WEDDINGS ON AIR    

Are you planning a wedding and enthusiastically devouring everything related to wedding preparations and celebrations? Then be sure to turn on the radio or download the podcast to your mobile in September. For two months, you'll be able to enjoy the eight-part audio documentary Svatebky on Radio Wave, produced by journalist and Modeschau author Veronika Ruppert. We asked Veronika how the podcast about wedding dresses was recorded and what surprised her most about Svatebky.  

In September, we can look forward to the premiere of the Radio Wave documentary podcast you authored, Svatebky. How and when did the idea for this series come about?

The concept of Svatebky has been rubbing around in my head for the last two years. I've often traveled between Prague and Chicago, which has given me a greater perspective on things. That's also how I came up with this idea. As a journalist, I've been covering Czech fashion for over a decade and I know how hard it is to reach a wider public with this topic. I was thinking about how to reach people outside the fashion bubble, who are not really interested in fashion in general, and how to remind them that their clothes can have a lot of value too. And I came up with wedding dresses. In my opinion, these are some of the last dresses that people still try to express their personality and life attitudes with. And in which they are willing to invest time and money.  

The podcast has eight episodes and it is a time-lapse. How long did it take to record and prepare?

We announced the public casting call in November 2018, the selection and first meetings took place in December, and I filmed from January to July 2019. Editing and preparation of the website and everything around it took place over the holidays.  

Time-lapse documentaries in general have been one of my favourite genres in recent years. What's your explanation for this?

For me, it was tempting to work on a topic in depth and for a longer period of time. In my normal media practice, I have to think of a topic, process it and submit it within a few days. I understand why that's the case, but I needed a change. And I'm so grateful that Radio Wave gave me the opportunity. Working on Svatebky was and is perhaps the most enjoyable thing I've tried to do so far.  

The title Svatebky refers to wedding dresses, did you focus only on the stories behind the creation of wedding dresses or did you also focus on other wedding trends and traditions? 

I focused on five girls who were getting ready for their first wedding in their lives. As we prepared, we gradually got to know each other. From the first ideas and rehearsals, I shot with them up to and during the weddings and the last meetings were a few weeks after the ceremonies, with a distance behind the whole event. I was interested in their ideas and dreams for the dresses, what and who inspires and influences them, how they feel during the whole process. How they think about their bodies and clothing, what they want to express and what strategies they choose to achieve their goals.   

Who are the main "heroines" of the podcast and how did you choose them? 

At wave.com/svatebky, there are profiles of all five heroines I selected in a public casting call in November 2018. We were looking for brides who were about to have their first wedding of their lives. We had a timeline that the weddings had to take place during the spring or summer of 2019. I only knew one of the protagonists a little bit before, but all the others were complete strangers to me. Three are from Prague, one is from Havířov and one from Brno. It was important to me that they were from different social bubbles, that they were not all similar. Their characters, stories, and even their dialects make them clearly distinguishable from each other. Each of them has a strong individual story.  

How important are wedding dresses for Czech brides, for example, in comparison with abroad or in comparison with the older generation?

This is a question for extensive research, which I would definitely like to read. When filming Svatebky, I always asked the mothers of brides and grooms about their wedding dresses. Coincidentally, they usually said they were much less concerned about their dress than today's brides. That they didn't have them in white, but in different colors and in a different style rather than the classic long cut with a slim top and a big skirt. These were mostly weddings from the seventies and eighties. 

In your show Modeschau you follow the current Czech design scene and fashion industry. Is there anything that Czech fashion designers designing wedding dresses should take away from the podcast as a lesson or something you would recommend?

The point of the podcast is definitely not to lecture anyone, rather I wanted to get a glimpse into the world of fashion from a different side, with people who don't normally deal with it. And I have to say, I was thrilled with the seamstress who made the dress for the bride, Juliana. She was very skilled, practical and quick and knew how to work with materials and cuts to support the figure and silhouette. Designers, by nature, are used to designing things that express their signature and message. And they show them off in the show and photos on skinny models. Then, when they have to dress a normal woman with an unconforming figure decently and practically, it turns out that it can be very difficult for them to do so.   

Wedding dresses can be purchased in a variety of ways, from a rental to a tailor-made model. Did the show show any holes in the wedding market or any specifics?

I think the situation in the Czech Republic is good, all the brides I followed had several options to achieve their goals. They had different strategies, one of the heroines goes to a rental shop because as a former competitive dancer she has a closet full of expensive customized models that are no longer useful. And she doesn't want to spend her and other people's time and money on another dress for one occasion. The other is a former top model and wants the dress as cheaply and quickly as possible. She says she has worn so many dresses in her life that she doesn't really care about them anymore. That other things are more important to her. Other brides have their dresses tailored and the financial and time commitment is worth it. Some people plan to keep them, some people want to keep wearing them.

I imagine that in this day and age of Pinterest, Instagram and the like, brides are getting lost in the overabundance of inspiration and trends. Who and what influences them the most and how do they deal with it?

Each according to their own nature, some people get influenced, some have a clear idea. Someone respects their figure, someone tries to fit into an unrealistic ideal from a beautiful photo. Every bride wants to be beautiful, and for each one it means something different.  

The wedding dress and the wedding in general is very much a visual affair. Are you also planning any accompanying visuals or other accompaniments to the podcast? Is there somewhere that listeners can see the wedding?

You can see photos and videos from the shoot at wave.com/svatebky and on Instagram. In October, we'll also meet the podcast cast and the designers, tailors and other people involved in the shoot. I'd love to physically show some of the Bridesmaids dresses there as well.   

How do you think traditional elements like the veil, the garter and the white dress are doing in the contemporary bridal world?

Are they on the decline or rather the opposite? Some brides are classic and follow tradition, but there are also many who want their wedding to make sense to them first and foremost. They alter, omit and shift traditions to suit themselves. At Svatebki, we have three out of five brides like that.  

Maybe it's too early to ask, but do you have any plans for a continuation of the Weddingbky project?

In the coming year, I'd like to continue the theme of personal wardrobes. For now I'm just thinking about the form and possibilities, it would definitely be in conjunction with the sustainability theme and hopefully again in collaboration with Radio Wave.  

   For more information on the Svatebky project, please visit www.wave.cz/svatebky