For Immediate Release: July 24, 2007
'Groomzilla' gets national spotlight; North Bay couple featured in TV show airing Wednesday
Brandi Cramer
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 @ 08:00
No matter what size a wedding, the bride always has a budget - so says the website for Slice Channel's Rich Bride, Poor Bride.
But when the popular show came to North Bay to film the planning for Derick and Julie Lehmann's special day, "Groomzilla" took over.
"I wanted a small intimate gathering of a few close friends and family - very un-intrusive," Julie said.
But the bride can't always get what she wants. Julie's vision turned out to be exactly the opposite.
Planning a wedding begins with the bride and groom deciding on a date, guest list and venue.
"As soon as I lost those battles, I basically lost total control. He took over the whole planning," she said.
The hour-long episodes of Rich Bride, Poor Bride typically looks at how the bride struggles through the planning of her wedding. The couple meets with the show's wedding planner, gives her a list of ideas and expectations and hands over an envelope which contains the budget.
The viewer doesn't see the budget until the end of the episode.
But in Wednesday's edition, appropriately titled Role Reversal, the Lehmanns' vision will show viewers something new.
"It's all about Derick and his vision," said wedding planner Heidi Allen, owner of Weddings Heidi Style, in the Niagara Region. "I must of heard that every single day 'My vision, my vision.'"
Derick, who works for his family's Orillia-based marketing firm, has no qualms admitting he was a "very controlling groom."
He attributes his pickiness to having worked in the hospitality industry.
"I had certain expectations of how I wanted it to work," he said.
The couple's Nov. 18 winter wonderland-themed wedding ceremony took place at the Education Centre where they met.
He was studying business, while she pursued a bachelor of education. "She was president for NUSU (Nipissing University Student Union) and I was president of the CSRC (canadore Students Representative Council)," he said.
The two were on a joint summer retreat when they clicked.
"I was completely drawn to him, he was such a character with such a great personality. I knew I wanted to be near him," Julie said.
Though the Role Reversal episode may shine Derick in a new light, Allen said she wouldn't necessarily call him difficult, but would call him a typical bride - "he wanted everything perfect.
"Granted he stressed me out some days and made me do the most ridiculous things. Now he looks back and can't believe how crazy he was," Allen said.
And for once, women can hold their heads high as Julie, an English teacher at West Ferris Secondary School, takes the title of "absolute doll.
"She was the sweetest woman. I have no idea how she got through that without clobbering him. He would go off on tangents and she would just hand over the reins. In the end she just wanted to marry him," she said.
The crew of as many as 15 were in North Bay for 12 days - the first time the show left its GTA boundary to shoot an episode.
The producers originally turned down the invitation to use the Lehmann wedding for an episode, but once they met the couple they couldn't resist.
"They are one of my absolute favourite couples on the show," said associate producer Misty Tyson. "I think the viewers will walk away absolutely loving Derick and Julie."
The episode airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on the Slice Channel. North Bay residents can watch it with the Lehmanns at Galaxy Cinemas, a fundraiser for West Ferris Grade 12 student Jessica Gough.
In May, Gough, a Powassan resident, received a double-lung transplant as a result of cystic fibrosis. She continues to recover in Toronto and is expected to return home in September.
The cost to attend the public viewing is a donation of at least $2 and audience members have a chance to win prizes.
