Once upon a time ... Utah group plays fairy godmother to girls who need prom dress

The black stage created a perfect ambiance for the great spotlights that lit the backdrop of dresses. Their luminous glow danced off the sequence and diamonds to ruffles and bows. Girls glided in and out of dressing rooms lined with mirrors as they tried on dress after dress. They were all there for one reason, preparing for a night to remember, their high school prom.

The Cinderella Boutique is exactly what it sounds like. The fairy god mothers and fairy god fathers of Utah, the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), got together and decided to create a free boutique that would dress girls who can't afford the costly experience of high school prom. New and gently used prom dresses were donated to give every girl the opportunity to dress up and go to a ball.

"I wouldn't be able to go to prom without this," said Angela Hess, a senior at Cottonwood, as she walked out of the dressing room wearing an elegant black prom dress trimmed with a smile. She was shopping at the boutique with her sister-in-law, Alix, who graduated from Cottonwood in 2010. Alix talked about how she never went to her senior prom because she had nothing to wear.

"It's amazing," said Alix as she was giving her two cents about a pair of metallic heels Angela had just tried on, "it's simply amazing."

This is the second year the Cinderella Boutique has been put on by the YLD of Utah. Last year the boutique was held at Jordan High School with a turnout of over 300 girls, over 100 of those girls walked away with dresses to the prom. This year the boutique was held at Cottonwood High School and will also appear in Taylorsville High School come mid March when the Taylorsville students will be preparing for their prom.

Kate Conyers, member of YLD, was in charge of putting together this years boutique where planning started back in October. Conyers has big plans to expand the boutique next year to at least double the schools. Her targets: West High School and Kearns High School.

"They don't know it yet but we're coming," said Conyers.

As she walked around answering questions and assisting anyone who needed helped Conyers couldn't help but smile when she heard girls whispering to their friends, "this is all free." In a world where nothing is free, Conyers feels blessed to show these girls the kinder side of life.

Conyers see's the big picture for the boutique turning into an event that could be held in one central location where girls from all over the valley can come and shop for whatever they need to complete their desired prom attire.