Summary

• TV weddings often involve drama and obstacles before the ceremony, adding narrative significance.
• Some TV weddings, like Jake and Amy's in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, are tear-jerkingly long-awaited.
• The darkest TV weddings, like the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones, involve actual murder.

Has a wedding on a TV show ever not turned into a complete disaster? The flowers and musicians arrive on time, no exes show up to make the almost married couple second guess their feelings, an all-out massacre doesn't take place, and everything goes off without a hitch? Not very often. Even the best TV wedding episodes where the happy couple has a perfect ceremony usually involve a little bit of drama beforehand to give the milestone episode even more narrative significance.

TV shows of all genres thrive off of the extra drama derived from a wedding episode. Sitcom wedding episodes often involve all the logistics of the wedding going wrong before the couple and their wedding party rallies for an improvised but touching ceremony. Examples from drama TV shows range from bittersweet closure with an ex to someone publicly being left at the altar. However, the darkest TV weddings originate on HBO, where a "disastrous wedding" likely means actual murder taking place.

10 Jake & Amy (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

Season 5, Episode 22: "Jake & Amy"

The wedding of two characters who have been a part of the story since the beginning is a milestone for any TV show. Jake and Amy deal with some typical wedding problems: The ringbearer is sick, the cake hasn't arrived, and Amy's veil is dirty, all of which Jake handles with aplomb. Less typical is the bomb threat to their venue and Amy's ex-boyfriend Teddy showing up as the captain of the bomb squad. Charles saves the day by setting up the wedding outside the precinct where Jake and Amy are married in one of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's sweetest moments.

9 Blair & Louis' Wedding (Gossip Girl)

Season 5, Episode 13: "G.G."

The long-awaited wedding of Blair and Prince Louis did not disappoint in being one of Gossip Girl's most dramatic episodes. While Blair manages her father and stepfather arguing over who will walk her down the aisle and Chuck grapples with his feelings for Blair, Georgina and Gossip Girl plot to turn the wedding into a disaster worthy of the name. Before the wedding, Blair and Chuck confess their feelings for each other, and are filmed by Georgina.

During the ceremony itself, Gossip Girl sends the video to all the guests of Blair professing her love. The couple goes through with the wedding and Blair becomes a princess, but Louis tells her that he only did it for show and that their marriage will only be a contract. Blair then calls Dan to help her flee the wedding.

8 Emily & Daniel's Wedding (Revenge)

Season 3, Episode 10: "Exodus"

Emily's plan to exact revenge on the Grayson family for framing her father comes to a head at her and Daniel's wedding. She plots to fake her death and frame Victoria Grayson for her murder at the wedding. Things go awry when Daniel overhears what Emily is planning and learns of her true identity. Angry and drunk, he then shoots his new wife while they are on a yacht. In true Revenge fashion, Emily's allies Aiden and Nolan then find her bloody wedding dress washed up on shore.

7 Edith's First Wedding (Downton Abbey)

Season 3, Episode 3

Most of Downton Abbey's characters care about propriety and not making a scene – which is why Sir Anthony leaving Lady Edith at the altar is so shocking. Everything appears to be going fine, with Cora and Violet helping with the arrangements, while Mary convinces Matthew to use his inheritance to save Downton. Throughout it all, Edith is painfully, blissfully happy that she is finally getting her romantic marriage. But Anthony still thinks that he is shackling Edith. When Anthony stops the ceremony and flees, Edith is devastated. It is one of her saddest moments in all of Downton Abbey.

6 The Green Wedding (House Of The Dragon)

Season 1, Episode 5: "We Light The Way"

In the tradition of Game of Thrones, fans nicknamed Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Ser Laenor Velaryon's wedding "the Green Wedding" shortly after the episode aired, in honor of Queen Alicent Hightower's symbolic green dress. Things are already tense because everyone is wondering what Rhaenyra's wedding will mean in the dispute over King Viserys' successor. Alicent then arrives in the middle of Viserys' speech wearing a brilliant green dress. Larys and Harwin Strong comment that green is the color of war for the Hightower family, revealing that Alicent is announcing her intention to fight for her son's right to the throne.

And things only get worse from there. Ser Criston Cole beats Ser Joffrey Lonmouth to death in the middle of the party after Joffery implies that he believes Criston and Rhaenyra are lovers. Rhaenyra and Laenor have a quiet, rushed wedding with only a few family present after everyone else has fled. Laenor is crying during the ceremony, devastated by the death of Joffrey, who was his lover.

5 April's First Wedding (Grey's Anatomy)

Season 10, Episode 12: "Get Up, Stand Up"

Most of the Grey Sloan Memorial staff would probably like to forget April's almost-wedding to Matthew. April and Jackson have both assured their partners that they no longer have feelings for each other and Jackson is only coming to the wedding as a friend. Jackson then stands up and professes his love for April. The next episode begins with them running from the wedding hand in hand, smiling broadly. As soon as they get into the car, their faces change to looks of horror. They spend the next episode trying to pick up the pieces and end up eloping.

4 Mitch & Cam's Wedding (Modern Family)

Season 5, Episodes 23 & 24: "The Wedding"

Mitch and Cam's long-awaited wedding also meets plenty of obstacles. Things are tense between Mitch and his father Jay because Jay its in the previous episode that he is still uncomfortable with his son marrying a man. On the day of the wedding, everyone is forced to evacuate the venue because of an approaching wildfire. They find another venue, but are interrupted by the couple who originally booked it. Mitch and Cam are ready to call it when Jay arranges for their wedding to take place at his country club. Jay and his wife Gloria walk Mitch down the aisle.

3 Connor & Willa's Wedding (Succession)

Season 4, Episode 3: "Connor's Wedding"

The Roy family seems to suffer from the same wedding curse as Westeros' nobles – no wedding event can take place without ending in tragedy. While Shiv and Tom's wedding in season 1 involves several catastrophes, Connor and Willa's wedding in season 4 marks a turning point for the show. Logan Roy bails on his son's wedding to go to a business meeting. He then falls ill while on a plane with his son-in-law Tom. Tom calls Shiv and her brothers, believing that Logan is dying.

Logan's heart stops while Tom is on the phone with the siblings, who are all devastated, despite their strained relationship with their father. They deliver the news to Connor, who decides with Willa to move forward with the wedding. While Connor and Willa are married with just a few guests present, the other siblings go to meet Logan's plane when it lands. Logan's death signals that the central storyline of the show – who will succeed him as CEO of Waystar Royco – is about to reach its conclusion.

2 Ross & Emily's Wedding (Friends)

Season 4, Episodes 23 & 24: "The One With Ross's Wedding"

One of the most iconic wedding disasters of all time is Ross saying the wrong name at the altar when he is marrying Emily in London. After Rachel's mad rush to London to tell Ross that she loves him and deciding not to upon arrival, it seems like the danger has ed. While it was rushed, Ross and Emily's relationship has always been blissfully romantic, and it seems like they are getting their happy ending. The illusion shatters when Ross accidentally says "Rachel."

1 The Red Wedding (Game Of Thrones)

Season 3, Episode 9: "The Rains Of Castamere"

The Red Wedding remains one of the most infamous TV episodes in history. Robb and Catelyn Stark attend the wedding of Catelyn's brother and one of Walder Frey's daughters, believing they have smoothed things over with House Frey. This proves disastrously wrong when it is revealed that the Freys and Robb's own bannerman Roose Bolton have allied with the Lannisters and plotted to assassinate the Starks and their allies. Disaster weddings on TV appear in every genre and range in magnitude, but at least they do not all end in slaughter.