History Main / Bridezilla

* ''Series/{{Bridezillas}}'' is a reality TV show about this trope in action. Every episode features brides-to-be being completely and unapologetically bitchy to their friends, family, and hired help up to, during, and after the wedding. [[UnfortunateImplications At no point does anyone ever give any indication that their actions should be frowned upon in the show.]] In later episodes, the narrator is not at all shy about dishing out comments in her ridiculously perky tone about the bride's awful behavior, even if no one onscreen acts as though she's doing anything wrong. The thing about this show is that it specifically chooses crass, lower-class women and their often dysfunctional families and gives them thousands of dollars to plan their dream wedding and/or pay for the ''honeymoon''. HilarityEnsues.

* One woman who planned mostly everything for her wedding ahead without an actual boyfriend showed up on ''SayYesToTheDress''. Her pushyness scared her boyfriend off, as the ending voiceover told us.

* In certain Middle Eastern countries, the wedding is supposed to be the business of the ''groom's'' family. Or more precisely, the wedding ''reception/party'', at least among Muslims: in Islam, marriage is a contract, and the actual wedding is, erm, a contract signing. (In some cases, there are even contract negotiations.) In more traditional times, the "wedding" was a general community bash held that started small and at home (in the garden or on the roof) with the contract signing and then spilled out into the street, so planning was pointless: at a certain level, herding cats would be an easier proposition. In some cases, one just set up the tent in the street, put out the food,[[note]]And other stuff; depending on the community, booze or hash would often be available to all[[/note]] and maybe got a friend to dance or sing, and hoped for the best. Today, most Middle Easterners live in apartments--hardly the best venue for the more traditional sort of wedding--and as a result, the wealthy and middle class hold weddings at hotels (generally for wealthier types) or specialized halls (more middle-income), while the poor tend to still go with the "tent-in-the-street" option. This all takes some planning--even the tent option requires getting the informal permission of the neighbors if you don't want to piss anyone off--and so the expectation is that the groom's family arrange things (as part of the dower), and if the bride's family helps, it's seen as them being nice. You do hear ridiculous stories, but most of these are about the truly immodest sums rich parents spend on them (they paid ''how much'' to get Famous Singer X to play?) rather than anyone's insistence that things be ''just right''.

* In certain Middle Eastern countries, the wedding is supposed to be the business of the ''groom's'' family. Or more precisely, the wedding ''reception/party'', at least among Muslims: in Islam, marriage is a contract, and the actual wedding is, erm, a contract signing. (In some cases, there are even contract negotiations.) In more traditional times, the "wedding" was a general community bash held that started small and at home (in the garden or on the roof) and then spilled out into the street, so planning was pointless: at a certain level, herding cats would be an easier proposition. In some cases, one just set up the tent in the street, put out the food,[[note]]And other stuff; depending on the community, booze or hash would often be available to all[[/note]] and maybe got a friend to dance or sing, and hoped for the best. Today, most Middle Easterners live in apartments--hardly the best venue for the more traditional sort of wedding--and as a result, the wealthy and middle class hold weddings at hotels (generally for wealthier types) or specialized halls (more middle-income), while the poor tend to still go with the "tent-in-the-street" option. This all takes some planning--even the tent option requires getting the informal permission of the neighbors if you don't want to piss anyone off--and so the expectation is that the groom's family arrange things (as part of the dower), and if the bride's family helps, it's seen as them being nice. You do hear ridiculous stories, but most of these are about the truly immodest sums rich parents spend on them (they paid ''how much'' to get Famous Singer X to play?) rather than anyone's insistence that things be ''just right''.

* In certain Middle Eastern countries, the wedding is supposed to be the business of the ''groom's'' family. In more traditional times, the wedding was a general community bash held that started small and at home (in the garden or on the roof) and then spilled out into the street, so planning was pointless: at a certain level, herding cats would be an easier proposition. In some cases, one just set up the tent in the street, put out the food,[[note]]And other stuff; depending on the community, booze or hash would often be available to all[[/note]] and maybe got a friend to dance or sing, and hoped for the best. Today, most Middle Easterners live in apartments--hardly the best venue for the more traditional sort of wedding--and as a result, the wealthy and middle class hold weddings at hotels (generally for wealthier types) or specialized halls (more middle-income), while the poor tend to still go with the "tent-in-the-street" option. This all takes some planning--even the tent option requires getting the informal permission of the neighbors if you don't want to piss anyone off--and so the expectation is that the groom's family arrange things (as part of the dower), and if the bride's family helps, it's seen as them being nice. You do hear ridiculous stories, but most of these are about the truly immodest sums rich parents spend on them (they paid ''how much'' to get Famous Singer X to play?) rather than anyone's insistence that things be ''just right''.

