As the saying goes, life imitates art. After scouring film history, compiling an exhaustive list of every bouquet toss and conga line on film, then whittling that list down to the 100 best movie weddings (and ranking them), we agree. These pretend weddings have obviously provided inspiration for a lot of real people.
So grab a three-tiered cake with a nice, thick buttercream frosting—or whatever you like to eat at the movies—and find out where your favorite films landed on our list of the 100 best movie weddings.
Table of Contents
Best Movie Weddings: 100-61
Best Movie Weddings: 60-21
Best Movie Weddings: 20-1
Best Movie Weddings: 100-61
100) Forgetting Sarah Marshall
We’re treated to two barely-there weddings in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and they’re basically the only two ways you feel at a wedding if you’re not super close to the bride and groom.
Way 1: You are in high spirits because like the happy couple, you see nothing but possibility in your romantic future. Maybe you just started a relationship, and infatuation intoxicates your brain. You’re overjoyed for these two people you barely know because hey! that could be (probably will be) you someday soon.
Way 2: Why are you getting married when there is no hope and everything is shit? I HATE YOU.
99) American Wedding
Gorgeous venue? Check. Tasteful-yet-passionate kiss? Check. Van Morrison as a first dance song? Check. Maybe you have to be a '90s kid to fully appreciate just how great a father Jim’s dad is, but when he reassures Michelle’s parents that their daughter hasn’t been leading a highly satisfying sexual life with his son, I get choked up. I need to call my dad.
98) The Wedding Planner
A fact we can all attest to: love is not the easiest thing to find. Mary, played by Jennifer Lopez, dedicates her life to helping others tie the knot—but what happens when she has to choose between her profession, and finally finding love for herself? With two pairs of brides and grooms—none of which believe they’re right for each other—both weddings are ultimately cancelled and true love wins out. Watch for a little flower inspo and justification that not everything always goes as planned.
97) Monster-in-Law
The good parts about this movie: two queens by the names of Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez. The bad parts: literally everything else. The wedding day scene where Fonda shows up for her son’s big day in a wedding dress (creepy), and then gets in a slap fight with his bride-to-be Lopez is… more than a little uncomfortable to watch. And we didn’t even get to the part where Grandma bursts in and calls J Lo an “exotic Latina.” We’ll say it again: uncomfortable.
96) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Props to Mia Thermopolis for taking the stereotypical royal wedding dream that every girl’s apparently supposed to have, and turning it into a real “hell yeah!” feminist moment. Also, props to her grandma, Queen Clarisse, for flipping the script and proposing to her bodyguard. Imagine that: An unmarried woman ruling a country independently. A lady proposing to a man. A royal marrying a commoner. As painfully cheesy as this movie is, it sure has some great messages!
95) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
It’s good to know that in this terrible, violent world, a secret agent and all of his coworkers who also work for intelligence agencies can come together to celebrate love. Sure, the bride dies, but how was that going to work anyway? Check out the flowers at this wedding, they are to die for.
94) 27 Dresses
Jane’s always a bridesmaid and never a bride—27 times to be exact. She’s also a total pushover. So when she finally finds her voice—and with it, a husband—by the end of this rom com, she makes a major power move and asks all 27 ladies she’s been a bridesmaid for to be in her wedding party. Oh, yeah—Jane also makes them wear the hideous bridesmaid dresses she had to wear in their weddings. That must of have been a real challenge for the wedding photographer…
93) The Young Victoria
What can we say? We love a good woman-proposes-to-man moment—especially when it involves elaborate Victorian costumes.
92) A Night at the Roxbury
I’d like to think I could show up at a wedding I object to and just play Haddaway’s “What Is Love,” and whoever I’m there for would know. Because if I care enough about you to stop your wedding, you would have certainly seen A Night at the Roxbury enough times to get it.
91) The Wolf of Wall Street
The list of things a groom must do before a wedding is long. But if you’re Jordan Belfort, and you built a multi-million dollar enterprise/adult playground, an item atop your honey-do list is to get a cocktail of penicillin shots, so as to not re-gift some of the party favors from the bachelor party. Buying your wife a yacht for a wedding gift further solidifies any don’t ask, don’t tell agreements you may have about pre-wedding activities.
90) Sense and Sensibility
The rolling hills of the English countryside. A grazing flock of sheep. Children wearing bonnets. Kate Winslet. Hugh Grant. Mother effing Emma Thompson! This is British period piece realness at its finest.
89) Bend It Like Beckham
What’s a girl to do when her sister’s wedding falls on the same day as the championship match for her soccer team? If she’s Jess Bhamra in Bend It Like Beckham, she changes out of her wedding gear and into her uniform, leaves the wedding, slays the game, gets offered a soccer scholarship in the U.S., then heads back to the reception and gets down to some sweet, sweet bhangra music. Sure, at one point her teammate’s mother shows up at the wedding to falsely accuse Jess of being in a lesbian relationship with her daughter—but whatevs. This chick is killing it at life!
88) Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones
All the intricate details—the invitations, the seating arrangements, the groomsmen’s tuxes, the bridesmaids’ dresses… the wedding planning struggle is real. You will inevitably end up fantasizing about a simpler time—a long time ago… far away. So if you’re dealing with intense work stuff (or Jedi training, keeping the force in balance), keep it simple, like Anakin Skywalker did: get hitched overlooking the coast with and few droids. I mean really, does it get any better than that?
87) Tombstone
It’s kind of bullshit to ambush a wedding, but I guess that’s your first tip that Curly Bill is a bad guy. There’s just enough time to notice some of the finer elements of this wedding. You have to appreciate the crooning waltz of the mariachis, and can you imagine how difficult (not to mention expensive) it had to be, in 1879, to find 6 grey groomsmen jackets to match the groom’s tux? Shame they spent so much time and money on something they definitely only wore once...
86) Sweet Home Alabama
A lawyer interrupting your wedding ceremony to tell you that you’re still married to your first husband? Deciding not to sign the divorce papers, then leaving the guy you’re supposed to be getting married to literally halfway through your wedding ceremony, publicly humiliating him in front of all of his friends and family… and he’s kinda okay with it? Heading to the beach during a thunderstorm, while still wearing your wedding dress, to tell husband #1—who you thought you were divorced from but aren’t—that hey, you actually would like to stay married, because you kissed him when you were ten years old and played by Dakota Fanning? “Sweet Home Alabama” as a first dance song? Huh? Reese Witherspoon is cool, though.
85) Live and Let Die
First off, who gets married this deep in the Everglades? It is a land of prehistoric terrors: man-eating snakes, enormous mosquitos, and giant reptiles. Oh, you got to see Bond in action, and a boat ruined your wedding cake? You did not get dragged into a swamp by a monster, and you did get married, so maybe chalk this one up as a win.
84) The Proposal
Ah, a good ol’ “sham marriage, but they fall in love in the end” tale. Margaret is a horrible boss who, faced with the threat of getting deported back to her Canadian homeland, blackmails her assistant, Andrew, into marrying her. Minus the frigid temps, Canada doesn’t seem like such a bad place to be forced to move—they’ve got nice people, good healthcare, and Montreal—but we guess that’s beside the point. Anyway, hijinks—and threats from an immigration agent who’s onto Margaret’s plan—ensue. Margaret ends up coming clean at her wedding and is asked to leave the country—but not before her and Andrew find real love first. Love has no borders, people!
83) Cinderella
This is the ultimate in fairytale weddings: a rags-to-riches story complete with a handsome prince, humongous castle, big white dress, and a pair of kickass yet wildly impractical shoes (that are also apparently a few sizes too big?). And while Cinderella’s tale hasn’t exactly withstood the test of time—come on, Cindy, you don’t need a man to save you!—it’s also probably single-handedly responsible for the creation and popularity of 20+ seasons of The Bachelor. So what we’re saying is: While we don’t agree with your message, we thank you, Cinderella, for bringing Chris Harrison into our lives.
82) Twilight: Breaking Dawn
The wedding scene in Twilight: Breaking Dawn is arguably one of the most picturesque. Taking place in a forest, the creators wanted to keep the theme synonymous with the nature surrounding the cast. And while you might not be able to find a vampire lover, you may be able to coerce 20 friends into helping you hand-string wisteria from a tree.
81) Serendipity
Boy meets girl. Boy and girl write their phone numbers on random objects and release them into the world with the belief that if they find each other’s numbers, they are soulmates and meant to be together. And because this is a cheesy rom com, they do eventually find each other’s numbers, years later, and end up leaving their fiancés to track each other down. So, there technically isn’t a wedding scene in this movie—just a scene of John Cusack calling his off like, an hour before (rude). But fate and frozen hot chocolate play central roles throughout, which makes us like this movie enough for us to include it on this list.
80) Meet the Fockers
It’s important to have a solid relationship with your in-laws, and in a perfect world, both families come together seamlessly. But it’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is to wear breathable fabrics in light colors if you’re getting married in Florida.
79) My Best Friend’s Wedding
Most twins are a little creepy. Not all, just the overwhelming majority. So if you’re a twin and you’re reading this, maybe you’re not creepy? However, the adult twin women walking down the aisle in My Best Friend’s Wedding are exceedingly creepy, especially with some kind of monk singing behind them. I am forced to shut all my curtains and turn on all the lights in my apartment. Once we’re past the twins thing, you have to admit: this is the church you want to get married in if you’re the church-wedding kind of couple.
78) The Little Mermaid
The wedding scene in The Little Mermaid has gone so far as to inspire actual wedding themes: cute seashells, a photoshoot by the beach, and cascading red hair that would make any gal’s 6-year-old self cry out in envy. But when we think of the iconic wedding scene, we’re reminded more of when Scuttle rallies the troops to defeat the evil sea witch. The only kind of wedding crashing we approve of.
