Ahhh, it's my last "Wedding Sunday" as a single woman. Before I even met Lu, I was a wedding TV show junkie. WEtv fulfills my fetish every week by broadcasting hours of reality TV shows about weddings.
I've seen the good ones, the bad ones, and the ones that just shouldn't have even been made. (Um, anyone remember "My Big Redneck Wedding?" on CMT??)
Ironically, I haven't indulged in Wedding Sunday as often as I used to pre-engagement, and I don't even think all of these shows still come on; but here are the top five best and worst wedding series that I've seen:
Best Shows
5) A Wedding Story (TLC): This show follows a couple as they plan their wedding. Unlike most wedding shows, this one focuses a lot on the couple, which is really cool for me. Weddings are great, but after awhile, they all start to look the same. This show talks about how they met, their backgrounds, the culture/traditions behind their wedding, etc.
4) Amazing Wedding Cakes (WEtv): Couples come in to a bakeshop, talk about their dream wedding cake, and then the show follows the bakers as they design, bake, decorate, and deliver jaw-dropping wedding cakes. As the title conveys, these cakes are truly amazing -- big, bold, bright, even with mechanical features.
3) Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? (Style): This show is less about the couple and more about wedding planners, which is really fun. I have a not-so-secret desire to be a wedding coordinator and planner, so this is my equivalent to "shadowing."
2) My Fair Wedding (WEtv): Aahhh, David Tutera. I <3 David. He comes in three weeks before someone's mediocre (okay -- more like jacked up/ghetto/redneck/or what-the-heck-are-you-thinking) wedding and turns it into something magical. He's even turned a pirate-themed wedding into something classy. Amazing.
1) Rich Bride/Poor Bride (WEtv): As the budget wedding queen, this show has given me some really creative ideas. It takes a couple, follows them through the wedding planning process, and focuses on how they make decisions about what to save and what to splurge on for their big day. Throughout the show, there's the looming "mystery budget" that's revealed at the very end. The vast majority of couples go over budget -- some by a few hundred, some by several thousand. But it's really cool to see how far money can go in different parts of the country and what priorities people have for their wedding.
Worst Shows
5) Bulging Brides (WEtv): The show has a great concept. Start with a woman who either a) purposely bought her wedding gown too small with the unrealistic expectation of losing a lot of weight and/or b) is an emotional eater and gained a size or two before her wedding, then bring in a nutritionist and a personal trainer to get her on track six weeks before the wedding. However, this makes the worst list for three reasons: 1) predictable ending -- all the brides end up looking great on their wedding day, 2) basic advice -- no special tips or training, and 3) I want to see what they look like 6 months after the wedding when they're back on their own!
4) Perfect Proposal (TLC): This show follows men (and a few women) with planning the "perfect" way to propose to their significant other. It's really over the top, dramatic, and overripe banana mushy. It's a sweet show, but unrealistic and just too much... unless you're a die hard romantic, then you'd love it.
3) Bridezillas (WEtv): I have a love-hate relationship with this show. It's definitely a guilty pleasure to see other brides go crazy and say the things I sometimes want to say or throw the temper tantrums that would be totally amazing to have. However, at some point, you have to say, "Look. You're a grown woman. Act like it. Have some respect for yourself and everyone else around you."
2) Say Yes to the Dress (TLC): I understand that some people come from privileged backgrounds and can afford to drop the equivalent of a down payment on a house on a dress they'll wear once; but for the most part, these girls are willing to put their families into financial trouble to have their "perfect" princess wedding gown. And WORSE, the saleswomen are so commission-driven that it's sick. I've literally seen them roll their eyes when a bride wants to spend less than $3000 on her dress and/or tell a girl that the only dress that will work for her is a few thousand dollars more than her stated budget. It's just disgusting.
1) Platinum Weddings: Some of these weddings are platinum because of the cultures of the bride and groom -- inviting 300-400 of your friends and family to a weekend long event is going to cost in the hundreds of thousands. There's really no other option.... Others are wedding porn personified! A bride who spends $200,000 on roses (imported from Equador, of course) just to create a "carpet" of petals for an aisle?! Vomit.