* There have been a few news stories reporting the phenomenon of [[http://abcnews.go.com/US/single-bridezillas-wedding-planning-groom/story?id=15405082#.T9rq3VJKWSo "Single Bridezillas,]] which involve women who have done a lot of their wedding arrangements, such as buying the dress and selecting the flowers, invitations, and caterers, before their boyfriend even proposes, and in some cases, ''without an actual boyfriend to speak of''. While it's not unusual for a woman to fantasize about her dream wedding, these ladies take it to extremes. It remains to be seen whether men will take this as a huge red flag that their future wife doesn't value their opinion or possibly cares more about the wedding than the marriage.

* Clarissa in the comedy novel ''Maneater'' (not to be confused with several other novels sharing the title). "A wedding is no problem for dear Clarissa --- she has been maintaining a wedding binder for years, complete with the best
caterers, hotels and florists. She ... has planned the date of the wedding, the bridesmaids and the reception menu. She also has the groom all lined up, but the trouble is, she hasn't met him yet." [[spoiler: the groom is just as manipulative.]]

* The protagonist's fiancee in ''Insane City''. She came from a ''very'' wealthy family and could afford a perfect wedding. Among other things, her silver ring was made of slivers of rings from all of her female relatives over the years, and her groom ''lost it'' (along with his tuxedo) and had to find it without her knowing about it. Being a KafkaKomedy, everything that could go wrong did. [[spoiler: The groom dumped her when he realized she was being a hypocrite about her social justice causes.]]

* ''Series/DeepSpaceNine''. A GenderInvertedTrope when Jadzia Dax marries Worf, who becomes obsessed with providing a traditional Klingon wedding, much to the annoyance of his less-than-serious bride. Eventually Captain Sisko gives Dax a WhatTheHellHero speech, pointing out that Dax knew what she was getting into when she married into a Klingon House, so she better start respecting their traditions.

* Marge during her third wedding to Homer, in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Wedding for Disaster". Homer gets screamed at and her children fear her.

* ''TheCloser'' features a Bridezilla in the B-plot of one episode; upon being informed that the steps the wedding party was supposed to walk up were a crime scene and they would need to find an alternate route into the church, the bride started beating on officer in charge Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, not stopping until she was carried bodily away. Then, she declared that she would never drop her threatened civil suit, not even in exchange for having criminal assault charges dropped.

** Monica had a few freak outs about her wedding ceremony. It started when she wanted to celebrate her engagement with her friends, but felt that Rachel was stealing her thunder. She also wanted to spend enormous amount of money, and though Chandler would ok it for her sake, they decided to keep it low-key. Considering how much of a perfectionist and obsessed with getting married Monica is, she actually held herself together quite well. Chandler however laughs at her when she points it out to him.

-->'''Bridezilla:''' I NEED A CAKE!

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' Rarity suggests that it's the stress of the wedding planning that has made bride to be Princess Mi Amore "Cadence" Cadenza so rude to everyone in "A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1". [[spoiler: It transpires she's actually an [[BodySnatcher evil]] [[VoluntaryShapeshifting impostor]] seeking to control and cripple Canterlot's BarrierWarrior.]]

** Monica had a few freak outs and great demands about her wedding ceremony. It started when she wanted to celebrate her engagement with her friends, but felt that Rachel stole her thunder. She also wanted to spend enormous amount of money, and though Chnadler would ok it for her sake, they decide to keep it low-key. Considering how much of a perfectionist and obsessed with getting married Monica is, she actually held herself together quite well. Chandler however laughs at her when she points it out.

* Elliot in ''{{Scrubs}}''. After her first proposal didn't go as perfectly as she had always dreamed (the ring was too small, but otherwise no disaster), she forced him to take it back and repeat it in front of all her friends, according to her specific instructions. The rest of the engagement went similarly by annoying her fiance and maid of honor wirh her obsessive controlling of the wedding arrangements and her outbursts at minor disasters (like the wrong font on the invitations).
** Carla in the same series had it to a lesser degree, especially when the ceremony didn't go quite as planned.
*** Wholly justified, as [[spoiler: the Groom didn't even make it to the ceremony.]]
* In ''{{Smallville}}'', [[spoiler:Chloe calls herself this on her wedding day]], but it is subverted as she is nice and bright as ever.

