One of the major highlights of the upcoming new Twilight film adaptation,Breaking Dawn,is the long awaited wedding of Bella and Edward,our star crossed supernatural couple. While the ceremony looks divine and true love is the key motivation here,we shouldn't ignore those few dark clouds that happen to be hovering over this silver lining,folks.
For one thing,Bella must be made a vampire as soon as the honeymoon is over to avoid a visit from the vindictive Volturi,determined to keep their promise to destroy her if she stays human.
Also,there's a jealous werewolf ex-boyfriend to consider and the fact that the bride's parents are unaware of their new son-in-law's special dietary needs. Of course,the real fireworks begin after long after the vows are made but let's stick to the wedding for the moment here:
While weddings are generally depicted as happy occasions,they do tend to make tension as any episode of Bridezillas demonstrates all too well. Most of the time,pop culture depictions of wedding chaos use humor to make those frantic hours more bearable to watch but every now and then,the scary side of saying "I do" is given it's due.
Tim Burton's Beetlejuice is a decent example of this,even with the comedic overtones of the plot that has moody teen Lydia Deetz agree to marry the lead ghoul in order to save her ghostly friends.
From the terrified expressions on the elder Deetzes' faces as the entrapped witnesses to the desperate attempts by back from the dead bridal clad Barbara to stop the ceremony,the fear factor is neck in neck with the laughter inspired by this sequence:
Burton seems to have it in for weddings,as he revisited this theme wholeheartedly in the stop motion animation flick,The Corpse Bride.
By setting this story in the Victorian era,which gave gloom it's proper respects,he was able to combine the terror of arranged marriages with those tales of the undead that were popular during that time. To make things more lively for modern audiences,humor and song were mixed in but that didn't dilute the marital menace of the film.
It's one thing to be nervous about getting married to someone you hardly know,it's another to accidentally propose to an actual living dead girl who refuses to take no for an answer:
It's not just in horror related films that scary weddings can be seen. Fantasy and science fiction can boast about a few of their own frightening marital encounters.
One extremely reluctant bride was Dale Arden in the 1980 camp classic Flash Gordon. Hoping to save the earth from total destruction,she agreed to be Emperor Ming's "bride of the hour." However,upon hearing the wedding vows,Dale had a major change of heart due to her soon to be husband getting more leeway than expected:
In a first season episode of Legend of the Seeker,hero Richard Cypher had a spell placed on him that made him look and sound exactly like a new friend of his who was being pushed into marriage.
Unable to convince anyone of his real identity,Richard went through with the wedding only to discover that the vows were literally binding for both him and his unsuspecting bride. Things did resolve themselves eventually but that ceremony gave new meaning to the phrase "ball and chain" there:
In the end,I guess that fear is not such a bad thing to feel at a wedding. Making a serious commitment like that should make you a bit scared since you're taking a huge emotional risk. However,as long as love is at the forefront,fear shouldn't stand in your way down that aisle.
Granted,I don't have life experience in this area but from what I've seen in the real world and pop culture,marriage is supposed to be a thrill ride at times. However,what kind of a thrill is up to you.
Keep in mind that after the ring exchange,things can still get scary especially around anniversary time for the forgetful and those who foolishly underestimate the value of preserving those wedding day memories-facing a horde of demons would be a relief compared to the wrath of a spouse in that situation,believe you me:
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