40+ TV and Movie Wedding Dresses We Can’t Believe Were on Screen

There have been plenty of fictional weddings on screen over the years. We’ve seen brides walk down the aisle in classic white wedding gowns, and we’ve seen every other possibility too. From hideous period pieces to dramatic Disney dresses, from frayed fabrics to silly silhouettes — TV and movies have their fair share of woeful wedding attire. Join us as we take a look at some of the most unappealing gowns that have appeared on our screens.

Alright, clearly we understand that musical and movie Les Misérables is a period piece. More specifically, it’s set in 1800s France amidst revolution and upheaval. When Amanda Seyfried’s character Cosette ties the knot with lover Marius, she wears this poufy pink monstrosity.

The gown has gigot sleeves, a high waist, lace layers, bows, ruffles, and a crinoline skirt. This is fairly typical of the 1830s but somehow makes Cosette look both like an old lady and a little girl.

In Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ellie Kemper plays a woman who spent her formative years trapped in an underground cult. When she emerges, she tries to balance her cartoonish approach to life with the very real trauma inflicted upon her.

In the show’s interactive special, certain choices lead to certain endings. In one of these, Kimmy walks down the aisle in a bright pink, layered, ruffled wedding gown, worn with sneakers. Sure — it suits Kimmy’s personality, but it’s rather ugly too.

Though Jennifer Aniston is a treasure, and Rachel Green a beloved character, we can’t help but point out that this dress isn’t great. It’s a very 1980s gown, complete with a rather chaotic veil and headpiece situation. Considering Friends started in the 1990s, this dress was not the fashion-forward choice Rachel would have opted for.

In reality, costume designer Debra McGuire fished this wedding dress out of the Warner Brothers costume department. For later flashbacks, they had to remake the gown.

In 2009 movie The Hottie and the Nottie, Paris Hilton plays the “hottie.” Surprised? We thought not. This movie is actually considered one of the worst ever made, and received multiple Razzie awards. At one stage in the film, Paris’ character Cristabel wears this horrendous wedding gown.

This princess-like ruffled dress was only worn to a costume party, but that doesn’t make it any better. Even the beautiful Paris Hilton can’t make this embroidered cream bodice look hot. Sorry, but it’s just not.

Over the years, fans have watched Modern Family’s Haley Dunphy transform from troubled teen to well-adjusted adult. When the show started, she was a popular high schooler, and now she’s a mom of twins. For her wedding to long term boyfriend Dylan, Haley wore this boho pink dress.

We know the wedding was last minute, and we know Haley was pregnant, but is this really the best we could do? She’s a fashionista! We reckon Haley would have wanted some more detailing on her wedding dress.

The late Carrie Fisher is definitely one of the best parts of iconic rom-com When Harry Met Sally. In the movie, she tells Meg Ryan’s character, “The right man for you might be out there right now and if you don’t grab him, someone else will, and you’ll have to spend the rest of your life knowing that someone else is married to your husband.”

For her own nuptials, Carrie’s Marie wore this rather 1980s wedding dress. When she asks Sally what she thinks, she responds “Oh, Marie.”

The costume design for fantasy comedy Mirror Mirror was actually nominated for an Oscar. We’re not saying that this dress is poorly made or designed, just that it’s absolutely hideous as a wedding gown. But hey, this is for the movie’s villain — evil Queen Clementianna.

For her wedding, Julia Roberts’ character wore this highly ornate gown. It looks both feathered and as if it’s covered in jagged daggers. This dress is perfectly sinister for a fairy tale villain, but not very attractive for tying the knot.

Rom-com TV series The Mindy Project followed gynecologist Mindy’s personal and private lives. One of the nurses in her practice, Tamra, is played by actress Xosha Roquemore.

This is a tough one, because Tamra obviously makes a beautiful bride. However, if we were to quibble about her dress, we’d have some things to say. For us, the hem and silhouette on this gown detract from the bride’s beauty. Plus, the billowing sleeves are too fussy and the waist is not cinched enough.

