Who doesn’t love an honest bride? Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder opened up about the difficulties of planning her destination wedding in Italy to fiancé Beau Clark — and even revealed that Bravo wasn’t going to spot them a dime, despite the fact that the nuptials would be filmed for the network.
“The real challenge? That it’ll be filmed for Vanderpump Rules. When we went to Rome to scout locations, we took our wedding planners and our producer along,” the blonde beauty revealed in her new ‘Basic Bride’ column for Glamour. “The issue is finding locations that are willing to film, which you’d think would be easy. But our first choice said no. It even affects the hotels. They have to sign off before I’m allowed to tell our guests where they can stay. Right now I’m waiting every single day to hear whether or not our venue has signed the Vanderpump Rules contract. Until then, we can’t start the actual planning.”
Though the networks seems to be putting the couple through the ringer with the initial arrangements, Stassi revealed they don’t plan to help the couple foot the bill. “People think that when you get married on TV, it’s like, ‘Oh, they just take care of it.’ No, they do not take care of anything at all. It’s double the amount of hustle for us, and Bravo doesn’t pay for anything,” she explained.
“It’s frustrating at times: Beau and I are paying for the wedding ourselves. It’s our money, but I’m being told I can’t have my first choice in things,” she continued. “Sometimes I feel like, ‘What am I doing this for? Why am I even going to film this?’ But at the same time, this is my life. I grew up on Vanderpump Rules. I started it in my early 20s. Now I’m in my early 30s, and all of my best friends are on the show. We’ve had the same crew for eight years — they’re like family to us.”
But, ultimately, the author acknowledged that the privilege of being interesting to the world is just that: a privilege. “It’s my job, and my way of life, to show as much of my life as possible,” Stassi reasoned. “I know that I’m lucky to have it all documented, and I’ll be able to share it with so many people once it airs.”
If all goes to plan with production, the former model definitely has a location in mind. “Our venue, if the contracts go through, will be Villa Miani,” she gushed. “What I love about it: We wanted an outdoor wedding that overlooks the city at dusk—at night you can see the whole city of Rome in lights. It’s so romantic. Again, we’re making people come all the way to Rome. Let’s give them a Roman experience!”
Sounds like we’re gonna need an invite, Stass.