So that’s what TLC stands for:
“The Lori Channel.”
At least that’s the case on Fridays, starting tomorrow, when Bridals by Lori in Sandy Springs takes over prime time on the cable channel that’s already well known for its roster of guilty pleasure programming
First came “Jon & Kate Plus Eight.” Then “Toddlers & Tiaras.”
Now get ready for “Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids.”
“I think what we’re doing is providing therapy for anyone who’s ever had to deal with it,” Amy Winter, general manager of TLC, said about having to march in lockstep with the rest of a bridal party in a dress you maybe can’t stand and definitely can’t afford.
Confides owner Lori Allen in tonight’s opening episode, part of a two hour programming bloc : “The bridesmaid department drives me crazy.”
She’s kidding . . . sort of. Much like the colorful collection of personalities in a bridal party, the bridesmaids department on the second floor of Allen’s 25,000 square foot store is a reliable source of drama, humor, and, yes, loving support.
“A bridal party is like a bunny on steroids,” Allen exclaimed during a recent interview in her office. “There’s some insane craziness that goes on in there.”
The, uh, bunny that started it all in 2007 was “Say Yes to the Dress,” which is still on the air. Filmed at the bustling Kleinfeld Bridal in New York, it took viewers into the dressing rooms and psyches of brides searching for the gown to make “their day” perfect. That show later beget “Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss” (starring plus-sized brides), and, last summer, Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta.”
A ratings hit that made Southern-accented stars out of Allen and fashion director Monte Durham (TLC sent him to London to report on the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate), “SYTTD: Atlanta” returns for its second season tomorrow. When TLC execs saw some footage producers shot in the bridesmaids department, Allen laughingly recalled, “We had the green light on [the bridesmaids spinoff] in a week.”
And why not, considering the enormous built-in audience?
“We have all experienced being a bridesmaid,” Winter said, exaggerating only slightly.
In Episode One, those “experiences” include a Texas bride whose number of bridesmaids (15!) is dwarfed only by her sense of entitlement. If she’s not picking out a dress her attendants can’t afford, she’s rejecting one because someone describes it as being — shudder! — pink.
But bridesmaids can give as bad as they get at times. One woman in another bridal party is so uncooperative, she gets dubbed the “maid of dishonor.”
It’s not all taffeta-engulfed warfare, of course. Still, “It always goes back to the bride” and whatever it takes to make her happy, Allen regularly reminds herself and her staff.
TLC has ordered six half-hour episodes of “SYTTD: Bridesmaids,” and is taking a wait-and-see attitude on a second season. But don’t be too surprised if this turns into a committed relationship.
“I don’t think people are going to be able to get enough of it,” Winter said. “And I don’t think there’s any shortage of material.”
TV PREVIEW
“Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta”
9-10 p.m. Fridays on TLC (two episodes air back-to-back)
“Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids”
10-11 p.m. Fridays on TLC (two episodes air back-to-back)
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