Race to the Altar – A Preview

Planning a wedding can be very stressful. There are a million decisions to make: choosing the perfect invitations, finding that romantic location, creating a menu to please a huge group of your closest friends, and picking out the perfect wedding gown, just to name a few. Then there are the real challenges, like coming up with a guest list that will please you, your future spouse, and your parents, who you never realized had so many friends. Or finding a wedding band or DJ that’s entertaining and won’t make your guests do the Chicken Dance. Not to mention setting up your registry, a task my husband and I only managed to complete after having several strong drinks. And if the bride had gotten her mitts on any wedding magazines, the pressure feels even greater to make every detail perfect. My new sister-in-law described Martha Stewart Weddings magazine as “like heroin.” At first it just seems exciting and fun. The next thing you know, you’re addicted and will do anything for a fix. To make this stressful situation even more stressful, it’s expensive to plan a wedding. How on earth could you make the stress of planning a wedding even more stressful? Why to make it into a reality TV show, of course!

NBC’s new show Race to the Altar, airing on Wednesdays at 8:00/7:00 central, will feature eight engaged couples competing against each other in a series of challenges. Every week, the couples will compete in two challenges. One will be a physical challenge. The other will be a mental challenge. I imagine the physical challenges will be endurance challenges, relay races, and such. The mental challenges I expect will test how well the future bride and groom know one another. The winners of each challenge will be called the “Power Couples” and will choose to eliminate one couple each week. Ooh, that’s harsh! So it would be a good idea to not only be physically strong and know your partner well, but also to not annoy the others so you can stay in the game. The payoff to all this hard work? An all-expenses paid dream wedding, to be broadcast live as the show’s final episode.

The dream wedding will be designed by lifestyle guru Colin Cowie. Cowie is the host of the show “Everyday Elegance” on the Women’s Entertainment channel, a contributing editor to In Style (he usually does those cool articles on how to throw a party), and the author of several lifestyle books, including Weddings , For The Bride: A Guide to Style and Gracious Living, and For the Groom: A Blueprint for a Gentleman’s Lifestyle. The guy knows his stuff and is known for planning lavish, over the top weddings. Cowie typically only plans four weddings a year, with budgets in excess of $1.5 million dollars. That’s a lot of Jordan almonds. Cowie says, “The winning couple gets me, my design experience, and also has a host of the best vendors in the country available to work on their wedding. They will get the most gorgeous flowers, the finest silks and linens for their tables, the most beautiful silver, crystal, china, and accoutrements.”

There’s nothing like a beautiful wedding to hook in female viewers. But how on earth can we women expect any men to watch the show with us? Easy – the host is Lisa Dergan. Dergan is a model, golfer, and reporter for Fox Sports Net. She’s the newest St. Pauli girl, and was Playboy’s Miss July in 1998. That’s right – she loves sports, endorses beer, and has a killer body.

NBC’s website doesn’t have much information yet about the eight engaged couples on the show, so I will use this opportunity to engage in some wild speculation about them. Please keep in mind that these ideas are based only on the slimmest of facts about the couples, and I will probably be totally wrong about them. It’s all for fun, folks. With that in mind, the couples are:

1. Grace (21) and Robert (22). They got engaged on February 14, 2002. The couple met in college. They’re young, so they should do well in physical challenges.

2. Carolyn (31) and Ethan (36). This couple got engaged on September 28, 2002, and they met in a bar. Carolyn and Ethan are the oldest couple – will their maturity help them in mental challenges, or will they fall behind when it gets physical?

3. Becca (22) and Andy (24). Becca and Andy have been only been engaged for a few months, since January 23, 2003. They’ve known each other “since they were kids,” so their long relationship should help them in mental challenges.

4. Tonya (28) and Andree (28). Tonya and Adree got engaged on December 1, 2002. Hey, that’s my birthday! Go Tonya and Andree! They’ve been together for five years.

5. Jessica (25) and Scott (26). They got engaged on November 30, 2002, which is the day before my birthday and therefore much less exciting. The two of them met in law school, so I suspect that if there are any logic-based challenges, this couple will do well.

6. Cindy (29) and Chris (27). They got engaged on February 16, 2003, and met on a blind date. These two have been engaged for the least amount of time – will it hurt them in mental challenges?

7. April (28) and Vinny (28). This couple got engaged a scant one day before Chris and Cindy, on February 15, 2003. They have been together for ten years. Let’s hope they get along better than reality TV’s other long-time couple, Millie and Chuck of The Amazing Race 4.

8. Susan (21) and Coyt (28). This couple has been engaged since October 1, 2002, and they met playing volleyball. Susan and Coyt must be athletic. Will their physical strength make up for their age difference?

Eight engaged couples, a gorgeous wedding, and a Playboy playmate – what more could you want?

Betsy can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.com.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find out about some other popular shows at our Amazing Race 4 page and our Fame page; and don't miss The Reality TV Hall of Shame. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about reality TV, be sure to check out SirLinksALot!