We all love love, and nothing screams the L-word louder than a walk down the aisle. Once you take away all the logistics, it's just two people declaring that they'll love each other forever in front of everybody they hold dear—it's enough to bring a tear to your eye, right? That's probably why stories about people tying the knot have been popular since the days of Shakespeare.
Just like real weddings, movies about the big day can make you laugh, cry, or cringe (or, sometimes, all three). Below, find our recommendations of the best wedding movies of all time.
'27 Dresses' (2008)
This Katherine Heigl rom-com (from the writer of The Devil Wears Prada, no less) offers an examination of the old saying "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." But even if you don't care about watching a smart, funny lady find love, there's plenty to love in the schadenfreude of the hilariously hideous bridesmaid dresses that co-star in the movie.
'Anyone But You' (2023)
Centuries later, Shakespeare’s work continues to inspire our modern stories, as seen in this 2023 rom-com that was loosely based on the 16th century’s Much Ado About Nothing. It stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as two people whose one-night stand ended in disastrous misunderstanding and who, six months later, find themselves attending the same tiny wedding in Australia. At the affair, they proceed to almost completely ruin it with their constant zig-zagging between bickering and not-so-fake flirting.
'Bride Wars' (2009)
Best friends tend to have a lot in common (duh), and that can include a shared taste in wedding-related things, like venues and vendors. That's all well and good, unless you happen to find yourself planning a wedding at the same time as said friend and end up fighting over who gets what. The Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway vehicle Bride Wars follows two best friends whose bond deteriorates as they plan dueling weddings.
'Bridesmaids' (2011)
Pop culture and decades of gender stereotypes tell us that women are supposed to love weddings and everything related to them. But some women aren't born with the perfect-wedding-planning gene, and some women aren't happy to just put all of their own issues on hold for a year to plan their best friend's big day. Enter Bridesmaids, which captures the internal conflict and external stress that many women face not just during their own wedding planning process, but also that of their closest friends.
'Crazy Rich Asians' (2018)
Big events like weddings are a chance to meet your S.O.'s friends and family. For anyone who has ever gone into the meeting-the-family step of the relationship feeling like they have a target (or a "kick me" sign) on their back, Crazy Rich Asians is here to remind you that you are not alone. And to anyone who relishes in over-the-top, luxe AF weddings, the movie's actual wedding scene is truly next-level.
'Father of the Bride' (1991)
Most wedding movies are a fantasy, but Father of the Bride gets brutally real about the stress that comes with planning a fairytale celebration of love. Steve Martin stars as a beleaguered dad struggling to watch his daughter grow up—and to stomach the skyrocketing costs of a "smallish" at-home wedding.
'The Five-Year Engagement' (2012)
Sometimes love takes priority, but sometimes life gets in the way. For every couple who has ever felt ready to commit, but then, for whatever reason, hasn't been able actually to get the wedding planned and executed, The Five-Year Engagement is here for you.
'Four Weddings and a Funeral' (1994)
This British classic stars a young Hugh Grant as a 20-something at the peak of marriage season. In a year, he goes to four weddings and (you guessed it) one funeral—and the events of these weddings, and the funeral, are life-changing. Come for the famous line, "Is it raining? I hadn't noticed," and stay for Grant in his prime.
'Mamma Mia!' (2008)
We're honestly not sure what's more magical: eternal love or the songs of ABBA. With Mamma Mia!, you thankfully don't have to choose. The riotous big-screen adaptation of the Broadway hit stars Meryl Streep as a mother of the bride (Amanda Seyfried) who finds herself unexpectedly confronted by all three men who could be her daughter's dad.
'Meet the Parents' (2000)
Speaking of using a family wedding as the chance to meet your S.O.'s parents, we can't leave out the 2000s classic Meet the Parents. The hilarious film led by Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro explores the comedy that comes with introducing the love of your life to your family, all set against the backdrop of a wedding.
