The Bachelor is back!!! I am very happy that I get to kick off viewing parties again with my friend Tracy!

This season ABC decided to have a live red carpet premiere and I didn’t hate it. I read a lot of mixed feelings about the red carpet, but in my opinion three hours is more wine time. I wasn’t thrilled with the fashion choices on night one, but the Bachelor/Bachelorette alum gave me much more to work with in the pre-show. So thumbs up for the red carpet.

First up – meet Chris or “Prince Farming” as we are calling him this season. I really liked Chris during Andi’s season of The Bachelorette and am looking forward to seeing how he does as The Bachelor. It will be interesting to see who he ultimately ends up with (I already know since I read Reality Steve) and to see if it works out in the middle-of-nowhere Iowa.

Let’s talk about some of my favorite looks from the red carpet. First up is my favorite, Michelle Money.  UPDATE: Michelle posted on Instagram that she rented her dress from Rent the Runway and it is the Badgley Mischka Curves for Days Gown ($170). I found two different dress options to recreate her look. The first, a $29.95 find from Sexy Dresses – this “Sabrina” Black Long Strapless Mermaid Evening Dress. The second is this Nicole Miller Felix Techy Crepe Strapless Gown ($365). I found a few different necklaces that are similar to the one Michelle was rocking from H&M (not available). This first is this Circle Bib Necklace by Panacea ($58), the second is this Tiered Baguette Stone Bib Necklace from Express ($49.90) and the third is the Tallulah Bib Necklace ($138) from Stella & Dot:

Michelle was wearing the Pink Velvet lipstick from Lime Crime Makeup ($20).

I loved Clare Crawley’s look. Her BCBGMAXAZRIA Locket of Lace Gown is classic. You can rent it for $125 at Rent the Runway. If you want a dress for your very own, I found this similar Tadashi Shoji Colorblock Lace Bodice Ruched Gown ($418):

Chris Harrison interviews the former Bachelor/Bachelorette couples including Catherine/Sean, Lacy/Marcus and Andi/Josh. So we all know now that Andi and Josh ended their relationship shortly after this aired. Reality Steve called this one for a while and it doesn’t surprise me. I wanted her to pick Nick last season – I never thought that Josh was as into her as Nick was. But you never really know. I loved Andi’s dress, which she made on the plane!

I found this similar James & Joy Poncho Dress ($54.40):

I thought Nikki Ferrell did a great job of keeping it classy on the red carpet. She didn’t say anything negative about her breakup with Juan Pablo and I respect her for that. She looked amazing though – there were a lot of articles about her new boobs, but if I just got new boobs I would have probably shown them off too. I have two dress options to recreate her look – a Zac Posen Tanya Knit BodyCon Dress ($490) and a Charlotte Russe Plunging BodyCon Dress with Slit ($24.99). She also wore the Showgirl Fringe Crystal Strand Necklace ($54).

Now onto the show!

They really focused on Chris’ background as a farmer and I think this was important for the audience to know that he needs to find a girl that will fit in with his lifestyle in Iowa. I have a feeling that some of the women we will see this season won’t want to move to middle-of-nowhere Iowa and be a farmer’s wife.

Here are a few notable looks from the first night:

Britt Nilsson, 27, Waitress from Hollywood, CA

I thought Britt was cute and apparently so did Chris because he gave her the first kiss and the first impression rose! She mentioned on her Instagram page that her dress was less than $100 and her lipstick was from the drugstore. I found a similar look with this XSCAPE Gemstone Embellished Gown ($229):

Whitney Bischoff, 29, Fertility Nurse, Chicago, IL

Whitney has a classic look, with a bubbly personality. I love that she is a fertility nurse. She seems very genuine, which is abnormal for The Bachelor. I liked her little black dress here and found this similar Sleeveless Mesh Iconic Black Sheath Dress from White House Black Market ($160):

Amber James, 29, Bartender, Chicago, IL

I wasn’t too swayed by Amber one way or the other, but I liked her Rebecca Taylor Frayed Strapless Gown (sold out). You can rent this similar Rebecca Taylor Meteor Shower Gown for $70 and I also liked this Erin Fetherston Gisele Metallic Spotted Sweetheart Gown ($148.75):

Tara Edding, 26, Sport Fishing Enthusiast, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

When I first watched the show, I thought it was sort of weird that Chris kept Tara after she got drunk the first night. After watching her one-on-one time with Chris in the deleted scene below, it is pretty obvious that she received a bad edit and the show played up her antics. It makes a lot more sense why Chris kept her after seeing that. She looked smokin in her little black dress! This American Apparel Cotton Spandex Jersey Double U-Neck Long Sleeve Mini Dress ($44) is similar:

Becca Tilley, 25, Chiropractic Assistant, San Diego, CA

Becca was very welcoming and seems sweet, I’m sure she will go far. I thought this Warehouse Scatter Sequin Dress ($104.23) was similar to the dress Becca wore.

Tandra Steiner, 30, Executive Assistant, Sandy, UT

I loved Tandra’s motorcycle entrance. It didn’t hurt that she looked fabulous! This Jovani Lace Gown W/ Deep V Illusion ($710) is similar:

The cocktail party was interesting, mostly because Chris ended up kissing Britt and giving her the first impression rose. I think that might be a first – a kiss on the first night! Obviously, Britt will be the girl to watch out for.

At the rose ceremony Amanda, Bo, Brittany, Kara, Michelle, Nicole, Reegan and Kimberly did not receive a rose and were sent home. Except that Kimberly decided to pull another Bachelor first and didn’t want to leave. They left it as a cliffhanger so we will see what happens next week.

Here are some additional deleted scenes that didn’t make it into the episode:

This is an extra introduction scene with Chris at the Iowa State Fair:

This deleted scene had me puzzled as we see more of Ashley S. weird behavior:

In this scene, Kaitlin raps about her childhood:

This deleted scene shows Tara talking to Chris about fishing and giving him a gift – it explains why he kept her:

I enjoy reading Bachelor spoilers and if you are interested in finding out what happens in advance you can check out Reality Steve for more information.

If you missed the Week One Premiere you can watch it online here.

Chris Soules posted his first Bachelor blog on People here.

Chris Harrison posted his Week One blog here.

Former Bachelor contestant, Sharleen Joynt posted her thoughts here.

Former Bachelorette, Desiree Hartsock offered her insights on Week One here.

Some of you may remember Zak Waddell from Desiree’s season. His sister, Carly is vying for Chris’ heart this season and he is posting his recaps on Desiree’s blog here.

Former Bachelorette, Jillian Harris is blogging this season here.

To catch up on Jason & Molly Mesnick’s podcast, click here.

For more Bachelor/Bachelorette posts, click here.