Hallockville Museum Farm, The Riverhead Project On TV's 'Secret Wedding' Friday

Riverhead will be in the spotlight on TV Friday night as the Hallockville Museum Farm and the Riverhead Project help make a bride's big day an event to remember on "Secret Wedding," airing on TLC at 10 p.m. 

According to Beth Motschenbacher, assistant director at the Hallockville Museum Farm on Sound Avenue in Riverhead, in August, a "covert operation" took place on the North Fork.

TV personality Cat Deeley, along with a television production team for TLC, came to town to film a “Secret Wedding.”

Unbeknownst to the bride-to-be Sara, her fiancée, Vincent, family and friends all secretly worked together to turn her do-it-yourself, low-budget wedding into the event of her dreams.

The venue was the historic 1937 Naugles Barn at Hallockville Museum Farm.

Deeley, a British television presenter and well-known TV personality from “So You Think You Can Dance”, hosted the show's pilot episode.

"The premise was simple: Sara and her friends would arrive at the venue to begin hanging their decorations and setting the tables the day before the wedding," Motschenbacher said. "When they left in the afternoon to prepare for the rehearsal dinner, that’s when Deeley and a team of event planners, floral designers and the production crew rushed in to work late into the night to turn the modest affair into the event Sara dreamed of, but couldn't afford."

Deeley pitched in to help Riverhead-based American Tent Company Bobby Bugdin and his crew in setting up the tent, she added. 

Trimble’s, a florist based in Cutchogue, supplied wildflowers and ornamental plants to enhance the rustic beauty of the historic farm, Motschenbacher said. 

"The Riverhead Project's chef Lia Fallon offered gourmet cuisine inspired by Sara's family's Ecuadoran heritage in place of Sara’s homemade appetizers."

In addition, bloom boxx, an Asbury Park, NJ floral design studio, contributed floral arrangements and bouquets.
 
"The rustic character of Hallockville's Naugles Barn really complemented Sara and Vince's unique style and do-it-yourself sensibility," Motschenbacher said. "It was so much fun to see the behind-the-scenes workings of a TV production. When they approached us about using Hallockville as the site, it was only a month in advance of the big day. We were excited to participate and pleased to see they also utilized other local vendors where possible. The show will highlight the North Fork as an ideal wedding destination."

To see a promo clip of the wedding, click here.
 
The Riverhead Project was in on the big surprise as a bride got married in Riverhead this year and, with the help of a TV show, was given the wedding of her dreams.

"We were part of the TV show that TLC did," Dennis McDermott, owner of the Riverhead Project, said. "It was a surprise for the bride."

According to ET Online, the TLC show, "Secret Wedding," the bride thought she'd have a low-key event, with homemade hors d'oevres. But the show's producers teamed up with McDermott and tRP chef Lia Fallon to create a mouth-watering menu.

"We actually had to help plan two weddings," McDermott said. "One was a frugal wedding, which the bride thought she was going to get because that was within her budget, and one where she got the wedding of her dreams. It was all so much fun."

The event was filmed over the summer at the Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead. 

McDermott said he will show the TLC episode live on Friday night at tRP, on the big screen, with free hors d'oeuvres.