77) Mamma Mia!
Young bride-to-be Sophie wants her father to walk her down the aisle. Problem is, she doesn’t know who he is. So she invites three men from her mom’s wild and promiscuous past to her wedding, convinced that once she meets them she’ll “just know” which one is her long-lost Pops. Guess what—she doesn’t. Which results in one very awkward wedding ceremony where Sophie confesses her plan, one potential baby daddy comes out as gay, one gets with Soph’s mom’s BFF, and Pierce Brosnan tells Meryl Streep that he’s always been in love with her (who hasn’t?). In the end, the three dudes agree to split daddy duties, Sophie ends up calling off her wedding, and Meryl and Pierce get hitched instead. Oh, and did I mention the entire movie is set to ABBA songs? Yeah, it’s a weird one.
76) Muriel’s Wedding
The titular event in Muriel’s Wedding is a darkly comic cringe fest for the audience—we know she’s doing it for all the wrong reasons, and that it will end quickly in divorce. Even so, you’ve never seen a happier bride (and not just in contrast to the groom, wedding party, and guests, who seem absolutely put upon), and it’s a necessary low point on her path to redemption.
75) The Hangover
Everybody wants to look their best for their weddings. People withstand grueling exercise, dieting, waxing, hours at hair salons, and teeth whitening to achieve that perfect look. That moment when you first look upon your intended should make all the pains of preparation worth it—but what if your partner is deeply sunburned and a blotchy five shades darker than thier normal complexion?
74) The Best Man
All of their bow ties are kind of tiny, and the best man earned a shiner at the bachelor party (not ideal for wedding photos but hey, that’s why God created Photoshop). But you’d have to be born with a heart made of witch-cursed granite to not be moved by these lengthy, sniffly vows—exactly what you want out of the wedding movies genre.
73) Bride Wars
BFFs forever—but only until both their weddings are booked on the same date at the same venue. Refusing to share the spotlight, both girls set out to sabotage the other’s wedding. The scariest part of fighting with your best friend? They have an arsenal of embarrassing information, including Spring Break footage of you dancing with no shirt on.
72) The 40-Year-Old Virgin
You can't have a wedding without a budget. Unless you happen to have an embarrassing amount of rare, collectible toys, in which case money is not going to be a problem. Steve Carell makes some nice tux choices—white dinner jacket FTW. And I think everybody metaphorically sings Hair (with choreography!) after consummating their marriage.
71) Melancholia
This ranks high for weddings we'd want to attend as a guest but not as a family member: lavish estate, white tie dress code, dramatic airing of grievances by divorced parents during the reception toasts—including this corker from the mother of the bride: "Enjoy it while it lasts. I myself hate marriages." A fitting sentiment for a wedding that takes place on the eve of the apocalypse.
70) Sex and the City 2
In the long, long drama that is Sex and the City, there are more than a few wedding scenes. They range from traditional, to low-key, to elegant. Our favorite? Stanford and Anthony’s, which is described by Miranda as “what it looks like when you stare directly into the sun.”
69) Spy Kids
Nothing says “romance” like jumping off a cliff with heart-shaped parachutes while being attacked from every angle.
68) Soul Food
Family: Even when you hate each other, you love each other. That means when your husband gets caught grinding up on another woman at your wedding reception, you and your sisters stop your constant bickering for for a minute, and band together to take down the two losers—only to find that your mother has swooped in and taken care of business first. We’ll say it again: Family.
67) Blow
For the single and ready to mingle, wedding receptions are an excellent place to find new love. Or, you know, if you’re budding drug lord George Jung, wedding receptions are are an excellent place to steal a Colombian cartel officer’s megababe fiancée.
66) Atonement
This is one movie wedding that’s hard to watch. First Lola breaks up her cousin Cecilia and her lover Robbie by sitting silent while her cousin Briony falsely accuses Robbie of assaulting Lola. Robbie goes to prison, then Lola goes and marries the guy who actually did it. Seriously: WTF, Lola?
65) The Birdcage
Another typical rom com—the daughter of a conservative, Republican senator and the son of two gay men who own a drag club fall in love. You know, just your standard fare. The actual wedding scene of The Birdcage is short and part of the ending credits, but a testament to love regardless. It depicts people with vastly different ideals coming together to celebrate that love comes from all backgrounds, and that it’s never a good idea to hide who you are. “What a pain in the ass you are. And it’s true: you’re not young, you’re not new, and you do make people laugh. And me? I’m still with you because you make me laugh.”
64) Old School
A true friend will tell you the truth, but timing is everything. Like, for example, any time other than during the wedding processional would be great.
63) Dances with Wolves
Good movie. Nice wedding scene. But what stands out to us most: all the teased and feathered '80s hair happening on the Western frontier circa 1863. How First Lieutenant John J. Dunbar and his bride Stands With A Fist got their hands on some Aquanet—we’ll never know.
