Jenna Dewan Says Daughter Everly Is Very ‘Involved’ in Her Wedding Plans (Exclusive)

Jenna Dewan’s 12-year-old daughter, Everly, isn’t letting the bride-to-be plan her big day alone.

Dewan, 45, has been engaged to Steve Kazee, 50, for more than five years, having announced their engagement in February 2020. Now, Dewan tells PEOPLE that she’s “closer” than ever to her nuptials, and that Everly, whom she shares with ex-husband Channing Tatum, is giving her perspective every step of the way.

“She has input in everything and she really has opinions when it comes to this. So she’s very much involved in the process,” Dewan exclusively reveals to PEOPLE during the 2025 Baby2Baby Holiday Distribution presented by FRAME and Nordstrom at Los Angeles’ Dodgers Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

Dewan — who is also a mom to 5-year-old son Callum and 1-year-old daughter Rhiannon, both of whom she welcomed with Kazee — says that her eldest child “wants to make sure it’s fun.”

“It’s like, ‘Let’s make sure that the party is fun, Mom.’ That’s important,” Dewan says. “And also the actual ceremonial process, she has a lot of opinions, which is great.”

She continues, “She is just a part of it. And we want to make sure she feels a part of it.”

Dewan has yet to look at wedding dresses but says she knows what “vibe” she wants. She is also confident that Everly will be honest with her about whether or not she likes the gown.

“She’s very opinionated. Yes. She’s very sweet about it, but she’ll tell me if she doesn’t like it,” Dewan says. “She’ll also really tell me if she did like it.”

While chatting with PEOPLE, Dewan also discussed her work with Baby2Baby — the nonprofit organization that has provided millions of essential items to children in need across the United States — and how the charitable work has impacted Everly. At the event, Baby2Baby spread holiday cheer and distributed toys and essential items to hundreds of children, many of whom are experiencing homelessness or have been impacted by the Los Angeles fires.

“I love being in person with the kids that we are serving from all over LA and I love watching their faces light up as we give them everything from essentials to Christmas toys and anything they can need to feel the Christmas magic on Christmas morning,” Dewan says, adding, “It always puts me in a place of gratitude. It makes me realize obviously what is truly most important.”

She continues, “And I do think I bring that back into my own family. I’m always sharing these stories. Any chance I can, at least my oldest daughter, I bring her to a lot of Baby2Baby events and I just try to pay it forward in every way I can. And I keep the gratitude and know that we need to help whenever we can.”

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Now that Everly is older, “she really does understand” the significance behind what they do.

“At her school, they also do a lot of work with Baby2Baby. We’ve kind of integrated a charitable lifestyle in our house and with her in general with her school. But she definitely gets it now,” Dewan explains. “She understands why we’re giving essentials, why these kids maybe wouldn’t be able to experience that, why we’re giving them something that they wouldn’t experience in their regular life. She knows that we live a very blessed life. She knows that it’s good to give back. She’s starting to connect the dots.”

The Step Up alum continues, “I think when she was younger, a lot younger, it was kind of this idea, but didn’t really understand it. And now we love it. And every Christmas, we pick a few families and we go out and get their Christmas list from Baby2Baby and we shop for them. And that’s always our favorite thing because it’ll say something, a toy. And she’ll take time to pick something that she thinks would bring the most joy. And it’s like her favorite thing to do. So I do think it gets in there. And just the more you do it, the more you talk about it and bring perspective for kids, it’s the best.”