Guido Maria Kretschmer: “I know how to be happy in the long run”

Guido Maria Kretschmer (56) knows TV viewers as a designer, presenter and juror. In “Guidos Wedding Race” he will showcase another talent from October 10th on VOX (): He will help couples celebrate their dream wedding. In the show, six couples face special tasks in two episodes. The outfits of the winning couples are given the finishing touches by the designer in front of the altar before he personally confides the lovers. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the fashion designer revealed what a special experience it was for him and why a couple got his phone number.

You have already commented on royal weddings and now have your own show that revolves around weddings. What is it that fascinates you about getting married?

Guido Maria Kretschmer: The time is ripe for couples. Corona has caused people to be “underwedded” because many could not marry. I’m a wedding professional, so to speak, because I’ve been happily married for so long and I also know how it works so that you are happy in the long run. It also has to do with my job. I’ve been a designer at weddings since I was a teenager. I’ve made so many wedding dresses in my life – I can’t count them. I know the longing that you want to make the most beautiful day so big that it becomes a dream wedding.

And so Kirsten Petersen, the head of entertainment at VOX, came up to me and asked me if I would like to see this show. I’ve always thought that something like this would be perfect for me. I was a big fan of “Dream Wedding” with Linda de Mol and therefore find it all the nicer to accompany people on their journey to the altar myself.

What makes “Guidos Wedding Race” so special?

Kretschmer: It is different from other wedding formats such as “dream wedding” because I am allowed to do it. The show bears my signature. I am part of the show as a designer, but also as a person – as someone who is very close to it. I not only accompany people, but at the end of the day I act as the wedding speaker and wed the couples. Our show is “Dream Wedding 2.0” – arrived in the now.

The show is also about the question: “Who am I? And who is my background?” Because you are not marrying just one person, you are marrying the whole family. That is why it was important to us to also involve the mothers, the mothers-in-law, the fathers, the brothers, the sisters and the work colleagues of the couples.

So it is not only love that is in the foreground, but also the people behind it?

Kretschmer: Yes, and yet the most important message of the show – and that’s what I always said when I left: “Long live love”. I always say that to Frank when I leave the house. Because I believe that love saves everything in life and that it has to be remembered regularly. That’s why we built a lot of nice moments into the show so that the couples have something to remember even when I’m gone and everyday life comes. For example, we wrote them our own poems, which may stay with them and become a bit of a life’s work.

I even gave my phone number to a couple. I told them: “You have to promise me that if you ever have problems and you think you can’t go on, then you have to call me.”

How did the idea of ​​love poems come about? Do you also write poems in private?

Kretschmer: Due to my grandmother on my father’s side, I am very poetic. She was from Silesia and a very intellectual woman who knew a lot of poems and taught me them. I have the talent from her. I am very good at memorizing and am still learning new poems on a regular basis. Once you have understood poetry, it is a beautiful scaffolding on which you can work your way through life, since it speaks of the big things.

The couples had a chance to win a verse for each game. They had to learn and internalize these. At the end there was the last stanza and the couple had to recite the poem together. That was a very nice moment.

Were there any other moments that stuck in your memory?

Kretschmer: Absolutely! There was a moment when I almost looked at myself from the side. When I said for the first time: “Would you like the people present here …” I realized that this was a sacred moment and that I was now forever connected to these couples. I led this ceremony and suddenly all eyes – parents, friends, family – were on me and I knew I had to create a moment that will last forever for all of them. It was a big, emotional moment for me.

You have given the outfits of the newlyweds “the finishing touches”. What is important for you in a successful wedding outfit?

Kretschmer: When it comes to outfits, it is particularly important for heterogeneous couples, but also for same-sex couples, to know that both are the main characters on the day. The woman is often the big number. That’s why I made sure that the men also feel comfortable. It was important to me that the woman sees her husband in such a great look for the first time and thinks: “Hurray, this is the man of my life! Today you look better than ever!”

Women need a wedding dress that calls out loud non-verbally: “Hello, that’s me!” And when a girl who is otherwise very tough suddenly comes with a big alarm in a Cinderella dress, then I like that too. I’m a big fan of veils as the look gets something so sacred and new. It conveys: “Today everything starts all over again.”

It is always very important: It must also suit your wallet. It makes little sense to go into debt and have financial problems years later because you have to pay for the wedding.

You just celebrated your third wedding anniversary with your husband Frank and have been a couple for 37 years. What is your secret to a long happy relationship and marriage?

Kretschmer: There are many facets that have to do with happiness. First of all, it needs the right person. I am okay with myself and I like myself enough to create my life. That is a good basic requirement. But I think Frank is a little better. I often think to myself – and say it far too seldom: I’m Frank’s fan. And I’m glad he’s different from me. We really tried to keep this difference. I never wanted him to be like me. But he also refused. (laughs) That’s the secret: to be different and to be enthusiastic about others. Because if you are really excited about someone, then you forgive more and put things into perspective. One should not forget that being with the other is a gift.

You are known as a designer and as a presenter and juror on numerous programs. With “Guidos Wedding Race” you start another project. Is there something on TV that you haven’t done yet but still excites you?

Kretschmer: For me, a dream came true when I was allowed to immerse myself in the aristocratic world, because I know my way around it very well and I am very interested in history. It was a dream of mine because I had always talked about this with my sister over the phone for hours. (laughs) I think that would be my dream! To do a nobility show with my sister. But I’m already doing that with Frauke [Ludowig] and that makes me very happy. I think I’ll be the last person on German television who would have to say: I would still like this and that. I don’t want to anymore and I wouldn’t even be able to do it.

Even for a Guido Maria Kretschmer, the day only has 24 hours …

Kretschmer: (laughs) Unfortunately, that’s true. In return, I’m all the more happy about days off. Sometimes I feel like a single mother with five children and a double job, even if I am of course lucky that many people support me. But I enjoy the few days off I have much more than people who are more often off. For me there is nothing better than a free Sunday.