Rachel Boston Talks Love, Animals, and Stop the Wedding [Exclusive] 

[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]

Rachel Boston adds another darling romantic comedy to her Hallmark Channel repertoire Saturday night with Stop the Wedding, a lovely film where she co-stars opposite Eureka‘s Niall Matter as the children of an engaged couple who try to convince their respective parents (played by Lini Evans and Alan Thicke) to call off their nuptials. They’re less motivated in that endeavor when they realize their parents might be onto something really, really good for each other and them, too. I had the chance to chat exclusively with Boston yesterday about the movie and her recent work with two animal charities.

This is Boston’s second film for Hallmark Channel in six months, and third in a year, following A Gift of Miracles and Ice Sculpture Christmas. She was thrilled to be asked onto this project, which was adapted by Nina Weinman from a book by Stephanie Bond and directed by Canadian filmmaker Anne Wheeler. The movie also stars Hallmark regulars Teryl Rothery, David Lewis, and Brenda Crichlow.

“They sent me a script. I absolutely love working with Hallmark and the messages they tell through their stories. When I read it, I was very inspired by hope and the idea that we could all have a second chance at love,” she says. “My feeling reading it was that life happens, we get our hearts broken, and we get knocked down and we find our way back up again.”

“This is a story about staying open to the next opportunity, and I really loved the idea of living in that world. They’ve been through heartbreak, and we’ve been through heartbreak, and to look to the people who raised you makes a lot of sense, but you don’t see that in film very often.”

“I very much enjoyed seeing people in different chapters of their lives open their hearts again. [Hallmark] tells very beautiful stories about the heart. When you’re doing movies this happy…the cover of my script says ‘They live happily ever after.’ It has to be a good day when you see [that] every morning. ”

One of the scenes set in Las Vegas involved the cast and crew filming in an actual Canadian casino. “We didn’t shut it down,” Boston says. “There were people everywhere. There was a real casino vibe to it.”

Boston loved the path to romance that the film takes as her and Matter’s characters embark on a caper of sorts to sabotage the wedding. “I play a divorce attorney and Niall plays a doctor. You have these two very professional, together people and then when they get thrown into these different environments, they let loose and a whole different side of themselves comes out,” she explains. “I really enjoyed seeing [that]. I think we all have those sides. We get to learn about each other in all of these different situations, [which] was a fun way to explore romance.”

Working with Wheeler on a woman-heavy film was a joy for Boston. “She’s an extraordinary woman, and we discovered that we had [friends in common] in New Mexico,” she says. “We had so much empowerment and inspiration around us. It was great. It was a real blessing to have someone who can craft the truth of the story…to bring that truth to a Hallmark movie. She does really bring the authentic human experience to it.”

The story is a romantic comedy with a twist in that the children learn from their parents’ romance, and Boston appreciated that it was something different. “I do like making movies about people falling in love. They give me hope [that it can happen] for myself and the people I love,” she shares. “Experiencing it onscreen is really inspiring to me.”

“Those are the films I’m drawn to–about the heart and what we desire for our personal lives. I’m always interested in watching a woman navigate career and personal life. There are so many opportunities. That’s what my eye and heart are drawn to.”

Boston is still tight with her Witches of East End family, which you’ll see if you follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and although there are no plans yet to pick it back up, she’d love to. “We talk all the time. We would all be thrilled to do a wrap up movie or anything. We’re very close,” she says. “It’s nice that a TV show brought us together in a TV environment in LA.”

She’s also working on a new project with WoEE author Melissa de la Cruz. ” I’m so impressed by the stories she tells about the supernatural world and faith,” she says. “And this one is filled with all that.”

2014’s A Ring By Spring introduced Boston to Stefanie Powers, who discussed her own wildlife advocacy work with the actress, and that was an education that’s also now expanded stateside to include agricultural animals at the Gentle Barn near Los Angeles.

“I had a bunch of friends talk to me about  it to me and I just up and went one day and was blown away by the work they do. I’m a season pass member now, and will be donating to them,” she says. “I’m inspired by what they’re doing with special needs kids to bring them in and they connect with an animal that makes them feel so safe.”

“And to see abused animals learn to trust again. They learn that people can be kind again. It’s amazing what they’re doing. This is a living being that can bring so much joy to your life. I was really happy to see so many children there.”

She credits Powers with opening her eyes to the current issues in wildlife trafficking. “[Stefanie] lit the fire inside me to get more involved. She runs the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in Kenya,” she says. “She explained what was happening with poaching and how they make money so violently killing animals, and it inspired me to get involved.”

Boston is now planning her first trip to Africa. “I’m hoping to go to an  elephant sanctuary and make a documentary on the elephant babies [who are orphaned],” she says. “It’s a huge issue right now. They just did a huge ivory burn, which was very controversial.”

“There’s an organization that I recently found, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where you can adopt or foster [animals] to help take care of them. They send you a certificate and give you updates. To personalize it helps people understand [that] killing an animal for money can affect an entire tribe of animals. I’m looking forward to making the trip and seeing first hand what’s happening.”

Stop the Wedding premieres Saturday at 9/8c on Hallmark Cannel, and Boston plans to live Tweet the East and West coast premieres. Here’s a sneak peek.