| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this reality show reinforces the idea of wedding-day-as-dream-fulfillment -- and the excess that often goes along with that. There's also some trash talking among the designers, which gives the competition an unsportsmanlike feel. Forget fair play -- here it's all about the win.
Traditionally, when you hire a professional to perform a service -- such as designing a wedding -- you get bids and presentations from multiple people, looking for the best/most creative value for your dollar. BATTLE OF THE WEDDING DESIGNERS ramps up this process by bringing three competing wedding pros together, with each making a presentation to the featured couple. The couples also share the story of how they met and fell in love and set a budget for the designers to work with.
On the plus side, the couples expect the designers to stick to
their budget, and they often talk about the importance of family and their relationship. But on the downside, it sometimes seems as though the designers have been encouraged to trash talk each other (one in particular behaves so badly that it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to work with her). Friendly jibes are one thing, but watching designers interrupt each other with snarky questions, each proclaiming to be the best, is just tiresome and obnoxious.
And, of course, the weddings being planned are the usual excessive parties, with no bearing on what real people can afford or even want. Bottom line? Between the over-competitive feel of the relationship between the designers and the over-the-top nature of the weddings, there's not too much positive here for kids to take away.
Families can talk about whether some of the designers' competitiveness could be heightened by the way the show is put together. Why would producers of this kind of show want more conflict?
How realistic are the weddings being presented? What kind of expectations does the media instill in audiences when it comes to things like weddings? What makes a "good" wedding?
What role does the media play in making us think that the wedding is as
important as the marriage? What does a wedding really signify?
| TV rating: | TV-PG |
| Network: | TLC |
| Genre: | Reality TV |