The 30 Best Wedding Movies—for Better or for Worse
It is wedding season after all. At least, it can be on our screens.
By DeAnna Janes
The wedding movie: a micro-subgenre that often gets the romantic comedy treatment, but isn’t immune to being bathed in horror or awash in drama. Sometimes, a film with nothing but a pivotal, momentary iconic scene dedicated to the nuptials shared between two characters can earn the entire film a spot in the tiny category. Indeed, the greatest wedding movies aren’t married to a formula—they are committed to emotion, authenticity, and truth.
Ahead, we’ve curated a list of splendid matrimonial films, some obvious and devoted entirely to all that the big day entails, others perhaps a bit more ambiguous but no less worthy. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll most definitely score some inspiration for that dreaded toast you were supposed to give at your best friend’s wedding. Because, hey, even though the current lockdowns have us all stuck inside, it is wedding season after all. Or at least it can be—on our screens.
Sex and The City
We’re not sure it gets more big-city extravagant than a Vivienne Westwood wedding gown fit for a bride (Sarah Jessica Parker) who’s getting hitched at New York City's iconic Public Library. Factor in her bridesmaids (Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall) each rocking their own bold-toned Zac Posen design, a groom wrestling with cold feet, the fateful death of a floral bouquet, and a bird on the bride's head (paired with a cathedral-length veil) and you have one of the most iconic and heartbreaking wedding scenes to ever grace the big screen.
Loving
Usually nuptial-centered films spend their reels building up to the big day. Here, it’s the opposite. Near the beginning of this film, interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) marry in a sincere, understated justice-of-the- peace-officiated ceremony in Washington, D.C. They then head home to Caroline County, Virginia, and the battle for their love begins. Finding themselves in the crosshairs of 1960s anti-miscegenation laws, the Lovings must fight jail time, court cases, and even sickening racism to stay together.
Emma. (2020)
The entire narrative of Jane Austen’s 19th-century tale pivots around marriage: snagging a suitor, scoring a proposal, and finally saying “I do.” Luckily, we get a pair of lavish Regency-era celebrations in Autumn de Wilde’s lovely adaptation of the classic same-name novel: one belonging to Miss Taylor, the other to our leading lady, Emma, a meddling matchmaker who wants to couple up all her friends. On another note, star Anya Taylor-Joy wore a vintage Bob Mackie wedding dress to the film’s premiere.
Palm Springs
The cinema-tested, audience-approved time loop shtick that worked beautifully for films including Groundhog Day, Happy Death Day, and Edge of Tomorrow gets the wedding treatment with the hilarious Palm Springs. A nihilistic comedy that flirts with the science fiction and horror genres, this Hulu gem stars SNL’s Andy Samberg and How I Met Your Mother's Cristin Milioti as a pair of wedding guests who find themselves living the same day over and over again and—as all romantic comedies require—falling in love.
Coming to America
No stranger to the arranged marriage, African Prince Akeem treks to Queens, New York, in search of a wife he actually wants to put a ring on. Co-written by its star, Eddie Murphy, Coming to America is an ’80s classic most of the world has seen by now, but in the off chance you, dear reader, have yet to hit play on this must-see, then we’ll just say that the pretty pink wedding dress featured in the film’s climax isn’t the only surprise. Plus, there’s even more royal revelry to be had in the recently released sequel.
Looking: The Movie
Fans of the HBO series Looking were gutted when the series got the ax. But fortunately, co-creator Andrew Haigh (director of the stellar Weekend) had their backs, as he got to work on giving his characters the nuanced sendoff they deserve. His film follows its main trio of San Francisco gay men (Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, and Murray Bartlett), along with their friends, as they gather for a wedding. Loose ends are tied, romantic connections are made, and “I dos” are finally said.
Ali's Wedding
Ali’s Wedding is a thoughtful, autobiographical jewel that pulls from its star-slash-screenwriter’s own experiences. The film begins with a tuxedoed groom (Osamah Sami), riding a tractor, then crashing into a cop car. But the slapstick, for the most part, ends there. A sincere yet humorous deep dive into the upbringing of Ali, an Iraqi immigrant living in a Melbourne Muslim community; the arranged marriage he agrees to; and the actual love of his life, an Australian-born Lebanese lovely, this little indie is full of wonderful surprises.
The Wedding Planner
A throwback romantic comedy, The Wedding Planner plays by all the rules and tropes of the genre before its recent evolution, but that didn’t stop it from launching a solid rom-com era for each of its leads, Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Lopez, with Lopez still riding her wave (she has Shotgun Wedding and Marry Me releasing next year). Here, in Adam Shankman’s 2001 film, Lopez plays Mary Fiore, a wedding planner who falls in love with someone else’s groom, played by McConaughey.
Sabrina
Though it’s not the titular character here whose wedding is in the works, it is, however, that of a man who is in love with her. Let us explain. Starring Old Hollywood’s It-starlet Audrey Hepburn (and a marvelous organza Givenchy gown), Billy Wilder’s 1954 classic finds itself in a love triangle occupied by Hepburn’s Sabrina and the wealthy brothers Linus (Humphrey Bogart) and David (William Holden). It’s younger brother David, a forever bachelor, who is on the verge of tying the knot—until, of course, he meets the new Sabrina. Sometimes the climax isn’t so much “I do” as it is “I choose you.”
