Alcohol cutoffs and late night filming: The ins and outs of the MAFS Australia dinner parties

Dinner parties are a staple on Married at First Sight Australia and it is one of the many activities viewers yearn for as they tune in each week without fail. Each dinner party is has its fair share of chaos and drama from arguments to drink swills but there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes viewers don’t get to see.

Former MAFS Australia brides, grooms and even the experts have revealed what filming for the dinner party is actually like and how tiresome it can be for some of the cast.

Here’s what really goes down at the Married at First Sight Australia dinner parties, according to the cast who have been through them all.

The dinner parties are filmed at a warehouse in Sydney

It’s clear the dinner parties aren’t filmed in actual restaurants and given how much chaos can ensue, it’s probably a safer bet they are filmed elsewhere.

The dinner parties are filmed at a warehouse in Lilyfield in Sydney’s Inner West. The loft space is rented by the MAFS Australia team each year and is transformed into how viewers see it each week.

The commitment ceremonies and pre-dinner drinks are also filmed at the warehouse.

The experts have to sit and watch the entire dinner party

During the dinner party episodes, viewers see the experts sit and watch as the drama unfolds and they don’t just see clips, they have to watch everything.

MAFS expert Mel Schilling told Elizabeth Day the dinner parties can be “eight to 10 hours” and the expert’s reactions are all “genuine”.

Mel also told Yahoo Lifestyle “we literally see what you see.”

“We go by the participant’s accounts of what happened during the week because we don’t see footage,” Alessandra Rampolla added.

“We just observe the dinner parties and we make comments on that, and some of those things we’ll bring to the commitment ceremony if we want to clarify, or we just listen to what they have to say and what they choose to bring to the table.”

The glasses are plastic this season

Cast your mind back to last year’s seasons when bride Domenica Calarco smashed a wine glass during an incredibly heated conversation with fellow bride Olivia Frazer.

Speaking on Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa, season 10 bride Claire revealed the glasses are plastic this year.

Couples have to wait ‘for ages’ before they can enter the dining room

Former MAFS Australia groom Al Perkins revealed that the couples aren’t away of the order they will arrive at the dinner party.

“You have no idea whether you’re first or you’re last,” he said. “You rock up and then you wait In your couples for like an hour and a bit and then you go in, but everyone’s different.

“Some people can wait for half an hour and go straight in, but I think you wait for a minimum of half an hour. Sometimes people wait for like an hour and a half. I remember it’s really nerve-racking, but you get used to it.”

There are six bottles of wine put on the table

According to Woman’s Day, the alcohol is “toned down” when it comes to the MAFS Australia dinner party evenings.

Six bottles of red wine are reportedly put on the table and drinks rounds only happen three times and the alcohol is served warm. Yum…

Apparently if a cast member starts a fight they are cut off from alcohol “immediately”, even if they’re not drunk.

Former bride Jessika Power revealed cast members would be sent home for having too much to drink during the dinner parties.

“You would be surprised at how many times each of us would get sent home after a dinner party because we’ve had one too many drinks and we’d have to come back the next day before the commitment ceremony with two outfits,” she explained.

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Featured image credit via Nine Network Australia.