"Wedding Cake Masters" is a one-hour documentary profiling four incredible designers from across the country who are pushing the boundaries of what wedding cakes can be. These icing artists are astonishing brides and grooms across the country with their fantastic, elaborate, delicious creations. The show begins in Texas with Bronwen Weber of Frosted Art Bakery in Dallas. Everything's bigger in Texas and that's definitely true of Bronwen's cakes. Over the course of the show, Bronwen and her crew of six will design and build an elaborate wedding cake for her clients Theresa and Peter. In addition she will make a special "groom's cake" for Peter modeled after his antique convertible sports car. Across the country, Mike McCarey is the king of quirky cakes. 13 years ago he opened Mike's Amazing Cakes in Redmond, Washington. Mike and his staff of five are known for turning out incredible, whimsical cakes. We find out how Mike ships his fantastic products to lucky couples around the country. As the show continues, we see Mike build a special cake for clients who have a love of the great outdoors. His creation is a cake that resembles a mountain with a stream running down through the delicious layers. Next up, Margaret Braun of New York, New York is one of the original true cake artists. She is a master of opulent cakes - jeweled towers that resemble artwork more than desert. For her, cakes are serious artwork that combine bold shapes and color choices. Her signature touch is a golden chalice that she uses to top her most intricate designs. Working day and night out of her Manhattan home, Margaret is a one-woman show-no one else touches her cakes. Finally, we meet Charmaine Jones, the "Cake Diva" of Hoboken, New Jersey. She works from her "cake art gallery" where she has made cakes for numerous celebrities and television shows. In her kitchen she designs a seaside themed cake for her clients featuring dozens of seashells hand-made from sugar.
Sat, Aug 18, 2007
"THE WEDDING PLACE" is a one-hour documentary depicting a day-in-the-life of a banquet facility that plays host to hundreds of weddings a year. The show goes behind the scenes to tell its story through the eyes of the men and women who make the weddings happen, the coordinators, planners, waiters and kitchen staff who cater to bride after bride every day. The premier episode of "The Wedding Place" features The Castaway Restaurant and Banquet Facility in Burbank, California on a typical Saturday during the height of wedding season. The facility features two outdoor ceremony areas, a patio and a gazebo, and five banquet rooms. Over the course of the show seven wedding ceremonies and receptions take place here. The show follows five Castaway employees over the course of the day. Denneen Acker is the Ceremony Coordinator, responsible for getting all of the brides and the grooms down the aisle on time and in the right order. Suzie Mintie is a Wedding Coordinator responsible for booking weddings and coordinating receptions. Norman Schmoller is a banquet waiter who brings the audience into the kitchen to see how they serve thousands of meals a day. Leslie Carter is the Catering Manager who oversees all of the ceremonies and receptions. Filemon Reyes is a banquet captain, or maitre d', who ensures that all of the guests are served properly. The show begins with a late bride and an even later groom who imperil the day's tight schedule. Next, a ceremony on the patio has more guests than expected and chairs are in short supply. Then a traditional Indian wedding ceremony challenges the staff in unique ways. The fourth wedding of the day features a bride who can't give up control of every detail, even moments before she walks down the aisle. Finally, three evening weddings are tightly scheduled one after the other, but traffic delays keep brides and guests from arriving on time. In the end, a very loud reception threatens to ruin a serene wedding ceremony taking place in the room next door.
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
What happens when all your wedding plans are completely out of your hands and in the grip of your future in-laws? Will they pull it off, or ruin the biggest day in your life? Can the mother of the bride agree with the mother of the groom on anything? Will their husbands put-up with any of it? MARRIED BY THE IN-LAWS is a one-hour special in which one couple's entire wedding is planned by both sets of parents. The older couples select everything from the location of the ceremony to the style of the bridesmaids' dresses. We'll give them a cash contribution to put towards expenses, but in order to earn it the four parents must pull off the event, all without any input from the married-couple-to-be.