* May Dionysus have mercy on your soul if you spoil [[TrueBlood Maryann's]] special day.
* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' became a literal bridezilla in one episode, when, following the advice of Cinderella, she became extremely demanding, causing her lower body to change into that of a dragon and making her breathe fire.
** It reached the point that Cinderella barely notices or cares that Prince Charming left years ago because he was sick of her behavior, and all she does is go around in her wedding dress reliving the memories. While Sabrina has her epiphany, all Cinderella cares about is showing her the wedding album.
* Phoebe's wedding in ''{{Friends}}'' causes ''Monica'' to become [[strike:Bride]] Maid-of-Honourzilla.

* ''Series/{{Bridezillas}}'' is a reality TV show about this trope in action. Every episode features brides-to-be being completely and unapologetically bitchy to their friends, family, and hired help up to, during, and after the wedding. [[UnfortunateImplications At no point does anyone ever give any indication that their actions should be frowned upon in the show.]]
** At least in the newer episodes, the narrator is not at all shy about dishing out [[TakeThat snarky comments]] ([[CrowningMomentOfFunny in her ridiculously perky tone]], no less) about the bride's awful behavior, even if no one onscreen acts as though she's doing anything wrong.
*** The thing about this show is that it specifically chooses crass, lower-class women and their often dysfunctional families and gives them thousands of dollars to plan their dream wedding. HilarityEnsues.
**** Actually, the show only pays for the ''honeymoon'', and seems to go out of its way to find brides who are planning everything at the last minute and/or lack the finances to pay for everything.
** There's another show that follows a Wedding Planner who tries to rein in the more outlandish (possibly life-destroying due to the expense) demands of the couple. Most of the time, however, the brides are not as bad as on ''Bridezillas'', they just have misguided ideas about what they can afford.
** Relatively sad considering most of the women are acting this way for the camera alone. Often times they end up betraying their men a couple days before the wedding or force themselves into a hitch-or-ditch situation. All for the sake of a TV station to help pay for their wedding that may very well not happen...
* Subverted by British series 'Don't Tell The Bride'. The premise of the show is that the couple sign a waiver allowing the GROOM to plan the whole wedding on a £12000 budget while living apart from his bride-to-be. The grooms-to-be always seem to be a little less flighty (although sometimes a Mother-In-Law-Zilla intervenes!)
** Although some brides do come over all firebreathing and scaly if they're not particularly used to relinquishing the head position in their relationship...

* Lily on ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' did a remarkably good job at subverting this trope when everything went wrong during her wedding day. However season four flashbacks reveal her to have been quite the bridezilla during the months leading up to the wedding. Also [[InvokedTrope invoked]] rather well by Barney, who discovers that using the line "It's for the bride" on the day of a wedding is the single greatest BavarianFireDrill in the world.
** Played straight by Claudia, wife of Ted's friend Stewart, although a few other episodes show that this isn't all that different from Claudia's normal personality.

* On ''GilmoreGirls,'' Lorelai's [[MeddlingParents Meddling Mother]] Emily helps Sookie plan her wedding with some rather extravagant suggestions, but Sookie gets too caught up with it to realize how expensive and bizarre the plans are becoming. Her fiancé begins to feel alienated and Sookie eventually goes into Bridezilla mode over the details on her invitations (or something), and Lorelai helps her to calm down.

-->'''Anya:''' "Planning this marriage is like staging the invasion of Normandy."
-->'''Xander:''' "Without the laughs. We should have eloped."
-->'''Anya:''' "No. I've been through too much planning this wedding, and it is going to happen. It is going to be our perfect, perfect day if I have to kill every one of our guests and half this town to do it."

* Parodied, [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and [[AvertedTrope averted]] in ''AnsemRetort''. The bride preparing for the wedding is remarkably calm, but a {{Kaiju}} [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in a wedding dress]] destroys downtown.

* Marge during her [[strike:second]] third wedding to Homer, in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Wedding for Disaster." Averted for her fourth, probably because they planned that one without her knowing.

* TruthInTelevision: [[http://www.etiquettehell.com/content/eh_wedding/bridezillas/ebridezilla.shtml Bridezilla stories at Etiquette Hell]].
** (There is a ''lot'' of material here. Don't [[ArchivePanic panic]]. Just start at the most recent and nibble your way in. You'll come to love visiting the site on dull afternoons.)