62) Shrek
Shrek lived his life alone, believing that no one would love an ogre. But true love is skin deep, even when that skin has layers like an onion and is green. Wedding crashers are also generally frowned upon, but not if you’re Shrek saving Princess Fiona from nasty Lord Farquaad. Shrek whisks her away to the swamp and they celebrate their nuptials in front of all of their fairytale friends. Who wouldn’t want to ride off into the sunset in Cinderella’s carriage?
61) Honeymoon in Vegas
Vegas is kind of like this mythical place where things you couldn’t even dream up happen. For example, losing a bet and having your fiance whisked away—only to end up skydiving 3,000 feet to get married in a jumpsuit and showgirl outfit in front of a group of Elvis impersonators.
Best Movie Weddings: 60-21 | 20-1
As we continue our countdown of the best movie weddings, we would like to recognize a few individual contributions to the canon:
- Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson did well, showing up on our list in five films each.
- Julie Andrews' two appearances were released nearly 40 years apart (legend).
- Rob Reiner appears three times: once as an actor and twice as director.
- Steve Martin may or may not have worn the same ruffled tuxedo shirt in both of his list appearances.
- Two of Anne Hathaway's four ranked roles came in Oscar-winning or Oscar-nominated films.
Store that knowledge away for the next time you want to really impress a date, and let's get back to the best movie weddings countdown.
Table of Contents
Best Movie Weddings: 100-61
Best Movie Weddings: 60-21
Best Movie Weddings: 20-1
Best Movie Weddings: 60-21
60) Sixteen Candles
Sam’s family has forgotten her 16th birthday because they’re distracted by her sister Ginny’s wedding taking place the next day. Talk about rude. So when Ginny shows up to her ceremony totally wasted, stumbles down the aisle, and makes a complete fool of herself, all we can say is this: Karma’s a bitch, sis. At least Sam gets to make out with her megacrush Jake Ryan at the end of the movie—maybe it’s not such a bad birthday after all.
59) Furious 7
Three words: tank top wedding.
58) License to Kill
This demonstrates the importance of an out-of-office automatic email reply, but let’s give it up for skydiving into your own damn wedding. Easily the best way to win over a skeptical father-in-law to-be.
57) Blue Valentine
A lot of our selections are about the happily-ever-after weddings we all dream of, but the sad truth is that they’re not all rainbows and butterflies. Marriages are difficult. People get older. They change. You realize that maybe you shouldn’t have given up your career ambitions, or that you never really knew the person sitting in front of you. Blue Valentine is a raw example of what happens when love fades.
56) Marie Antoinette
What is Marie Antoinette best known for? Her extravagance. While it didn’t do much good for the pre-revolutionary French population, she does make for the perfect wedding inspiration.
55) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
Nothing’s worse than coincidentally planning your wedding on the same day Voldemort takes over the Ministry of Magic, and having said wedding subsequently crashed by Death Eaters. But you do have to give a nod to the high points of the celebration—Bill and Fleur’s devoted attention to each other, dancing to festive Irish tunes, and a tasteful lavender-themed wedding tent that you wouldn’t expect at the Burrow.
54) A Walk to Remember
It’s impossible to watch A Walk to Remember without shedding a tear (or few). Bad boy, Landon Carter, falls in love with the uninterested Jamie Sullivan, only to learn that she is dying of leukemia. He makes it his goal to fulfill every dream she has before the summer is over, including getting married. Their wedding is simple, sweet, and very true to who they are. In the same church Sullivan’s parents married in, her reverend father swears the two together in front of friends and family. Sob!
53) American Gangster
“Will all of my groomsmen get their tuxes?” “Will my vows be badass yet endearing?” “Can I still hit the cabbage patch as well as I did at prom?” These questions can drive the coolest of grooms into a state of anxiety. So imagine exchanging your vows, while at the same time knowing your sizable order of heroin is being smuggled into the U.S. from the jungles of Southeast Asia. Nervous anymore, grooms? You’re welcome.
52) The Great Gatsby (2013)
Any wedding that is named the Louisville “WEDDING OF THE YEAR” in 1920 of all years—a year known for its nuptials—and includes a string of pearls worth $350,000 (that’s $4.5m today people) is worthy of a spot on our list, even if said marriage is doomed. No marriage can withstand the lure of Leo!
51) Meet the Parents
It would be difficult to sabotage a wedding more spectacularly if you were doing it on purpose. But in spite of a literal shitstorm, Bob and Deb get married and it’s gorgeous, from the trellis archway alter to the cat ring-bearer. Getting the details right is nice, but the most important thing is that at the end of the day, you’re married.
