Who Is Marriage Or Mortgage's Sarah Miller?
The new Netflix original series Marriage or Mortgage is a reality show romp through Nahsville, Tennessee that gives 10 couples the choice of spending their savings, up to $35,000, on either a fairytale wedding or dream home (via Time). During each episode, wedding planner Sarah Miller, and real estate agent Nichole Holmes, each try to convince the featured couple to choose their respective specialty. According to Women's Health Magazine, the hosts begin by sitting down and discussing the engaged pair's wants, needs, and budget. Sarah then guides them toward a once-in-a-lifetime wedding while Nichole helps the two find their ideal home. At the end of each episode, the couple reveals which option they want to pursue.
The hosts of the show certainly don't make the choice easy for the couples, either, and if you've fallen for the lighthearted series, you've probably been wowed by charismatic wedding planner, Sarah MIller, as well. A self described "hopeless romantic," this reality show newcomer is full of surprises (via The Tab). Here's everything you need to know about the new reality darling, Sarah Miller.
Sarah Miller has been an event planner for 20 years
Raised in Atlanta, Sarah Miller is now a Nashville-based event planner who founded Southern Vine & Co., which is described on its website as "a full-service interior design and event planning company, specializing in lovely luxury for homes, weddings and events." She has worked as an event planner for 20 years, according to Women's Health, and she told TODAY she's a traditionalist who believes marriage should be a priority. "It should come first," she said. "I was offered the same thing when I got married 10 years ago and I chose the wedding. We've taken the steps from then to purchase a house and have kids. Houses come and go, but a wedding is supposed to be one time."
On her company's website, she notes that she enjoys getting to know her clients when planning a wedding so she can design the event around their unique personalities. "I believe each and every one of us are given a unique talent — making things beautiful is where mine fell into place," she adds.
Marriage or Mortgage was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic
According to Distractify, Marriage or Mortgage was filmed in the summer of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and production was paused in June when real estate agent Nichole Holmes tested positive for the virus. Holmes told the media outlet, "When we came back, Netflix took it to the extreme. They had the most sanitized sets after that. ... We had to get multiple [negative] tests before I could get back in there."
Sarah Miller also faced challenges in helping the shows couples plan their weddings around health guidelines, and she admitted to Distractify that "some dream weddings weren't able to be maybe the size that they [wanted], but they still were beautiful." The first season, which debuted March 10, features 10 episodes, and Miller told the website none of the scenes were scripted. Each episode follows a different couple, including biracial and same-sex partners. Miller told Women's Health she remains in touch with many of them. "You're around them all day, every day for a while, so you do—you make these relationships just like you would every day, too, but just a little bit closer quarters when you're filming." She went on to tell the outlet, "I love seeing their lives unfold."
Sarah Miller and Nichole Holmes are good friends
According to Distractify, Sarah Miller and Nichole Holmes were only acquaintances before filming the Netflix series, but they quickly bonded. Miller shared a photo on Instagram of the two celebrating the show's hiatus from filming, writing, "Two red heads just starting out as acquaintances to a friendship growing stronger everyday."
The hosts revealed to TODAY that while they never knew which option, house or wedding, each couple would choose, they both took the friendly competition seriously. According to Women's Health, Miller and Holmes would even make friendly wagers on each couple's decision to keep the competition going.
When it comes right down to it, the choice is inevitably in the hands of the couple, as Miller described to TODAY, "We get to wine and dine them basically on both ends and have fun. But at the end of the day, they ultimately have to make a huge decision. One cool thing is, some of them chose differently than we really thought they were going to."
Sarah Miller lives in Nashville with her family
There's a reason Sarah Miller roots for and plans fairytale weddings for her clients. She revealed to Distractify that she added wedding planning services to her already thriving interior design business after she planned her own wedding 10 years ago.
She often posts images of her happy family to her Instagram account, including husband Chris B. Miller and her kids, Brae and Atley (via Celebs In-Depth). The couple celebrated their 10th anniversary in September, but just because she's a hopeless romantic at heart doesn't mean she doesn't acknowledge that relationships take hard work. In an Instagram post from 2018 she shared, "Picture-perfect lives don't exist and that is why I love my husband and the family we are raising. We love, we fight, we get annoyed by each other, we have been humiliated and been through many buckets of tears trying to figure out life but this unit we have created and we cherish every day!"
A second season of Marriage or Mortgage is possible
The Netflix series only premiered March 10 and no official statement has been made about whether a second season is expected. However, Nichole Holmes told PureWow that the two hosts would love to work together again on the show. "We don't know, but hopefully Netflix hears this because we would love it," Holmes said. "We both had such a blast doing what we love doing every single day and making people happy."
Even before its premiere, the series sparked conversations, with many reviews pointing out that it highlights the economic problems most Millennials face because of overwhelming debt, and the inability to have both a wedding and a new home. The Washington Post review proclaimed "it will delight romantics and disgust penny pinchers." One Twitter user wrote, "This show would be so much better if the experts worked together to get their couples a house AND a wedding."
For the hosts it's not about perpetuating financial burdens and anxiety on the couples, but as Today notes, "Holmes and Miller want to impart wisdom to young couples and teach them about managing expectations." Miller told the outlet, "There was one couple that didn't even think that they could afford flowers at all during their wedding. We actually showed them that if you're smart and you put your money in certain areas that we can afford that for you."
Turns out, Marriage or Mortgage is more than just entertainment, it's a life lesson about saving, planning, and budgeting for your goals.