Sat, Sep 1, 2007
"THE WEDDING PLANNERS" is a one-hour, un-hosted documentary featuring two dramatically different sets of wedding planners as they consult, organize, schedule, manage, advise, negotiate and reassure their way to the perfect wedding. The show follows the planners from their early meetings with their clients through the weddings and receptions themselves. The show profiles two event planning companies on either side of the country. In northern New Jersey, Tina LaMorte runs Oh So Fabulous, a firm she founded five years ago. Today, Tina and the five women who work with her specialize in high-end, six-figure weddings. Across the country, in Pasadena, California, Ada Chan and Amanda Ma, two friends from childhood, are partners in Fresh Events, a planning firm they formed together 3 years ago. The hour interweaves the stories of each of these firms as they plan two very different weddings. In New Jersey, Tina and Oh So Fabulous are working with their clients Mark and Marianne to plan their $200,000 wedding. The ceremony will take place in their local Catholic parish church. The reception will be held at the Liberty House, a large banquet facility with views across the Hudson River to the Manhattan skyline. On the opposite coast, Ada and Amanda are planning a wedding for their clients Jen and Phil. In contrast to the big, traditional wedding being planned in New Jersey, Jen and Phil have decided to save money by having both their ceremony and reception in their backyard. During the course of the hour, the action shifts back and forth across the country, comparing and contrasting each wedding and the problems the planners confront, and overcome. The show ends with two very different weddings, but two very happy brides.
Sat, Sep 8, 2007
"ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID" is a one-hour, non-hosted documentary that tells the stories of two bridesmaids in two very different weddings. The show explores the bridesmaid experience from their perspectives to see what it's like to be a supporting player in someone else's big day. Featured on the show are two Southern California bridesmaids, Shereta Hill and Shawna Thompson. Shereta is Maiden-of-Honor for her best friend Myra. Shereta has been a bridesmaid seven times and is a practiced veteran with a collection of used bridesmaid dresses crowding her closet. Our other bridesmaid Shawna is Maiden-of-Honor for her older sister Erin. Shawna has been a bridesmaid only once before and feels its a special honor and responsibility to stand-up for her big sister, the first of three girls to marry. The two bridesmaids serve two very different brides. Shawna's sister Erin takes a laid-back approach to her wedding. She has done most of the work herself and now focuses her attention on making sure her guests enjoy the party. By contrast, Shereta's friend Myra is a hyper-organized taskmaster. She has assigned lists of duties to each of her bridesmaids and holds regular meetings to ensure everything is getting done. The show interweaves the two stories as it follows both women in the final weeks before their respective weddings. We see both bridesmaids plan and throw bridal showers and bachelorette parties. We follow them to dress fittings, hair stylings and make-up tests. In the end both brides are married with their bridesmaids at their sides.
Sat, Sep 15, 2007
"THIS OLD SPOUSE" gives couples who have lost some of the spark in their relationship a total marriage makeover. Over the course of the one-hour show, one couple will learn to come back together with the help of the show's host, Hollywood wedding expert Laurie Bailey and marriage and family counselor Dr. Jay Wagener. Laurie helps the couple work as a team to plan a vow renewal ceremony, while Dr. Jay counsels and challenges them to strengthen their relationship. The couple featured on the show is Dodi and Chuck Conway. Ten years into their marriage they have two kids, two dogs and a mortgage to worry about. Before the kids came along, Chuck and Dodi had fun as a couple, going out to dinner, traveling, going to movies. But three years into their marriage, when their first child Jessica was born, their relationship took a dramatic turn. No longer could Chuck and Dodi concentrate on each other. After the birth of their second child, Dodi left her job to be a stay at home mom. So now with two kids and extra financial pressure, they're marriage is much less than either of them would like. Laurie first meets with the Conways at their home to begin the planning of their vow renewal. The renewal will be a meaningful way to restart their marriage, but there is work to be done before it happens. Laurie explores the couple's personalities and history to find ways in which the ceremony can be a personal reflection of them. She decides that the renewal will be held poolside in the Conways' backyard. Laurie introduces Dr. Jay who learns from both Chuck and Dodi what they each feel is wrong with the marriage. He challenges them to do things together. First they bake a cake for their vow renewal ceremony, and then they go rock climbing together. Next, Laurie encourages them to work together in the planning of the vow renewal. They visit a florist together with Laurie to select decorations for the ceremony. Then Laurie takes Dodi to look at dresses while Chuck takes dance lessons to surprise Dodi at the ceremony. A few days later, Laurie has Chuck and Dodi design the Chuppa under which they will renew their vows. Dr. Jay checks in to see how Chuck and Dodi are communicating as they work together. In the final days before the ceremony, Chuck and Dodi have an overnight date together at a Santa Monica hotel, their first time they've spent a night alone away from the kids in seven years. Finally, after Laurie has worked her magic transforming the backyard into a tropical paradise, Dodi and Chuck renew their vows under the Chuppa they created together.