The wedding is the final step in the long journey of courtship and it is a new beginning to a (hopefully) happier, better life.
While researching the best movie weddings, I was surprised at how many famous "weddings" aren't weddings at all. For example, The Godfather begins after the wedding itself while they are at the ceremony.
I was also surprised at how short most of the wedding scenes are. Some are only a few seconds long and often without dialogue. So it had to asked: "What qualifies as a movie wedding?"
The following criteria are necessary to make the list:
-The movie must have a scene at the wedding itself.
-The reception alone or seeing the bride and groom leaving for the honeymoon does not count.
-We must see at least part of the ceremony at the wedding site.
-To make the list, the wedding has to have a strong emotional, visual, or thematic resonance.
So without further ado, here are the Top Ten Movie Weddings:
(I will provide when available links to to scenes)
10. Kermit and Miss Piggy, The Muppets Take Manhattan
While this is one of the lesser outings for the Muppets, the ending is a wonderful ending this Muppets' trilogy. The context of putting on a Broadway musical builds up to the event with light, happy music. But then when the real minister shows up, groom Kermit turns to bride Piggy and says, "I thought Gonzo was supposed to play the minister." To which Piggy mischievously laughs. As strange as it sounds, this moment had actual dramatic tension. Would Kermit go through with the wedding. This was also the culmination of this romantic storyline between these two characters for the last several years. The result is a nice, touching finale.
9. Colwyn and Lyssa, Krull
I know I may catch a lot of flack for putting this sci-fi/fantasy wedding on this list, but it is actually quite beatiful and even my 5-year-old self could understand something powerful was happening. The ceremony at the castle was a wonderful blend of medieval Romanticism and futurism. But the wedding only is completed at the end of the movie. The two characters realize that they can face down the demons of the world if they bond their lives together in a life-long commitment in love. It was such a wonderful metaphor about what marriage is supposed to be.
8. Robin and Marian, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
This is memorable not only because of the beautiful production design in Sherwood Forest with the colorful Autumn leaves falling in a blend of natural harmony. In the theater, the surprise cameo at the end was like the icing on the cake to an incredibly thrilling movie-going experience and hit the last few moments of the film with an exclamation point!
7. Eric and Ariel, The Little Mermaid
The few seconds spent on this wedding are beautiful. We have very simply and quickly the resolution to all the character relationship, including Sebastian and the cook. We also have that final, touching goodbye between father and daughter and the classic image of the ship sailing off into the sunset under the colors of the rainbow. Beautiful.
6. Bryan and Annie, The Father of the Bride (1991)
The entire movie had been building up this one event, to great comic effect. But the movie also knew how to use that humor to set up the audience for real emotional catharsis. And while the scene is told completely from the father's perspective, you can feel the pride, joy, and heartbreak of seeing your daughter begin her new life with her new man.
5. Bella and Edward, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I
As much as people like to make fun of these movies, at heart it is a story about longing and loving. The desire between Bella and Edward is intense, but because they waited to consummate their love, the wedding takes on all of the emotional significance that it can: excitement, fear, elation, relief, sadness. The visuals of the scene are beautiful and I've always loved Edward's speech to Bells: "No amount of time with you will ever be enough. But let's start with forever."
4. William and Murron, Braveheart
Not only is this moment the linchpin of the entire movie, giving us its emotional touchstones visualized in the exchange of wedding cloths, but the filming of it is incredibly beautiful. James Horner's amazing score covers this secret night ceremony. The isolation of the two characters with the priest make a kind of oasis against the violence of the world around them, one that sadly will not last long. But in that moment you can feel the bonding of two lives and how this love will be the cause of all that is to come.
3. Andy and Trish, The 40-Year-Old Virgin
I remember going into this movie waiting for the bomb to drop: when was this virgin character going to give in and lose that virginity before marriage. I had enjoyed much of the movie, but as we were getting to the ending, I was steeling myself for disappointment. But then Andy tells Trish, "I used to think there was something wrong with me... but now I know that I was waiting for you." And then it transitions to their wedding. Not only was I elated that they had waited, but the joyful music and the vivid colors matched that elation all the way through to the closing credits.
2. Anakin and Padme, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
This moment is only one minute and four seconds long. But George Lucas created a moment so romantic and beautiful that the entire scene is burned into my mind. John Williams romantic score overwhelms as the two characters stand as the setting sun emblazons the entire sky. The moment captures the love and the tragedy of the moment. They can feel in their bones that this lovely moment is also their doom. But this wedding captures that all-too-human truth that romance has no reason. CS Lewis said that if you told people who were truly in love that it would destroy them, they would say, "Let our hearts break, so long as they break together." And that is what you can see so clearly communicated in this scene.
1. Captain Von Trapp and Maria, The Sound of Music
I don't think any other movie wedding will be able to match this moment. The pageantry, the romance, the music, the costumes, the camera angles, the pacing... all of it perfect. Above all, the moment is completely imbued with the presence of God. The religious imagery is not just set decoration here, it is woven into the moment in a way that makes it essential. This is a love-story written by God and he is the most important guest present.
Honorable Mentions:
-The Wedding Singer
-Spaceballs
-Forrest Gump
-Coming to America
-Love Actually
-Shadowlands
-Wedding Crashers
-Flash Gordon
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