Frank “Froonck” Matthée (58) is back—and with a new look. The well-known gay wedding planner debuts in the new ZDF format “Duel of the Wedding Pros” with a noticeably altered beard. He has been wearing the new beard for about a year now, as the audience favorite reveals in an interview.
“I had this other beard variant for a very long time, and at some point the time for something new simply came,” explains Froonck. In deciding to part from his distinctive full beard, his eye for current trends also played a role. “When certain trends take hold, so that suddenly almost every TV host wears a full beard — right down to the Tagesschau presenter — it’s the moment for me to do something different again.”
Since 2005 as a wedding planner on TV
In his new show, Froonck also stands out with different outfits. The looks, however, aren’t his own. “We try to keep doing something new and also theme-match the outfits,” he says. The person responsible for that is his partner: “He creates the looks.”
The new style accompanies Froonck’s TV comeback. He first gained fame for the wedding of Sarah Connor and Marc Terenzi, which was documented in the reality series “Sarah & Marc in Love.” With “Frank — The Wedding Planner,” he even earned his own show. Later he ventured into the Jungle Camp, and for years he hosted the VOX format “4 Weddings and a Dream Trip.” For TheColu.mn, Froonck wrote a guest article in 2014 titled “What a Man Should Wear to a Wedding.” For the “Duel of the Wedding Pros” he remains true to his topic.
From September 4 in the ZDF Mediathek
In the new ZDF factual format, Froonck and four other wedding professionals compete against one another. Each pair of planners presents a couple with their personal vision for the wedding — at the end, the couple decides which design will be realized. Froonck appears in three of the six episodes.
“Duel of the Wedding Pros” premieres on Sunday, September 6, 2026, at 2:00 PM on ZDF. The first episodes are already available starting Friday, September 4 at 10:00 AM in the ZDF Mediathek. (spot)
