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Jan. 23, 2020
By David Nordby
The Brillion News
A lot of girls dream of their wedding day when they’re growing up. It’s unlikely that Brittany Wenzel could have ever envisioned hers the way it played out last summer.
Imagine this. Fifty-two couples saying ‘I do’ at the same time at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park in New York City while being recorded for a popular reality show’s spinoff.
That’s how it played out for Wenzel, a 2006 graduate of Reedsville High School and Minneapolis resident, and her now-husband Phil. She was selected to represent Minnesota in TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress America” where 52 couples (all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico) are married by Randy Fenoli, the show’s host and famed fashion designer.
“You come down the steps and the grooms are waiting for you and there’s a heart. It’s like a fairytale, something you can’t quite take in because it’s all so beautiful,” Wenzel said.
It’s the first time the franchise has done a season like it since its premiere in 2007. The show typically follows brides searching for the perfect dress at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan.
“(The show) was basically just dress shopping, but for this season … they’re really focusing on one bride each week … the wrap-up of it all is all of us getting married together,” Wenzel said.
Each of the 10 episodes leading up to the season finale feature one state representative. Scenes from other couples who are not the primary focus of the episode, like Wenzel, could be sprinkled in. The season premiered on Jan. 4 and airs every Saturday at 7 p.m. central on TLC. Wenzel was featured in a few background shots of the season premiere. The season finale with the Central Park wedding will be aired March 14.
“It’s not as intimate as we were originally thinking (for a wedding) … but it was pretty neat to all do it together and still have those connections with those people,” Wenzel said.
Wenzel says the experience, especially the wedding day, was surreal.
Please see the complete story with details about Wenzel's upbringing in Reedsville and life in Minneapolis in the Jan. 23, 2020 edition of The Brillion News.