In a similar vein, I remember a time when TLC used to stand for The Learning Channel… although the only show I remember watching was Professor Iris- which was an educational show with puppets and a lot of musical numbers.
Now… TLC is chock full of shows about trashy reality shows featuring long distance relationships and people struggling with weight issues. More real than the people on Jersey Shore type shows (gag) but not what I consider entertaining.
Mind you, I’ve only seen commercials for these shows but I just don’t get their appeal.
Four Weddings (along with Say Yes to the Dress) are among the TLC shows my sister watches.
Both have their flaws as well but they have more of the reality show stuff I enjoy more.
I come from a large family on my mom’s side so I’d been to several weddings in my life. Admittedly most of my experiences were just ok… speaking as an introvert that has trouble mingling with people for long stretches of time, most of them just ran too long and I got bored. Never mind that I wasn’t drinking age when I attended most of them.
Given how much I got into this show, I think I can say weddings might be more fun to watch or read about than to actually attend.
The whole concept of the show is that four brides go to each other’s weddings and after judging various criteria, the winner wins a honeymoon package.
The dress, venue and food are ranked from best to worst. But overall experience is out of 10.
Overall experience
The system is set up the way it is to keep women from underscoring the others to cheat. But you can bet they still find a way to do it.
Also it’s the one score we hear until they end because they obviously can’t rank everything else until going to all 4 weddings,
Sometimes all of them are in cahoots and give each wedding the same average score but usually it’s a single person who gives every wedding a 6 or less and you’re rooting for them to be punished with a last place finish.
My interpretation is whenever all 3 vote 6, they’re not being genuine. They’re deliberately keeping it a close race. If they rank the wedding 6’s and 7’s with occasional 8, that’s ideal.
Once I think I saw one show where all of them gave a wedding a 4… which was shocking but I think they at least had some good reasons.
All of the other marks should count toward the overall score but it’s a bit cheap to give a wedding a low score because the venue or the food was not up to the person’s expectations.
A few criticisms I never understood:giving a low score because the theme wasn’t original. (Original compared to what? Not everyone is that creative)
Low score because they don’t like fake flowers. (Goes both ways- some don’t like real flowers…)
Food
I think I saw one wedding where the brides just ordered pizza. I don’t remember if it was because the food was bad, it was cold or it took forever for them to get food.
But according to a story my dad read online a few months ago, people have done this for other reasons… particularly after word got around beforehand that a menu would be all vegan or vegetarian, people were freaking out and some were offering to order pizzas.
Some people like buffets and others hate them. Not all buffets are created equal- I’d been to good and bad ones and not just at weddings.
Some have had really fun options like grilled cheese bars or make your own s’mores or baked potato.
The alternative is having a fixed menu with a choice of meat, fish or chicken. Sometimes this works out and other times, there’s complaints about lack of flavor or the food is cold.
By far, the criticism that drives me the most crazy… giving a wedding less than a 6 because “I’m vegetarian and I left hungry”.
I understand dietary restrictions on religious grounds and allergies… but for the rest, I wish the casting department brought this up in auditions (“would it be a deal breaker if if a wedding had no vegetarian options?”) and didn’t cast these people at all.
This is a hot take but whatever… you’re a last minute guest, practically a stranger off the street. Why should a catering company go out of their way to make a vegetarian meal for just one person?
Dress
I’m not an expert so I can’t do a proper discussion.
Personally I’m not a fan of strapless dresses or any dress with excessive cleavage. Not just at weddings but as a general rule.
One divisive point when it comes to scoring is when there’s two different dresses. One for the ceremony and the other is a dress specifically for dancing at the reception.
Some like the two dresses and others prefer just the one dress for both because it’s more traditional.
I don’t have an opinion either way, honestly. It’s the bride’s special day. Whatever you feel comfortable and beautiful in- go for it! As long as they go with the dress, you can wear sneakers to the altar. I won’t judge.
Venue
The variety of venues on this show is probably the most fun component of the show along with the theme.
Sometimes they rent out entire venues- one was at the Pittsburgh Steelers stadium and a few had been at museums. Then some are as simple as a backyard wedding— one of those actually won the big prize at the end.
As awesome as it would be to have an entire wedding themed around one particular thing or a common interest between the bride and groom, I can’t imagine myself going that extra mile.
But I’m also someone who never took the time to imagine what their wedding would look like… considering how I’ve never even been in a relationship.
However, if I was lucky enough to wind up with a fellow Prince fan, you can bet that’d be the theme. All beginning with the ceremony’s first words- “dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
Getting back to the show, probably the most common complaint is the venue not having enough room or seating. Which is fair.
If the guest list is around a couple thousand, surely you can compensate for 3 extras. And if seating is limited, don’t have food that requires a knife and fork.
