Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce’s executive director got a nearly front row seat to a wedding watched by 7.3 million people earlier this month.

Lori Eby Hunt travelled to LaQuinta Resort and Club in California to watch the finale of “The Golden Bachelor,” the Jan. 4 wedding of 72-year-old widow Gerry Turner and 70-year-old financial analyst Theresa Nist.

Hunt posted dozens of pictures on her Facebook page with those from the show from the four-day stay.

In June 2020, Hunt became the executive director of the Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce after 10 years in public relations for Parkview Hospital in Ft. Wayne.

Here’s what she had to say about the events.

How did you end up at the LaQuinta Resort for the wedding? 

Hunt: I met Gerry earlier this year at a restaurant near his Long Lake home near Hudson, Indiana. We became friends. I had invited him and Theresa to the chamber Jingle Mingle in December, but they were called away for the taping of the show.

How was the wedding? 

Gerry only had 30 invitations for the wedding compared to 80 for ABC. My sister, Pam Atwater, and I went to the resort to enjoy the festivities over the four days. We were on the waitlist, so we were not seated for the TV show.

Did you watch the show then on television? 

We met a woman who lives there. Security was tight, but she took us to a spot that overlooked the wedding location. She invited us to watch from there, so we had a better view than if we were in the audience. We really wouldn’t have seen as much from the audience. It was so exciting.

The show was live; how did that affect the ceremony? 

Gerry had to walk down the aisle twice because they were timing him. There were commercials during the ceremony, so it stopped. There were long pauses. They just had to wait for the commercials. It gave me a really good appreciation for how tedious the production is.

Did you meet others from the show? 

We met the Golden Girls, other women from the show. I was totally invested because I watched the show. They sat and talked to us. I got to ask them all questions about the behind-the-scenes things. I think ABC was trying to really show this group was so different than anyone they’ve had before. They were all very supportive of each other. Now, the younger bachelorettes weren’t like that. They were flipping all around.

What do you think of the bride Theresa? 

I was very much in favor of another girl. I thought, well, he picked the wrong one. They’re perfect together. He’s more the outgoing one, and she’s quieter. She’s very sweet. She’s very into him and attentive. Theresa is very successful and works for a big company. At 70 years old, she’s still working. That’s pretty impressive.

Are you still in contact with them? 

They are going on their honeymoon right now. I’ve found a few people interested in his four-bedroom three, three-bath house on Long Lake in Indiana. Gerry is still showing his $600,000 house.

Among Hunt’s pictures were soon-to-be-wed contestants. Brayden Bowers, a contestant on the most recent season of “The Bachelorette,” proposed to Christina Mandrell, a former contestant on “The Bachelor,” during a cocktail hour before the ceremony.

–Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Chamber of Commerce director Lori Eby Hunt at Golden Bachelor wedding