Not Another Wedding Rom-Com

Sure, when you take a closer look, none of these movies end with the happily-ever-after that their beginnings promise. And none of the weddings in these movies go according to plan. In fact, most of them go very, very badly. But despite the glaring red flags in all these love stories, there is one green flag connecting them all: the complete, unabashed pursuit of love, no matter the obstacles (disclaimer: Meet Cute and Riley & Grey do NOT endorse becoming a wedding planner and having an affair with the groom). Despite their imperfections, these protagonists—Jules, Jane, and Mary—teach so many women at a young age to persist, nevertheless. Past the failed first dates, ghostings, and 2am doom-swiping, there is reason to stay hopeful. Romantic comedies—however larger-than-life, however occasionally-questionable their moral compasses—give us that hope to cling to. In love, yes, but also in life.

And Meet Cute was founded on that very principle: that we need those ephemeral hits of joy in our daily lives, in order to truck along. We need romantic comedies to keep our hope afloat. But it’s a misconception that romantic comedies—particularly those surrounding weddings—have to be these saccharine, archaic, trad-wife-tales, in order to serve that hit of hope. Just like fashion trends, collective senses of humor, and preferred social-media-platforms change over time, so do weddings. And weddings don’t have to be stuck in the relentlessly traditional past.

When it came time to greenlight our August series at Meet Cute, we knew it had to be a wedding rom-com. After all, we know what our target demographic (women, 18 - 35) is spending their time, money, and occasional tears on this summer and fall: weddings. But we wanted to do something different—we didn’t want to make just another wedding rom-com, and so the idea for our series In My Wedding Era came to us under a different name: The History of Weddings. The idea was simple: a woman who always thought she was meant to plan a perfect, cookie-cutter wedding, realizes that isn’t what she wants at all—but it takes a journey back through the history of weddings to understand what’s actually missing from her wedding day. No spoilers, but like Jules, Jane, and Mary, our protagonist April may not get the exact fairytale she anticipated.

At Meet Cute, we believe that the best romantic comedies—just like the best love stories—are often messy, chaotic, and anything but traditional. So as I plan my own wedding website with Riley & Grey and the lines between romantic comedy and real life blur, I’m reminded that the most beautiful weddings—like the most beautiful love stories—embrace the traditions that best-mirror the couple, forgo the rest, and are willing to get their heels wet. What’s a wedding, anyway, without a little time travel? We hope that In My Wedding Era gives you a hit of that happily-ever-after—that hope—that your wedding season may be missing.

Listen to In My Wedding Era on Spotify, Apple, or the Meet Cute website.