If there’s a lot of upbeat music, there has to be a dance floor or at least plenty of room to move.
Some people like it dark or prefer mood lighting… I personally don’t and I’m sure others have complained about it. Or not being able to hear the vows being exchanged or the toasts because they got stuffed in the back of the room.
At the ceremony, there are times where there’s a cultural or religious difference between the other brides and the current bride’s background so they feel left out of the ceremony because they don’t understand what’s going on. Especially if most of the ceremony is done in another language.
Another issue is the transition between ceremony and reception… the venue being too far from the church with confusing directions. Or the cocktail hour being too long and not enough food or entertainment for the guests while the bridal party does photos and other related activities.
A few times, there was an outdoor venue for one or both parts of the wedding and it was too hot or there were too many bugs. The weather, sometimes that can’t be helped. But bugs… I know that would be an issue for me. All the more reason summer might not be the ideal time for weddings. Especially if you’re in southern New Jersey and it’s green-head season (IYKYK)
Fake flowers vs real flowers is one thing. Another is centerpieces and it varies. Once or twice there’ve been complaints about the centerpieces being too big and you can’t probably talk to other people at your table. One way combating this was having tall skinny vases so the view isn’t obstructed nearly as much.
Some decor is homemade and others aren’t. Some people like the originality while others… it’s not their style.
The grand prize
It’s always kinda fun to find out where people wind up going for their winning honeymoon.
The only time none of us are super excited when we all watch the show- they’re either going to Mexico or Dominican Republic. We went to Cancun once on vacation and it wasn’t a fun trip— getting harassed by people selling us stuff was just one of the massive turnoffs. And unless it’s Punta Cana, I haven’t heard many nice things about Dominican Republic.
Most of the typical prizes go to the Bahamas or somewhere in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos or Hawaii. Easily Hawaii is the top destination although I’d been to some Caribbean islands. The mileage varies… I know someone who went to St Lucia for their honeymoon and I’m sure they loved it. The only time I went there was part of a cruise and the rain that day didn’t allow much freedom to enjoy the scenery.
But once or twice, they either went to Tokyo or the Maldives.
Of course we have our exit interviews at the end… I mean, the ideal attitude from an also-ran is that they’re happy for the winner or they were just happy their wedding went well and they still feel like a winner because of who they married.
But a few times… it’s the opposite. One bride being bitter about losing or trashing the winner’s wedding. Luckily the sore loser isn’t a common occurrence.
It’s fun seeing how these different weddings are orchestrated and comparing them. But once the show is over, you should come away with the satisfaction you’ve found the love your life. And who knows- you might have wound up having more fun on your honeymoon than the winner.
The show is all repeats now and has been for several years… but I can’t help but wonder if any of the people who’d been on the show got divorced… and tried auditioning again for another chance to win. But if TLC was going to do anything right with their programming, they wouldn’t allow anyone to double dip like that.
Overall experience
The system is set up the way it is to keep women from underscoring the others to cheat. But you can bet they still find a way to do it.
Also it’s the one score we hear until they end because they obviously can’t rank everything else until going to all 4 weddings,
Sometimes all of them are in cahoots and give each wedding the same average score but usually it’s a single person who gives every wedding a 6 or less and you’re rooting for them to be punished with a last place finish.
My interpretation is whenever all 3 vote 6, they’re not being genuine. They’re deliberately keeping it a close race. If they rank the wedding 6’s and 7’s with occasional 8, that’s ideal.
Once I think I saw one show where all of them gave a wedding a 4… which was shocking but I think they at least had some good reasons.
All of the other marks should count toward the overall score but it’s a bit cheap to give a wedding a low score because the venue or the food was not up to the person’s expectations.
A few criticisms I never understood:giving a low score because the theme wasn’t original. (Original compared to what? Not everyone is that creative)
Low score because they don’t like fake flowers. (Goes both ways- some don’t like real flowers…)
Food
I think I saw one wedding where the brides just ordered pizza. I don’t remember if it was because the food was bad, it was cold or it took forever for them to get food.
But according to a story my dad read online a few months ago, people have done this for other reasons… particularly after word got around beforehand that a menu would be all vegan or vegetarian, people were freaking out and some were offering to order pizzas.
Some people like buffets and others hate them. Not all buffets are created equal- I’d been to good and bad ones and not just at weddings.
Some have had really fun options like grilled cheese bars or make your own s’mores or baked potato.
The alternative is having a fixed menu with a choice of meat, fish or chicken. Sometimes this works out and other times, there’s complaints about lack of flavor or the food is cold.
By far, the criticism that drives me the most crazy… giving a wedding less than a 6 because “I’m vegetarian and I left hungry”.
