If you’re like us and have already binge-watched nearly everything on TV amid the coronavirus pandemic, you’re in luck!
Netflix’s new series Say I Do, out Wednesday, is a show that’s sure to bring some joy to your household (and let’s be real, we could all use a little bit of that right about now). Each episode, viewers follow a different real-life couple on their journey to a fairytale wedding ceremony, with help from a team of three experts. The couples featured are people who always had intentions of getting married, but for one reason or another, were never able to make their special day a reality… until now.
360aproko exclusively spoke with the experts — fashion designer Thai Nguyen, interior designer Jeremiah Brent and chef Gabriele Bertaccini — who teased what viewers can expect from the series and why they think it’s the perfect watch for fans of shows like Queer Eye, Say Yes to the Dress, Project Runway and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
“This show is about love, it’s about kindness, it’s about family,” Nguyen tells Rachel Smith. “We all deserve to be loved, and we all should continue to be kind to one another. It doesn’t matter where you are, where you come from, or who you are, what color. Family is everything, and when we are together, we thrive together.”
“These couples, their stories are so inspiring and I’ve learned so much from them,” he adds. “It’s all about the power of love.”
Brent shared similar sentiments, telling 360aproko, “I think this show is a joy ride. I don’t know how else to describe it!”
“Jeremiah, Gabriele and I have a lot of fun together on the show, and the beautiful thing about our synergy and our connection is that we all value story and we show it through different ways,” he explains. “This show, obviously it’s about these people’s stories, but it’s also about the connective tissue and what connects all of us, which is love.”
“You get to meet amazing people,” he continues. “You’ll feel like you’re part of their family by the time you’re done with each episode, I promise you, and you get to watch a happy ending.”
Bertaccini says that, right now, amid the ongoing pandemic, “really is the perfect” time to watch a show like Say I Do.
“It’s about hope, resiliency. It’s a show that hopefully will give the viewers the confidence that they need in order to move through life in a place of vulnerability, in a place of love, in a place of empathy,” he teases. “And I think that’s something that we need now more than ever.”
As people across the globe have stayed at home to prevent further spread of COVID-19, many other real-life couples have had to get creative with their weddings, throwing everything from backyard ceremonies with their families to nuptials over Zoom. Others, including celebrities like Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, and Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, have postponed their weddings until further notice.
“It’s hard, but the beautiful thing about a wedding is it doesn’t have to happen when it was supposed to,” Brent says, advising couples to “hold tight” until the pandemic is over. “My advice would be to wait. I just think there’s something so special around that moment of seeing those people in your lives. Like, I’ll never forget looking out when I was marrying my husband and thinking, ‘Wow, each one of these people has helped get me here in one way or another.’ I know there’s so many people, so many friends of mine, that were planning on getting married, but it’s worth the wait.”
But for those who are just simply way too eager, Nguyen says it’s definitely still possible to look chic in your gown while wearing masks and gloves. “I have brides that wanted [custom] gloves, and masks with beaded lace,” he shares. “We turn this negative thing into a positive thing and it’s beautiful. And it’s part of the whole look now; it’s like the new normal, even for weddings!”