50) Sideways
The pieces all fall into place, but it’s a little sad to see Jack end up at the altar—not because we would prefer to see him play his mid-life crisis all the way out, but because he really doesn’t deserve to get married after this trainwreck bachelor weekend. In the end, justice is served only to Miles, which is both unfair and well-deserved. Is he a bad guy? No. But when you take your buddy out to celebrate his wedding, you’re the co-pilot, not the wing man.
49) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Aragorn and Arwen’s wedding is kind of too big. (There has to be a joke about fire hazards and dragons here but we’re a formalwear brand so chill.) We find that the hobbits, two of which saved Middle-Earth, are in the back of the crowd. If you have short friends, be cool and seat them toward the front. In the positives column: Faramir, Eomer, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf—best groomsmen ever?
48) Gone with the Wind
Scarlett gets married exactly three times in Gone with the Wind—but never to Ashley, who she’s been obsessed with since forevs. Nearly four hours of movie, and she doesn’t even end up with THE guy at the end? We feel scammed.
47) Runaway Bride
There’s indecisive, and then there’s Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride, one of the purest wedding movies on our list. She leaves four men at the altar, prompting reporter, Ike Graham, to write a story about her. Eventually, the two fall in love—but bad habits die hard. She runs, yet again, but later seeks out Graham and proposes (très chic). The two have a very simple, very private wedding ceremony on a hilltop. The best bit? They literally ride off into the sunset on horseback.
46) Rocky Horror Picture Show
Let’s set the record straight: Throwing rice at weddings doesn’t actually kill birds, so rice it up. We arrive at the tail-en of this wedding, and as the bride and groom make their getaway we’re treated to some pretty aggressive style choices: all-white patent leather shoes (on the groom, no less), a red tartan tie paired with a different red tartan cummerbund, and white socks with black loafers a la David Letterman. After this, the movie gets pretty boring—your standard “newly-engaged couple separately seduced by a trans alien and lab-grown beefcake” story, etc., etc..
45) The Jerk
Be sure you and your partner aren’t pressured into a religious ceremony, even if the priest is certified. (Nice ruffled shirt though.)
44) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Ren Faire wedding on steroids! Even if you’re not going for a Medieval theme, you have to admire the way they worked seasonality into the color palate—very important to consider when choosing wedding attire. Connery sandbagging a very mulleted Costner at his own wedding is a very Connery move.
43) When Harry Met Sally
I think I speak for every bride when I say: I just want my Maid of Honor to look at me the way Meg Ryan looks at Carrie Fisher trying on her wedding dress. While relationship dynamics make for an awkward vibe, you can’t complain about the venue—it’s the perfect city wedding. Open floor plan, big windows with a view of the New York skyline. And plenty of room to get down to the live band music.
42) Brokeback Mountain
In Brokeback Mountain, both protagonists get married—unfortunately, neither one of them end up with the right person. Ennis and Jack’s intense love for each other spans decades, but is kept a secret as they both settle into marriages with women. Ennis’s church wedding to Alma may seem sweet on the surface, but knowing his secret gives it an underlying air of deep sadness.
41) The Sound of Music
“How do you solve a problem like Maria?” You don’t. You ask her to marry you, and hope to whoever’s listening that she says yes. In this iconic musical, Julie Andrews looks ethereal. She glides through the cathedral in an elegant, white wedding dress and 14-foot long veil—a stark contrast to all the nuns and wedding-goers donning black. Perhaps one of the most recognized and well-loved scenes in the world, it definitely deserves to be in our top 100.
40) Independence Day
So... you’re about to fight a technologically advanced alien race by flying into the heart of the looming mothership to shoot a nuclear missile into the command center. What does a guy do before such an impossible act to be properly motivated to get home? How about marrying Vivica A. Fox? Mission complete. Roger that.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEvwQgQPkF0[/embed]
39) Scarface
Top 5 things you need to know about the wedding depicted in Scarface: 1.) It takes place during a montage. 2.) That montage is set to the tune of 1983’s “Push It to the Limit”. 3.) Both Michelle Pfieffer and Al Pacino wear white. 4.) They make out for an uncomfortably long time while the best man and maid of honor make bedroom eyes at each other. 5.) He gives her a tiger as a wedding present. Enjoy!
38) I Love You, Man
Peter has spent his adult life focused on relationships over friendships, so when he gets engaged, he sets out to find a best friend—one worthy of calling his best man. On the way, he picks up a hodge-podge group of dudes to stand up with him, and even finds “the one.” If we’re being honest, choosing a best man (or being asked to be one) is a big, emotional deal, so it’s nice to see it treated as such in the wedding finale.
37) Robin Hood: Men in Tights
The brevity of the vows here are nice. But as a general rule, threatening your bride with an ultimatum didn’t work out well in the Middle Ages and it won’t work out now, Mervin.
