Carol and Susan are getting married. When plans for Carol's parents to give her away fall through, she asks Ross to give her away.
Tropes
- All Men Are Perverts: When the Dirty Old Man says it was a worth a shot to suggest Phoebe sleep with him, Joey immediately nods in agreement.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Sandra Green becomes this after revealing to Rachel that she's planning to leave her husband. She asks if they have any marijuana (because she's never tried it) and loudly asks "What's new in sex?".
- Armor-Piercing Response: Rachel struggles to understand the impending divorce and why she was told about it before even Dr. Green was.Sandra: Well, I guess I figured, of all people, you would understand.
Rachel: Why on Earth would I understand this?!
Sandra: You didn't marry your Barry, honey, but I married mine. - Awful Wedded Life: Rachel is surprised to learn how unhappy her parents marriage actually is as they apparently never even talked to each other, leading her to assume they were fine.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Since Ross convinced Carol to go ahead with the ceremony and even gave her away, Susan thanks him and offers him a dance (adding he can even lead). In following episodes, they're not exactly friends, but they're much less hostile towards each other.
- Comically Missing the Point: In the immediate aftermath of Sandra talking about leaving her father, a stunned Rachel says the two never so much as talked to each other. She questions how she could've possibly known there was a problem.
- Control Freak: Monica had outright told Rachel and Sandra to stay the hell out of her kitchen while she worked. As it becomes apparent the workload is too much for her alone, Monica gets everyone to help, but she still aggressively tells them what to do.
- Dirty Old Man: Phoebe meets with her deceased client's husband to find out if the woman had any Unfinished Business. The man claims his wife said she wanted to sleep with him one last time. When Phoebe replies that she's hearing laughing from the ghost the man turns to Joey and says "Worth a shot, eh?"
- Ghostly Goals: Phoebe thinks she's possessed by an old woman who died on her massage table, and won't leave until she has seen everything. Apparently, a lesbian wedding did the trick.
- Give Away the Bride: Carol wanted to be given away by her parents but they refuse to attend as they don't support her marrying a woman. Eventually Ross agrees to step in and give her away.
- Hollywood Law: New York City did not recognize domestic partnerships for LGBT couples until two years later. Though Susan and Carol might just be having a ceremony that's meaningful to them but not necessarily one that gives their relationship legal status.
- It's All About Me: When Carol announces they may be calling off the wedding Monica reacts by asking if they're still going to pay her. When the gang glares at her she backs down and acknowledges how selfish that is.
- I Can't Believe I'm Saying This: Carol is so distraught about her parents not wanting to attend that she questions the wedding and has a fight with Susan. Ross has this reaction, when saying he actually agrees with Susan for once.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: At the wedding reception Sandra tells Rachel that she just danced with a woman and three others have made eyes at her. Rachel's response is to ask Monica if there's more alcohol.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Despite Ross's long issues with Carol and Susan's relationship, when Carol is upset after her parents refuse to attend and Susan is angry at her doubts, he consoles her with the advice that this wedding is about Carol and Susan rather than their parents and what matters is that Carol wants to marry Susan.
- Jerkass:
- Monica is very mean in this episode.
- Carol’s parents don’t approve of her marrying another woman and refuse to come to their wedding.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Ross points out the fact that if Carol was marrying a man, his friends wouldn't be putting as much pressure on him to accept it and attend the ceremony.
- Monica was being very rude, selfish, and pushy, but she was unemployed at the time really needed the money.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Rachel is annoyed at her mother trying to be just like her, she comments "why couldn't she just copy my hairstyle or something?", referencing the real life popularity of "the Rachel".
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Was Phoebe really possessed by the spirit of an old lady, or did she just think she was?
- Mean Boss: Monica to her friends when they help her with the food for the wedding.
- Metaphorical Marriage: As mentioned under Hollywood Law, Carol and Susan's wedding would not have been legally binding at the time the episode was made. The ceremony is largely a symbolic gesture but the characters clearly don't see it as any lesser and behave as they would for any other wedding.
- Mistaken for Gay: A lesbian overhears Phoebe lamenting her loss of Rose's possession and thinks Rose was her lover.
- "Not So Different" Remark:
- As Rachel frets about her parents getting divorced, Chandler says he went through something similar and says his therapist told him that all kids feel responsible for this kind of situation. Of course, he adds that may very well be true in this particular case.
- Played for laughs at the wedding. Joey comments on how he's surrounded by women, but since they're lesbians, he couldn't begin to get anywhere with them. Chandler retorts that that is what every single day is like for him.Chandler: The world is my lesbian wedding.
- Seen-It-All Suicide: Not exactly suicide, but when the woman "possessing" Phoebe witnesses Carol and Susan get married, she exclaims "Now, I've seen everything!" and releases her hold on Phoebe.
- Stress Vomit: Rachel reacts to her mother's Wham Line by getting nauseous and running to the bathroom. Monica, who walked in between the line and Rachel's reaction, thinks she's throwing up in response to Monica suggesting serving chicken breasts at a lesbian wedding.
- Ungrateful Bastard: When Monica’s friends help her make the food for Carol and Susan’s wedding, she doesn’t thank them and barks orders at then.
- Wham Line: "I'm considering leaving your father."
- Word, Schmord!: Chandler comes on to one of the lesbians at the wedding.Chandler: You know what? Penis, schmenis, we're all people.
