'The Bachelor' Dishes on Wedding Plans, Dancing and a Birmingham Hairdresser

Fans of ABC's The Bachelor will have the chance to meet Sean Lowe at the Michigan International Women's Show at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi next week. 

For Lowe, who once had 25 ladies simultaneously vying for his affections, the expo should be a bed of roses. 

“I have learned a few things about being around a lot of women at one time, but it is not easy,” joked the Dallas-native by phone on Wednesday.

The reality TV star will tell the story of how he fell in love on The Bachelor and his experiences on Dancing With The Stars on the

“I am going to say a little something and then do a Q & A with the audience. That’s usually pretty fun,” Lowe said. After, he will pose for photos and sign autographs.

Royal Oak bartender ‘may have had one too many cocktails’

Lowe’s trip to Michigan may be of interest to one Birmingham hairdresser in particular. 

Ashley Palenkas, a local hairdresser and bartender at Fifth Avenue in Royal Oak, was among the contestants hoping to lure the affections of Lowe on the love 'em and leave 'em hit show. She was cut on the first episode, however, after her provocative dancing and obsession with "Fifty Shades of Grey" didn't seem to impress Lowe.

“She seems like a sweet girl, but my first impression of her wasn’t great,” Lowe said.

The first night rose ceremony went until 6 a.m., so one or two cocktails easily turned into seven or eight for some of the women, Lowe said. 

“Ashley may have had one too many cocktails.”

Lowe said he was only given 20 minutes to decide who would go home before heading into the rose ceremony that sent Palenkas home.

“That’s not a lot of time to mull things over,” he said.

Wedding in the works

Lowe ended up proposing to Seattle graphic designer Catherine Giudici in the final rose ceremony, but the couple hasn’t had much chance to work on their nuptial plans.

“We are waiting for things to settle down a bit. We are so busy right now. We don’t have much planned at all,” he said.

Lowe said the couple would work with the producers of The Bachelor to work out the details sometime in the future. The plan is for the couple that met on TV to wed on TV, too.

From speed dating to quickstepping

Lowe is currently the latest addition to the Dancing With The Stars cast.

“Dancing is the hardest thing I have ever done,” Lowe said. “I am working my butt off.”

He felt pretty good about his quickstep last week, but Lowe’s samba performance Monday with partner Peta Murgatroyd left the couple in the bottom three on the leaderboard of the popular ballroom dancing show.

“You’re like a lumberjack. You have to lighten up and listen to the music,” snapped Judge Bruno Tonioli.

“I have a long ways to go,” he said. Next week, Lowe is hoping to redeem himself.

If you go

The Women's Show also will also have exhibitions on health, cooking, fashion and more, including Royal Oak vendors Pure Blend Granola and FEEL Natural Energy.

Suburban Collection Showplace is located at 46100 Grand River Avenue between Novi and Beck roads in Novi. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-12, and children 5 and younger are admitted free with a paying adult. On site parking is available for $5. For more information and exhibitor coupons, visit www.InternationalWomenShow.com or call (800) 849-0248.