Countdown To I Do is a reality wedding series that follows the crucial last moments before real-life couple’s tie the knot.
Today, Studio71 UK announces the production of Countdown To I Do, an original short-form wedding series. The format, which will run on TLC UK’s YouTube channel follows couples on the biggest day of their lives.
It’s the first series of its kind for both the TLC UK channel and produced by Studio71 UK and will act as a pilot for a potential future TV series.
Countdown To I Do (6×8’) is the most intimate wedding series ever made. Each episode is self-shot by the bride, groom, bridal party and selected guests who all have an important role to play in the couples’ big day. The show captures the excitement, nerves, drama and humour of the wedding build up, as each episode starts only hours before the ceremony and finishes with ‘I do’.
Shot using handheld Sony RX100 cameras, the self-shot format plays out like a collection of Instagram stories.
Studio71 UK draws upon its experience in TV development/production and the talent management of hundreds of online creators to create the series. Understanding how creators and vloggers engage an audience on platforms such as YouTube has contributed to the development of this series, to create wedding stories direct from members of the wedding party, told down the lens of a camera.
Clare Laycock, VP Head of Brands, Quest Red, TLC, ID and Food Network, said: “We’re celebrating an amazing quarter and year for TLC UK YouTube, which has seen incredible triple-digit growth in subscribers. As our first YouTube commission, Countdown To I Do marks an exciting step in TLC’s digital evolution, and promises fans the ultimate front row seat to the most important day in couples’ lives.”
Jody Smith, Studio71 UK Creative Director, said: “We’re using a discreet production unit to capture honest and open stories from a number of perspectives on the nerve-racking build-up to the ceremony. The hand of the producer will be absent from these honest, moving, funny and sometimes calamitous stories. We’re thrilled to make this original format for TLC.”
The series will be Exec Produced by Jody Smith and Studio71 UK Head of Content, Tom Payne.
Countdown To I Do follows the production of three BBC Factual series, Fashion Conscious, Sex in Seconds and Period Dramas providing fresh perspectives on fashion and sustainability, body positivity and sexual health by young, unfiltered voices.
This is in addition to Forged With Steele, an A+E commissioned series for HISTORY UK starring 20-year-old blacksmith and YouTube personality Alec Steele.