The CW’s newest television show Shedding for the Wedding premiered on February 23, 2024 among rave reviews. The show follows nine engaged couples who are overweight and want to shed that excess weight in time for their weddings. DietsinReview will be recapping this show each week as the show progresses to keep you updated.
The show began with a preview of what the season will entail and an introduction of the two trainers, Jennifer Cohen and Nicky Holender, who will whip the contestants into shape and the wedding planner, Brian Worley, who will help the couples make their unique dream weddings come true.
It was apparent right off the bat that Jennifer and Nicky mean business when it comes to getting these couples into shape. They start by putting the couples through an intense workout that draws tears from more than one contestant. While the couples are exercising, we are introduced to each team.
- Team Fairy Tale is composed of Allison and David. The couple has been engaged since December 2024 and met online. Allison currently weighs 170 lbs. and David weighs 265 lbs.
- Team Fun & Games is composed of Dawn and Adam, a pair of board game lovers who met via a mutual friend on MySpace. They have been engaged since early 2024. Dawn currently weighs 180 lbs. and Adam weighs 235 lbs.
- Team Hollywood is composed of Laeresa and Stephen, both of whom are very competitive. They met four years ago when Laeresa was visiting Los Angeles on vacation. She currently weighs 212 lbs. and he currently weighs 263 lbs.
- Team Football is composed of Laura and Austin. Austin used to be the high school quarterback, but has now replaced his six-pack stomach with a “six-pack of beer,” according to his fiance. They met while she was bartending at his favorite bar. She currently weighs 190 lbs. and he weighs 260 lbs.
- Team Greek Week is composed of Lindsey and Chase. They met at a fraternity party in college and hope to have a Greek Week themed wedding. She currently weighs 203 lbs. and he weighs 317 lbs.
- Team Eco-Lovers is composed of Sam and Brooks, middle school sweethearts who got engaged after eight years of dating. She currently weighs 221 lbs. and he weighs 315 lbs.
- Team Gamers is composed on Taylor and Peter, who met online while playing Final Fantasy XI together. She weighs 235 lbs. and he weighs 210 lbs.
- Team Big Band is composed of Valerie and Dave. They met in college and have had to withstand insults and judgments from other due to their interracial relationship. She currently weighs 230 lbs. and he weighs 367 lbs.
- Team Beach Romance is composed of Ginny and Marc. In addition to losing weight, this couple is also giving up smoking together. They met outside one of the comedy clubs that Marc owns when both were taking a smoke break. She weighs 179 lbs. and he weighs 241 lbs.
After the first grueling workout, the women are taken away for a more fun activity: dress shopping! However, the activity is “bitter-sweet” for Lindsey and some of the other girls due to their current weights. The men also spend some time looking at outfits for the big day at a tuxedo shop. This shopping trip serves as motivation for many of the contestants.
After everyone tries on their dream wedding gowns and tuxedos, they meet up with Sara Rue, the hostess of the show. Sara tells everyone that their first challenge will be a dancing competition and the winners will get their dream outfits. The couples must maintain a combined heart-rate of 225 beats per minute to start in order to stay in the competition, and each song results in a higher heart-rate requirement. Ginny and Marc are the first couple to be eliminated. After a few more minutes of intense dancing, running, and jumping jacks, all the couples were eliminated, leaving Laeresa and Stephen as the winners.
The show continued with a cooking lesson from Ashley Koff, a registered dietitian who created a nutrition plan for the teams requiring them to cook all of their own meals using healthier foods.
The weigh-in ceremony was very similar to the weigh-ins on The Biggest Loser, however, the two couples who had the lowest percentage of weight loss immediately faced off in an elimination challenge called “Til Death Do Us Part,” and that their weights were reported as a combined total, not individually. Sara also revealed that at the end of the season, all of the eliminated contestants would come back and compete for a dream honeymoon vacation.
When all was said and done, Dawn and Adam lost the most percentage of weight with a grand total of 7.28% lost. The two couples that ended up in the “Til Death Do Us Part” elimination challenge were Ginny and Marc and Lindsey and Chase.
The challenge required the couples to not only keep a 200 pound weight off the ground, but bid to see how long they could do it for. Lindsey and Chase won the bid with a time of three minutes and were allowed to stay in the competition. Ginny and Marc were eliminated.
Next week’s s episode will focus on the wedding cake, which will obviously pose as temptations for the contestants. Did you watch it? What did you think? Share your thoughts below.
By Kelsey Murray