First Posted: 9/23/2014

Dominique Cassetori is not someone who needed her 15 minutes of fame, but she is someone who is about to get it.

She will be starring in the TLC hit “Four Weddings,” at 10 p.m., Friday, Sept. 26. Four unique brides allow a camera crew to document their personal wedding styles and traditions. Each also agree to attend and judge the other’s weddings. Judging is based on food, dress, venue and overall experience. The winning bride is awarded a luxury honeymoon package.

The supervising producer of the show, NaToya Goldman, wants every bride to know that they have a chance to get their airtime. “Anyone can nominate themselves to be on the show. If you are a bride and are having a wedding, you have a chance. There is no cost, no requirements. A bride can go through TLC.com or iTVproductions if they want to be on the show.”

Cassetori didn’t seek out “Four Weddings fame,” but took a chance instead. The gig came to her when she was perusing through wedding planning websites.“I saw an ad for it and thought why not? They aren’t going to pick us anyway.”

“We look for brides with great personalities and that are going to get along with the other contestants and contribute to the episode,” Goldman said. They saw something in Cassetori that she didn’t see herself.

After an extensive application, a Skype interview, multiple phone interviews and several weeks of waiting; Cassetori was still convinced the show was not going to call her back. The woman from Exeter couldn’t have been more wrong. The show called and she had to inform her less-than-enthusiastic finance, Jason Mapes, about their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be on “Four Weddings.”

“He wasn’t that thrilled,” Cassetori said, “But he did it for me.”

Filming began in October and wrapped up in February; enough time to included each of the women’s weddings. All of the weddings were in the Charleston, South Carolina, area and the brides-to-be lived locally.

“The areas where we film are already set,” Goldman said. “We tell local bridal stores that we are casting in the area to get the word out there as well as place ads on local websites in order to find our brides. We want everyone to have a chance to show us their wedding.”

The show exhibits the planning behind each couple’s wedding leading up to the big day; but it seemed that the interviews and anxiety landed square on Cassetori’s shoulders.

“I was very aware of ‘TV editing’ as I was conducting my interviews,” she said. “I wanted to be as positive as possible in order not to give them any ammunition that could be used against me. I was always conscious of what I was saying but am still nervous on how they will portray me on television.”

As for the other ladies, Cassetori isn’t sure if they were as sensible with their interviews.

“I got to know the women well and still keep in touch with them, so I am hoping that if anything is said on the show about my wedding I will be able to nod, smile and say, ‘Oh, yeah, that is something so and so would say.’”

She said that the women were a “team” during the judging, but there was some competition among all the smiles. “I felt confident about my wedding even when I attended the others. I had an amazing wedding planner and was still able to keep my ‘do-it-yourself’ touches.”

Cassetori said she enjoyed the filming process but came to learn that reality TV is all about what is ideal for the production and not as real as she once thought. “There was a lot of furniture moving, re-takes, and a very narrow wardrobe list. Those parts of the show were stressful.”

As for the producers most stressful part, it would be the big reveal. “There is always some tension during that time since everyone wants to win,” Goldman said. “The brides always handle it with grace.”

Cassetori had no complaints about the pro-longed attention that came with the interviews and extra weddings.

“All of the weddings were a blast,” she said, “The guests knew we were going to be there so we got to extend our ‘bride-to-be’ moments a little longer than normal. Instead of the normal showers and lunches we got to feel special six or seven times over with everyone asking about our upcoming weddings and the show.”

With today’s social media craze, one would think it would be hard to keep such a large secret. However, Goldman states that the brides understand that they can’t share the ending until the air date. Dominique was very tight-lipped and prompted that you will have to watch the episode to see if she wins.

Dominique and Jason decided to have their Southern Christmas themed wedding on Friday, December 13, 2013 in Charleston. They picked the southern location since most of their guest were from out of town; they didn’t find it fair to choose one of their home towns.

She was excited for her southern friends to experience northern nuptials. Her husband is originally from the Chicago area and she was thrilled to have his family experience an Italian-style affair with Pennsylvania flair. As the show puts it “a Yankee wedding with southern traditions.”

“My dad is from a big Italian family and my mom even brought the cookies for the cookie table from a local bakery in Exeter, Pennsylvania. I really hope everyone from Illinois enjoyed it. I loved that everyone seemed to dance, drink and have fun. It wasn’t stuffy but just a good party.”

Goldman said that all the brides welcome them with open arms and try to get the crew to join the party. “We stay behind the scenes and never want to impede on the bride’s big day. Some crew members have now been to 400 plus weddings, so they know how important every detail is to catch. We want the wedding to play out without any interference from us.”

Cassetori said she was glad she clicked on that pop-up ad. She made new friends and remembered to keep in mind that ‘everyone gets to get married in the end.’

Tune in at 10 p.m., Friday, Sept. 26, on TLC, channel 30 on Comcast Cable to see if Cassetori’s wedding “takes the cake.”

During the show, viewers can vote for their favorite wedding using custom hashtags and the voting is live throughout the entire episode.