Throughout comedy-drama Forrest Gump, Robin Wright wears a variety of styles. We see her as a straggly-haired child, a ’60s hippy, and a ’70s disco glamour puss. For her wedding to her childhood friend, Jenny wears a very Southern boho style gown.

The dress is full length with long sleeves and layers of floaty fabric. While we think Robin Wright looks fabulous in a flower crown, this is rather underwhelming for such a fashion maven. Plus, we just can’t get behind the baggy chest area.

Speaking of baggy chest areas, what about this monstrosity? In 2009 rom-com The Proposal, Sandra Bullock’s character gets engaged to her assistant to avoid deportation. For her wedding, Margaret wears a vintage, family heirloom gown in ivory silk. Can you tell?

This period dress has a high neck, dolman sleeves, and diamond detailing at the bust. Though they eventually tailor the dress to Margaret’s body, it’s still not our idea of a gorgeous wedding gown. It also feels particularly modest.

While actress Cameron Diaz is undeniably beautiful, the gown her character wore in 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding was not. In this rom-com, Cameron’s character Kimmy is tying the knot with Dermot Mulroney.

Unfortunately for her, his best friend — played by Julia Roberts — also decides she wants to marry him. Kimmy’s dress is appropriately fussy for her character. It has all sorts of strange ruching, folds, and tufts of fabric. We’ll blame this one on the era and the genre.

And here she is again! It looks like Cameron Diaz has gotten the short end of the straw for several on-screen weddings. Over 10 years after My Best Friend’s Wedding, Cameron Diaz’s character Joy marries Ashton Kutcher in What Happens in Vegas.

For their last-minute, unplanned wedding, Joy wears a silk jersey dress, two garter belts, and every pearl necklace she could find. With this casual get-up, she accessorized with a floor-length veil. It’s certainly a mish-mash!

To be honest, looking at this dress makes us really angry. Here we have fashion icon Diane Keaton, known for looking chic in trousers and suits, wearing a monstrous white wedding dress. In this movie — which was described as the worst movie of 2007 — Diane Keaton plays Daphne, an overbearing mother of three.

For her wedding, Daphne wears this long-sleeved, high-neck, peplum jacket over a stiff full skirt. It’s absolutely appalling no matter which way you look at it.

2011 comedy Bridesmaids was a pretty big deal for women in comedy. Written by and starring Kristen Wiig, the movie follows the wedding of Maya Rudolph’s character Lillian. This movie is full of hilarious moments, including when Lillian tries on her supposedly perfect Parisian gown.

In reality, the dress is the stuff of nightmares. Its multiple tight layers of ruffles look exactly like toilet paper, and the long exaggerated sleeves add a note of Spanish bullfighter. And what can we say about that headpiece?

We need a moment to calm down after looking at this dress. Here we have Shailene Woodley as Amy Juergens, the main character of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Throughout this show, Amy deals with a host of problems, including her teenage pregnancy.

But back to the dress, if we can bear to discuss it. This is a white, layered maxi dress worn over a tank top with a long scarf. It must be the most noughties wedding ensemble to have ever existed.

How could we talk on-screen weddings without mentioning Toula and family from My Big Fat Greek Wedding? After its release, this indie movie became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time!

Toula’s big Greek dress is ginormous, with a full train and veil. It’s decorated with pearls and floral embroidery, leading Toula to describe herself as “a snow beast” when she sees it. Of course, the bride ends up making some adjustments before walking down the aisle in her perfect dress.

There are several casual wedding dresses on this list. While we aren’t opposed to wearing something simple or informal to say “I do,” we wish characters would choose something more up their street. Or rather, we wish costume designers had made slightly different decisions here.

The moody April Ludgate wore this simple white frock for her surprise wedding. We’re not sure April would even wear white, and we think she’d go for something a little more rock ‘n’ roll. Just saying!

