‘Bachelor’ couple -- Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici -- to marry Sunday on live TV

1/24/2014
THE FRESNO (CALIF.) BEE
Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici will be married in a ceremony airing live 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici will be married in a ceremony airing live 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC.

PASADENA, Calif. — One of the big concerns with many weddings is the cost. Who pays? How much should a dress cost? Is it fair to ask someone to sell a kidney just to pay for a honeymoon?

Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici have had no such concerns. In fact, the bride often has been encouraged to think bigger and more expensive when putting together their nuptials for “The Bachelor: Sean and Catherine’s Wedding” that will air at 8 p.m. EST Sunday on ABC.

At a recent ABC party, Giudici was wearing an engagement ring that looks like it could be the cornerstone for a building. It, like the rest of the wedding, has all been paid for by the studio.

“That’s one of the perks of being The Bachelor. You get a really nice ring for free,” Lowe says with a smile. “It’s a pretty sweet deal.”

It wouldn’t make good television for the couple to elope and use a toy ring. That’s why their ceremonies will include special guests, a surprise performer and enough bridesmaids to field a female football team and have one left over.

Lowe may have found his true love in the manipulated world of television, but he’s taking a very real world approach when it comes to all of the wedding planning. He’s agreeing with everything that Giudici, the production company and ABC want to do.

“We really had no ground rules as far as the wedding. The production company behind ‘The Bachelor’ is great. They will respect us and the day itself,” Lowe says. “They have surrounded us with a great group of people and basically, anything we wanted, they’ve made it come to life.

“As for having any input, I give her my opinion when she asks for it.”

Lowe’s happy that the event is turning into a dream wedding for his future wife. The only part of the ceremonies that has Lowe a little nervous are the wedding vows. Each wrote their own and he wants to say the right thing.

Trading vows in front of family and friends — that make up a guest list of 225 — can be stressful enough, but the couple will go through the ceremony with millions watching. Neither is worried about the attention because they’re accustomed to being in a spotlight since their days on “The Bachelor.”

After the wedding they plan to return to Dallas to live a more private life. They aren’t ruling out a return to Hollywood in the future because of all the job offers that have popped up since their public romance. For now, that’s not on their radar.

“When we are not going to big events like this ABC party, we are at home, alone, in our sweat pants, watching TV,” Lowe says. “We need some time just to learn to be a couple and that involves the good times and the bad times. You have to learn how to fight and compromise in a healthy matter.

“The one thing I have learned about Catherine since the show ended is how passionate a person she is. She puts her heart into everything — including me. Every day I learn a little more about her.”

They are the fourth couple from either the “Bachelor” or “Bachelorette” to marry. They join past couples Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter, Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney and Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenberg .

Lowe believes the two-hour ceremony is being held live because photos of previous TV-spawned nuptials leaked before the show aired.

“The fans want to feel like they are a part of the event and this is a good way to do that,” Lowe says.