For those who always thought, like Spencer Tracy's character in Father of the Bride (1950), that marriage was a simple affair, MGM's hit 1950 comedy is the perfect cure—as comical as it is all too true. The only thing simple about this story of a father reluctantly giving his daughter away was the production process, one of the smoothest in MGM history thanks to director Vincente Minnelli and a strong, very professional cast. Getting it into production, however, was another story entirely. Studio head Dore Schary thought Edward Streeter's best-selling comic novel was a natural for the husband-and-wife team of Francis Goodrich and Albert Hackett, who had worked magic on such simple, all-American stories as It's a Wonderful Life and Easter Parade. But they took one look at the episodic novel and swore it was unadaptable. Schary was used to such reluctance on their part, and patiently led them through the first few weeks of the writing. Every time they swore they had failed, he showed them what worked in their scenes, until they came up with a screenplay that pleased everyone. Goodrich and Hackett had shaped the father's role for Spencer Tracy, the only actor Minnelli thought capable of capturing the story's humor along with the heartache of a man giving up his beloved daughter. The 17-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, MGM's top young actress at the time, was the only choice to play Tracy's daughter.
› The first rushes for Father of the Bride were so strong that MGM immediately registered the title Now I'm a Grandfather and negotiated sequel rights with Edward Streeter, author of the original novel.
› The film premiere of Father of the Bride was held two days after Elizabeth Taylor's real-life wedding to "Nicky" Conrad Hilton, Jr.
› Elizabeth's wedding gift from MGM was a wedding gown designed by Edith Head, Hollywood's foremost costume designer.
› The sequel to Father of the Bride was made a year later, under the title Father's Little Dividend, and defied conventional wisdom by doing almost as well at the box office as the original. By the time of the second film, in which a happily married Taylor has her first child, Taylor's first marriage was over, a fact not trumpeted in the film's publicity.
› The wedding cake as we know it today was first presented during Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace in 1840. The royal wedding cake measured nine feet around, weighed 300 pounds, and reached a height of fourteen inches. Roses, cupids, and an ice sculpture adorned the cake and began the trend of cake toppers that represent the bride and groom.
› In 19th century Europe, bakers used broom handles as pillars to support the many layers of the wedding cake.
› The earliest types of wedding cakes were actually loaves of bread shaped like birds.
› In ancient Rome, cakes were broken over the head of the bride to bless the newlyweds with good fortune and happiness. The wedding guests enjoyed the pieces of cake to share in the good tidings.
› During the Middle Ages in Europe, wedding guests stacked pieces of cake or bread into a pile, and the bride and groom had to kiss one another above the pile without knocking it over. Successfully doing so would symbolize a lifetime of prosperity and happiness.
› In China, the bride wears an embroidered gown (known as the Phoenix Robe), veil, and shoes that are all made of red silk. She rides in a red sedan carried by attendants dressed in red while the groom leads this procession on foot or horseback through the village en route to the groom’s home. The groom wears a silk garment adorned with a red silk sash attached to a bouquet of red silk ribbons that he uses to lead his bride from the sedan to the wedding ceremony.
› In Norway, the bride traditionally wears a white or silver gown and a silver-gold crown with small, spoon-shaped bangles. The groom wears a wool suit (called a “bundas”) with ornate and colorful patterns that honor his hometown and ancestry.
› In Morocco, it is customary for the bride to prepare for her wedding by taking a ceremonial milk bath before a henna painting (Beberiska) ritual of her hands and feet. After the exchange of wedding vows, the bride would promenade around the outside of her new home three times before she could be considered mistress of the house.
› In Spain, the bride traditionally wears a black silk wedding gown with a veil of exquisite black lace while carrying a bouquet of orange blossoms. Prior to arriving at the church, the groom presents his bride with a pledge of his devotion in the form of thirteen coins, which she then carries with her in a small pouch to the wedding ceremony.
FATHER’S LITTLE DIVIDEND (1951)
Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor reprise their roles in this sequel to "Father of the Bride," with the imminent arrival of a grandchild making Tracy much more nervous than mother-to-be Taylor!
LITTLE WOMEN (1949)
The four March sisters are played by Elizabeth Taylor, June Allyson, Margaret O'Brien and Janet Leigh in this remake of the classic Alcott novel of Civil War-era Massachusetts.
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944)
Judy Garland stars in this captivating musical, directed by Vincente Minnelli and set in turn-of-the-century St. Louis and its World's Fair.
THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER (1963)
Widower Glenn Ford gets more than a little assistance in his love life from Ronny Howard, his 9-year-old son who wants a say in choosing a new mom. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.
FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1991)
Steve Martin plays the put-upon, overly anxious dad who must deal with all sorts of mishaps and financial demands when his daughter decides to get married in this comic remake.
FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950)
Spencer Tracy stars as the titular papa, coping with one emergency after another as daughter Elizabeth Taylor prepares to walk down the aisle in this Vincente Minnelli comedy-romance.
Father of the Bride - (Original Trailer)
Father of the Bride (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Mr. Massoula
Father of the Bride (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Tuxedo
Father of the Bride (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Buckley
› The first rushes for 
› The wedding cake as we know it today was first presented during Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace in 1840. The royal wedding cake measured nine feet around, weighed 300 pounds, and reached a height of fourteen inches. Roses, cupids, and an ice sculpture adorned the cake and began the trend of cake toppers that represent the bride and groom.
› In China, the bride wears an embroidered gown (known as the Phoenix Robe), veil, and shoes that are all made of red silk. She rides in a red sedan carried by attendants dressed in red while the groom leads this procession on foot or horseback through the village en route to the groom’s home. The groom wears a silk garment adorned with a red silk sash attached to a bouquet of red silk ribbons that he uses to lead his bride from the sedan to the wedding ceremony.
