Yahoo News What it's ACTUALLY like to attend a MAFS UK wedding
Silver chandeliers twinkle from the ceilings, illuminating the burgundy paisley carpet below. The walls are adorned with extravagant mirrors, marble frames and opulent tapestry hangings, while white flowers in palatial brass vases stand on pillars. Guests wait with bated breath for the bride to arrive, barely containing their intrigue when she walks into the room. Heads turn at the sound of her heels on the freshly laid white aisle as whispers spread among the congregation. Because this is no normal ceremony, and half of the guests – including the groom – have no idea what she looks like. Welcome to a Married At First Sight UK wedding.
For those not familiar with the concept (side note: where have you been?!), Married At First Sight – abbreviated to MAFS – sees two people enter into a relationship after being matched by a team of experts, based on a series of questionnaires and interviews. After uncovering their personalities and backgrounds, as well as who their ideal partner might be, a panel of specialists match them up, and they enter into a ‘marriage’ (though it is not legally binding), meeting for the first time at the altar on their wedding day. From there, they head on honeymoon, before moving into an apartment together to see if they can make it work in the real world. But back to the wedding part…
The bride and groom
It’s 12.03pm on a Saturday in January when I walk into Sionainn’s room at a luxury spa hotel located 30 miles outside of London. The 29-year-old makeup artist from Glasgow is surprisingly calm, considering she’s about to marry a total stranger. ‘I’ve been very chill,’ she admits, wearing the top half of the wedding outfit she designed, with Adidas leggings. ‘I found out I had a match in December. My last relationship was pretty [difficult], so I was excited by someone else picking the perfect match for me.’ She applied after a guy she was seeing ‘pissed her off’, and then left her job in order to enter the two-month experiment. ‘My traditional type is skater boys with long hair and tattoos, so that’s what I’m picturing [will be standing at the altar]. But I’m thinking the total opposite of that might be better for me!’
The experts found her match in Ryan, a 28-year-old refuse collector and semi- professional footballer from Manchester, whose nerves are more visible ahead of the ceremony taking place. His knee is bouncing up and down, as he discusses his reasons for applying last November. ‘Things haven’t worked out in the [“traditional”] sense of house, marriage, kids for me, so I thought, why not do it back to front?’ The support from production, Ryan says, has been second to none, pointing to the welfare team in his room. ‘It’s just simple messages, texting in the evening asking how I’m feeling. They’re looking after us.’ For him, his ideal match would be ‘down to earth. I have a son, so someone to build that with’. While Sionainn had ‘dabbled’ in watching the show before, Ryan only tuned in after his match was confirmed.
The big moment
Just over two hours later, the impressive ceremony room is ready for them, and the big moment rolls around. There are 15 camera and crew members positioned inconspicuously in corners as 20 guests – 10 each for the bride and the groom – walk in, with every action caught on camera. The room falls silent as the groom makes his way down the aisle, introducing himself to his future family. ‘Facing forward please guys,’ a producer instructs, as the bride arrives 10 minutes later.
After their celebrant begins the ceremony, Sionainn and Ryan read their own vows, before walking out of the room together. The pair are then separated by producers, brought back into the ceremony room, and asked to run through their vows again. This time around, a camera operator films a close-up of the rings going on, while sections of the service are tweaked, angles are switched and the perfect shots are captured. The bride walks down the aisle three times in total.
As Rachel Viner, executive producer, explains, there are loads of elements to the wedding day, and it’s essential to get them right – both for the couple and the cameras. ‘One of the big challenges and also the joy of this show is that these are real people, and we’re following their story. You can never quite predict if the chemistry’s going to be there; they can be the perfect match on paper, but it can take weeks to find that connection.’
The perfect match?
After the ceremony, Ryan and Sionainn are whisked away with a wedding photographer for photos. Their family and friends are separated into different rooms, so no interaction goes ahead without being filmed. Later, they’ll meet again in the reception room for speeches and the first dance – but not before we’ve grabbed Sionainn for a chat. ‘I’m overwhelmed, honestly,’ she shares in a quiet moment post-ceremony. ‘There have been a few awkward moments; staring into someone’s eyes that you don’t know is intense. But I’m feeling optimistic about it. I’m excited to hear what my family and friends think, and to speak to him a bit more.’ Ryan is also positive. ‘I’m pleased with the ceremony so far – she’s ticking boxes.’
Once the reception is over, the pair will share a hotel room, with producers pulling them for on-camera catch-ups until the end of their wedding day. They’ll go on honeymoon less than 24 hours later, before entering into weekly commitment ceremonies – where they choose to ‘stay’ or ‘leave’ – as well as dinner parties alongside fellow participants. As for whether they’re in it for the long haul? We’ll have to wait and see…
MAFS UK continues on E4
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