We shot the wedding scene on our last day of filming of the season which was a super fun way to end out the shooting schedule, but it also was a 20-hour day for the set decoration and set dressing crew.  

Yes, 20 hours. 

How and why?

Basically because of the weather, and the nature of the location where we were filming (Queens Museum and Flushing Meadow Park) plus the limitations of our own small crew (we were already stretched so thin with the 10 new sets in episode 306) we had to prep, shoot, and wrap the two wedding sets on the same day. 

Normally you would have a few days or at least a day prior to set up and dress a set before the shooting crew comes to film in a set. 

Prepping a set on the same day the crew is coming to film means we have to start VERY early in the morning to be finished before the crew arrives, and wrapping the same day as filming means after everyone goes home and finishes shooting we start cleaning and packing everything away. 

Fortunately we are unionized labor so we do get overtime (and a 20-hour day is serious overtime) and some set dressers from that day still talk to me about the sweet paycheck they got from that day (so there’s that).

…but trust me working a 20 hour day is brutal even if you are having fun and love your coworkers (which were both true for me too).  

Let’s relive that timeline 🙃

3:47 AM: First my sad alarm clock set for 3:47am that morning.

5:02 AM: When I first got to set it was, as you might imagine, still dark.

The first scene that was filming for the day was the outdoor wedding ceremony. So the set dressers and I:

5:27 AM met the truck with our all our set dressing in the dark in front of the iconic “Unisphere” designed for the 1964 New York World’s Fair now located in Queens Flushing Meadow Park.

5:38AM Setting up the chairs and columns

LASER IS OUT!!!!! huge for precision in all settings but especially helpful when set dressing in the dark

6:21 am flower delivery dressed in and Miko, the fabulous floral designer, somehow looked so fresh and polished for a 6:00am delivery. 

6:41 am: things are coming together

6:45 am: Sun is coming up, and we are all feeling a little silly so Sean, one of the set dressers, proposes a photoshoot with one of the balloons. 

exactly the same, non?

7:05 am back to work:

7:58 am ok we did it

8:00 am The crew arrives, its the last day of filming and everyone is in a jubilant mood and wants to start taking fun photos.

Ok we are happy with that now we have to start on the second set: the big wedding reception. 

Normally setting up a wedding reception set is in itself a full day’s work.

9:27 am: …and we are starting that process now after already doing a good 4 hours of work outside. 

We realize we don’t have some of the right tablecloths and we need the truck to go to New Jersey to pick up the right ones from our vendor.

These last minute runs are always inevitable but always a little more stressful when you are doing a prep and shoot on the same day cause your window of opportunity is so small. 

10:58 am, it is almost lunch time (6 hours from when we started working)

To match the boho vibe of Brenda’s wardrobe and home, Laura designed a fun colorful wedding with boho touches for Brenda. 

All the planning documents and plan plus an A+ vendor list (color coded in the weddings color palette no less) for day of reference from Casey who helped us shop for this set. Plus a glimpse of our wedding mood board inside the doorway behind Kiran’s desk.

2:32 pm Ashley, assistant set decorator, realizes she might have a second career as a cake decorator as she adorns our fake wedding cake. 

This day is also very cold and windy and the crew is eager to finish up outside and bring everyone inside. So they are wondering if they can come in earlier than originally planned. 

Agh ok we are trying to work a little bit faster. (I have no photos of this time period as we are tired and trying to go faster).

5:30 PM ish crew starts flowing into the reception space.

8:19 PM The shooting crew is filming the wedding reception and now we are all going to rest because then we aren’t really needed until filming wraps. We go out to get dinner and then basically most of us go to our cars and sleep. 

9:43 pm setting up and filming the last shot which is Edmund (Bowen Yang) singing Mambo No. 5 😂

9:52 pm Filming wraps, but since this is the season finale there are some speeches, tears, and just the feeling of a huge collective sigh of relief slash stunned whoa this is it feeling. 

We present Nora with a special piece of commissioned art we asked the artist Geobany Rodrigeuz to make for Nora Bodega (you see it barely in the frame here).

The crew is saying their goodbyes and while people linger longer than on a normal filming day they are also tired and start leaving, lots of the crew wants to take home flower arrangements (and yeah its cool take them, those power flowers have been through a lot and have also almost worked a 15 hour day in cold windy weather) 

10:53 pm and now we need to start cleaning. 

Laura, Craig the official leadman and I decided to use this opportunity of being in a party set to also host a little bit of a thank you party for the set dressers at this moment and thanks to the help of Kiran ordered pizza and chinese dumplings for the occasion. 

We snack together, but actually everyone just wants to go home so everyone is pretty focused on cleaning up the set as efficiently as we can, separating rentals from purchases, and loading up the truck. 

12:35 AM (next day) Ok we did it! One final group photo to remember this epic day together and honestly nobody else I would rather depend on and work together with for such a long workday. 

I remember feeling so tired but also my heart feeling so full.

You can read more behind-the-scenes putting together the sets and everything related to Awkwafina is Nora from Queens Season 3 here.