Viewers will have to make sure they get to the church on time for the second season of The Wedding Bashers starting today on M-Net (DStv 101) at 18:00, with judge Zavion Kotze promising more diverse weddings - without snakes.
The second season of The Wedding Bashers, produced by [SIC] Entertainment, has some format changes, following after the first season as well as a special 4-episode miniseries The Wedding Bashers: With Love, in which the judges became organisers to surprise deserving couples across South Africa and helped them to get the wedding day of the dreams.
The decor-guru and resident "headboy" Zavion Kotze is back, along with "entertainment specialist" Denise Zimba, as well as the chef and food stylist Zola Nene judging the food, and the former Miss South Africa Bernelee Daniell, who will be weighing in on the fashion and style of the weddings.
Zola Nene and Bernelee Daniell replaced Siba Mtongana and Cindy Nell during the 4-episode With Love specials and continue on in the second season.
The second season of The Wedding Bash(ers) is also introducing a new spinning rating wheel representing levels such as "OMG Amazing" and "Ho Hum".
On top of the rating wheel, the judges will also rate each wedding with an overall experience score at the end of each episode that, when added together, will determine the top 5 weddings that make it to the finale of the competition.
The Wedding Bashers was conceptualised by Gavin Wratten, with Gavin Wratten and ProVerb (Tebogo Thekisho) as executive producers.
The second season of The Wedding Bashers on M-Net will have 15 episodes, as well as a 16th live finale with viewers who are going to be choosing the winning couple of the second season.
The couple that receives the best viewer rating from the bashers walks off with the title of Wedding of the Season and will unwrap some amazing wedding gifts.
The winning couple will take home a R250 000 cash prize from M-Net, R100 000 worth of jewellery from Jack Friedman Jewellers and a 5-night second honeymoon from Seychelles Tourism worth R80 000.
The second season of The Wedding Bashers will also feature just one wedding couple per episode instead of the two in the first season.
"We want to give the audience more of a chance to get to know the couple - we felt that that was missing in season one. It's a great season," said Zavion Kotze.
Zavion Kotze spoke to the media and took questions after a special M-Net press screening for TV critics and press of the first episode of the second season this week held inside the MultiChoice City cinema auditorium in Randburg, Johannesburg.
Explaining the scoring changes, Zavion Kotze said "for the flower and decor, the fashion, the food or the entertainment it's no longer as 6.3 or a 5 - it's more a catchphrase wheel".
"And at the end of each episode it's different from the first season because you can see the overall experience is actually revealed to the viewer. So there's an actual leader board throughout the season where you can see how your favourite couple is doing, which is a nice added touch."
"Everything flows exceptionally easily in the second season because I think it's a format that now works and we kind of know what it is. It's much easier to have commentary and you can pinpoint what to comment on."
"Weddings are so different, each one of them that they just throw you with all kinds of different things,so I really have to say The Wedding Bashers is a show where the content is not directed or scripted, it happens organically and naturally which I think is a very nice thing about the show. It's going to be a great, great season."
TVwithThinus asked if, after switching to active agents as the organisers of weddings in the four-episode special The Wedding Bashers: With Love, is was difficult to go back to being passive judges of attending weddings the four bashers didn't help to organise, and had to suppress the urge to help.
"I always have to suppress the urge to help!" says Zavion Kotze. "There's always something I see that I would have done differently, or changed or assisted with, but obviously if you're judging you can't dabble."
"I think the girls got quite a shock as to how much work actually goes into planning and executing a wedding from the give-back With Love episodes we did. So I think they quite enjoyed just being judges again."
"The second season of The Wedding Bashers is a really, really lovely season. There are wonderful, diverse weddings - viewers will see a lot of different weddings - and no snakes. I really think viewers are going to respond to it."
Viewers will also be kept informed of the top five weddings
throughout The Wedding Bashers' second season, with the leader board that will be updated
weekly.
