TLC's Four Weddings!

Since we just finished our Ultimate Wedding Week, I thought it was a prefect time to share about my experience on the show Four Weddings!  I'll start by answering some popular questions that I get asked alot!

1.  How did you hear about the show?/How did you get on the show?

I originally got an email about casting for the show from our Macy's wedding registry.  I read the email, but didn't think much of it.  A few weeks later we met with our wedding planner who asked me if I would be interested in something in auditioning for a show called "Four Weddings".  She evidently received a similar email since she is in the wedding industry.  I remembered the email I had gotten, and we talked about it.  I was not familiar with the show at the time.  She thought we had a good shot, and I thought it would be a cool experience...so, later that day I filled out the application.  I answered a lot of detailed questions about my wedding, our budget, colors, and what made our wedding unique.  A few days later, I got a call from a casting director to set up a Skype interview.  I had two separate Skype interviews with the producers of the show.  During these interviews I was asked about my wedding as well as my opinions on various aspects of other weddings.  They also showed me some images, and I had to say what I liked or didn't like about them.  About 2 weeks after the initial application, I found out I was cast in the show!  The hardest part was making sure all of our schedules would work with the filming days.  There were a total of 6 separate filming days over the course of 6 weeks.  All this was finalized about 5 weeks before our wedding....so needless to say, it was a whirlwind!  At first I was a little unsure about doing the show.  I wanted to make sure that it didn't take away from our wedding in any way.   But, at the end of the day, it was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up.  It was a neat way for our wedding to be documented, something cool to tell our kids, and a chance to win a dream vacation.  So, in the end, we were definitely glad we chose to do the show and had a lot of fun!

2.  Is reality TV real, or made up?

In my experience (every show is different), most of what you saw on TV was actually real.  That being said, we did have to do some scenes several times to get different camera angles...or if we laughed or got  thrown off our train of thought.  But, they almost always use the first take because it is the most real.  The second and third takes are mostly for backup in case there are issues with sound, lighting, or the camera angle.  There were a few scenes that our director "created" for us, but were cut from the episode. I will say that some of our interviews have many takes.  When you are sitting there answering questions back to back to back...it is easy to laugh, mess up your words, or word something weird.  So, we did have to re-take some of this at times.  But, for the most part, what you saw was real.  All of the funny stuff really did happen...aka "the guests that had to sit outside" ...as weird as it seems...yes, that really did happen :)

3.  What was it like going to the three bride's weddings?/What was a typical filming day like? 

The whole filming process was about 6 weeks from start to finish.  Each wedding was about a 10 hour day.  The production company would send a town car to my house to pick me up before every wedding, and it also brought me home at the end of the night.  I would be in charge of getting myself ready, and was told to choose a dress that was bright in color with no patterns.  The town car would take me to the site of the wedding...which was anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour away.  Then, I would be taken to a room to meet up with the producers, crew, and the other brides.  During this time, the audio guys would put our mics on, and we would meet with the director and get a general schedule for the day/evening.  We would usually have about two hours to get ready and do any pre-wedding interviews.  You see alot of cuts to our "opinions" during the episode.  All of this is done throughout the night, and after the wedding.  We would then film walking in a few times.  Once the wedding began, we stayed together and were guests of the wedding.  We always had mics on and knew the cameras were filming...but, we were free to attend the wedding and do and say what we wanted.  The first wedding was the most awkward because this was actually the first time we met.  We filmed a few things out of sequence.  After the first wedding it was much more relaxed, our interviews were more normal, and we started to have fun with each other at the weddings.  We would get looks from the guests, but we became used to this and just tried to have fun.  It really does become less awkward as time goes on, and you begin to forget the cameras are actually there.  After the weddings, rank and score the wedding...then head straight to our post-interviews.  These were done privately, so depending on the order we went in for the night, it sometimes was a really late night.  During our post interviews, we would go in front of the camera, and our director would give us about 20-30 questions to answer about the wedding that night.  I had to answer everything as if I was saying it as my own opinion and not answering a question...if that makes sense!  This was always a funny time with lots of out takes...which you will see of me in our episode :)  There was one instance when I started laughing with the producer over something silly I said, and they ended up using it in the show!  It was real moments like this that made it funny, and "real"!  After the interview process, which usually lasted 2 hours after the wedding, my town car would take me home.  They were long, but very fun days.

4.  Did you become friends with the other brides?

I became closest with Rikki, because I think our personalities are the most similar.  However, I am friends with Sara and Tanisha on facebook, and I message with Sara and Rikki occasionally through facebook.  They were all really nice girls, we just live in all different areas of Dallas.  I have to say that you also really get to know the crew behind the camera.  It is totally a team effort to produce a show, and it really is like a family working together.  

5.  Where did you get to go on your free vacation?

We went to Hawaii!  We stayed on the Island of Oahu at the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki Beach.  It was AMAZING!  Our trip was for 5 days free, airfare, and they gave us cash for food and activities.  We added 2 nights to our stay so we could be there for a week.  The resort is amazing and there was so much to do in the area. 

Since we weren't allowed to take pictures during the weddings, here are my silly self-portraits in my town car on the way to each wedding!

The finale episode was filmed at the Dallas Arboretum.  We arrived really early and had to give up our cell phones for the day.  The producers then called all of our husbands to give them the news on who the winner was.  It was us!  So, a limo picked Lauren up from our apartment around noon.  He had to wait for like 4 hours while we finished our filming before we did the final scene you see in the show.  We filmed all of our wedding dress shots on this day as well that you see throughout the episode.  It was alot of fun to get to wear my wedding dress again!  After we did those scenes, we changed into our cocktail dresses and filmed the different finale parts...then at the very end, we stood outside as a limo drove up.  I was very shocked and excited to see Lauren walk out!  The first take of this was 100% real...then we did a second take...which I have to say was very awkward!  This was done for camera angles...but definitely the most awkward re-take of the whole show :)  Here are some pictures from that day!

Lauren took this of himself when he was on the phone with the producer being told that we won!  I thought it was so funny that he did this - he was excited :)

Poor thing had to wait in this limo all day until we were finally ready for him to surprise me!

Us before shooting in the morning...we got to wear our wedding dresses again!

Outfit change - this was before we started the finale filming.

A little champagne to celebrate.  This was right before we filmed the scene where Lauren walks out of the limo to surprise me.

Yay!  So excited!

Golf cart ride back to the main building after we finished filming.

I love this picture :)

Some of you have asked me where you can find the episode.  Unfortunately it is not online for free...but you can check your TLC listings...they re-play it every now and then!  Our episode is from Season 2, Epsiode 4, titled "Four Weddings & a Pickup Truck"

Or, you can purchase the episode HERE for $1.99!

Thanks for stopping in and reading about my reality tv fun!