Have you ever noticed how TV weddings never seem to go as planned?
We often see our favorite couples spend weeks planning the perfect ceremony. They tour venues, try on dresses and tuxedos, sample twenty different varieties of cake, and yet when the big day comes, all of their planning goes right down the toilet.
Natural disasters, car crashes, wardrobe mishaps, and even the occasional cold feet can threaten to derail the couple’s ideal wedding.
We’ve decided to compile a list of some of the more noteworthy wedding day disasters, but the good news is, despite the universe’s best attempts, they all still made it down the aisle!
Check out some our favorite TV weddings that were nearly derailed, and be sure to let us know which ones you think were the craziest!
Alex and Jo – Grey’s Anatomy
Honestly, Grey’s weddings could take up a good portion of this slideshow by themselves. Everything seemed to be going well for Alex and Jo, until half of the wedding guests went to the wrong location. Since the wedding was delayed anyway, Alex and Jo took the opportunity to sneak off for a little fun, but then wound up locked in a shed with a corpse.
Needless to say, the wedding did not go as planned, but thanks to Meredith getting ordained online last minute, the couple tied the knot on the ferry ride back home. At least the wedding April planned didn’t go to waste — she ended up marrying Matthew!
Jake and Amy – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Jake and Amy went through a lot of turmoil to plan the perfect wedding, but it all went out the window when a bomb threat was called in, forcing everyone to evacuate the venue. If that wasn’t bad enough, the head of the bomb squad was taking his sweet time clearing the area thanks to the fact that he was still harboring feelings for Amy. To add insult to injury, Terry lost the veil!
By the time the bomb was found, the original wedding (and Amy’s dress) was caput. Luckily, Gina has no tact, and was planning to wear a white dress, saving Amy’s wardrobe. The rest of the team came together to turn the precint into a beautiful wedding venue, and the couple said their vows at the place where they spent the last couple of years falling in love.
Mike and Phoebe – Friends
If you plan a wedding in New York City in the winter, you run the risk of a snowstorm derailing everything. The blizzard was so bad, that the priest couldn’t make it. Luckily, Joey was still ordained from Chandler and Monica’s wedding, so he stepped in to officiate. Getting married on the street outside of Central Perk may not have been what they planned, but it was beautiful anyway. Thankfully it was a short ceremony, because Phoebe was freezing in just her dress!
Leonard and Penny – The Big Bang Theory
Leonard and Penny decided to elope in Las Vegas, which seemed spontaneous and romantic, until Leonard decided it was the perfect time to inform Penny that he had kissed another woman. His logic of wanting to go into their marriage with no secrets made sense, but this was something he should have disclosed to her much, much earlier. It very easily could have prompted Penny to put the kibosh on the whole thing, but they went through with a lovely ceremony with their own vows that their friends could stream online. The wedding didn’t end the fighting, but they eventually got through it. They even held a second ceremony for their families to attend.
Ben and Leslie – Parks and Recreation
Ben and Leslie decided they simply couldn’t wait any longer to be married. Everyone they loved was already in Pawnee, so why not go for it? Of course, spontaneous weddings tend to hit a few snags. Tom gets ordained to officiate, but it turns out his certificate won’t arrive for 24 hours. Ron and Ben go to a pawn shop for rings, but don’t find anything useful. Ann is tasked with making the dress, but it’s not going well.
In the end, it turns out Jerry is ordained, so he can perform the ceremony. Ron fashions two rings out of a fixture from the wall, and Ann makes one of the best wedding dresses in TV history out of documents from Leslie’s career.
Just when it seemed everything was working out, Jamm tries to ruin the wedding with stink bombs, causing Ron to punch him and get arrested. Ann bails him out, and the couple is surprised with a beautiful wedding inside the Parks and Recreation department. Honestly, it could not have been more perfect.
Marshall and Lily – How I Met Your Mother
It was one disaster after another for Marshall and Lily. First of all, Marshall, do not experiment with highlights on the day of your wedding. There is a reason most women do hair trials before the big day. The tips were bad enough, but they were still better than the bald spot he accidentally shaved trying to get rid of them. That wasn’t even the worst of it! The flowers weren’t there on time, the harpist went into labor, and Lily’s veil was ruined!
Most couples would have thrown in the towel at that point and rescheduled, but not these two. Their friends took them outside and helped them get the small, intimate wedding they’ve always wanted, complete with a guitar player. Thankfully, someone found Marshall a hat!
Castle and Beckett – Castle
Caskett fans were forced to wait a long time for the much anticipated wedding. On the way to the Hamptons, Castle was in a car crash, setting us up for a crazy and intense mystery. They did finally get married though, in a low key ceremony in front a green screen sunset. It wasn’t ideal (especially since Ryan and Esposito were not present), but their touching vows made up for it and couldn’t have been more perfect. Always.
