Say Yes to the Dress is one of the more popular reality TV shows of recent times. However, there were many secrets about the show kept from viewers.
There are numerous reality TV shows that air on TLC. However, none remained as engraved in the viewer’s mind as Say Yes to the Dress. Perhaps it was the catchy title or the premise, but this show remained one of the most iconic shows ever to exist. While it isn’t undoubtedly the first-ever wedding reality show, many fans consider it the best one out there. The show premiered in 2007, and since then, it has released 20 more seasons. One might expect its hype to have gone down by now, but with every new season, more fans emerged to enjoy more of the drama that goes down in this reality TV series. This is on the grounds that this show is so much more than just a show. A wedding is a day most girls dream about, and they try their best to make that day perfect. They want to be presented as perfectly as models on their big day. Thus, the stakes in the series are incredibly high.
The show was a success from the get-go, had numerous spinoffs, and eventually became a global sensation! A show as huge as Say Yes to the Dress, no one can deny it has a few secrets buried under the set. This may shock fans, but there are a few facts that TLC did indeed hide from the viewers.
One Bride Never Got To Her Happily Ever After
In season nine, audiences get to watch the episode “Queen for a Day,” where they learn about Margo Mallory, a young lady who has cervical cancer. She comes to Kleinfeld in search of her perfect wedding dress. However, this has to be one of the most gut-wrenching episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, because of Mallory’s story. In late 2012, Mallory and her fiancé planned to get married. The young bride-to-be was gorgeous, and the episode was charming and wholesome. The audience also got to see snippets from the exquisite wedding ceremony at the episode’s end.
In this episode, Margo talked about how both she and her partner were adamant about overcoming any challenges. The audience couldn’t help but feel optimistic and hopeful after their tear-jerking story. However, the dark reality is she was never able to get her forever because as that episode ends, the audience is shown a photo of Margo and her partner along with the inscription, “In loving memory of Margo Mallory, 1987–2012.” Tragically, Margo, at the age of 24, lost her battle against cancer just five months before the show aired.
A Bride Ended Up Suing The Show
Weddings are a home for drama, so one cannot expect any less from a show that is entirely based on it. One of the brides, Alexandra “Ali” Godino, made quite the headlines in 2016. This is because she ended up suing Say Yes to the Dress for showing the episode, in which she purchased her dress prior to her actual wedding. Godina, in her interview with the renowned New York Post, shared that she initially withdrew from the show, and the producers had to step in to convince her otherwise. Then, she agreed to participate in the filming, only on the condition that it would not appear until after the wedding, which the producers decided to. However, just two months prior to her wedding, Godino discovered the bad news that her episode would run on TV soon. While she ended up suing them, nothing good came out of it, as she wasn’t able to win the case. Thus, the show ended up ruining her big day.
A Bride Married a Criminal
Say Yes to the Dress made headlines in 2015, but for reasons one would never imagine. It was when a recently-featured couple on one of the episodes was being investigated for mortgage fraud. The episode centered around Emily, a bright-eyed girl. However, something about their story didn’t seem right from the get-go. While talking about their love story, Emily shared how her fiancé fired her so that they would be able to date easily. However, if one scratches beneath the surface, one will realize the far grimmer truth, which is that he did so to save her from legal problems. By year’s end, he had been charged with 11 counts of fraud, where he had defrauded his clients out of more than $2.5 million. He was also accused of using trust funds that he had obtained through Hurricane Sandy disaster aid to pay for his and Emily’s wedding. Later, Gotterup would receive a further conviction of 135 months in jail for his crimes.
Brides Are Cut Off From the Show, If They Don’t Meet Team’s Demands
In order to avoid drama and being in the gossip news, Say Yes to the Dress has gotten a lot more brutal. So, if any bride asks for the episode they are in to be held back, the team takes a much more extreme measure, simply pulling them out of the show! This is an insight that the show’s attorney gave himself. He stated that in order to avoid situations like the one with Godani, where they had to settle it in court, Say Yes to the Dress pulls the brakes from the start if brides do not agree to their demands.
Brides Are in for a Really Long Day
Every episode of Say Yes to the Dress runs for 22 minutes, thanks to the wonders of editing. The audience only gets to see the fun parts of brides figuring out their perfect dress by trying on a bunch of gowns. By the end of the episode, each of them gives a final verdict. While they may seem all entertaining and fun, the process behind the screen isn’t as fun or short; in fact, many deem it to be worse than a marathon. Some brides shared an insight scoop by sharing that the duration of filming can easily last from four to eight hours.
Each bride puts on roughly 20 dresses, and the crew records their pre- and post-appointment interviews. After which, all the outfits that didn’t elicit strong positive or negative reactions are cut from the final episode. If the team isn’t satisfied with how the interviews went, they may even redo them in order to get the perfect end result. This sounds like a lot of work and is time-consuming, which it is!
Dirty Dresses With Sweat Stains
Everything is not what it seems is a pretty famous phrase, but it indeed appears to work in the world of Say Yes to the Dress. This is because, with the power of editing, all bridal dresses on the show look extremely elegant. However, that is only for the screens because every bride often brings up the condition of the floor sample dresses during their interview. Several of them have expressed their displeasure with the state of the gowns, stating there have been sweat stains throughout the armpits and sometimes even frayed hems.