25 Wedding-Planning Lessons From Our Favorite (and Least Favorite) On-Screen Couples

Feeling exhausted from all that wedding planning? You’ve earned a little break. Kick back and prepare to be inspired by our favorite movie and television nuptials. Here are 25 tips we’ve learned from them.

11. Don’t make your bridal party wear hideous dresses.

27 Dresses: Jane has been a bridesmaid 27 times, and she’s got the wardrobe to prove it. Most of the dresses are so ugly, it’s unimaginable that someone would actually ask a friend to wear one (never mind pay for it too!) Luckily, at Jane’s own wedding later on, she recruits 27 friends to act as her bridesmaids, so the dresses each get one more use. 

12. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t ignore it.

Gilmore Girls: Lorelai loves Max, but as her wedding date approaches, she doesn’t seem as enthusiastic as she should be. It all comes to a head on the night of her bachelorette party, when her mother fondly remembers how she used to try on her own wedding dress every night when she was engaged. After Lorelai breaks up with Max, she sadly tells Rory, “It’s because I didn't want to try on my wedding dress every night." While it’s a difficult time for everyone involved, Lorelai ultimately made the right decision for herself.

13. Feeling nervous or stressed? Never underestimate the power of a good sing-along.

My Best Friend's Wedding: The film’s best scene is when the entire rehearsal dinner bursts into song with “I Say A Little Prayer.” Even the miserable Julianne — who desperately wishes she was the one marrying Michael — breaks out a smile. (Another lesson to be learned from this one? Don’t make a marriage pact with your best friend. Just don’t.)

14. Practice those dance moves beforehand.

Full House: Before their wedding, Rebecca mentions to Jesse that her family has a tradition of celebratory square dancing. She soon has the whole gang practicing in the living room (much to Jesse’s dismay!).

15. Give your toast-makers some guidance on how long they should talk (and off-limits topics).

Sherlock: At Watson and Mary’s wedding, best man Sherlock gives a toast that lasts the majority of the 86-minute episode. (He starts talking about an unsolved mystery and gets caught up in solving it, naturally.) While the absurdly long speech is interesting in this instance, your family probably doesn’t want to listen to your college friend ramble on about the good ol' days for more than a few minutes.

16. Schedule your bachelor or bachelorette parties well in advance of your big day.

The Hangover: Two days before his wedding, Doug and his friends go to Las Vegas for a truly wild night. In fact, things get so crazy that when the groomsmen wake up the next morning, they have no memory of what happened — and they’ve lost Doug! That phone call to Doug’s fiancée, Tracy, does not go well.

17. Don’t wait until the last minute to try a drastic hair style.

How I Met Your Mother: Marshall gets highlighted tips right before his wedding. Afterward, he freaks out over how ridiculous he looks and, in a panicked moment, grabs the razor and shaves off a strip of hair in the middle of his head. Needless to say, he ends up wearing a fedora for the rest of the night.

18. Be careful about taking any new medications right before the big day.

Sixteen Candles: As if she didn’t have enough to worry about already, Ginny gets stuck with painful menstrual cramps on her wedding day, and takes four(!) muscle relaxers to help with the pain. She ends up passing out before the ceremony and barely manages to stumble down the aisle once she’s revived. 

19. Tread carefully when deciding whether to include your pets.

The Brady Bunch: In the first ever episode, Mike (a father of three boys) and Carol (a mother of three girls) get married. During the ceremony, the boys’ dog starts chasing the girls’ cat around, completely disrupting the event. (Mike and Carol might have been upset, but at least it made for good TV!).

20. Make sure you get your partner’s name right at the altar. 

Friends: Everyone knows Ross and Rachel were meant for each other, but there was that time Ross got married to Emily instead. Clearly even he recognized that something wasn’t right, as he accidentally says “Rachel” during the vows. Yikes. 

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