WASHINGTON — When Jennifer Fuqua and Jeff Higgins said, "I do," they did so in the presence of their family and friends – and with the help of a camera crew – before a projected two million families who are expected to watch a new counter-cultural, celebrity-laden reality show called "An American Wedding."

Targeting networks such as FamilyNet, The Travel Channel, The Total Living Network, Good Life TV and PBS, the program celebrates the beauty and romance of a wedding while presenting the truth in a marriage based on a covenant.

"The popularity of reality and lifestyle programming present us with a unique opportunity to present marriage as an adventure and as a positive way of life. It's about strong community, commitment and bringing the family back," explain executive producers Barbara Lindorme and Maureen Tokeson. "With value based programming, we have the rare opportunity to become a conduit for inspiring our culture."

Hosted by internationally renowned soap opera actress Hunter Tylo, who has been chosen twice by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world, "The D.C. Event" was filmed Aug. 14 at Evermay, a privately-owned Federal-style home in the heart of Georgetown. In lieu of the usual rehearsal dinner, a pre-wedding barbeque for friends and family was filmed at Hunter's Oak, a premiere 1,000-acre links golf course community on Maryland's eastern shore in Queenstown.

Footage for the first show of a series – scheduled also to include events in San Francisco and Chicago – included a Marriage Boot Camp led by Smalley Marriage Institute therapist Christine Arnzen, who shared principles of teamwork, honor and romance in an experiential counseling session on the golf course.

Defining the true essence of romance as "a growing fascination and interest in each other," Arnzen said that when a couple begins to believe they know everything about their spouse, their curiosity naturally begins to fade along with the romance.

"You need to get a Ph.D. in your spouse," she said. "In this fluid experience called life, we will change every day, and there will always be opportunities to learn more about yourself and your spouse."

"Yet, men never really let themselves show," lamented Dave Smith of Leadership Priorities Associates, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in New York City.

Sharing in his "Cro-magnum Man in a Metro-Sexual World" segment, the former American Express executive urged the groom to let his "heart speak instead of his head."

He added, "True love is to be completely known. In a covenantal relationship, you expose who you are, and she loves you anyway."

"In an environment where people are disillusioned about the beauty of marriage, it's important to be able to show them what a Christian marriage is all about," said Julie Laipply, Miss Virginia USA 2002.