36) Joe vs. The Volcano
When you marry your boo on an exotic island in the Pacific… except it’s moments before you’re about to offer yourself up as a human sacrifice and jump into a volcano cuz you think you’re dying of a rare disease anyway. Then your new wife offers to jump into the volcano with you because “where you go, I go,” and it’s all very heartwarming, except for the molten lava gushing beneath you. Then you hold hands and jump into the volcano, but it coincidentally erupts at that very moment and propels you out into the ocean, where you land on a raft, unharmed, and find out that you actually don’t have a fatal disease, but were used as a pawn by a wealthy businessman. You know, just your typical wedding scene.
35) The Wedding Singer
Enter Sandman. The Wedding Singer is one of the best examples of wedding movies. The story is always about Robbie and Julia, but along the way we experience a wide variety of wedding styles. Of course there are a lot of vintage Sandler jokes (and a predictable amount of them aimed at Buscemi), but the POV never really becomes cynical, even if the protagonist does. Also, Band > DJ.
34) Wayne’s World 2
There are only a handful of reasons you should ever break up a wedding, and if you decide to do it, you’ve got to get out in front of the thing—don’t wait until halfway through the ceremony. And make sure you work through exactly what you will say to reason with the bride or groom.
Or screw it, just pound on the glass and yell their name.
33) Spaceballs
Bill Pullman in a space tux steals the wedding (like, literally, steals it from another groom) in Mel Brooks' most popular genre spoof. It's not just a send up of Star Wars, but also the never-once-happened-in-real-life movie trope of a wedding being broken up at the last minute but the "correct" suitor. Brides have agency!
32) Up
Pixar is a repeat offender in toying with our feelings, and Up might be one of their greatest emotional rollercoasters. Carl and Ellie progress from meeting as children to newlyweds, complementing each other perfectly. Their wedding is traditional and small, but a perfect testament to Ellie’s rambunctious, adventurous personality and Carl’s reserved, but curious nature. We all know what happens next, but it’s a little reminder that a 4 minute montage, representing both of their lives together, can live on through a 96 minute movie.
31) Out of Africa
We tried to think of something pithy to say about this very short and not-so-sweet movie wedding, but we couldn’t find the words. You know what they say: When in Mombasa!
30) Romeo + Juliet
Ah, to be young, meet your soulmate at a rave, and get secret married 24 hours later. Hey, we’d probably get hitched, too—young Leo and Claire Danes are kinda the ultimate '90s heartthrobs. Too bad their dramatic teen love story couldn’t have ended a little happier…
29) Four Weddings and a Funeral
Anytime the guy who plays Mr. Bean pops up in a movie, you know it’s gonna be… Mr. Beany.
28) The Grand Budapest Hotel
There’s a lot to be said for an intimate, picturesque ceremony, and that’s exactly what we get in this film. The bride and groom are joined by groom’s professional colleagues—which may not sound ideal until you learn that among them are Bill Murray and Voldemort—all dressed like a demilitarized version of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
27) Step Brothers
Marriages can come with a bit of familial baggage. After all, finding love again is hard enough without two sons who disapprove. The movie begins with a couple typical wedding reception behaviors to avoid—oversharing, the occasional outburst, and shifting focus away from the bride and groom. All wedding no-nos. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly successfully hit all three—but what else can you expect from 40-year-old sons who refuse to grow up (or move out)?
26) Tommy Boy
Key takeaways: Watching your dad remarry should be considered a net positive, no matter the circumstances, if he lives through the reception. And never trust that wily Rob Lowe. So handsome, but so wily.
25) Kill Bill Vol. 2
Okay, technically it was a wedding rehearsal, but we can still learn valuable lessons from the Massacre at Two Pines Chapel. For one, it rarely ends well when your ex attends your wedding, invitation or no. First-kiss tongue tends to make people uncomfortable, and while it is your day, they brought gifts (probably). A "wedding dress rehearsal" is not a thing. Finally, you can do worse than "Love Me Tender."
24) Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite was a weird, thankfully brief, cultural phenomenon. It’s no surprise that the wedding scene, which was added as an afterthought, is equally awkward. But there is no arguing that Kip’s synthesized wedding song to Lafawnduh is pretty great.
23) Corpse Bride
It’s normal to feel nervous about getting married, but remember: As long as you make a pact with a skeleton to sacrifice your own life, things will turn out fine.
22) Moonrise Kingdom
When you meet your soulmate, you don’t wait for the world to give you permission. And when you’re 12 and you’re misunderstood, that means running away and getting hitched in a non-legally binding ceremony orchestrated by some weird scout camp quartermaster. This is one of maybe two times when it’s appropriate for your groomsmen to wear neckerchiefs. You figure out #2.
Side note: Why are the villains always redheads?
21) Rachel Getting Married
Families are complicated, and no matter how happy the occasion, there are always undercurrents: resentment, anger, disappointment, and jealousy to name a few. In this case, those undercurrents rise to the surface, making the wedding itself an undercurrent to a more important story: forgiveness, acceptance, and the love of family. It’s beautiful, as is Rachel and Sidney’s wedding. Dude can sing.