'Monster-in-Law' (2005)
Marriage isn’t only about the union of two people—there are whole families are involved, too. Very involved, in the case of this hilariously cringey movie, which stars Jane Fonda as the titular overbearing mother of the groom. She thoroughly disapproves of her son’s wife-to-be (Jennifer Lopez) and so spends the months leading up to the wedding trying to sabotage the whole thing. Just wait ’til you see her wedding day outfit.
'My Best Friend's Wedding' (1997)
Sometimes, weddings are bittersweet: Like, for example, if you love the groom and want him to be happy, but have recently come to realize that you love the groom and want him to be happy with you, specifically. That's the premise of Julia Roberts's wedding classic, about a woman trying to be happy for her best friend, while also low-key trying to steal him away from his bubbly fiancée.
'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' (2002)
Some movies are about the general idea of weddings or people who work in the industry, and other movies are about the entire process of planning and executing a wedding. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the latter and throws in some hilarious cultural commentary to boot.
'Plus One' (2019)
Alice and Ben (Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid) are longtime friends who, while commiserating over their seemingly endless lists of weddings to attend one summer, agree to be each other’s plus ones for all the events. You’ll never guess what happens to these definitely totally platonic friends as they attend lovefest after lovefest, sharing sweet dances and compact hotel rooms along the way.
'Polite Society' (2023)
In a very fun twist on the “family member sabotaging a wedding” trope, this action-comedy movie follows teenager Ria (Priya Kansara)—who aspires to be a stuntwoman and performs martial arts as her alter ego The Fury—as she attempts to dissuade her older sister from getting married. Her efforts start as a classic difference in priorities, but once she catches wind of a much more sinister plot, they take on a whole new urgency.
'The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement' (2004)
Five years after Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) accepted her unexpected role as princess of Genovia, the fresh college graduate arrives in the tiny European country to take over from her grandmother (Julie Andrews) as queen. Because of an outdated law requiring Genovia’s queen to be married, however, Mia suddenly has a month to find a husband—a task made all the more difficult by the very distracting presence of her annoyingly charming rival to the throne, Lord Nicholas Devereaux (Chris Pine).
'The Proposal' (2009)
In this “marriage of convenience” story, Sandra Bullock plays a high-powered book editor who begrudgingly proposes to her long-suffering assistant (Ryan Reynolds) purely so she can keep working in the U.S. To sell the sham marriage to immigration officials, they travel to his tiny hometown in Alaska for a big family celebration and end up getting much closer (both physically and emotionally) than expected.
'Ticket to Paradise' (2022)
Julia Roberts and George Clooney star as a formerly married couple who have hated each other ever since they divorced 20 years ago. When their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) informs them that she’s fallen in love on a post-college graduation trip to Bali and plans to stay there, get married, and abandon her plans to go to law school, they tag-team to travel abroad and change her mind. Truly, nothing brings people together like a plot to sabotage the wedding of a loved one!
'Wedding Crashers' (2005)
Every wedding has a few guests who no one really knows, from the distant relative with an obligatory invite to the out-of-town friend whom you invited but never thought would travel for the ceremony. Exploiting that awkwardness to party on other people's dime is the premise of Wedding Crashers, to hilarious results.
'The Wedding Date' (2005)
To avoid showing up solo to the wedding of her younger sister (played to bratty perfection by Amy Adams), where her ex-fiancé will be the best man, Debra Messing’s Kat hires an escort named Nick (wedding movie royalty Dermot Mulroney) to pose as her boyfriend. Let’s just say Nick does a little too good of a job convincing everyone—maybe even including the two of them—that they're deeply in love.
'The Wedding Planner' (2001)
The Wedding Planner feels like it was created in a lab using only the known ingredients of classic, early-aughts rom-coms. Take one perfect Jennifer Lopez, add one charming Matthew McConaughey, stir in a wedding-themed plot featuring a woman torn between kicking ass at her job and following her heart, and mix it all together. Shake well and serve with a bottle of wine of your choice.
'The Wedding Singer' (1998)
Some rom-com leads just click, with the kind of chemistry you can't manufacture on demand. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler have proven, over the years, to be such a pairing. Their 1998 rom-com The Wedding Singer marks the beginning of their decades-spanning on-screen love.
