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We’ve got weddings on the brain lately. Between the upcoming royal wedding Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle AND the epic double wedding on The CW crossover last week, who can blame us? It may be late fall (and not traditionally wedding season), but there’s clearly never a wrong time to get into the wedding-spirit. With so much love in the air, we’re rounding up our favorite TV weddings of all time.

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Prince Charles & Princess Diana, July 29, 1981

While Prince Harry prepares for his own wedding, he will no doubt get a lot of advice on royal matrimony from his father Prince Charles whose 1981 wedding to Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was watched by 750 million worldwide.  Often referred to as “the wedding of the century,” this was such a huge event that the UK had a national holiday on that day.  While the wedding itself was billed as a “fairytale,” the marriage did eventually come to an end in 1996.

Luke & Laura, General Hospital

On November 16, 1981, 30 million viewers tuned in to ABC’s soap opera General Hospital to watch the much-anticipated nuptials of Luke and Laura, making it the most iconic TV wedding of all time. The wedding wasn’t without controversy for its problematic romance and ‘Retcon’ (retroactive continuity) plot line and wedding day sabotage executed perfectly by Elizabeth Taylor guest starring as Helena Cassadine. Still, the couple endured with the character of Luke (played by actor Anthony Geary) leaving General Hospital for good in 2015. Nearly 40 years later, this TV wedding is held as the most influential moment in the history of daytime television.

Monica & Chandler, Friends

Friends may have started out all about Ross and Rachel, but Monica and Chandler were the surprise couple that ended up stealing the show. They just make sense together, and their best friend banter only strengthened as they fell in love. Their wedding was everything it needed to be: romantic and loving and just a little ridiculous. From officiant Joey showing up at the very last minute to Rachel’s hidden pregnancy news, this TV wedding will go down in history as one of the most iconic.

Whitley & Dwayne, A Different World

For years, Whitley and Dwayne teased us all with their on-again-off-again-relationship. Just when we had given up all hope, Dwayne swooped in on Whitely’s wedding day to win back his girl and send her fiancé Byron packing. Soon Dwayne and Whitely were spontaneously wed and everyone in the audience was swooning. Dramatic and fun, this is exactly the kind of TV wedding we can get behind.

Corey & Topanga, Boy Meets World

Be still our teenage hearts! We’d been watching Corey and Topanga fall in love for years, so when they finally tied the knot in Season 7, we were overjoyed. Of course, they weren’t even the couple supposed to be married that day. But thanks to Eric’s ploy to steal the venue, we got to hear lines like this: “The only thing that ever made sense to me was you.” *CRIES ALL THE TEARS*

Jim & Pam, The Office

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You could practically feel the tension leading up to Jim and Pam’s wedding, while the two tried in vain to manage their coworkers, their families, and the stress of the big day. But neither lost sight of what it was really about, and right before their ‘official’ ceremony they ran off to get married by a boat captain on a Niagara Falls tour. Spontaneous and romantic, Jim and Pam once again prove that their love is beyond enviable. 

Jamie & Claire, Outlander

Sure, Claire and Jamie were kind of coerced into marrying each other (at least on Claire’s part), but that didn’t stop it from being one of the most poignant weddings on TV. Not only did Jamie insist that Claire have a lovely dress for the ceremony, but he also showed up looking pretty dashing in his kilt. And the blood vow they took in addition to their Catholic vows was fascinating (if a little unhygienic). The 45-minute sex scene that followed certainly didn’t hurt matters either. Theirs wasn’t necessarily a marriage of love – not to start anyway – but it was the beginning of one of the most passionate relationships on TV.

Ben & Leslie, Parks & Recreation

Once again, TV proves that spontaneous weddings are the best kind of weddings. This is definitely true for Ben and Leslie, who got married on the spur of the moment in Season 5. Leslie wore a dress made partially out of newspapers, Ron gave her away, and all of their friends were there to watch. It was sweet and perfect and everything we wanted it to be. Plus they wed in City Hall, which feels 100% right for this political power couple.

Kevin & Scotty, Brothers and Sisters

Kevin and Scotty’s marriage was iconic for a lot of reasons, and not just because it was the first ever same-sex marriage between series regulars to be featured on TV. Though they had planned it as a simple ceremony, Kitty, Kevin’s Mom, had other ideas. She decked the room out in flowers and greenery, making it feel both intimate and like something out of a fairytale. Sure, the couple had a lot of ups and downs to go through afterwards, but their Season 2 ceremony was perfection.

The Wedding Date, Jasmine Guillory 

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If you love fun and quirky stories about weddings (and who doesn’t?), then be sure and preorder Guillory’s romantic debut, out next month. Bachelor Drew Nichols is in desperate need of a date to bring to his ex’s wedding. When he meets Alexa Monroe by chance in an elevator, he spontaneously asks her to go as his date, posing as his new girlfriend. The two have a blast in their fake relationship, but the fun’s over when they have to head back to their real lives the next day. In two separate cities with equally demanding jobs, Alexa and Drew have to decide if this was just a chance encounter, or if a long distance relationship is worth it if you might have just met the love of your life.

Last but not least, we have the CW crossover wedding event.  We’re still reeling from how cute it was watching good friends Barry Allen and Oliver Queen marry the loves of their lives in an impromptu ceremony after fighting off evil doppelgangers from another world. Here’s hoping that the royal wedding in May between Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle will have a whole lot less drama. Still, we love seeing a wedding on our TV screen – even if the priest does get incinerated during the ceremony.

 

What’s your favorite TV wedding of all time? Let us know in the comments!

 

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Rachel Carter

Rachel Carter grew up surrounded by trees and snow and mountains. She graduated from the University of Vermont and Columbia University, where she received her MFA in nonfiction writing. She is the author of the So Close to You series with Harperteen. These days you can find her working on her next novel in the woods of Vermont.

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