Where Was ‘The Wedding Veil Expectations’ Filmed? Cast Stories From the 4th Movie

Hallmark "The Wedding Veil Expectations"

The Hallmark Channel’s newest movie, “The Wedding Veil Expectations,” premieres on Saturday, January 7, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Lacey Chabert, Autumn Reeser, Alison Sweeney, and Kevin McGarry. It’s the first in a series of three movies in the new “The Wedding Veil” trilogy. Read on to learn more about where it was filmed.

‘The Wedding Veil Expectations’ Was Filmed in Victoria

Hallmark“The Wedding Veil Expectations”

Part of Hallmark’s New Year New Movie lineup, this movie is the first in the new trilogy for “The Wedding Veil” series. It was filmed mostly in Victoria, Canada, according to interviews with McGarry and others.

According to Creative BC, Veil Road Productions Ltd. — the company which produced the first “The Wedding Veil” trilogy — filmed “Expectations” in Canada from October 13-October 30.

In a podcast interview with Suspenders Unbuttoned, director Peter Benson revealed that McGarry was filming for “When Calls the Heart” while he was filming “Expectations,” so they had to do a lot of juggling of schedules.

“He (McGarry) was shooting ‘When Calls the Heart’ in Vancouver at the same time — literally at the same time,” Benson said.

He said McGarry traveled a lot back in forth between the two filming locations.

McGarry also touched on this during a podcast interview with Suspenders Unbuttoned.

“We shot this movie back in Victoria,” he said. “…I’d get up maybe at four or five in the morning, go up to the set, shoot until six or seven, and then about it’s an hour back to Vancouver…hop on a plane and fly back to Victoria… I didn’t stop. It was a lot…”

Benson also talked about the search for the large house that is featured in the movie, mentioning that it took a lot of time to reserve the home and make sure it fit with everyone’s schedules.

He said, “I’ve seen every closet in Victoria because we went through every single home.”

Benson also revealed that he stepped in to direct when Terry Ingram wasn’t available due to directing a different film.

The Last Movie in the Trilogy Was Filmed in Greece

While the first movie is filmed mostly in Canada and takes place in the U.S., a lot changes for the second and third movies in the second trilogy. Part of the second movie takes place in Italy (with some scenes filmed in Bulgaria), while the third movie in the new 2023 trilogy takes place in Greece. Back in early December, Heavy reported that fans were going nuts over pictures that were shot while filming in Greece.

Chabert shared a few pictures on Instagram recently, giving praise to her costume designer while on set.

“Not only is she an incredibly talented costume designer, she also has the most beautiful heart and always takes the best care of us. I appreciate you and your whole team so much 🤍,” Chabert wrote.

She also posted this selfie taken with Benson and McGarry while filming “Expectations,” writing: “Working together was the best! The wonderful @peterbenson889 directed the 4th story in #TheWeddingVeil series. @kevin_mcgarry_w and I had so much fun revisiting Peter and Avery’s story.”

And of course, she shared this beautiful shot of the three actresses together for the third movie, writing: “Together again ❤️ #theweddingveil #greece.”

Reeser said on Instagram that this year was a whirlwind, but she didn’t expect to end it in Greece.

“What an absolute whirlwind this fall has been… when I started the year, I certainly didn’t think I would be ending it in Greece!” she wrote.

“Guess who’s back? (This time in Greece!),” she said in another post.

Sweeney shared her own stories, writing on Instagram: “It has been so much fun filming #TheWeddingVeil in Greece 🇬🇷 & Bulgaria 🇧🇬 !”

“Everyone has taken such care to make sure these movies are so special,” she added in another post.

“I am so grateful to have such incredibly supportive friends!!” she thankfully wrote on Instagram.

“So grateful for the incredible opportunities that have brought me to this moment,” she wrote, sharing a stunning photo while filming the third movie in Greece.

Sweeney said she was so grateful for the experience.

