On the surface, it looks like a walk in the park.
Seamless ceremonies (bar a few tear tantrums), delicious meals at the reception, and florals perfected to a tee.
But it’s not what it seems. A wedding insider has revealed to Woman’s Day 10 explosive secrets from the 2021 Married At First Sight couples’ big day.
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Exhaustive shoot
The wedding day shoot goes for around 10 hours, from approximately midday to 10.30pm – with the vows alone lasting for three hours!
It’s not all what it seems…
(Channel Nine)Lights, camera, re-action!
The show makes it look like the bride and groom’s reactions are off the cuff and real, but while our insider says that the moment the bride walks down the aisle and sees her groom for the first time is real the first time, “it’s reshot around four to five times”.
The guest spills, “Producers need to get reaction shots from just about everyone from every angle. So the groom and all the guests have to pretend it’s happening for the first time over and over again.
“And that goes for the vows, the kissing, everything is reshot. The poor groom was exhausted by the end of it, having to pretend to be shocked each time!”
A Party of 200!
While many of the ceremonies look intimate on TV, our source says there were about 200 people – including cameramen, producers, light technicians etc – working behind the scenes.
“It was quite overwhelming,” says the insider.
“There were so many people on what looked like a tiny, intimate wedding.”
Musical guest chairs
Those loud and sassy wedding guests getting a sound bite in or two is no accident, as producers identify who they believe will be vocal and place them down the front of the wedding party.
As for the wallflowers, they play the role of seat-warmers down the back!
While they’re promised the glitz and glamour of TV, wedding guests are instead left with an exhaustive shoot that requires multiple reshots.
(Credit: Channel Nine)Reset & reshoot!
After the vows are completed, the wedding guests are carted onto a bus, where they wait until the space where the ceremony took place is completely stripped – and reset for the reception.
“We all had to sit on a bus for hours while production reset that space – with very minimal food and drink, mind you,” says the insider.
A stiff party with no stiff drinks!
While awkwardness is absolutely felt between the wedding party on TV, no one feels more awkward than the actual wedding guests!
Our source says that the mix of idle chitchat and no music made for a slightly uncomfortable afterparty.
“I’d say it was quite boring and so scripted,” says the guest.
“The producers just ran through their list of things they needed to cover and the bride and groom would go off to do their pieces to camera, and the guests were just left to chat amongst themselves.
“We also weren’t allowed to stand up unless we were going to the toilet because of COVID-19.”
To make things worse, the food and drink were very sparse – so much so that the guests at one wedding were left chanting for more food!
Quarantine qualms
Many guests who were asked to be at the weddings were forced to travel far and wide but were promised a fun-filled day, with the prospect of getting their 15 seconds of fame.
However, our source says that many guests were left far from impressed after shooting for 10 hours on the “boring” shoot, and then having to complete a 14-day quarantine period when they returned home!
“They said it was most definitely not worth their time,” the insider explains.
Reality bites
As guests settled into their chairs to witness their loved ones possibly finding the love of their lives, our source says that before the cameraman yelled action, a producer came around to give them all a dire warning that seriously brought down the mood.
“They told us all that just 30 per cent of couples stay together to the very end of the experiment,” the insider.
“It was definitely a mood killer.”
WATCH: See which Married at First Sight couples are still together. Story continues…
Wardrobe disasters
Even though viewers are led to believe the bride and groom choose their own outfits based on their personalities, our spy says they’re in fact given four looks to choose from by producers.
Once they’ve picked one they like, a producer takes a photo of them in it and it’s sent to the big wigs, and if they don’t like it, the stars are forced to choose another.
“It meant a few of the contestants didn’t like the outfits they walked down the aisle in,” says the guest.
No freebies for the stars!
Instead of being given freebies left, right and centre, the contestants are given a wardrobe allowance that is meant to last the entire season run, and if they go off their budget, it comes out of their own pocket!
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