Bride Fights Legal Battle With 'Say Yes to the Dress,' but Court Rules Show Must Go On
Ali Godino says she only agreed to do the show if it aired after her wedding.
— -- A bride to be is claiming TLC’s show “Say Yes to the Dress” is ruining her big day by airing her bridal episode before the wedding.
“It really has whirl-winded into this nightmare,” Ali Godino of Las Vegas told ABC News.
Godino, 27, is marrying her hockey pro fiance Jeff May in Palm Springs, California, May 14. The problem is that she’s going to appear in her wedding gown, prior to walking down the aisle, in an episode of TLC’s long-running show that airs tonight.
“I’m pretty sure every woman who has ever been married or dreamt about getting married will understand,” she said of the typical wedding tradition that the groom nor anyone else should see the dress before the big day.
On Sept. 1, Godino flew from her home in Las Vegas to New York City. She spent a reported $20,000 on a dress, which, according to her legal complaint, is “one of the most elegant and expensive in the store.”
Producers from “Say Yes to the Dress” approached Godino because their previously scheduled bride had bailed, her attorney, Frank Taddeo, Jr., said. Godino said she agreed to participate with the show only if it aired after her wedding in May and signed the appearance release. In February, however, she found out her episode is airing tonight, March 25.
She pleaded with producers, who Taddeo says told his client they couldn’t budge, and Thursday, just 32 hours before air, the two parties were battling it out in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“What the judge decided was that Ali, if this episode went through, went on tomorrow, would not be irreparably harmed by it,” Godino’s attorney, Frank Taddeo, Jr., said.
So the show will go on.
In a statement to ABC News, TLC writes, “Many of them have had their episodes air before their wedding, and an air date is not promised or solidified at filming. Given the court ruling, we will be moving forward with the originally slated airing of our episode. We wish Alexandra all the best with her wedding and this exciting new chapter in her life.”
But Godino said, “Everyone’s kind of already seen me as a bride before I was actually a bride.”
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