My Hollywood Iron Man 3 Red Carpet Experience #IronMan3Event #ElCapitan

Disclosure: I received an all expense paid trip to Hollywood, courtesy of Disney and Marvel. However, all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been awe-struck by the glitz and glamour of the red carpet. I remember watching the television with stars in my eyes, wondering what it would be like to be right in the middle of all the action. Seeing celebrities all dolled-up, fans screaming in the sidelines, and of course witnessing all of the movie stars being interviewed and posing for photo opportunities. However, this gal is a mid-western girl from Ohio, so I always just daydreamed, assuming the bright lights of Hollywood were out of my reach.

Well, as they say, in Hollywood, everyone's got a dream, and mine just came true. I was invited to Hollywood by Disney and Marvel to attend the red carpet premiere of the much anticipated Iron Man 3. (Yes...That Iron Man...Robert Downey Jr.  Gwyneth Paltrow. Are you swooning yet?! I know I did!)

---

This was probably the busiest trip I have ever been on, loaded with special surprises and of course all the fun that Hollywood has to offer. I will be posting about everything very, very soon, but today I want to share my red carpet experience with you!

So there were 25 ladies, scrambling to get ready for the premiere. We only had an hour, since we had just interviewed Ty Simpkins and Gwyneth Paltrow, and time was of the essence. Yes, it was chaotic, but we must have had a Fairy Godmother bippidy-boppidy-booing us, because every single one of us looked fantastic! So did our "date", Marshall!

You could literally feel the excitement in the air as we loaded into our private shuttles to Hollywood. Here we are, tweeting, sharing, and getting ready for what would turn out to be the experience of a lifetime. (What can I say....When you get a group of bloggers together, there is a LOT of tweeting!)

When we arrived near the  world famous El Capitan Theater, we were given wrist bands that showed we're VIP's, as well as tickets to the show. Yes, I kept these as souvenirs. I have to have proof to show my babies that YES, Mommy was really there!

As we made our way through the bustling crowd, you could feel the electricity in the air. Fans were chanting, screaming, and they even had a street blocked off to accommodate the event. It was that big!

There were lights everywhere, tons of photographers snapping pictures, and it was absolutely hectic...in a good way, of course! Hollywood Boulevard belonged to Iron Man 3 that night, and the whole town seemed to know it. As we got closer and closer to our final destination, we were stopped dead in our tracks...We waited...and waited....and waited. Then, all of the sudden, we saw several police escorts and a shiny, red car. Could it be? Was I really seeing this, just feet away from me? Yes!

Here He Comes! RDJ Makes His Appearance!

Sure enough, it was Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr., slowly driving his flashy, 2014 Audi R8 V10 Spyder complete with the license plate “Stark16″. The fans went wild, and all you could hear were screams and chants of both "Iron Man" and "RDJ". Of course his too-beautiful-for-words wife was proudly accompanying him. You could not tell that this gorgeous creature recently had a child. I am willing to bet they make the coolest parents ever!

Once Robert exited his sweet ride, he immediately began greeting his adoring fans, signed tons of autographs, and even acted like a bit of a goofball for the crowd to enjoy. This happens to be one of the things I happen to love the most about Robert Downey, Jr. He has an amazing sense of humor and loves to entertain. It's like he doesn't take himself too terribly seriously, and loves to have fun. And of course, there is that radiant smile to think about, too!

Once Robert was comfortably on the red carpet and things had settled down just a tiny bit, we were allowed to proceed. (It wasn't truly calm, though...There was far too much excitement in the air for tranquility!) I was shocked by the sheer number of people on Hollywood Boulevard. There had to be thousands of people, between the fans, the celebs, and the photographers and journalists covering the event.

When we approached the carpet, we felt like Hollywood royalty ourselves as we flashed our wristbands and were ushered directly onto the red carpet itself. We were smack dab in the middle of everything, and even had some hot celebs like Emily Van Camp walking alongside us.

Things on the carpet were very, very rushed. There were huge, burly security guards yelling "Move it along...Move it along!" and there were bright lights, tons of chatter, and celebs being interviewed just a couple of feet away from us.

Of course, we just had to get our photos taken on the carpet. We had photo-buddies, which allowed us to get those pictures taken quickly, before we were urged to "move it along" once more. My photo buddy was the beautiful and witty Becky Willis from What U Talking 'Bout Willis. (You can check out her red carpet post HERE.) Becky is one of my favorite bloggers ever, so being able to share this experience by her side was amazing.

Here is the photo she hurriedly snapped of me before we switched cameras and moved it along...

Even though we were definitely feeling rushed, there were still so many wonderful things to see on the red carpet. We saw tons of celebs, including Gwyneth Paltrow, who just happens to be the sweetest, most beautiful lady ever, and the up-and coming Ty Simpkins who plays Harley in the film. This little man may only be 11 years old, but I promise you, he will soon become a household name and probably a crush for many of our daughters.

(By the way, look for my interviews of both Ty and Gwyneth soon!)

As the sun set, and the lights of the glorious El Capitan lit up the boulevard, the entire cast of Iron Man 3 posed for some great group photos. Then there was an explosion of shimmering gold confetti that littered the street. What a way to celebrate! It was amazing!

We were then ushered into the spectacular El Capitan to enjoy the premiere. This is the ultimate place to watch a movie, and it embodies old school, Hollywood style with it's elaborate design and grandiosity. In order to keep the movie under wraps, we had to check our cameras and phones at the entrance. Don't worry...I will be posting about the El Capitan soon, so you'll be able to see the splendor of this iconic Hollywood theater.

Overall, my experience on the red carpet was beyond amazing. It was so surreal, and is definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life. The best part? I got to share this experience with friends, old and new.

Check out this video for full coverage of the event, as well as some great clips from Iron Man 3. If you move ahead to between the 30-33 minute marks, you will be able to see me on the red carpet!

IRON MAN 3 releases in theaters on May 3rd! Be sure to mark your calendars and get your family revved up for this release. This is one you definitely have to see in the theaters!

“Like” IRON MAN 3 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ironman
“Follow” IRON MAN 3 on Twitter: @Iron_Man
Visit the website: http://marvel.com/ironman3