Is The Golden Wedding the closest thing to a real-life fairy tale? For Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, who are tying the knot in a live ceremony broadcast on ABC Thursday night, it just might be.
Turner won viewers over as the first Golden Bachelor and took the franchise by storm. The 72-year-old’s search to find love was credited with returning the reality TV dating show to its former glory, featuring less drama and more connecting.
Since getting down on one knee and proposing to Nist, 70, in November, the pair have been readying for their big day. The couple announced their wedding plans during the After the Final Rose segment of the season finale. Here’s what you need to know before they walk down the aisle.
Wedding details
Turner and Nist will be saying “I do” at La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif. The venue is known in Bachelor Nation as the filming location of The Bachelorette Season 16, which featured two female leads, Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams. The wedding will be broadcast live Thursday on ABC at 8 p.m. ET and is available to stream the following day on Hulu.
The Golden Wedding marks the first time in a decade that the network is dedicating an entire special to the nuptials of a Bachelor Nation couple, with the last being Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici’s in 2014.
Attendees
Former Golden Bachelor contestant Susan Noles will be officiating. Despite competing with Nist for Turner’s heart, Noles has become good friends with the couple from the experience and is a professional wedding officiant. Her company, Nuptials by Noles, is based in Philadelphia.
Noles announced the news on Instagram Tuesday, writing, “I guess the secret is out! I’m officiating The Golden Wedding and I’m just beyond excited!!”
Noles won’t be the only former contestant with a role at the wedding, so to speak. Kathy Swarts will be interviewing guests on the Gold Carpet as they arrive with former Bachelorette Charity Lawson, Entertainment Weekly reported.
Many of the former Golden Bachelor contestants, including Joan Vassos, Ellen Goltzer, April Lynn Kirkwood, Nancy Hulkower and Natascha Hardee, are expected to attend, according to People.
Even Golden Bachelor runner-up Leslie Fhima, who recently spent her 65th birthday hospitalized for a bowel obstruction, is a confirmed guest.
“I’m feeling so much better that now I get to go to the wedding, and I can’t wait to support Gerry and Theresa on their beautiful day, and I know it’s going to be really, really amazing,” she said in a video on Instagram Stories Wednesday.
Is it even a Bachelor Nation even if host Jesse Palmer isn’t present? He told Entertainment Weekly in December that he hoped to “get to at least be an usher.” Instead, he’s hosting the telecast.
Other Bachelor Nation members on the guest list include Trista and Ryan Sutter, Jason and Molly Mesnick, Desiree and Chris Siegfried, Ben Higgins and Wells Adams, ABC announced on Instagram.
Traditions, old and new
Turner and Nist plan to honoring their late spouses, Toni and Billy, respectively, during their marriage ceremony.
“We haven’t decided the way that we feel is the most appropriate and the timing that is the most appropriate,” Turner explained to Entertainment Weekly. “But yeah, that’s part of us and part of what has made us who we are, so it’ll be there.”
“We will definitely mention them during the wedding,” Nist told E! “I know that I picked out a song that Billy loved, and so maybe we’ll pick out a song for Toni. We have yet to write our vows, but I plan on incorporating that into my vows. So, we’ll see. And we’ll be thinking about them the entire day.”
The couple’s wedding parties are comprised of members of their soon-to-be-blended families. Nist’s youngest grandson, Henry, who was part of the season, is serving as the ring bearer.
“Every single member of our family is involved in the bridal party,” Nist told Entertainment Weekly. “There’s not anybody that’s left out. It’s going to be a big bridal party. I have six grandsons. We have several men in our lives. We have women in our lives. Everybody will be involved.”
As for what else to expect, Nist has plans for a bouquet toss.
“There’s plenty of women who want to catch that bouquet,” she said.
The Golden Wedding airs Jan. 4 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
