A behind-the-scenes look at 'The Bachelor' in Wisconsin

When Hurricane Matthew veered toward South Carolina in early October, the producers and cast of ABC's "The Bachelor" headed for Wisconsin.

"Our first trip was supposed to be to Kiawah Island in South Carolina," host Chris Harrison told Yahoo TV. "We had to change everything about what we were going to do. ... We were flying by the seat of our pants, booking random hotel rooms and setting up dates on the fly."

That could explain why the dates were a bit more real-life than the previous week's Backstreet Boys appearance, zero-gravity airplane ride and training session with Olympians. In Wisconsin, "Bachelor" Nick Viall, who grew up in Waukesha and attended University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, took his dates strolling around downtown Waukesha, roller skating at Skateland in Waukesha (and later at the Milwaukee Art Museum), to a country music concert at the Pabst Theater and to a dairy farm in Omro.

'Bachelor' recap: Roller skating at Milwaukee Art Museum

The digs the 15 remaining women stayed in did not disappoint, though. Clifford Norris said he got a booking request from the show for his seven-bedroom, six-bathroom Cedar Grove house two days before the crew headed to Wisconsin. Seated on Lake Michigan about 45 miles north of Milwaukee, the 6,000-square-foot, $1,042-a-night vacation home has lake views, a beach, a large deck and a trampoline.

Norris and his family, who live in Chicago, weren't there during the filming, but watched the show Monday night.

"It was fun to see them in our rooms," he said. "Watching them sitting on the couch drinking red wine, I said, 'I hope they don't spill.'"

Behind the cameras

As dates were filmed in Milwaukee, Waukesha and other parts of the state, local fans and businesses got a rare glimpse into the making of the reality competition show.

Kelsey Montey, front office manager for The Iron Horse Hotel, said the hotel was contacted "very last minute" by the show to film a one-on-one date in the lobby on Oct. 6. "All the ladies (in the staff meeting when it was announced) were freaking out," she said.

"Nick was the one who wanted to come to the Iron Horse," Montey said.

A fan of the show, Montey stuck around for the filming and landed a spot as an extra sitting in the background of the date.

"It felt super casual," she said, with maybe 10 production crew members mingling with hotel employees and guests during the four or five hours they spent setting up in the lobby.

After the crew spent another two hours perfecting the scene and two camera angles, Viall and his date sat down for about an hour together around 8 p.m.

"It was interesting watching how much detail they put into filming a one- or two-hour episode," which included just a few minutes of the Iron Horse date, Montey said. "They were very particular about where lights and chairs and lamps are and even where forks are on the table."

Iron Horse Hotel executive chef Joshua Rogers prepared the charcuterie plate that Viall and his date sat in front of and, per "Bachelor" tradition, didn't actually eat.

Laura Strackbein, co-owner of The Rochester Deli and Periwinkle's Bakery in Waukesha, said the production crew had been eating at her deli all week when they were approached about appearing on the show.

She said she was at first nervous that Viall and his date would be doing something risque during the segment but was pleased with how it turned out. Then she was worried they would cut their segment because it was too wholesome.

"They said, 'No, this is what he wants to show when he comes back to Waukesha,'" she said. "We were so grateful that it wasn't (the season's villain) Corinne that came to our bakery. That would have not sat very well with our customers."

Strackbein said her daughter, who was behind the counter when Viall and his date came into Periwinkle's Bakery, was instructed on exactly what to say on camera.

Viall's ex-girlfriend, Amber, who appeared sitting at the window of the deli, was sitting there on her laptop for quite some time before Viall arrived. She told guests in the deli the show had called her the night before. She is happily married and has two kids.

Skating around town

When Skateland owner Steve Laufer told someone from ABC they were booked the night they requested to film, the show wanted to offer to buy out the other parties.

"We don't roll that way," Laufer said. "I told him, 'We're not really into that, I'm sorry.'"

Laufer didn't think it would go any further after that, but the show got back in touch a few days later and agreed to take another time slot, Oct. 8.

