With Married At First Sight all wrapped up for this season, we’ve got a little MAFS-shaped hole in our hearts.

Since the end of filming (and during), the couples have been doing an ever-twisting game of partner-swapping that’s kept us on our toes. With all the drama, we almost miss the sweet naivety of their weddings – so we’re taking a look back at how their journeys began.

Showtime Event Group were approached to produce the spectacular wedding of Patrick and Charlene at their Showtime Event Centre in South Wharf, Victoria. Karinda, SEG’s senior wedding producer who was in charge as planning the event, gave us an insider’s look into what it’s like to plan a nationally televised wedding.

Via 9Now

How did you feel getting the event?

So incredibly excited!

What was the date of initial contact for the wedding day?

We were first contacted in Early September.

What was the brief?

A “Moroccan Vibe” was the concept I was presented with.

Who was the couple?

Patrick & Charlene were of course the couple, however I really didn’t know that until the day!

When was the big day?

Friday 29^th September 2017

Via 9Now

How many guests were to be in attendance?

80

What challenges did you face?

The event was only officially confirmed one week prior to the wedding.

With sooo many different departments and points of contact it was a very different experience to pull together a wedding in a week.

It was also such a bizarre experience to plan a wedding with no idea who the bride and groom were, and not even talking with them on the big day, this was the hard bit for me! Not being there to welcome them out of the limo, or check that they were enjoying their entrée!

How did the event end up going?

The day of the event was extremely long. I was onsite at about 9am and didn’t head off until about 1:30am.

The team were already prepped that estimated timings would be very fluid and to be prepared for a lot of changes which they handled really well.

Once it was time to roll into the reception it was really surprising to see run pretty much the same as a usual wedding would.

What was the most exciting part of the day?

Seeing both Patrick and Charlene arrive and seeing their first interaction with each other. I was curious to see how this would roll out in real life and happy to report that it genuinely is “married at first sight!”

Was it interesting being a part of a television show?

The “behind the scene” experience was the highlight. Just to get an insight on how a TV show comes to life and the army of people to bring it all to life. It definitely opened my eyes to a whole other world and the very different way in which they operate.

Via 9Now

How was it seeing event come to life?

The room styling looked absolutely incredible!!! Exaggerating the venues inbuilt features (LED wall lights and chandelier bar) to work with the Moroccan aesthetic really looked amazing! As the room was so styled for TV, it was so fun to see so much colour used and something much different to a traditional “wedding look”.

The last minute decision to keep the hanging floral used for the ceremony was amazing as it was originally only going to be used for the reception.

Are you a fan of the show?

I wasn’t at all until this season! Knowing we were on it of course I had to give it a watch, and after the first episode I have been completely hooked and obsessed with every dirty detail! Cannot get enough!

How did it run? Any different from others you have produced?

The food was not a priority as it is in most weddings and needed to be served right at the start and very quickly as they can’t really use a lot of footage with people eating.

It was also quite a weird experience to have no music at all during the wedding. The only song played all night was for the first dance.

How exciting was it to see your own production come to life on national television?

Watching Showtime on TV was so incredibly exciting! The venue looked great on screen and really highlighted the venue to its full potential! Right down to the interviews outside showing of the city-lights backdrop

It was also a very proud moment with so many of my past and future couples all recognising us instantly and messaging me and living through the episode too!