Cam and Mitch – Modern Family
It all started when the dry cleaners gave Cam the wrong tuxedo, and of course, when he and Mitch went to get the right one, it was closed. They try getting in, but trigger the alarm, which alerts the owner. Thankfully, the owner gives them the right tux. Their problems didn’t end there though. Due to wildfires, they were forced to evacuate their original wedding location. They find another venue, but that one falls through as well. They try their own apartment, but it’s too small. The couple was just about to cancel the whole thing when Jay informs them that he’s booked his country club, which ends up being the perfect venue. Wedding saved!
Mouch and Platt – Chicago Fire
Sometimes couples are so perfect for each other, that they’re almost too perfect. Mouch and Platt’s wedding was nearly doomed by their own cold feet. The funny thing was, they were both worried about the same thing! They each had fears that they wouldn’t be able to keep up with the lifestyle they each thought the other wanted, but it turned out that both of them were perfectly happy spending the rest of their lives in sweats watching TV with bowls of Rocky Road. It would have been tragic if their wedding didn’t happen because of a few jitters, because they really are meant to be.
Mike and Rachel – Suits
The two lawyers were so busy that it was difficult for them to find time to plan their wedding, but they realized that they had to make it a priority. Of course, none of that ended up mattering, because Mike was offered a new job in Seattle, and they needed him there immediately. The couple wasn’t about to skip town without getting married first, so they moved it up, despite the fact that Harvey was in Chicago helping Jessica. Rachel enlists miracle worker Donna, who throws together a lovely ceremony, but they couldn’t possibly get married without Harvey though, could they?
Of course not! He arrives at the last second and serves as Mike’s best man. The long-delayed affair finally happened, with the couple exchanging vows in front of their family and friends before leaving everything behind.
Barry and Iris – The Flash
Those Nazi dopplegangers sure had terrible timing! Barry and Iris were just about to say their vows when they were interrupted by masked villains from Earth-X. Hey, at least all their super friends were there to lend a hand in a pretty epic fight scene! The wedding was temporarily put on hold until the crisis was averted, but by the end of the multi-show crossover, the couple did tie the knot in a low-key ceremony. Oliver and Felicity decided to join the fun and make it a double wedding!
Jesse and Becky – Full House
Oh Jesse, what were you thinking? Only a few hours before his wedding, he decided he needed to get in one last thrill before settling down, which apparently meant talking Joey into taking him up in a plane so he could jump out of it. Meanwhile, at the church, everyone wonders why Jesse is late. Well, it was due to the fact that his parachute got stuck in a tree, and he was left hanging (as were the viewers, because this was a two parter). Eventually he gets down, but he’s also arrested. Have mercy! Becky bails him out, and the two finally make it back to the church where they are married.
Schmidt and Cece – New Girl
The first crisis to hit could have been worse. Schmidt no longer has the flash drive that contained his wedding vows, but he, Nick, and Winston scramble to come up with new ones. The real problem occurred when Schmidt decided to get on a plane in an attempt to convince Cece’s mom to come to the wedding. He gets stuck (of course) and tells Cece to have the party without him, so she proceeds to carry him around on a tablet all day. Eventually, Schmidt makes it back to the loft, which is decorated with rose petals. He may have missed the big party, but it all worked out in the end.
David and Darlene – Roseanne
Okay, this one is kind of cheating, because the wedding happened before the big disaster, but if Dan’s heart attack had happened just a little sooner, it easily could have derailed the wedding. Regardless, it did ruin the reception, as everyone rushed to the hospital still in their wedding attire to check on the big fella. Luckily he survived (then died, then survived again) but sadly David and Darlene’s marriage did not.
Leo and Piper – Charmed
Remember when Prue’s astral self nearly ruined Piper and Leo’s wedding? What Prue thought were dreams were actually her astral self escaping, and let’s just say Piper was not thrilled when a man came crashing through their living room on a motorcycle, breaking up the wedding. It doesn’t help that Piper and Leo were in a time crunch as they need to get married before the elders find out about it. Luckily, they managed to get Prue back and pull it together in time, but just barely!
Cory and Topanga – Boy Meets World
Before Cory and Topanga, there was Cory and Shawn. On the day of the wedding, Cory and Shawn got in a huge fight, stemming from Shawn’s feelings that he was losing his best friend. It gets so bad that Shawn refuses to attend, and how could Cory get married without him by his side? Eric steps in as best man, and manages to get the wedding moved to a fancy location by basically hijacking another wedding. He forgets the rings, but luckily Shawn shows up in the nick of time with them. Cory and Shawn fight, but they talk it out and the wedding continues. The vows are touching, as is Shawn’s best man speech, and everything works out, at least until Mr. Peterman shows up and they all run like hell!
Derek and Meredith – Grey’s Anatomy
It’s possible that weddings on Grey’s may have been cursed. Meredith and Derek wanted a small, simple wedding, but because Izzy was dying of cancer, they let her plan something fancier…and then turned the whole thing over to her and Alex. Not long after that, they planned on getting married at City Hall, but they kept on having to delay it because of a patient (RIP George). That’s when the famous post-it note wedding was born. They wrote down their vows, signed it, and called it a day. Eventually, they did legally marry in order to facilate their adoption of Zola, but the post-it vows will always be the official MerDer wedding in our hearts.
