Weddings in the movies, and what they look life in the real world
The first time I watched Annie Banks walk down the aisle in Father of the Bride, I remember thinking, “Now that is a wedding.” The church drenched in florals, the swans in the tulip beds, Annie’s custom white lace sneakers, every detail added up to be something spectacular. There’s a whole genre of movies highlighting weddings and showing them off in full Hollywood style, but there can be a pretty big disconnect between nuptials on screen and in real life. If you’ve been up close to a wedding, either your own or someone else’s, you’ve probably noticed some of those differences. Or maybe you’ve noticed other details that feel a little too close to home. We thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the movies we love so much with an eye from inside of the industry and tell you what we see now.
Father of the Bride - Managing Pre-Wedding Stress
To me, this movie has always been so comforting to throw on when I want to decompress - which is pretty funny considering the whole movie is about a man desperately trying to hang onto his last nerve while planning his daughter’s wedding. George Banks’ daughter, Annie, comes home from studying abroad to announce she is engaged. The rest of the movie follows the family as they plan for an extravaganza, and George as he reckons with not only the cost of the event, but also the concept of his little girl being all grown up.
All the emotion behind this movie is pretty true to life. A wedding is a significant life event, no question about that. The lead up will have you feeling all kinds of ways, and that is perfectly normal. As long as the couple want to walk out of that ceremony together, you’re on the right track. But that doesn’t mean you won’t feel stressed in the process. In fact, we can almost guarantee it will. Take some time for self-care and intentionally stepping away from all the excitement once in a while when you need a breather, otherwise you might end up tearing hot dog buns out of their packaging in the middle of the grocery store.
Bonus detail: Your wedding planner should build in time for your family to see you on your wedding day. If they can’t make that happen, don’t hire them!
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Honoring Family Traditions
Toula and Ian just might be the best rom-com couple out there. They are truly smitten with each other, build each other up, and accept each other for all their foibles - including family. Toula’s large, proudly Greek family doesn’t initially know what to do with her very non-Greek fiance, but Ian is happy to join in their culture and get to know them. Toula’s Greek family also brings with them a full gambit of Greek traditions, while Ian’s family is much more reserved. All the antics in this movie are delightful, but the best part is how smoothly the two families get along, and how excited they are to take part in tradition.
In real life, we often see a little more friction between different family traditions and different cultures. It is rarely so seamless to integrate both halves of a couple’s backgrounds and lives - at least when it comes to logistics. However, we love when people do lean in to their heritage or traditions. Make the day a celebration of you and yours, and when you do it joyfully, it is so easy to join in.
Bonus detail: Having family cater your wedding sounds like a good way to save money, but it has its challenges. If it means a lot to you to have loved ones make the food, go for it! Let’s make it happen! If you’re only considering it for the convenience, I can promise you it’s more convenient for everyone involved to hire a caterer.
Bride Wars - Keeping Sight of Priorities While You Build Your Dream Day
If you’ve been dreaming about your wedding since you were a child, it can be a bit jarring to reconcile your long held visions with the reality of wedding planning. Emma and Liv are the extreme version of that tension. Both women have wanted a June wedding at the Plaza hotel for so long that, by the time they actually have the chance to do just that, they lose all sight of what a wedding really means in the first place. No amount of perfect planning and design can give you the thing you want most on your wedding day - the people you love.
Look, we get it. You put a lot into planning and designing your wedding day. We’re all about a huge vision, and we love bringing every detail to life. And, we will never encourage you to put that design or the idea of a perfect day before your friends and family. After all, your wedding is one day of your life. Important as it is, it shouldn’t throw everything after that off the rails. The good news is that we’ve never seen anyone sabotage a bride’s spray tan or hair dye in real life, so you’re probably safe there!
Bonus detail: Your venue absolutely should be one of the first things you book for a wedding. Know that venues really do book up almost a year in advance, so if you have somewhere really specific in mind, you’ll need to give yourself time and flexibility to book it.
There are dozens more movies we could talk about, but we’d be here forever if we did that. Suffice it to say, we love a cozy movie day in, and we love a good movie about weddings. It doesn’t matter if they’re true to life or wildly overblown, they all capture something of the real experience of throwing an enormous party for an enormous day in your life. Call me biased, but that feeling can’t be beat.
xoxo, Rebecca
