty much everything that that stands for.

 I've done a few different campaigns through Stepleman Network, those of which I'm so incredibly proud of.  Anytime I'm asked about the Stepleman Network, I kind of get caught up with a million thoughts, because I have so many emotions about what they do and the confidence and the support and the love and the mentorship; everything that they provide to women all across this world, all across the country.  And the fact that they've gotten incredible sponsors to affiliate themselves and all the financial support.  It's pretty amazing. 

 And I think that we need to, especially as actors and anybody who has the opportunity to be in the public eye, I've been so fortunate to be able to live life like that, I think we need to really remember how much power and influence that we have over our youth, and to stop for a second and choose to be a good role model.  I think it's so important.

 As I get older and as I start to think about having children of my own, and as my friends are having children, and my brother and his wife are having children, it's more and more important to be a strong voice of goodness and take care of our lives.  As women, to take care of our sexual health and our physical health and all of those things, and the campaigns that I've been associated with, most recently, has had a lot to do with that, to educate women.  Being the daughter of OB/GYN, one of the top issues have been paramount in our lives, and I love to be able to lend whatever little voice that I have to that message.