I placed my phone in a plastic bag and handed it to the stage manager. My sister and mother did the same as we entered Stage 6 in Studio City, LA. I firmly grasped my sister’s hand as we made our way to the waiting area to sign some pre-TV paperwork. My stomach tingled in anticipation for this once in a lifetime experience.

The previous day, we had gotten an email with specific instructions as to how and when to arrive at the studio, how to behave while on set, and more importantly, what to wear.

Arrive at Studio 6 at 1:30 p.m. You will be let in at 3 p.m. No florals, no dark colors, and no patterns. Be sure to wear bright colors but absolutely no neon.The list went on as such for another few paragraphs.

Now I’m sure you’re probably thinking to yourself, how the f*** did she get tickets to be in the Bachelorette Season Finale audience? The answer is this, my sister had been attending school at the University of Wisconsin Madison when she ran into Peter Kraus and Rachel Lindsay on a hometown date.

Coincidentally, that day she had been walking her fostered puppy around the capitol building and naturally had mini heart palpitations at the sight of the Bachelorette stars. I remember when she’d told me about the interaction between her and the cast members. I was ecstatic at my sister’s luck.

She had gone straight up to Peter and Rachel, shoved her dog in their faces and asked, “Isn’t she so cute?” Immediately, Peter told Rachel how that little Pitbull mix would have been his ideal dog. Lucky for him, my sister was not too shy as to inform him she was only fostering the puppy, and it was in fact, up for adoption.

The rest was history. Peter adopted (now Daisy) and my sister was put into contact with one of the producers. They kept in touch and after the adoption was finalized, she was offered tickets to either the Men Tell All or the Season Finale. We were beside ourselves with joy.

The women in my family were loyal Bachelor fans for years, and now we would be going to LA to see the season finale in person. It almost felt surreal.

It wasn’t until we were waiting on set for the show to start that it began to feel real. We had been looking forward to this day for weeks and now it was finally here. Here is what I learned…

1. Seating arrangement/ticket giveaways are based on connections…aka who do you know?

When we arrived on set, we were given seating instructions that although seemed arbitrary, were actually calculated by how you got tickets. Chris Harrison had a section for his friends and family. Then producers and staff members had sections dedicated to their friends and family and so on. Cast members such as Rachel Lindsay had her family (no doubt) in the audience but also her childhood best friends. My sister and I begged her to tell us who Rachel picked, but she merely grinned and told us Rachel was happy.

2. The set is MUCH smaller than it seems on TV.

We were shocked to discover that the bachelor set was surprisingly intimate. There were bleachers on three sides of the room for audience members and below that, on the ground level, were VIP seating for those extra special guests. There were cameras pointing in every direction to capture the full picture, and probably to give the appearance of a larger area.

Nonetheless, the set was extraordinary. Dimly lit candles and roses filled every empty space. Lights and camera men wandered about, making sure every last detail of the set was perfect at ALL times.

3. Chris Harrison does (adorable) mouth exercises between takes.

Before the camera would roll, Chris would stand center stage, stare right into the camera and start his mouth, tongue, lips and cheek exercises. He'd do this during every break. Need I say more...

4. During breaks, cast members on stage get constant touch ups and staff members whispering in their ears…

And we were all dying to know they were saying! Between takes of Peter and Rachel discussing the reasons behind their heart wrenching breakup, they were flooded with producers and touchup stylists whispering sweet somethings into their ears. If only they had mics for that too!

5. Staff members are hilarious and sweet…as long as you follow the rules.

As one could imagine, the excitement one feels on set of their favorite TV show, my sister and I were determined to A, see ourselves on screen at least once. And B, we wanted to sit in the famous interview couch. After a long conversation with one videographer, we ended up on screen four shocking times.

But before the episode even started, a group of VIP audience members had been taking photos on the alleged couch. To which we promptly hopped out of our seats and asked one of the producers to take a picture of us as well. Although he most likely knew of our non-VIP status, he said to us, “how can I say no to pretty girls.”

We smiled and assumed our pose. Immediately afterward, a female producer motioned for us to get back to our seats. We returned in a euphoria of excitement.

This was definitely an experience to be remembered.