I understand dietary restrictions on religious grounds and allergies… but for the rest, I wish the casting department brought this up in auditions (“would it be a deal breaker if if a wedding had no vegetarian options?”) and didn’t cast these people at all.
This is a hot take but whatever… you’re a last minute guest, practically a stranger off the street. Why should a catering company go out of their way to make a vegetarian meal for just one person?
Dress
I’m not an expert so I can’t do a proper discussion.
Personally I’m not a fan of strapless dresses or any dress with excessive cleavage. Not just at weddings but as a general rule.
One divisive point when it comes to scoring is when there’s two different dresses. One for the ceremony and the other is a dress specifically for dancing at the reception.
Some like the two dresses and others prefer just the one dress for both because it’s more traditional.
I don’t have an opinion either way, honestly. It’s the bride’s special day. Whatever you feel comfortable and beautiful in- go for it! As long as they go with the dress, you can wear sneakers to the altar. I won’t judge.
Venue
The variety of venues on this show is probably the most fun component of the show along with the theme.
Sometimes they rent out entire venues- one was at the Pittsburgh Steelers stadium and a few had been at museums. Then some are as simple as a backyard wedding— one of those actually won the big prize at the end.
As awesome as it would be to have an entire wedding themed around one particular thing or a common interest between the bride and groom, I can’t imagine myself going that extra mile.
But I’m also someone who never took the time to imagine what their wedding would look like… considering how I’ve never even been in a relationship.
However, if I was lucky enough to wind up with a fellow Prince fan, you can bet that’d be the theme. All beginning with the ceremony’s first words- “dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
Getting back to the show, probably the most common complaint is the venue not having enough room or seating. Which is fair.
If the guest list is around a couple thousand, surely you can compensate for 3 extras. And if seating is limited, don’t have food that requires a knife and fork.
If there’s a lot of upbeat music, there has to be a dance floor or at least plenty of room to move.
Some people like it dark or prefer mood lighting… I personally don’t and I’m sure others have complained about it. Or not being able to hear the vows being exchanged or the toasts because they got stuffed in the back of the room.
At the ceremony, there are times where there’s a cultural or religious difference between the other brides and the current bride’s background so they feel left out of the ceremony because they don’t understand what’s going on. Especially if most of the ceremony is done in another language.
Another issue is the transition between ceremony and reception… the venue being too far from the church with confusing directions. Or the cocktail hour being too long and not enough food or entertainment for the guests while the bridal party does photos and other related activities.
A few times, there was an outdoor venue for one or both parts of the wedding and it was too hot or there were too many bugs. The weather, sometimes that can’t be helped. But bugs… I know that would be an issue for me. All the more reason summer might not be the ideal time for weddings. Especially if you’re in southern New Jersey and it’s green-head season (IYKYK)
Fake flowers vs real flowers is one thing. Another is centerpieces and it varies. Once or twice there’ve been complaints about the centerpieces being too big and you can’t probably talk to other people at your table. One way combating this was having tall skinny vases so the view isn’t obstructed nearly as much.
Some decor is homemade and others aren’t. Some people like the originality while others… it’s not their style.
The grand prize
It’s always kinda fun to find out where people wind up going for their winning honeymoon.
The only time none of us are super excited when we all watch the show- they’re either going to Mexico or Dominican Republic. We went to Cancun once on vacation and it wasn’t a fun trip— getting harassed by people selling us stuff was just one of the massive turnoffs. And unless it’s Punta Cana, I haven’t heard many nice things about Dominican Republic.
Most of the typical prizes go to the Bahamas or somewhere in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos or Hawaii. Easily Hawaii is the top destination although I’d been to some Caribbean islands. The mileage varies… I know someone who went to St Lucia for their honeymoon and I’m sure they loved it. The only time I went there was part of a cruise and the rain that day didn’t allow much freedom to enjoy the scenery.
But once or twice, they either went to Tokyo or the Maldives.
Of course we have our exit interviews at the end… I mean, the ideal attitude from an also-ran is that they’re happy for the winner or they were just happy their wedding went well and they still feel like a winner because of who they married.
But a few times… it’s the opposite. One bride being bitter about losing or trashing the winner’s wedding. Luckily the sore loser isn’t a common occurrence.
It’s fun seeing how these different weddings are orchestrated and comparing them. But once the show is over, you should come away with the satisfaction you’ve found the love your life. And who knows- you might have wound up having more fun on your honeymoon than the winner.
The show is all repeats now and has been for several years… but I can’t help but wonder if any of the people who’d been on the show got divorced… and tried auditioning again for another chance to win. But if TLC was going to do anything right with their programming, they wouldn’t allow anyone to double dip like that.
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