And on that note, time to settle in for an afternoon/evening of WE Go Bridal!
I've seen the good ones, the bad ones, and the ones that just shouldn't have even been made. (Um, anyone remember "My Big Redneck Wedding?" on CMT??)
Ironically, I haven't indulged in Wedding Sunday as often as I used to pre-engagement, and I don't even think all of these shows still come on; but here are the top five best and worst wedding series that I've seen:
Best Shows
5) A Wedding Story (TLC): This show follows a couple as they plan their wedding. Unlike most wedding shows, this one focuses a lot on the couple, which is really cool for me. Weddings are great, but after awhile, they all start to look the same. This show talks about how they met, their backgrounds, the culture/traditions behind their wedding, etc.
4) Amazing Wedding Cakes (WEtv): Couples come in to a bakeshop, talk about their dream wedding cake, and then the show follows the bakers as they design, bake, decorate, and deliver jaw-dropping wedding cakes. As the title conveys, these cakes are truly amazing -- big, bold, bright, even with mechanical features.
3) Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? (Style): This show is less about the couple and more about wedding planners, which is really fun. I have a not-so-secret desire to be a wedding coordinator and planner, so this is my equivalent to "shadowing."
2) My Fair Wedding (WEtv): Aahhh, David Tutera. I <3 David. He comes in three weeks before someone's mediocre (okay -- more like jacked up/ghetto/redneck/or what-the-heck-are-you-thinking) wedding and turns it into something magical. He's even turned a pirate-themed wedding into something classy. Amazing.
1) Rich Bride/Poor Bride (WEtv): As the budget wedding queen, this show has given me some really creative ideas. It takes a couple, follows them through the wedding planning process, and focuses on how they make decisions about what to save and what to splurge on for their big day. Throughout the show, there's the looming "mystery budget" that's revealed at the very end. The vast majority of couples go over budget -- some by a few hundred, some by several thousand. But it's really cool to see how far money can go in different parts of the country and what priorities people have for their wedding.
Worst Shows
5) Bulging Brides (WEtv): The show has a great concept. Start with a woman who either a) purposely bought her wedding gown too small with the unrealistic expectation of losing a lot of weight and/or b) is an emotional eater and gained a size or two before her wedding, then bring in a nutritionist and a personal trainer to get her on track six weeks before the wedding. However, this makes the worst list for three reasons: 1) predictable ending -- all the brides end up looking great on their wedding day, 2) basic advice -- no special tips or training, and 3) I want to see what they look like 6 months after the wedding when they're back on their own!
4) Perfect Proposal (TLC): This show follows men (and a few women) with planning the "perfect" way to propose to their significant other. It's really over the top, dramatic, and overripe banana mushy. It's a sweet show, but unrealistic and just too much... unless you're a die hard romantic, then you'd love it.
3) Bridezillas (WEtv): I have a love-hate relationship with this show. It's definitely a guilty pleasure to see other brides go crazy and say the things I sometimes want to say or throw the temper tantrums that would be totally amazing to have. However, at some point, you have to say, "Look. You're a grown woman. Act like it. Have some respect for yourself and everyone else around you."
2) Say Yes to the Dress (TLC): I understand that some people come from privileged backgrounds and can afford to drop the equivalent of a down payment on a house on a dress they'll wear once; but for the most part, these girls are willing to put their families into financial trouble to have their "perfect" princess wedding gown. And WORSE, the saleswomen are so commission-driven that it's sick. I've literally seen them roll their eyes when a bride wants to spend less than $3000 on her dress and/or tell a girl that the only dress that will work for her is a few thousand dollars more than her stated budget. It's just disgusting.
1) Platinum Weddings: Some of these weddings are platinum because of the cultures of the bride and groom -- inviting 300-400 of your friends and family to a weekend long event is going to cost in the hundreds of thousands. There's really no other option.... Others are wedding porn personified! A bride who spends $200,000 on roses (imported from Equador, of course) just to create a "carpet" of petals for an aisle?! Vomit.