It’s time for another fairy tale gown that didn’t live up to expectations. In fantasy drama Once Upon a Time, a host of fairy tale characters appear in two different worlds. When Ginnifer Goodwin’s Snow White marries Prince Charming, she wears this white, feathery, full-length wedding gown.

We appreciate that this gown was made for a fantasy world, but is it the perfect choice for Snow White? We would have liked to see something a little more classic

Apparently, feathers are a popular choice for wedding dresses, because here’s some more. This gown appears on every list of ugly on-screen wedding dresses, for very good reason. In this festive rom-com, Kiera Knightley’s character gets hitched in a sheer feathery ensemble.

Director Richard Curtis actually wanted Juliet to wear a two-piece outfit, but the movie’s costume designer didn’t agree. In the end, they chose this feather-trimmed outrage. Naturally, it was accessorized with even more feathers in Kiera’s up-do.

We’ll admit that there are worse dresses on this list than this one. But, that doesn’t mean we’re letting it off the hook. Here we have Carrie, played by Andie McDowell, in Four Weddings and a Funeral. This is another Richard Curtis movie, so perhaps the director just has terrible taste in wedding dresses.

Our main issue here is that the various parts of this outfit don’t match. The long gloves aren’t right for the gown’s scalloped neckline or straight silhouette.

Here’s another one of those casual wedding dresses we mentioned before. For a while before the big event, actress Lucy Hale was seen wearing a long, ivory wedding gown. Truth be told, it wasn’t very attractive either.

However, for her big day, Pretty Little Liars’ Aria walked down the aisle in this short Gem by Alexis dress. With bell sleeves and crochet detailing, this mini dress seems more suited for Coachella than a church. It’s a cute dress, but maybe not the dress.

Just take a look at this 1990s wedding extravaganza. Betsy’s Wedding features Alan Alda freaking out about his daughter’s upcoming nuptials. It was based on the actor’s real-life daughter’s wedding, and went down like a lead balloon. Seriously, Joe Pesci won’t even talk about this movie.

In the rom-com, Betsy is a fashion student that insists on making her own gown. The result is this absolutely catastrophic ensemble — including a top hat, plenty of ruffles, and white wedding boots.

We’ve seen what Snow White wore to her Once Upon a Time wedding, but what about Cinderella? Well, Princess Ella wore this rather shiny princess gown in the season one episode. It’s pretty close to the Disney character’s animated blue ballgown, but looks rather cheap to us. Sorry!

The show’s costume designer Eduardo Castro has commented, “I can’t even keep track of how many wedding dresses we do.’ Perhaps Cinderella needed an outfit change to keep her look fresh.

English actress Helena Bonham Carter is wonderful at playing eccentric, gothic characters. Indeed, the costume designer for Great Expectations said that she was “inspirational” for the movie’s costumes. In the film, the actress plays a spinster who spends her life wearing her moldy, ragged wedding gown.

Apparently, Helena was nervous about playing the part because Miss Havisham is usually played by an elderly lady. The movie’s director assured her that the character in the original Dickens novel is in her 40s.

We’re not saying that we hate giant poufy princess dresses, but these on-screen gowns are properly larger than life. We’ll take a graceful ballgown any day, but not a dress that could be confused with a meringue dessert the size of a house.

For Gisele’s giant wedding gown in Enchanted, Amy Adams revealed that “the wardrobe people who dressed me had to carry that thing around […] I couldn’t get dressed in dressing rooms or trailers, because there was no way to get out the door.”

This fictional wedding dress definitely breaks some style rules. Firstly, it’s pink. Secondly, it’s short. And thirdly, it’s covered in applique flowers. Truthfully, we’d be on board with this flirty gown if it had a couple of adjustments.

The sweetheart neckline and ruched bust need to go, and the diamante dotted flowers just aren’t to our taste. In this romcom, Rachel McAdams’s Paige suffers some serious amnesia. Her unusual wedding gown is by Betsy Johnson. It’s a no from us.

