Bachelor at 20 and a Wedding!

THE BACHELOR celebrated its 20th season with a Sunday night special edition/look back at twenty shows and it was actually pretty good!
I'm going to make this short and just give a quick overview of the show seeing I did not take notes while watching. Hey, I'd just finished an 8-hour shift at Macy's and simply wanted to sit on the couch, eat something with melted cheese on top and drink a Coors Lite.
The show paid tribute to Bachelor Nation, the fan base that keeps the show on the air. Yes, you. We watched clips from earlier Bachelor shows, including the first one with Alex Michel and a bevy of ladies who looked a whole lot more real and less Hollywoodized than the ladies have in recent shows. Nowadays one must visit the nail salon, the tanning salon, the hair salon, the gym, the dentist, the MAC makeup counter and then get some hot shot designer to sponsor your clothes on the show.

It was fun to see loads of former Bachelors in one room with their wives (Andrew Firestone has three kids!), fiancees (Bob Guinney and Jessica, my neighbors), girlfriends (?), or lack thereof (Chris Soules is still alone, apparently). It seems the Bachelorettes have fared better at finding love. At the party we saw Kaitlyn and Shawn, Trista and Ryan, Deanna and hubby, Ashley and J.P. and Andy Dorfman and no one. There were also many pregnant, (engaged!) alumni like Ashley Salter, Ali Feditowski, and the tiara-wearing Diva who is one of Chris Harrison's favorite Bachelor people. (What?) Other alumni who attended were Sarah Herron, Chris Bukowski, Ashley the crier, Juelia, Jared, and more.
They showed outtakes, had funny little segments like "Worst Villain" clips and the show was thoroughly entertaining to this Bachelor groupie.
Then, we switched to another gathering, one that happened recently, to celebrate Jade and Tanner's wedding. I know these two events took place separately because Jason Mesnick and Molly couldn't come to the 20th party but Jason was at the wedding. Molly was home with the baby in rainy Seattle.

Chris Harrison interviewed alumni with the empty wedding scene as the backdrop, and for once, he did a pretty good job with ad lib. CH is becoming the king of Schmaltz and said "Never before in Bachelor history," so many times over the two hours, I forgot to count.

I really like Jade and Tanner's story and was very happy to see them fall in love on Bachelor in Paradise. I was hoping they'd make it past the afterlife when the show ended and was worried their relationship wouldn't survive. Last night they looked absolutely radiant and thrilled as they vowed to love each other forever in one of the nicest wedding ceremonies in Bachelor History. The vows were heartfelt, Jade looked absolutely gorgeous, and the flowers! Did anyone notice that flower wall Jade passed as she came off the staircase? The audience was filled with alumni, most crying after the vows and it was a beautiful ceremony with CH officiating.
The reception was a staged filming of more Bach alumni including Jillian Harris, Deanna, Andi, Michelle Money, Ben, Chris Soules, and Seal. Yes, Seal sang at the reception and did a wonderful job. The guy who sang at the ceremony Matt Nathanson was a little loud and it was a welcome change when Carly from Bachelor in Paradise sang a pretty song she wrote for the happy couple.
All in all, last night's show was fun to watch and I'm sure more than a few hookups occurred at the Dana Point La Di Da Hotel. And isn't that what The Bachelor is all about?
No, not hooking up! Love.