The Wedding Plan
The dress has been chosen, the menu set, and the guest list decided—there’s just one problem: Michal no longer has a groom. Blindsided by her fiancé a month before their big day, Michal gets a bit of news no bride wants to hear: that her man doesn’t love her. Awful, yes, but this is a comedy after all—and writer-director Rama Burshtein’s Hebrew film is brimming with reasons to laugh. Namely, Michal is certain that God will manifest her a new fiancé just in time for her wedding day. No postponements here!
Father of the Bride
Strategically released around the date of Elizabeth Taylor’s real-life wedding to Conrad Hilton Jr., the 1950 version of Father of the Bride, a romantic comedy dedicated to the titular patriarch pegged with the nagging irritations the big day requires, was a massive critical success starring Taylor and Spencer Tracy. And the same can be said of the 1991 Nancy Meyers remake (pictured here) starring Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Honestly, it’s a toss-up at which one we recommend you watch first.
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Julia Roberts plays Julianne, a feisty, big-haired food critic, in love with her longtime best friend, Michael (Dermot Mulroney), a local-news sportswriter engaged to Kimmy (Cameron Diaz), a filthy-rich daddy’s girl sweeter than the buttercream on the couple’s multi-tier wedding cake. Hell-bent on sabotaging their nuptials, Jules lies, deceives, and gets downright Machiavellian in her schemes, resulting in an amusing and charming rom-com that manages to reinvent the genre’s requisite happy ending.
Love Actually
We know, Love Actually is actually an essential holiday classic. But it’s also an essential holiday classic that begins with one of the best wedding scenes to ever have been spooled into a reel can. You have Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Peter and Andrew Lincoln’s Mark bantering over prostitutes and a no-surprises promise at the altar as groom and best man, respectively, before turning around to Keira Knightley’s Juliet proceeding down the aisle in a supremely British wedding gown. Of course, there’s a surprise. And, of course, you’re responsible for reminding yourself of what that is with another viewing.
Steel Magnolias
A film for every season, holiday, or special occasion, the 1989 classic from director Herbert Ross covers every base from saying “I do” to hunting Easter eggs. About the goings-on in a small Louisiana town, its yarn is spun through the gossiping friend group who chinwag at a local beauty parlor. Embodied by a crew of prized powerhouse actresses including Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, and Shirley MacLaine as a wickedly glorious curmudgeon, their first order of business is getting Shelby (Roberts) ready for her big day.
Crazy Rich Asians
The all-Asian cast, led by Constance Wu and Henry Golding, in Jon M. Chu’s film adapted from Kevin Kwan’s same-name global bestseller was a beautiful thing to see when it premiered. And so was the star-studded, dripping-in-opulence Singaporean wedding come to life. From an aisle made of flowing water to a gorgeous wedding procession rendition of Can't Help Falling in Love by Kina Grannis to the otherwordly wedding dress—it's also worth pointing out that this film, punctuated with a wedding scene, actually ends with a proposal—promising yet another crazy rich wedding in the second part of the three-film series. While we wait for China Rich Girlfriend, this film is still worth watching on repeat.
Ready or Not
Dearly beloved, the cast in this contemporary mumblegore thriller were gathered here today to run for their mother-loving lives. Samara Weaving, the rising star in Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, stunned last summer in this sleeper hit as Grace, a bride who marries her dream man and then spends her wedding night trying to survive her in-laws. Literally. It’s the result of a savage tradition: The newest member of the family’s gaming dynasty draws a card; the fam then plays the game on the card. Simple as that.
The Graduate
In the annals of unforgettable film endings, nestled somewhere between Humphrey Bogart’s “beautiful friendship” in Casablanca and the New Year’s Eve love rant in When Harry Met Sally, there’s Dustin Hoffman crashing his ex-girlfriend’s wedding in Mike Nichols’s ’60s-era seduction comedy. A pleasurable albeit awkward watch, The Graduate follows the sexual prowess of Ben (Hoffman), a recent college grad who’s getting schooled between the sheets by his ex-girlfriend’s mother, Mrs. Robinson. How he comes to realize his need for a wedding objection? Well, just hit the below “watch” button to find out.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Nia Vardalos, the comedienne extraordinaire who borrowed from her real-life love story and Greek heritage to supply the garish antics and culture-clash hilarity for a rom-com that would become a big fat hit in 2002, stars opposite Sex and the City’s John Corbett, a.k.a. the closest a mortal can get to a Greek god without being Greek. Produced by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson (a Greek American herself), the film is a national treasure—no matter the nation.
Bridesmaids
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo proved with their Oscar-nominated screenplay that the world was not only ready for female-fronted raunch comedies, but it was starved for them. A bridal-themed laugh riot highlighting a squad of funny ladies, stars Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper each as comically unique as their own individual style. Bridesmaids ushered in an entire subgenre of films celebrating girls behaving badly—Bachelorette, Girls Trip, Ibiza—and asked the likeminded not-so gentlemen of films like The Hangover and Very Bad Things to kindly take several seats and enjoy the show.
Royal Wedding
Toe-tapping phenom Fred Astaire and perky starlet Jane Powell play a brother-and-sister Broadway duo who trip the light fantastic across the pond to capitalize on Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten’s royal wedding in London. While there, romance, challenges, and more splendacious encounters ensue (read: Astaire even dances with a monkey). A 1951 Technicolor classic, the film is packed with musical numbers and—without giving too much away—multiple weddings.
DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.
19 Unique & Romantic 4th Anniversary Gift Ideas
The Best 10th Anniversary Gifts Ideas to Shop Now
10 Must-Have Items on Your Wedding Registry
10 Rehearsal Dinner Ideas for 2022 Weddings
