Some people say the most important day of a woman’s life is her wedding day. From the dress to the venue, anything can make planning a wedding extremely stressful. Nowadays couples, more specifically brides, seem to be under a lot of pressure to plan the perfect wedding, pressure that is shown a lot in the form of reality television.

There are nearly 30 reality TV shows that involve weddings in some way. There are shows about cakes (Amazing Wedding Cakes), the dress (Say Yes to the Dress), and being able to fit into the dress (Bulging Brides). There is even a show about what happens when the bride’s expectations are unreasonably high (Bridezillas). Is it possible that reality TV has changed what brides expect when putting together the ideal wedding?

“I don’t watch any reality TV that involves my industry,” says Owner of The Mix Custom Cakes, Sandy Maclean, “They’re too unrealistic”.

Maclean is a self-taught cake maker and does cakes for many different events. Although she’s never had a customer ask for something that was beyond her capabilities, she said there are moments when people don’t value her time and expect a cake to be done much sooner than possible.

As seen on TV, possibly the most important element of a wedding is the dress. Ashley Spencer from Once Upon a Bride says she has seen a change in what customers expect when they come in but not in a bad way.

“I’d say reality TV has actually lowered people’s expectations,” says Spencer “People now better understand that they aren’t going to find the perfect dress in 15 minutes.”

Savanna Marks, also from Once Upon a Bride, mentioned that it’s sometimes the expectations of the family that are unattainable, especially when they aren’t being supportive of exactly what the bride wants.

Spencer added that there is one unrealistic thing that people expect simply because they’ve seen it on TV.

“Honestly, the one thing that seems to surprise everyone is that they can’t drink wine or champagne while trying on dresses.”