‘Don’t Tell The Bride’ Contestants Slam The Show As “Artificial”

The appeal of Don’t Tell The Bride is pretty much that you get a free wedding - producers give the groom £14,000 to spend as he pleases; he just can’t consult his bride-to-be on where the money goes.

This inevitably leads to some awkward and stressful (but very entertaining) wedding day situations, as the bride discovers that her groom has spent a good chunk of the budget on his stag do, or a theme that she definitely doesn’t want, or maybe a god-awful wedding dress.

But, as it turns out, the weeks leading up to the wedding aren’t exactly plain sailing either… Two former brides have spoken to the Liverpool Echo, and revealed what actually happens behind-the-scenes.

Firstly, Melissa Lindsay-Mensah, who married her fiancé Terry on Don’t Tell The Bride back in 2012 (while it was still on BBC Three, and couples only got 12 grand), regretted taking part in the show. She described it as “three weeks of blood, sweat and tears”, explaining that the filmmakers had her on such a tight schedule, she even made the decision to send her son away (to be looked after by family) while she was shooting.

Credit: Express

Melissa criticised the fact that the run up to her wedding (and the day itself) was less about her, and more about the producers’ filming requirements: she had to get the ferry across the Mersey eight times, so they could get the right footage, and her wedding day itself was so hectic, she didn’t even manage to get a photo of her whole family together.

“I felt quite vulnerable and, looking back, I would have done things differently.

I let the team have so much control over my life … I have never been physically sick with exhaustion and stress before. I regret doing it… but it was lovely, we had a nice day and we got married but… it is artificial.”

She also explained:

“I let the team have so much control over my life, but I still absolutely loved what Terry did, it was a fantastic wedding.

It was a privilege to be chosen for the show and it was a unique journey for both me and Terry - but a stressful and emotional one that I wouldn’t choose to do again.”

Nicole Davies, whose wedding featured on the show in 2014, also described the schedule as “intense”, saying:

“At first it was good and we both loved filming together but after a while it was a bit intense. I don’t know how famous people cope with having cameras on them full time!”

Credit: Bolton News

Something that we’ve always wondered about, is why the brides don’t sit their grooms-to-be down beforehand, and explain exactly what they want. If they said, say, “no themed weddings”, “no stag-do to Ibiza”, or “I don’t want to get married on a football pitch”, then surely they’d avoid a few disasters… But then Rosa, who got married on the show last year, explained to InStyle why that’s a risk:

“The contract said that any plans we originally had for our wedding had to be scrapped, we weren’t allowed to discuss anything before filming, we weren’t allowed to contact each other or use social media, and that if we breach anything we’d have to pay back the whole £12k, plus £3k a day production costs.”

Credit: InStyle

Apparently, couples have their phones confiscated (and replaced with basic Nokia handsets), and are forced to deactivate their Facebook accounts for the entirety of the three weeks.

The producers are definitely strict, and the whole experience sounds pretty stressful. But, then, you do get a free wedding…

Would you appear on Don’t Tell The Bride? Let us know in the comments!

Images via BBC