Michelle Lara<\/a> | TV | May 22, 2009<\/p>\nEmmy award winning producer and TV show creator Mark Burnett is synonymous with bringing high intensity to television. Most notable is Survivor where contestants battle it out to see who is the ultimate survivor.<\/p>\n
Some of his other popular shows include, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Apprentice\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Contender\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEco Mission\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 – all of which have aired in every country in the world with stellar reviews and ratings.<\/p>\n
It was much to my surprise when I found out Mark Burnett was behind a new TV show set to premier on June 16th on TNT \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWedding Day\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 gives deserving couples a wedding they themselves would not be able to afford.<\/p>\n
Each week celebrity food expert Allan Dunn and celebrity wedding producer Diann Valentin create the ultimate dream wedding. Viewers learn the couples compelling and emotional story and why they were chosen and see the wedding created from start to finish.<\/p>\n
I spoke to Mark Burnett earlier this week to discuss \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWedding Day\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and find out what could be expected from TNT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first reality series.<\/p>\n
Where did the idea for a wedding show come along?
TNT brought this idea to me and it was an ongoing process. After seeing the tapes I was instantly drawn to the idea. I have this tough guy image, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done a lot of tough adventure shows and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still a tough guy but I shed a tear watching. This show is about humanity and rewarding Americans. The American people are the biggest givers on Earth; they contribute more even in these tough economic times. This show rewards people who serve others and who can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford a big wedding, we fulfill that dream for them and I was touched.<\/p>\n
How are the bride and groom chosen?
Many different ways it was harder this first season because the show was unknown. Family members would nominate them and we viewed the entry tapes.<\/p>\n
Is it challenging creating these elaborate weddings in a short amount of time?
Yes, but it adds to the drama. Weather is an ongoing issue. The family works together to pull it off, also Janelle Fiorito from \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcExtreme Makeover: Home Edition\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is used to this fast paced workflow and makes it happen each week.<\/p>\n
What is your favorite part of a wedding?
The moment the bride and groom kiss, it symbolizes them starting a journey together. In the show I got into the idea of creating gates prior to the bride\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entrance she opens them and sees for the first time this incredible wedding that was planned for her and she can start her journey into her new life.<\/p>\n
What marriage advice could you offer?
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m married to a real life angel, Roma Downey who played an Angel on \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcTouched By An Angel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. Roma is less of a problem person more of a solution person. She has the ability to listen not just hear but actually listen. Communicating and completely listening is key if you want to make it work.<\/p>\n
After speaking with Mark I got a sense of how important this project is to him and how much of himself he has put into it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refreshing to see a television producer not only care about ratings but also the content of the show and the humanitarian side of it.<\/p>\n
I should also add that Mark has received many coveted Philanthropy awards, so this show is right up his alley despite the tough guy persona most of us have of him. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dedicated his time to many charities and through this show seems to have found another way to give to those who are the most deserving.<\/p>\n
Kudos to Mark and hooray for \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWedding Day\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n
If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a hopeless romantic and can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get enough of weddings then you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll enjoy \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWedding Day\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. I do suggest having a box of tissues by your side just in case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wedding Day premieres on TNT in 16 days time. I have attached one of my photos that TNT has released for their publicity of the show. This is a photo from Nyk and Janelle wedding in Detroit. Im really happy they are using this shot I love it. Wedding Day will be a great show […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ianjohnsonphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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