"I heard his sister was the one who wanted to go here," he said, referring to Viall's 11-year-old sister, Bella, who, along with her soccer team, accompanied Viall on the Skateland date.

About 30 crew members showed up for the shoot, taping over any copyrighted logos in the building and setting up lighting, cameras and catering. In addition to Viall's family and the soccer team, the show asked Laufer to invite about 75 people to the shoot.

"All the production people were so nice," he said. "I thought it was a good experience... everybody here had a good time."

Close-watching fans may have noticed a perplexing split-second shot showing a child sitting behind the glass inside one of the arcade games. Laufer said the child was his wife's 4-year-old grand-nephew, and it was the crew's idea.

"They just thought it'd be funny," he said. "That's not a regular thing going on on Saturday afternoon here."

The show gave Laufer the choice of receiving free advertising or regular payment for the rental. Laufer opted to get paid, about $1,200 for the reservation and rental equipment and concessions for everyone in attendance.

Viall and his date, Raven, borrowed in-line skates for the next part of the date, which included blading around inside the Milwaukee Art Museum. The next day, the crew returned Raven's pair but asked if they could buy Viall's because he wanted to keep them. Laufer agreed to sell them.

"He skated actually pretty decent," he said.

Fans attend concert

Molly Sproatt is an avid "Bachelor" fan, so when one of her co-workers at Kohl's corporate spotted a tweet from country singer Chris Lane inviting Milwaukee fans to "be on an upcoming episode of an ABC TV show," she knew exactly what show he was referencing.

"A whole bunch of us emailed (to RSVP) and a couple of us got the response," she said.

Attendees were told to show up at the Pabst Theater the afternoon of the concert. There they were photographed, signed photo release forms and were given wristbands. Sproatt said they were instructed to wear jewel tones and no large logos on their clothing, and to return later that night for the concert.

The line wrapped around the block and primarily consisted of "Bachelor" fans.

"I didn't talk to anyone who was there for Chris Lane," Sproatt said.

In the venue, Sproatt said her friends "were kind of sweet talking the security guards" and scored a spot alongside the platform Viall and his date would dance on during the concert. She said while they waited for the concert to begin, producers pulled some couples from the crowd to stand on the platform and rehearse camera shots. Lane performed two or three original songs and a medley of boy band hits before a producer officially told the crowd the show being filmed was "The Bachelor."

Once Viall and his date, Danielle, entered, Lane played the exact same set while they danced.

Sproatt said the couple was there for about 20 minutes. She noticed a few things that viewers didn't see in the episode.

"She had a complete wardrobe malfunction the entire time," Sproatt said, referring to Danielle's V-neck dress slipping and exposing her chest.

"Nick did a lot of looking into the crowd at people he probably knew there," she said. Sproatt also noticed some strategically placed producers in the crowd to assist, like when Viall removed his jacket and handed it off.

Sproatt said the crowd was "really excited, almost in a nerdy way. When you explain it to somebody else who doesn't watch the show it sounds kind of lame but it was really cool to see the producers and see how things were filmed."

Other businesses featured

The Wisconsin dates also took Viall and the women to Waukesha's Frame Park and The Steaming Cup. Omro's Knigge Farms and Oshkosh's Paine Art Center and Gardens hosted a group date, and the final cocktail party took place at Ramhorn Farm in Saukville.

Paine Art Center and Gardens events manager Michelle Recter said the location was contacted the day before the shoot. "The show's crew began setting up at about 2 in the afternoon (on Oct. 7), and they didn’t finish packing up until after 4 in the morning," she said.

Pete Knigge, owner of Knigge Farms, told USA Today Network-Wisconsin he had 48 hours notice before the "Bachelor" crew arrived. Contestants were seen shoveling manure with shovels brought by the crew, since the farm normally uses a skid steer for moving manure. One part of the day that didn't make it on the air: the contestants ended their date chasing after a tumbling wheel of LaClare Farms cheese.

"We just had a ball doing it," Knigge said. "It was a good experience, and a complete surprise."