So many '90s movies have our hearts forever, and a big one on that list definitely has to be Father of the Bride. Starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, the movie tells the story of a dad who finds out that his daughter got engaged while she was studying abroad … and all of the chaos that ensues as they plan her giant wedding to her brand-new fiancé. There's something so sweet and comforting about watching the Banks family, no matter how many times we've seen it, and honestly, is there anything better than a Nancy Meyers movie?
We didn't think so.
Recently, Father of the Bride became front and center all over again, nearly 30 years after its original release, when Father of the Bride Part III-ish happened in September. Though it's not an actual theatrical sequel, the cast did reunite over Zoom to tell a new chapter in the story as the Banks fam navigates through this crazy year we're all living in, giving fans an update on what they're up to in 2020.
Father of the Bride will always have a special place in movie history, but even the most die-hard fans of this classic film don't know everything about it, including fun facts and tidbits about what went on during the making of the movie. Read on for facts about Father of the Bride that may be totally brand new to the movie's biggest fans.
Steve Was Attached Before the Screenplay Was Created
There was never Father of the Bride without Steve in the main role. As Nancy Meyers told IndieWire, he was attached to the project before she even began writing the screenplay. "It's a gift because you know you're writing for Steve Martin, so you know you can be funny and you can be loose and you can do all these twists and turns in the scene," she said.
People Get Engaged at the House
The house from the Father of the Bride exterior shots has become totally iconic. Not only do people stop by when they're in Pasadena, they also make it a part of their own love stories. As owners Sarah Bradley and Daniel Spence told HGTV, fans are known to propose at the house — so they have to be careful when they go outside!
It's Been the Site of a Real Wedding
Sarah and Darrell also said that in 2000, they got married at the house themselves, with the ceremony in the front yard and the reception in the backyard. Two hundred of their closest friends and family showed up to help them celebrate, and their wedding planner was over the moon about having the chance to work on a wedding at the house, saying, "I'm going to be Franck!"
Everyone in the Movie Played a Version of Themselves
According to Moviefone, Steve has said in an interview that everyone — including himself and his co-star, Diane Keaton — are "playing themselves," with their character based heavily on their own personalities. "Diane is very much like that. Her personality is like quicksilver, and she talks like that, and when you first meet her, you think she's doing a Diane Keaton impression. She really is lightning and erratic and crinkling with electrical charge," he said.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley Struggled With That Blender Scene
In the movie, there's a scene where Annie is upset that her husband-to-be has given her a blender as a wedding gift, thinking he wants her to be a housewife and nothing more. She's crying in her room when her dad comes in to find out what's wrong, but as Kimberly wrote in a piece for ABC News, it wasn't that easy for her to get the tears flowing. Then, she thought about how this meant she wasn't a good actress, and suddenly, waterworks.
"'I'm not cut out for this,' I thought. 'I don't belong here. I am failing.' I'd cried many times in my life, not to mention recently, why couldn't I do it now? I am a terrible actress. The thought was such a punch in the gut that I suddenly sobbed. A blessed sob!" she wrote.
The Movie Is a Remake
Although it's become a huge piece of film history, this actually isn't the original Father of the Bride movie. In fact, this movie is a remake of the 1950 film of the same title that starred Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor. For those who adore the movie, it's definitely worth watching the original to see where it all came from.
Kieran Culkin's First Speaking Role
Though Kieran has gone on to star in Succession — and is known for his roles in movies like Igby Goes Down, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World — it all started with Father of the Bride. This movie, where he played Matty Banks, was the first speaking role in a film that he ever had, and he was only 9 years old at the time.
Franck Was Based on a Real Wedding Planner
If Martin Short's performance as Franck seemed a little too on the nose, that might be because he was emulating a real-life wedding planner: Kevin Lee, who has helped many a celeb get married. "Well it was totally me, it's me," Kevin told The Daily Dish after finding out he had been the inspiration. "He captured my character so well and I was overwhelmed. Officially, I am the Franck."
Filming Days Were Really Long
As Kimberly said in an interview with Nashville Arts, she worked 16-hour days on the set of Father of the Bride, and she ended up napping at every opportunity.
"It's so hard to keep your energy up when you've got sixteen-hour days back to back to back," she said at the time. "And that was the hardest thing then, because I got very sick at one point. They got a hotel room for me right next to the set, and whenever I had a break, I'd go fall asleep. I was really ill."
Kimberly Wasn't Originally Cast
In the same interview, Kimberly said that she was originally told she didn't get the part, and decided to become a journalist instead of an actress. Then, she got the call that they changed their minds and she had been cast.
"I literally went to the journalism school at Northwestern and looked ahead at a stack of papers about internships I could do for the following summer and go work at some newspaper," she said. "And then my agent called back and said they want you to come back to LA and screen test. And I said, I'm busy! I'm a writer now. But they said, nah, you need to be in LA."
The Movie Helped Kimberly Meet Her Husband
Today, Kimberly is married to country star Brad Paisley, and they met all thanks to Father of the Bride. As he explained to Good Housekeeping, he had recently been through a breakup when he saw her in Father of the Bride II, and realized she was his dream woman.
"I thought, She seems like a great girl — smart and funny and all those things that are so hard to find," he said.
Brad invited Kimberly to star in his music video for "I'm Gonna Miss Her," and the rest is history!
The Zoom Sequel Helped Nancy Through Our New Normal
Writing about shooting Father of the Bride Part 3-ish for Netflix in an essay for The New York Times, Nancy shared that putting herself back in that world gave her an escape from how scary the real 2020 could be.
"I started to feel grateful, then a bit guilty about feeling that. The work was giving me a sense of calm and purpose. As long as I was in the Bankses' world, I wasn't in this one — even though the story was set in August 2020," she said. "When we shoot nighttime interior scenes, we call that kind of lighting 'movie night' because you can still see faces in the dark. I was writing the pandemic like that. Not quite as dark."
Steve Didn't Think the Reunion Would Be Such a Huge Undertaking
In the same essay, Nancy wrote that the wardrobe from the reunion mostly came from her actors' own closets, and her intensity about what they would wear led Steve to tell her, "When you asked me to do this I thought, this will be a pleasant two hours. Then we shot for four days and tried on sweatshirts for six days."
Kimberly & George Starred in Hallmark Commercials Together
Thanks to the popularity of the movie, George and Kimberly went on to star in Hallmark commercials together shortly after Father of the Bride reached massive success in theaters. They didn't play their characters from the movie (bummer), but it's pretty cool their chemistry went to live on in these ads like this.
There's a Parallel Between This Movie & the Original
In the original 1950s movie, Elizabeth Taylor's character gets a Venus de Milo statue that also happens to serve as a clock as a wedding gift … and she hates it. In the 1991 version, Annie gets the same gift and reacts similarly, tying the original movie and the remake together in such a cool way.
