One of the many fun aspects of planning your wedding is gathering inspiration!! Another great component of stress-free wedding planning is walking away from it time to time. What better way than to curl up with a glass of wine (ok champagne) and popping some fresh popcorn to a collection of wedding-themed movies!
Here is our list of the ‘top 10’ wedding movie picks!
10) Bride Wars, 2009 Kate Hudson & Anne Hathaway
I adore both Hudson & Hathaway, so when this movie was first released in the box office, I *had* to go see it. This ‘tragedy of errors’ had me laughing out loud and really wondering what lengths some ladies might go to, in order to ensure their perfect day went off without a hitch. My take away: (if possible) do not wed on the same day as your bff!
9) 27 Dresses, 2008 Katherine Heigl, James Marsden
My particular favorite hidden fairy tale of 27 dresses is the old adage of kissing a toad to turn him into your prince charming. It was also really fun to see Katherine Heigl’s quirky character modeling 27 different dresses from pretty much any themed wedding you can imagine!
8) The Five Year Engagement, 2012 Jason Segel, Emily Blunt
Yes, sometimes life can get in the way of life if you let it! Though this is fiction it is important to make note of this story and really determine what is most important to you and your relationship. This movie was more of a comedy with a wedding at the end as a bonus. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt together made for a perfect on-screen match. If you are particularly fond of Jason Segel’s brand of comedy but somehow missed this one you’ll definitely want to catch it!
7) Corpse Bride, 2005
Though this is a stop-motion animated film, words cannot express how much I love Tim Burton’s point of view so I had to include this! His cinematography is rivaled by none, in my humble opinion. Oh yeah, and Johnny Depp voiced one of the main characters, you know if you’re into the whole Johnny Depp heart-throb thing. Though Tim Burton has a very dark point of view this movie stills come off as very whimsical. The central love story between Victor & Victoria is very sweet, unassuming and innocent. I happily forked over my dollars at the box office for this movie twice!
6) Father of the Bride, 1991 Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short
This film has such a great perspective from the viewpoint of the ‘Father of the Bride’. It opens with Martin’s character saying “I use to think a wedding was a simple affair…….” which really sets the tone for the whole movie! That really made me wonder how many others planning a wedding may have echoed the same sentiment until they dirtied their hands with the not so simple complexities of wedding planning. I think my fiancee is experiencing a bit of this himself! Such a great movie though, and I will admit I only caught it two weeks ago when it aired on cable so it was interesting to see the differences from a 1991 (movie) wedding to what is on trend now.
**Disclaimer – I have never watched the original, 1950, Elizabeth Taylor version. Boo for me**
5) The Wedding Singer, 1998 Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore
Funnyman extraordinaire Adam Sandler does not disappoint in this wedding central movie, set in the 1980’s. Sandler and Barrymore have a great onscreen chemistry together (see: 50 First Dates) you are bound to chuckle in this romantic comedy infused with 80’s pop culture, Flock of Seagulls hairdo and all! The lyrics “You love her, but she loves him, and he loves somebody else, you just can’t win!” set the tone for this back and forth on screen romance until Sandler & Barrymore finally come together in wedded bliss. I own a copy of this on Beta… I mean VHS! Have a mentioned I have a vast VHS collection from my former days of employe at Blockbuster Video?
4) My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 2002 Nia Vardalos, John Corbett
If you have ever felt the prying eyes of your large overbearing, yet loving, family, on your relationship, I’m sure you can relate to this film. This wedding movie is a cult classic. To me this movie makes its way around the overly loud, overly loving Portokalos family and laces in the central love story to keep you in stitches and also find yourself saying “awwwwww”, isn’t it great when a movie can do that? I can watch this movie on repeat and laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME!! Although sometimes the DVD begins to skip, so I just put a little Windex on it.
3) Steel Magnolias, 1989, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts
Break out the tissues because there will not be a dry eye in the house when you finish this movie! I can not watch this movie and NOT cry, it’s not possible! It starts big, with Julia Roberts’ very southern very pink very romantic wedding and ultimately ends with her passing (cue waterworks). Steel Magnolias will bring you to the brink of happiness and meld it with utter devastation. Heavy content laced with the occasional laugh and a deep overtone of togetherness and love, from all characters perspectives.
2) Cinderella, Disney, 1950
I couldn’t compile this list and skip a Disney movie! I can’t say enough wonderful things about how much I love this movie! If you haven’t visited my about section yet then you may have guessed that I plucked my business name from this film. This movie resonated with me so much as a child, it was also the first Disney movie I ever owned (on VHS in the classic clam-shell case). Every girl wants to believe they are going to find their prince and live a happily ever after.
1) Sex and the City, 2008, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis
Is this a ‘wedding movie’….?…….well it’s a modern day romance with a wedded ending, a stark distance from my number 2 pick. I am only mildly Sara Jessica Parker obsessed so it’s no wonder this landed at my number 1. A tale of four friends running around NYC swathed in couture while chasing love and friendship and living out their big careers. Carrie and Big go back and forth for 10 years until they arrive at a very formal, almost business agreement, to marry one another. Big of course backs out at the last minute and we are left watching Carrie and the girls live out life in the big city. In the final act, Carrie opens her inbox (how much more modern can you get) to find all of the love letters that Big sent to her in vain. We close with a City Hall wedding, an impromptu dinner reception, and a now very infamous pair of blue Manolo’s. To me, this is where Sex and the City ends on a high note.
Ok loves, what is your favorite wedding movie of all time?