Weddings are challenging to plan for anyone. Throw in a reality TV star, her equally famous bridesmaids, and lots of cameras, however, and the happy day looks more like an organized riot.
But that's just the way SallyAnn Salsano, producer of the new Oxygen series "Tanisha Gets Married," likes it.
"What most people call a nightmare, I have a grin on my face and a twinkle in my eye. What people call a disaster, I call 'Wednesday.' I love it. The crazier it is, the more fun I am having," Salsano said when reached by telephone. "If I have a plan for the day, and that's what happens, in some weird way I have failed."
Salsano and her cameras now turn to Tanisha Thomas, a Season 2 cast member of Oxygen's "Bad Girls Club." Now a successful television host, Thomas plans to marry live-in boyfriend Clive Muir by the end of the new series. The preparations and wedding itself take up the entire season, which Salsano says is entertaining.
Chris Knight and Adrianne Curry, stars of the reality series "My Fair Brady," also documented their bridal woes for the TV cameras. "That would be like comparing us to the Kennedys," Salsano said when the "Brady" series is mentioned. "['Tanisha Gets Married'] is pretty raw."
When talking about "Bridezilla," a more aggressive wedding show, Salsano said that particular series features a bunch of girls that the audience doesn't have a connection to.
"Now that being said, I have never missed an episode of 'Bridezilla'; I am in no way knocking the show. The thing about Tanisha that people don't realize is what a great person she is. There are many different sides to her. The girl that's on the 'Bad Girls Club' that pops off and gets angry, that girl is getting married," she said.
The producer points out that on this series, the audience gets to live with Tanisha in her real life. The up-and-coming TV host lives in her mother's basement as she saves money to buy a home and plan for her wedding.
Salsano said that the wedding also is a direct reflection on who Tanisha is.
"Most girls aspire for a fairytale wedding. Everyone's fairytale is the same: It's pink, it's fluffy, and it's pastel. Not Tanisha's. Her [wedding] is blingy, involves mac & cheese and bright vibrant colors. It's about good music and having her friends around. I love that she did not change who she was just because she was having a wedding show," Salsano explained.
Grooms typically have three jobs: show up, say "I do," and write the checks. Salsano points out that groom Clive Muir tends to forget that, offering opinions when they are not really wanted.
"You take a normal bride and then you have a guy weighing in. Then you have Tanisha, and you have a guy weighing in on a wedding, it gets interesting," she said.
"Tanisha Gets Married" airs on Oxygen on Mondays at 10pm ET/PT.
