Courtesy of Ashley Packard, Tony Cordoza/Getty, Hill Street Studios/Getty, Tyler Le/BI
It was always a dream of mine to move to Europe, so when the opportunity to relocate to Germany for work presented itself, my husband and I didn’t hesitate to say yes.
As I was scrolling through an expat Facebook group, I came across a dream opportunity posted by a casting director — the chance to star in an episode of HGTV’s “House Hunters International.”
I messaged the casting director to express my interest and was given a form to apply. As an avid fan of the show, I was thrilled when we received an email stating we had been selected.
Now that our episode has aired, I’ve had some time to reflect on what wasn’t seen on camera. Here are five things that surprised me most about the filming process.
The pre-production process was lengthy
The application process included several forms and a lengthy pre-filming questionnaire asking us to detail how we met, why we were moving, and what we did for work. I was also asked to send some photos to represent our story.
Then, we had virtual interviews to share more about ourselves, our lives, and our apartment preferences.
Luckily, this process didn’t delay our move since we were concurrently filling out documents for our visas.
My hair, makeup, and jewelry had to be consistent throughout filming
On the first day of filming, I was informed that I’d need to maintain the same hair, makeup, and jewelry for the next three days — a detail I hadn’t considered but was crucial for uniformity in the episode.
I did my own hair and makeup despite hoping a professional would do it. To maintain outfit coordination for each scene and day, we took photos and were meticulous about remembering our looks.
Filming was done out of order
To create a 30-minute episode, my husband and I filmed for four days. However, once we began, I was surprised to learn that filming wasn’t done in chronological order.
For example, the apartments we saw were shown in a different order on TV than we saw them in real life.
My husband and I had to repeat some scenes multiple times
Because the director wanted our genuine reactions to the apartment showings, we weren’t scripted to say, touch, or do anything. However, we did have to repeat some dialogue, movements, and expressions multiple times.
There was only one camera person on the shoot, which meant we needed to retake every scene at least four times so he could capture our individual reactions and our reactions as a couple. He also had to zoom in on any details, such as us touching an object or moving our hands.
For the scenes to remain consistent, we had to remember exactly where we stood, what we touched, what we said, and how we reacted.
Filming was a lot of fun
One of the best parts of the filming process was sharing our love story on camera. It was so exciting to have a big milestone in our lives documented — it’s something we’ll always remember.
Overall, we had a great experience filming our episode. The HGTV crew and staff were kind, helpful, and sincere in their desire to showcase an accurate reflection of us as a couple and our journey relocating to Germany.
This story was originally published on October 25, 2024, and most recently updated on May 14, 2025.
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