Best Movie Weddings: 100-61 | 20-1
You've made it to the top-tier (get it) of our best movie weddings countdown, which means you are a real movie hound, or just love the character work of Eugene Levy (who makes three appearances).
Either way, while admiring the quantity of our list, you may have missed the quality. Eight of these films took home the Oscar for Best Picture: Gone With the Wind (1939), The Sound of Music (1965), The Godfather (1972), The Deer Hunter (1978), Out of Africa (1985), Dances With Wolves (1990), Forrest Gump (1994), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). These films earned a combined 41 statues.
Without ado (but with lots of I do), we present the 20 best movie weddings.
Table of Contents
Best Movie Weddings: 100-61
Best Movie Weddings: 60-21
Best Movie Weddings: 20-1
Best Movie Weddings: 20-1
20) Steel Magnolias
Steel Magnolias is great for many reasons: a supportive community, zingy one-liners, and one of the best girl gangs in movie history. But the wedding in this movie takes the cake—the armadillo cake, that is. Filled with the best '80s Southern fashion, there’s loud prints, big hair and a lot of pink. The entire affair is a community effort. They work hard, and play even harder. A wedding is, above all, supposed to be fun—so take note, and take to the dance floor.
19) Monsoon Wedding
This movie about a large Indian wedding proves that while traditions may vary across cultures, some things about wedding planning are universal—particularly: stress, status anxiety, the tension between keeping tradition and “the modern age,” budget worries, the awkwardness of bringing two families together, broken hearts, new romances, and lots and lots (and lots) of emotional baggage. Monsoon Wedding serves up wedding planning realness—in heaps, set to Bollywood music, and drenched in marigolds. Because if your big day’s gonna cause your entire extended family to spiral out of control, it should at least be gorgeous, colorful, and get everyone on the dance floor.
18) My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Everyone and their mother loved this movie when it came out (literally, my stepmom made me go see it with her three times—moms love this shit). Frankly, the plot is about as predictable and rom-commy as it can get: frumpy girl meets handsome guy, takes off her glasses, plucks her eyebrows, finally gets noticed, and falls in love—that is, until her overbearing Greek parents try to break up the relationship because her new man ain’t Greek, and—perhaps even worse—is a vegetarian. Cultures clash, hilarity ensues, and—surprise, surprise—everyone ends up getting along in the end. The final wedding scene is actually pretty touching, with the father of the bride making a cute speech about apples and oranges, and teaching us that in this big produce stand we call Life, “We’re all different, but in the end, we’re all fruit.”
17) Sex and The City
This movie has two wedding scenes—well actually, one and a half. Thing is, the first wedding doesn’t actually happen—Carrie gets left at the altar (and because this is Sex & the City, she gets screwed over while wearing some ridic Vivienne Westwood gown that no actual part-time sex columnist would ever be able to afford, ever). When her would-be groom, Big, tries to reconcile with her on the Manhattan street, she pulls a badass woman-scorned move and beats him with her wedding bouquet before an audience of friends and random onlookers. Nothing like a good ol’ public shaming to bring life to an otherwise kinda idiotic movie. Spoiler alert: Carrie and Big make up at the end, he proposes to her with a diamond-encrusted shoe (as one does), and they get married in an intimate City Hall ceremony that frankly seems a little too tasteful for someone who’s been known to wear voluminous blob dresses and 6 inch stilettos that cost double my rent.
16) The Godfather
When you marry a Corleone, your wedding is guaranteed to be a hit. You get it.
Idea: Hire a Marlon Brando impersonator to bartend your wedding. The bar is open, but they must ask for each drink as if it’s a favor. Do not disrespect the bartender. God I love this movie.
15) Raising Arizona
We love a good odd couple—and Hi, the multiple offending ex-con, getting hitched to Ed, a police officer, is about as strange as it gets. Then there are the wedding guests: half are in police uniforms, while all the others sport the very bold look that is Hawaiian shirts paired with mullets (we’ll let you guess which guests belong to the bride, and which belong to the groom). Top that off with some wood paneling, dirty red carpet, and a whole lotta VFW Hall patriotism, and you’ve got yourself some weirdo wedding perfection.
14) Father of the Bride
Dude, George, chill out. Why you so obsessed with your 22 year old daughter? Most of this movie centers around a dad acting like a total bozo as he struggles to accept “giving away” his “little girl” to another man, and complaining that he “won’t get to see her at breakfast in her nightgown anymore.” Ew. Latent creepiness aside, George’s heart really is in the right place, and it’s nice and heartwarming to see him finally come to terms with the fact that his baby girl is now a grown woman who can make decisions for herself (and make her own mistakes, too, cuz getting married at 22 after 6 months of dating has “divorce” written all over it). You go, George!
13) Jerry Maguire
Cuba. Just Cuba.