We absolutely love Two Weeks Notice, the rom-com where Sandra Bullock plays a top lawyer to Hugh Grant’s needy billionaire. However, we do not love Lucy’s choice in outfit for her wedding. We can see that there’s a bit of Audrey Hepburn going on here, but this movie took place in 2002, not 1962!

There’s a way to nod to vintage styles without looking like you’re wearing a costume. For us, this wedding look needs a slightly shorter skirt, a higher waist, and a pillbox veil.

There’s a whole subcategory of rom-coms where Americans end up marrying Irish, Scottish, or even Welsh hunks — all with wonderful accents. In Made of Honor, several of the dashing doctors from Grey’s Anatomy compete for the love of Michelle Monaghan’s Hannah.

And how else would we know we were in Scotland without the bride wearing a literal tartan sash? Newsflash, this is not common practice in the UK nation. Hannah’s gown has an unpleasant ruffled skirt, and her hair is absolutely towering.

Whilst we adore the show itself, we absolutely despise Susan Delfino. Let’s be honest — doesn’t everyone? The irritating character got married several times during the series’ run, and wore full-on noughties fashion. This custom-made Cate Adair dress is very of its time, particularly because of its handkerchief hem.

This looks like a dress you might throw on while lounging around the pool. Yes, this was a simple, backyard wedding, but we would have preferred a touch more of the wow factor.

When it comes to fictional wedding dresses, plenty of people are furious about Blair Waldorf’s first wedding gown. Many will argue that the dress itself isn’t that offensive, just the idea that Blair would wear it. After all, the Upper East Side style queen has a penchant for drama, ribbons, crystals, and ruffles.

This white gown is by Vera Wang, and was worn with rather crispy-looking waves. Thankfully, Blair would eventually see the error of her ways and walk down another aisle in blue Elie Saab.

We’re sorry! We know that Lorelai Gilmore is a beloved TV mom. However, we cannot endorse the character’s ill-fitting blush wedding gown. On the comedy-drama, Lorelai comes upon this blush silk tulle gown in the first store she walks into.

It’s by Monique Lhullier and features an ornately embroidered bodice. Perhaps if the skirt on this blush gown went straight down, it would look a little better on Lorelai. We reckon she needs something with a more chic silhouette.

Some fans of sitcom The Golden Girls have asked whether the show’s stylist hated actress Bea Arthur. That’s how bad her on-screen outfits were. In fact, there was considerable backlash to her character Dorothy’s wedding dress. And we can certainly see why.

While Dorothy often wore outlandish, colorful looks on the show, her wedding dress is particularly hideous. Obviously, its worst feature is the strange V-shaped neck ruffle. It looks like something a child might make out of craft paper.

OK, this is a tough one for us to admit. We know that fictional government worker Leslie Knope has a beautiful story behind her dress. But, that doesn’t mean we have to find it pretty.

Amy Poehler’s character ends up in a wedding dress snafu and gets one crafted from relevant news stories. While it’s a lovely sentiment and makes for good TV, it’s not good fashion! We do love this short ’50s silhouette on the character though. Go, Leslie!

Once in a while, a bride will opt for a dress that looks rather vintage. It might have long lacy sleeves, a high ruffled neck, or a gorgeous line of antique pearl buttons. Vintage gowns are often stunning, but not this one worn by Allison on sitcom Grace and Frankie.

As Briana says on the show, the dress looks like “what a dead child was buried in, in the 1800s.” It also looks like the frilly outfits worn by creepy dolls.

And here’s another! This is actress Mila Kunis as Jackie on That ’70s Show. Bizarrely, the star went on to marry her co-star, Ashton Kutcher, pictured here. In this episode, Jackie wears a very retro, ’70s, cream wedding dress.

The gown is floor-length with full-length bell sleeves, a high lace neck, and illusion panels on the arms and chest. It’s worn with a white cathedral veil. Honestly, this isn’t actually a terrible dress, it’s just too serious for such a young character.