Why Do They Do It?
By TwistieNever let it be said that I will not take a bullet for the readers of this fine blog.
What bullet might that be, you may ask?
A solid week of watching reality shows about weddings, that’s the answer. I’ll have some observations about the lessons I learned from these shows tomorrow. For now I just have one question:
Why do women sign up to be featured on Bridezillas?
I know they get something, because as my brain screamed at the end of every episode I saw I knew it was drowning out the sound of the announcer telling us what resort or hotel the couple got to stay at for three days in return for having their reputations trashed on national television over the course of two episodes. But is that really all they get? Is it really worth it? Some shows I can understand being willing to be on them for the sake of a couple nights at a nice hotel, but this one?
Also I had to wonder at some of the choices of brides. While most of the women I saw profiled on the show were definitely doing everything in their power to live down to the Bridezilla label, there was at least one who I felt was not only not Bridezilla, but was more of a pathetic sad sack who couldn’t get anyone to help her with anything. She had no organizational skills and her friends and family spent most of their time ignoring her or laughing at her for wanting a nice wedding. Okay, her waterworks got to be a bit much, but I would have cried, too, if I’d been stuck cleaning up my own reception in my wedding gown with only one or two people half-heartedly helping out - none of whom even seemed to be the groom. By what stretch of the imagination is this Bridezilla behavior?
Could it be that there weren’t enough actual Bridezillas out there volunteering for the show?
But my question remains: why would anyone go out of their way to don the mantle of Bridezilla?
I just don’t get it.
September 15th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Fifteen minutes of fame, and a lifetime of embarrassment!
September 15th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I stumbled upon a sweet (but old) essay on Indiebride about this very topic!
September 15th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I also feel like if you put together anyone’s worst moments compiled from months of filming during planning for one of the biggest days of their lives, you can make them look pretty bad. And a lot of people on shows like that are genuinely out of control, and I think in some ways if you sign up for shows like that you are using it as permission to give in to your inner psycho diva, if you have one. But I think there is still the risk of people being blown way out of proportion by editing.
September 16th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Thanks for the link, NtB. I hadn’t read that one before, and it definitely sums up my feelings on the term Bridezilla beautifully.
Leah: I agree that with careful editing anyone can look like a jackass. But I still wonder at the motivation to appear on a show where you KNOW you’re going to be made to look like a gigantic jackass. I keep thinking they must get more than that hotel stay, but if so, I don’t know what it is.
Maybe there really are people that desperate to get on television at any cost.
September 17th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I watch a lot of Bridezilla - I can’t help myself. I know that editing goes a long, LOOOOONG way with some of those women. Take anybody, add stress, cameras and alcohol, you’re going to get some awful footage.
And I think a couple of the women on there are definitely the products of some very careful editing - they don’t handle stress particularly well, they maybe would have benefited from hiring a wedding planner, that sort of thing.
But you have to admit, a few of those women can’t possibly be just good editing jobs. There is a vast difference between asking your bridesmaids to show up at 8:00 with their hair done and handing out a 10 page booklet with rules and regulations, including “make sure you wear underwear” and stating that nobody can wear perfume but the bride.
As I said, I watch way too much of this show.