12) Goodfellas
So that cake is insane. Do that cake if you can. It’s an edible diorama. What can I say here except there’s nothing sweeter than getting a bag full of cash at your wedding. You can’t predict this (unless you are in the actual mafia I guess) but it’s safe to assume you’ll get a respectable haul. So yeah, go ahead and spring for that ridiculous cake. Tacky? The fuck you say to me? I’m tacky? You’re tacky.
11) Forrest Gump
A VHS of Forrest Gump was a staple in every '90s household, for good reason. A story of Tom Hanks’ pure, steadfast love overcoming various hardships, the movie ends with him marrying the love of his life. Their wedding is intimate and picturesque—a lesson that the only thing that really matters in the hectic whirlwind of modern-day wedding planning is the bride, groom and culmination of their relationship together. Maybe all you really need is a funky tie, a vintage dress and a box of chocolates.
10) The Deer Hunter
When you plan your wedding reception, you imagine the night becoming a giant dance party with everyone having the time of their lives. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen (more often with an open bar, though). If that’s the story of your wedding reception, don’t worry—you can still experience that idealistic post-nuptial revelry by watching The Deer Hunter. And it doesn’t hurt that we get some healthy exposure to non-hacker, non-oligarch Russian culture here, either.
9) Wet Hot American Summer
Really loving the way the flute music is actually happening as the officiant (slash summer camp director) wraps up the ceremony. As you know, we at The Black Tux love a good suit or tuxedo as much as anyone, but if you are to be wed standing mid-shin in a river, tunics are totally fair game. Glad to see McKinley and Ben are still together after all these years. <3
8) Bridesmaids
Tough enough watching your best friend move away and get married while your life goes to shit. Extra tough seeing another woman stealing your Maid of Honor thunder in a bid to become your BFF’s new best friend. There are some extreme dynamics at play, but any wedding with 1) a laser light show 2) golden retriever puppies 3) a live performance by Wilson Phillips is guaranteed to bring the wedding party together.
7) Wedding Crashers
The king of wedding movies, it would be reductive to say that Wedding Crashers is about crashing weddings. I mean, it is that, but it’s also a celebration of weddings, cliches and all. This movie perfectly captures the feeling of being two minutes into a too-long ceremony, or two drinks into a well-planned reception. And while some of the crude immaturity genuinely looks like fun (sorry), Wedding Crashers doesn’t let anyone off too easy for being sleazy. Except Will Ferrell.
6) Coming to America
The movie that pulls back the curtain on Zumandan wedding traditions and answers the questions: what does Eddie Murphy look like in full-on white tie with a cheetah stole accessory? Two ceremonies bookend this classic from the John Landis cinematic universe, and somewhere in between our prince finds a queen worthy of the title. Come for the dancing, stay for the greatest single wedding performance in pop-culture history.
5) The Royal Tenenbaums
The Tenenbaums are a dysfunctional family, typical of Wes Anderson’s storylines, but there’s no better place than a wedding to work through deep-seeded familial issues—parental abandonment, sibling rivalry, loss of innocence, and grief. The wedding scene marks a huge shift for all members of the Tenenbaum clan—from holding onto the past, to redemption and healing.
4) The Princess Bride
Whenever someone asks us if we would like to watch the wedding scene from The Princess Bride, we say: “As you wish.” We’re usually sticklers for keeping the wedding ceremony a reasonable length, but if a rambling clergyman with a speech impediment saves true love, then who awe we to awgue uhwuhwise? This ill-fated non-union also underscores the importance of words like “I do.”
3) The Five-Year Engagement
The world would be a better place if more weddings were executed like the one in The Five-Year Engagement. Specifically, it’d be a world with fewer anxious, stressed-out couples. Your wedding is a big deal, but if there’s one lesson you can take away from this wedding, it’s that you don’t have to agonize over every little detail to have an unforgettable ceremony. Do the damn thing.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_2q1rclwNE[/embed]
2) Love Actually
How did Andrew Lincoln’s character get of-the-moment, neo soul artist Lynden David Hall to sing at this wedding? How did Keira and Chiwetel miss not one, not two, but three trombonists in the third pew? Are ministers really allowed to throw awesome high-fives? Love Actually isn’t interested in explaining any of this, but I’ll be damned if I care—when that electric guitar starts wailing from the pulpit, I get goosebumps. Thanks to Love Actually, the “All You Need Is Love” recessional has become a staple for couples who really enjoyed this scene in Love Actually and/or The Beatles.
1) The Graduate
There is no wedding scene more iconic than when Ben and Elaine make their great escape together—just moments after Elaine has said “I do” to another man. When the pair fight off Elaine’s parents (Oh, btw—Elaine’s mom, Mrs. Robinson, is Ben’s ex-lover… talk about awkward), trap everyone inside the church by jamming a giant gold cross through the door handles, then run off hand-in-hand and hop on a passing yellow bus, it really makes you believe in young love—even if it is a kinda twisted, effed-up young love.
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