BBC Two Wedding Programme looking for people getting married

[Weddings BBCTwo]

Hi,

My name is Emily and I work for a TV company and we are making a programme for BBC Two about weddings in the UK.

We're looking urgently for couples who are planning to get married
from now and for the next few months.

We would really like to represent a Filipino marriage or a Filipino to other nationality within the programme to understand and learn about the culture and traditions and to hear a little more about different views of the UK.

If you would like to find out more, please call/email soon as we are looking urgently! You won't be committed at all by calling, and all will be treated in confidence.

Many thanks,

Emily

[Steve.r]

We have seen you one here before trying to do this. How many Nigerian takers did you get ?????

[Steve.r]

Read here people:

http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....light=producer


just a one post wonder.... don't get too carried away with this.

[RickyR]

I didn't see any contact details. Do you think it's a scam Steve?

[raynaputi]

Steve, check their website, Firecracker Films..as it was the one signed on their email.

[RickyR]

The website looks pretty genuine, the same company who made 'Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'.

[Dedworth]

The website looks pretty genuine, the same company who made 'Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'.

That's got my day off to a bad start

[Steve.r]

The website looks pretty genuine, the same company who made 'Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'.

Can you imagine how they would dress up this Fil/Brit wedding??

That's got my day off to a bad start

good morning Ded

[Dedworth]

Morning Steve - good to see you started the day pest controlling with a quick stab of the banning button

[Steve.r]

Morning Steve - good to see you started the day pest controlling with a quick stab of the banning button

so many this morning already ... but I got 'em

[RickyR]

haha, I dread to think.

[Weddings BBCTwo]

Dear all,

I apologise for not giving you direct contact details, the email is weddings@firecrackerfilms.com.

To answer all the questions above:

1) I have not posted on here before, not sure what you're referring to with the documentary is a new one hour programme.

2) Regarding the link to the other programme, this is a different project, made by a different company and for a different channel (that was Channel 4 and this is BBC Two)

3) I do understand that there were mixed feelings about Gypsy Weddings, and that this makes people wary. However, this is an entirely different project, about different nationalities and cultures in the UK. It's for BBC Two which is a very different channel to Channel 4, and we are taking an extremely sensitive and open look at the different cultures within London and the country as a whole- to hear why they're here, the good and sometimes difficult parts of living here. The purpose is to reflect the views oft those that we don't often hear from, to give them a voice and we want to hear from Filipino people too. We are doing it through weddings and the build up as they reflect and demonstrate different traditions and cultures so well and are celebratory and happy occasions. It's also a time to hear about what it means to people personally and to their faith and culture.

4) We are not looking for a Filipino/Brit marriage, we are looking for those who are marrying who were not born in the UK. Primarily, this may be where both members of the couple are Filipino but I meant that I am also interested to talk to those Filipinos if they are marrying another nationality.

I hope all this makes sense and I hope you will see what a positive project this is and how important it is to hear from people.

Many thanks,

Emily

[Steve.r]

to hear why they're here,

'They'..... are our wives, partners and fiancees, thank you.

I think that you are missing a trick here in focusing on a wedding or 'build up to' here in the UK. If you really want to understand the culture and reasons why we have fallen in love with a Filipina you also need to follow some British men or women who decide to marry in the Philippines. I think it works that way too. Why do we decide to go there to wed? You will find hours worth of material there also.

But, if you really want to look at this subject properly, maybe look at the hoops we have to jump through now that 'our' government has restricted who can afford to fall in love with a non-european. Look at the costs involved, look at how much we, the honest people of this country get ripped off by fees for visas, fees for our partners to take English tests before they can come to the UK, fees for becoming a part of this once great country.

Do some research on everything and paint an honest picture of what we and our future wives have to go through just to be together, it will shock you.

But whatever you do, do not try to paint us as sad loners who go to south east Asia to buy our 'Thai brides'.... I have seen the type of programme you make, I am not sure if you will get many takers, not sure if you can be trusted.

[Terpe]

Well said Steve. !!!
Sums up my feelings anyway.

[CBM]

Dear Emily,

I think that you will find it quite hard to find a Filipino couple marrying in the UK.

The reason is simple enough if you know the Filipino people - they are very family minded. They will often prefer to travel to the Philippines to marry, even when both partners are UK resident. This allows both families to attend the event, which, given UK immigration restrictions on the issue of visit visas to Filipinos, regardless of the cost of travel, would be almost impossible here.

I have a Filipina colleague at work who did exactly that - her husband is Filipino and UK resident - both hold UK citizenship - a couple of years ago.

You will find it much easier, I think, to find a Filipino/British couple marrying here, but such a marriage may not be very strong on Filipino culture, so to speak, because the Filipino/Filipina spouse will not have many, or any, of their family members present. Again, immigration regulations are responsible for this state of affairs.