** Also averted historically in North America, at least among upper-class families. The bride's mother planned the wedding, the groom's mother planned the rehearsal dinner, and the groom planned the honeymoon. The bride literally had nothing to do but show up. A bride whose mother had died was pitied because she'd have to find another relative to plan her wedding. (As an unmarried woman she'd never be allowed to do it herself.)
** In certain Middle Eastern countries, the wedding is supposed to be the business of the ''groom's'' family. In more traditional times, the wedding was a general community bash held that started small and at home (in the garden or on the roof) and then spilled out into the street, so planning was pointless: at a certain level, herding cats would be an easier proposition. In some cases, one just set up the tent in the street, put out the food,[[note]]And other stuff; depending on the community, booze or hash would often be available to all[[/note]] and maybe got a friend to dance or sing, and hoped for the best. Today, most Middle Easterners live in apartments--hardly the best venue for the more traditional sort of wedding--and as a result, the wealthy and middle class hold weddings at hotels (generally for wealthier types) or specialized halls (more middle-income), while the poor tend to still go with the "tent-in-the-street" option. This all takes some planning--even the tent option requires getting the informal permission of the neighbors if you don't want to piss anyone off--and so the expectation is that the groom's family arrange things (as part of the dower), and if the bride's family helps, it's seen as them being nice. You do hear ridiculous stories, but most of these are about the truly immodest sums rich parents spend on them (they paid ''how much'' to get Famous Singer X to play?) rather than anyone's insistence that things be ''just right''.
*** Indeed, at the more high-end kind of this type of wedding, the insistence that things be ''just right'' will not come from the family but from the team employed to make the obligatory wedding video: things must be set up so that the camera can get at everything.
* There have been a few news stories reporting the phenomenon of [[http://abcnews.go.com/US/single-bridezillas-wedding-planning-groom/story?id=15405082#.T9rq3VJKWSo "Single Bridezillas,]] which involve women who have done a lot of their wedding arrangements, such as buying the dress and selecting the flowers, invitations, and caterers, before their boyfriend even proposes, and in some cases, ''without an actual boyfriend to speak of.'' While it's not unusual for a woman to fantasize about her dream wedding, these ladies take it to extremes. It remains to be seen whether men will take this as a huge red flag that their future wife doesn't value their opinion or possibly cares more about the wedding than the marriage.
** One such woman showed up on SayYesToTheDress. Her pushyness scared her boyfriend off, as the ending voiceover told us.

* Muriel, who marries Governor Derrick of Merry Cay, in ''GhostPiratesOfVoojuIsland''.

* An ad for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5FyApwObiY&feature=related Diet Dr. Pepper]] had a bride barking at her line of bridesmaids, "This is MY wedding. And in MY wedding, there are rules. Dresses must be in pristine condition, fingernails done and neat...''are you eyeballing me, Martinez?''" Then she flounces away and the back of her wedding dress skirt falls off.

* Elliot in ''{{Scrubs}}''. After her first proposal didn't go as perfectly as she had always dreamed (the ring was too small, but otherwise no disaster), she forced him to take it back and repeat it in front of all her friends, according to her specific instructions. The rest of the engagement went similarly.

* Elliot in season 6 of ''{{Scrubs}}'' annoys her fiance and maid of honor by her obsessive controlling of the wedding arrangements and her outbursts at minor disasters (like the wrong font on the invitations).
** Carla in the same series had it to a lesser degree, especially when the ceremony didn't go quite as planned.
*** Wholly justified, as [[spoiler: the Groom didn't even make it to the ceremony.]]

** One such woman showed up on SayYesToTheDress. Her pushyness scared her boyfriend off, as the ending voiceover told us.

* There is now a reality TV show with this trope (''Bridezillas'') as the title. Every episode features brides-to-be being completely and unapologetically bitchy to their friends, family, and hired help up to, during, and after the wedding. [[UnfortunateImplications At no point does anyone ever give any indication that her actions should be frowned upon in the show.]]

** There's another show that follows a Wedding Planner who tries to rein in the more outlandish (possibly life-destroying due to the expense) demands of the couple. Most of the time, however, the brides are not as bad as the show Bridezillas, they just have misguided ideas about what they can afford.

[[quoteright:316:[[Anime/HimeChenOtogiChikkuIdolLilpri http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BridezillaXDResized_3940.PNG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:316:This trope when taken [[VisualPun a bit too literally]]!]]