"The One with Ross's Wedding" is the fourth season finale of Friends, which aired on NBC on May 7, 1998. The plot revolves around Ross and the rest of the group flying to London for his wedding to Emily.
The episode was directed by Kevin S. Bright, with the first part being written by Michael Borkow and the second part by Shana Goldberg-Meehan and Scott Silveri (from a story by Jill Condon and Amy Toomin). Scenes for the episode were shot on location in London and in front of a British studio audience. For many broadcasts (and the DVD release) it is presented as a double-length episode, though sometimes it is aired as two separate parts.
Plot
Ross' and Emily's parents meet and prove quite antagonistic; Stephen and Andrea Waltham are quite happy that the Gellers have agreed to pay for half the wedding, against tradition, but Jack feels the list of expenses at their house is highway robbery, so Ross tries to mediate. Joey is terribly homesick, despite playing best man jointly with Chandler, but gets over it when Emily's bride's maid starts hitting on him. Rachel misses her flight having forgotten her passport, and on the next annoys the gentleman sitting besides her to death who is quite happy to disagree with her all the way.
At the rehearsal dinner, Monica tries to be happy for her brother, but her mother is driving her crazy and, even worse, a drunk man mistakes her for Ross's mother. When she gets depressed thinking her mother is right and she'll never get married, Chandler tries to comfort her by telling her "Who wouldn't want you?" The next we see of Chandler and Monica, they are waking up in bed together the next morning.
Phoebe phones Joey he must warn Ross that Rachel is coming, but she gets straight to him in Montgomery Hall. Rachel spots Ross and Emily sharing a kiss before the wedding, and Rachel decides to congratulate Ross instead of telling him how she feels, so the wedding goes on, with Joey reporting over the phone to Phoebe. As Chandler escorts Monica down the aisle, they agree that what they'd done the previous night had been stupid, but also agree that he's coming back to her room later that night. As Rachel watches with teary eyes, Emily says her wedding vows to Ross, but when it's Ross's turn to say his, he inadvertently says 'Rachel' instead of Emily during his vows, shocking everyone and angering Emily. The minister asks Emily if he should go on as Rachel looks on.
Trivia
General
- Ross and Emily's marriage was originally planned to last, but Helen Baxendale did not wish to remain in America while pregnant. The writers could not script a convincing story for why Emily would not be seen, despite being married to Ross, so Baxendale was written out in the next season, making only three cameo appearances after the season premiere.
- During the scene when everyone enters the wedding hall, just before Judy's line "Oh my God, it's like a fairy land", Jack and Stephen can be seen arguing over the check in the foreground.
- The man that Rachel explains her situation to on the plane (across the aisle, not the man played by Hugh Laurie) has a book in his lap. It is copy of "Like a Hole in the Head" which is the same book Monica reads in "The One With All The Rugby" (S4E15)
- As of this episode, Chandler has now seen all three girls' breasts:
- In "The One With The Boobies" (S1E13), Chandler walked in on Rachel topless after a shower.
- In "The One With The Football" (S3E9), Phoebe flashed Chandler to get hold of the football.
- And in this episode, Monica and Chandler slept together, hence he saw Monica naked.
- The DVD involves extra things
- There is an added scene at the airport when Rachel returns with her passport, only that the plane was already taking off and the attendant closed the station on her
- When Phoebe is on the phone with Joey telling him about Rachel, she tells him to do something and he writes it down. In a later scene he is seen looking at what he wrote before he asks Chandler if he knew where Monica was
- At the rehearsal dinner Phoebe tells Emily's mother that the housekeeper was a bitch
- When Joey is walking down the aisle talking to Phoebe, he tells her about Felicity and that he just said hi to her
- As opposed to the regular episode's credits with the shots of London, the end credits on the DVD involves clips from the episode
- There is a gag reel at the end including a scene from the next episode
- The 1997 film Titanic is mentioned when Chandler says that a guy thought he was Lionardo DeCaprio.
- This 2 parter is another huge development in Ross and Rachel's relationship.
Goofs
- In his speech Joey says "I first met Ross in this coffee house back home." However, they first met at the bar that stood in the spot Central Perk now occupies.
- When Ross and Emily's parents meet for the first time, Judy Geller makes the joke that this may be the only wedding they get to throw, referring to Monica never getting married. However, Ross was married once before to Carol and, presumably, already had a wedding. However, assuming Ross's wedding to Carol followed the more common tradition where the bride's family pays for the wedding, it's likely that Ross's parents didn't really play any part in throwing that wedding.
- Although the wedding dress Emily is wearing is similar to the one picked up by Monica in "The One With All The Wedding Dresses", it is clearly a different design. What's more, Emily is wearing a matching jacket that was not with the dress Monica picked up, and a tiara instead of the veil Monica wore.
- When the wedding begins, the first bridesmaid walks down the aisle with a man, dressed in the same attire as the best men. He is not seen again, and the only men in the wedding party are Joey and Chandler.
Cast and Crew
Main Cast
Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green
Courtney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller
Supporting Cast
Helen Baxendale - Emily Waltham
Tom Conti - Stephen Waltham
Jennifer Saunders - Andrea Waltham
Christina Pickles - Judy Geller
Elliot Gould - Jack Geller
Olivia Williams - Felicity
June Whitfield - The Housekeeper
Hugh Laurie - The Gentleman on the Plane
Jane Carr - The Ticket Agent
Daniel Caltagirone - The Waiter
Heathcote Williams - The Older Guest
Peter Eyre - The Registrar
Greg Malins - Man on airplane
Crew
Directed By:
Kevin S. Bright
Written By:
Shana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott Silveri
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Preceded by "The One With Ross' Wedding, Part 1" |
Series Four Episodes | Followed by "The One After Ross Says Rachel" |
| << Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 >> | |||||||
| #01 | "The One With The Jellyfish" | #09 | "The One Where They're Going To Party" | #17 | "The One With The Free Porn" | ||||
| #02 | "The One With The Cat" | #10 | "The One With The Girl From Poughkeepsie" | #18 | "The One With Rachel's New Dress" | ||||
| #03 | "The One With The Cuffs" | #11 | "The One With Phoebe's Uterus" | #19 | "The One With All The Haste" | ||||
| #04 | "The One With The Ballroom Dancing" | #12 | "The One With The Embryos" | #20 | "The One With All The Wedding Dresses" | ||||
| #05 | "The One With Joey's New Girlfriend" | #13 | "The One With Rachel's Crush" | #21 | "The One With The Invitation" | ||||
| #06 | "The One With The Dirty Girl" | #14 | "The One With Joey's Dirty Day" | #22 | "The One With The Worst Best Man Ever" | ||||
| #07 | "The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line" | #15 | "The One With All The Rugby" | #23 | "The One With Ross' Wedding, Part 1" | ||||
| #08 | "The One With Chandler In A Box" | #16 | "The One With The Fake Party" | #24 | "The One With Ross' Wedding, Part 2" | ||||