Sorry to chuck such a bucket of cold water on your proposed project.

On a lighter note, before I married, I did read up on the culture of the Tagalogs, and I assured my prospective parents in law that I would be paying the correct bride price - this met with the response that if I really proposed to drive two water buffalo and five pigs down a quiet suburban street then, firstly, I could clean up after myself and, secondly, they would be selling tickets!

The current fashion in weddings in the Philipines, as here and elsewhere, has been to go wildly over the top, with clouds of butterflies, flights of doves, etc - to the point that the incumbent Archbishop of Manila has issued a homily against this sort of nonsense!

[CBM]

Actually, if you look back twenty one years, BBC Wales did a first class job on British/Philippines relationships with a lovely little comedy called "Filipina Dreamgirls" - Bill Maynard, Charlie Drake, Grace Amilbangsa.

[Iani]

I'm not saying this one is like that, but do be a bit careful before going with a tv documentary.
I have seen requests like this on other sites, not always about weddings of course.

Thing is, and I have this on pretty good authority, anyone going on these sort of documentaries, their lives are literally in the hands of the editor.............and there will not be comeback.
You only need to read stories of people who have appeared on the show "Big Brother" to realise how it is manipulated to paint some contestants in a good light, and others in not so good.

Let's take some scenarios, in fact, lets pretend some show wants to (Since it's this forum) follow some Brit guy who is marrying his Filipena girlfriend.

So the cameras turn up, they film him walking around his house, he is talking about what he likes doing, how they met, where he works etc, just being a normal bloke.

He has a bookshelf, Nick Hornby, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and a number of thriller dvd's, horror, action movies................but why did back at the studio the editor use the footage showing only that one Star Trek dvd and the Harry Potter book?

So he's talking, he had a divorce, and has since had a number of girlfriends, one was becoming serious but she had to move away, then his best mate who has been happily married to a Filipena, who he met at uni 20 years ago, said as a favour could he chat on facebook to her cousin because she needs cheering up and wants to practice her english.
They got to know each other and something sparked between them, he went out on vacation and 2 years down the line here they are about to get married.

Hmm but back in the studio, they don't mention the best friend.........can't have it looking like he has friends, they make it look like they met randomly on facebook, or..........better still, oh he went on holiday...........then as they mention holidays, they stick in some random stock footage of bars in Angeles City showing some puta greasing up a dancing pole.

He opens his fridge in the kitchen, but they cut that out because the fridge contains beers, cheese, lettuce, but when he opens his cupboard, that bit stays in because it has a couple of pot noodles in (which he buys for Fridays to take to work as a snack before going out playing 5 a side with the guys from accounts)

The lads throw him a stag night, he gets home, carried in by two other guys, they all crash out on the floor, on goes Demolition Guy on the dvd and the fridge gets raided, the night after though, he's hungover and is playing Sonic the Hedgehog with the phone off the hook because he needs recovery time.................guess which footage gets used!

So he gets to Phils, and at one point, he goes to the cash machine and gets out a wad of pesos, because they've both been saving but he said he will pay deposit for the restaurant because she has to go into the city to pick some stuff up.....he gives the money over to her father.............and this is the footage they use without explaination, they then film some waterbuffalo in a field and make comment about how poor some of the village looks, and how there often aren't some younger women here because they go to Subic looking to work in bars and send money home "earned" from the US navy calling in.

No lies have been made in this documentary, but with selective footage, this guy will be made to look like a billy no mates, who can't hold a relationship, can't find someone in the UK to marry so has bought some poor SE Asian girl.

Never mind that in the city she was meeting the CEO of the company to pass over her reports before taking her leave to get married, never mind that he's a decent guy with good mates, who just by sheer coincidence met a girl with a brain the size of a small car, who will be loath to move away from her family, but happens to love her guy enough to brave UK weather................this isn't what documentary makers want.

Or possibly not, but - you want to take that risk?

I'd be very careful. Hatchet jobs make good reading and footage, lovey dovey stories about equals meeting half way across the world, all very romantic..............but be really honest, if you didn't know them, would you want to watch that? It's in the interests of the documentary makers to find mud

[Moving Forward]

That was a top post

[RickyR]

I was on a cruise ship when they filmed a Cooking Competition (a bit like masterchef). For a so called reality TV they did an awful lot of retakes. Stopped the clock on regular occasions to refilm parts etc. So I can quite believe that things can be twisted on TV.

On the other hand, some producers can do an amazing job of representing the people concerned in a good light.

[Steve.r]

On the other hand, some producers can do an amazing job of representing the people concerned in a good light.

Lets get David Attenbourgh on the job... his documentaries are great