The Big Wedding" Filming Locations: A Guid

The 2013 American comedy film, The Big Wedding, starring Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, and Amanda Seyfried, was filmed in Connecticut. Locations included St. Agnes Church, Christ Church, Gabriele's Italian Steakhouse, and a private home in the Stanwich section of Greenwich, Connecticut.

The lake house

The kitchen features a hidden refrigerator, dark wood counters, a pot filler over the stove, and a bay window for growing herbs. The living room has large windows, wainscoting, and neutral-coloured furniture. The house also has a studio, a screened-in porch, and an attic room with slanted ceilings and plaid curtains.

Greenwich, Connecticut

Zackham and Pecorin transformed their hometown into a Hollywood set, with filming locations including a private home in the Stanwich neighbourhood, Christ Church Greenwich, St Agnes Church, and Gabriele's Italian Steakhouse.

The lake house where much of the filming took place is a real shingle-style home located in Greenwich, Connecticut. The interiors and the set for the wedding were all created and filmed at the house, rather than on a soundstage. The house has a three-car garage and a fabulous deck overlooking the lake. The dock by the lake is where the couple tie the knot, instead of inside the beautiful tent where the ceremony is supposed to take place.

The cast

The Big Wedding features an ensemble cast, including four Oscar winners and one Oscar nominee.

Robert De Niro plays Donald Robert "Don" Griffin, the long-divorced husband of Ellie Griffin. De Niro is known for his iconic career, spanning from 1965's Three Days of the Condor to 2019's The Irishman.

Diane Keaton stars as Eleanor "Ellie" Griffin, Don's ex-wife and the mother of Lyla, Jared, and Alejandro. Keaton has had a prolific career, with notable roles in Annie Hall, The Godfather trilogy, and Something's Gotta Give.

Katherine Heigl portrays Lyla Griffin, the daughter of Don and Ellie, who reveals she is pregnant and separated during the film. Heigl is known for her roles in Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up, and 27 Dresses.

Topher Grace plays Jared Griffin, the 29-year-old obstetrician son of Don and Ellie, who is a virgin waiting for the "right one." Grace is recognised for his performances in the Spider-Man trilogy, Interstellar, and BlacKkKlansman.

Ben Barnes takes on the role of Alejandro Soto Griffin, the adopted son of Don and Ellie, whose wedding is the central event of the film. Barnes is known for his performances in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Westworld, and Shadow and Bone.

Susan Sarandon, an Oscar winner, portrays Beatrice Martha "Bebe" McBride, Don's girlfriend of eight years, and Ellie's former best friend. Sarandon has had a distinguished career, with roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Thelma & Louise, and Dead Man Walking.

Amanda Seyfried, an Oscar nominee, plays Melissa "Missy" O'Connor, Alejandro's fiancée. Seyfried is known for her performances in Mamma Mia!, Les Misérables, and Mean Girls.

The plot

The Setup:

Don and Ellie Griffin, a divorced New England couple, are preparing for the wedding of their adopted son, Alejandro, to his fiancée, Missy. Ellie arrives at Don's house, which used to be their family home, and walks in on Don and his girlfriend, Bebe, in an awkward situation. Bebe is Ellie's former best friend, creating tension between the two women. Alejandro is worried about his biological mother, Madonna, attending the wedding because she is a devout Catholic who does not approve of divorce.

The Family Dynamics:

Lyla, Don and Ellie's daughter, reveals that she is separated. She runs into her 29-year-old brother, Jared, an obstetrician, at the hospital. Jared is a virgin, waiting for the "right one." Alejandro asks Ellie and Don to pretend to still be married for the wedding to avoid upsetting his mother. This request upsets Bebe, who leaves the house. Madonna arrives from Colombia with Alejandro's 20-year-old sister, Nuria.

The Dinner:

The family goes out to dinner with Missy and her parents, Muffin and Barry. Bebe unexpectedly shows up as their waitress, surprising everyone. During the dinner, Nuria flirts with Jared and even gives him a handjob under the table. Ellie intervenes and takes Nuria to the restroom, advising her that American women prefer romance before sex.

The Wedding Preparations:

Back at the house, Jared expresses his desire to have sex with Nuria, but she asks him to be romantic instead. Despite the tension, Don and Ellie end up having sex. Ellie and Madonna go for a walk in the woods, struggling to communicate due to the language barrier. Meanwhile, Don and Lyla talk privately, and Lyla reveals that she is pregnant.

The Wedding Day:

Before the ceremony, Don tells Bebe that he had sex with Ellie, leading to a confrontation. Bebe punches Don and reveals that Ellie cheated on him with Missy's father. Muffin discloses that she is bisexual and hints at a sexual affair with Bebe and Ellie. Missy and Alejandro decide to get married on the family dock to escape the chaos. The family runs after them, and the wedding reception takes place after some of them fall into the lake.

The Resolution:

Jared and Nuria sleep together, ignoring Ellie's advice. Bebe and Ellie make up, and Don proposes to Bebe, and they get married on the spot. Lyla's estranged husband, Andrew, arrives at the wedding and reconciles with her after learning about her pregnancy. Alejandro's mother discovers the lies about his family but forgives him when she reveals that she also lied to protect him.

The movie ends with a heartwarming scene where Don attaches a plaque with Lyla's daughter's name, Jane, to their family tree.

The set design

The house was chosen because it needed to suit the character of Don, a successful sculptor, and have enough property around it to put up a wedding tent, yet not be too ostentatious. The house was decorated with tasteful, comfortable, and understated American antiques, oversized furnishings in neutrals, blue accents, and sculptures from a local estate. The designers rented furnishings, rugs, and pillows from local Connecticut antique shops. For the art, they reached out to several different artists to create an eclectic look. The designers also helped provide colourful accents in an otherwise neutral scheme.

The film's rehearsal dinner, which takes place in the rose garden of a country club, was designed on set. The designers used 48 blooming rose bushes under an arbor, with hundreds of small lights woven into the trees for depth.

Jackness and Schlesinger worked with costume designer Aude Bronson Howard on the white, lavender, and pink colour palette for the wedding. The designers constructed an eight-foot white wedding tent on the house’s back lawn, and used flowers as inspiration for the rest of the decor, including the fabric-wrapped columns and tulle bows on the chivari chairs.

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