“Incredibly grateful to be filming in an fantastic, beautiful location and that Dave was able to come visit! Can’t wait to be able to share more details,” she wrote.

Chabert sat down with Forbes to talk about the movie and her Hallmark plans. Back in February of 2022, Chabert inked a multi-picture, overall contract with Hallmark Channel that was for a period of two years. Considering that this most recent agreement has already been in effect for a year, Forbes asked what kinds of narratives are capturing her attention the most as we move into the new year, both in terms of the work she will be doing in front of and the work she will be doing behind the camera.

She answered: “First, I just want to speak to how thankful I am that Hallmark has given me the opportunity to have a larger voice in the creative process, and to be a producer and be a part of development and bringing these stories to life. It’s just so gratifying and I am so proud of all the work that we’ve had the chance to do together, and I’m so excited about all that we have in development this year.”

She said she has some big plans.

“I can’t tell you everything just yet, which I know is frustrating,” she said, “but we are going to possibly re-visit some characters that I’ve enjoyed playing in the past and possibly see some stories continue.”

Meet the Cast

Hallmark’s synopsis for the first movie reads “Avery and Peter try to keep the romance alive while renovating an old house and juggling work, but everything takes on a new perspective when Avery has a surprise for Peter.”

Lacey Chabert, who plays Avery in the trilogy, is well-known among Hallmark fans. According to her bio, her voice has been featured in a number of animated films and TV shows, including “The Wild Thornberrys” on Nickelodeon, “The Spectacular Spider-Man” on Sony, “Allen Gregory” on FOX, “Transformers: Rescue Bots” by Hasbro, and “Young Justice” by Warner Bros.

On the big screen, Chabert has appeared in films like Warner Bros.’ “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” in which she co-starred with Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey, the critically acclaimed “Mean Girls,” Anjelica Huston’s biopic “Daddy Day Care,” and A&E’s “The Brooke Ellison Story,” in which she played the lead role in Christopher Reeve’s final directorial work.

Autumn Reeser, who portrays Emma, has experience on stage, on TV, and in movies, according to her bio. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her two sons, Finn and Dashiell. She is well-known to viewers of the Hallmark Channel, having starred in movies like “The 27-Hour Day,” “Christmas Under the Stars,” “Valentine Ever After,” “I Do, I Do,” “Midnight Masquerade,” “Love at the Thanksgiving Parade,” “A Country Wedding,” “Love on the Menu,” and “Season for Love.”

Alison Sweeney, who plays Tracy in the trilogy, began acting when she was just four, according to her bio. At the age of 16, she joined the cast of “Days of Our Lives.” In addition to her long-running career as Sami Brady, for which she received an Emmy nomination, Sweeney hosted 13 seasons of NBC’s series “The Biggest Loser,” hosted a number of live TV specials, and made numerous appearances on popular TV series and true crime podcasts.

Sweeney is a member of the Entertainment Council for Feeding America, in addition to serving as an ambassador for the organizations Stand Up 2 Cancer and the American Humane Association.

Kevin McGarry, who plays Peter in the trilogy, is perhaps best known among Hallmark fans for his role as Nathan Grant in “When Calls the Heart.” In addition, according to his bio, he stars as Mitch Cutty in the CBC show “Heartland.” He has appeared on “Schitt’s Creek,” “Ransom,” “Man Seeking Woman,” “The Bold Type,” “Taken,” “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” with Vin Diesel, and “Private Eyes” with Jason Priestly.

McGarry also has extensive theater experience, having performed at both the Charlottetown Festival and the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The second movie in “The Wedding Veil” trilogy, “The Wedding Veil Inspiration,” airs on January 14 with a focus on Reeser’s character, Emma, and life with her husband Paolo (played by Paolo Bernardini.) After that, “The Wedding Veil Journey” airs on January 21 with a focus on Sweeney’s character Tracy and Victor Webster’s Nick, Tracy’s husband.

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