Ice sculptures and a prayer to Taylor Swift: Behind the scenes at ‘Virgin River’s’ big wedding
As a longtime fan of heartwarming dramas and someone who has been through the ups and downs of love myself, I found the season finale of Virgin River to be a truly satisfying conclusion to an excellent season. The attention to detail in the wedding scenes was remarkable, from the intricacies of the dress to the emotional performances by Breckenridge and Henderson.
What’s the typical timeline for hearing wedding bells when in a relationship, considering different perspectives? In the series “Virgin River,” it took six seasons and 64 episodes to reach that point.
The romantic drama series on Netflix, currently streaming its sixth season, concluded with the much-awaited wedding of main characters Mel Monroe and Jack Sheridan. This popular couple’s relationship, characterized by its escapist fantasy elements, is a key focus of the show. Coincidentally, as viewers are scurrying to find last-minute gifts and dealing with holiday-related financial pressures, it serves as an opportune moment to emphasize the importance of love in our lives.
In this slow-paced TV series, spanning approximately a year across its first five seasons, the characters portrayed by Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson navigate their relationship through numerous ups and downs that would usually lead to breakups in real life. They’ve faced abductions by illegal marijuana growers, paternity lies, robberies at knife point, shootings, and more. Even when they decided to get married, they managed to stay together. A turning point came when Mel had a miscarriage after they both agreed on having children.
They had the “for better, for worse” part of their commitment locked down, to say the least.
Henderson expressed in a recent conversation, ‘At last, excellent!’ He seems to believe the audience has eagerly anticipated this for ages. In essence, it’s a romance novel, which means beyond passionate encounters, what does the audience crave? They yearn for enduring love, marriage, family, and a blissful conclusion. I think we managed to strike a nice balance between prolonging it enough and keeping the audience on edge.
Television
On Netflix’s “Virgin River,” the showrunner and a scenic artist talk about their preparations for the two festive episodes, which will conclude the fifth season of the program.
“It’s the moment people have been waiting for since they started watching it,” Breckenridge said.
The drama unfolds in a picturesque small town of Northern California, as depicted in Robin Carr’s bestselling book series. It centers around the developing relationship between a nurse, having moved on from her L.A. life following her husband’s demise, and a bar owner, who is a veteran. For Patrick Sean Smith, the showrunner and executive producer, known for his work in young adult shows like “Summerland” and “Greek”, exploring the idea that a second chance at love later in life can be fulfilling has been an enriching journey.
He mentioned, “The depth of those tales goes beyond the simplicity of young love; they carry a complexity to them.
In the second book, Melody and Jack tie the knot in a quiet ceremony. Unlike their on-screen wedding, the event was less extravagant. In the TV series, Hope McCrea, who is both a meddlesome and benevolent friend as well as the town’s mayor, manages to convince them to let her organize the affair. This provides an opportunity for the writers to create a slightly more elaborate wedding than what would suit Melody and Jack’s usual taste. The wedding even featured ice sculptures, adding a touch of elegance to this rustic ceremony.
Smith mentioned that if he’d stuck with Mel and Jack getting married in Sacramento as depicted in the book, fans might have come looking for him and his family, so he decided it was prudent to keep his home off public lists. He found it sensible to deviate from the original plan. He had a delightful conversation with Robin Carr about the changes, and she was thrilled that they were planning a grand event. It seemed fitting, given six seasons of storytelling, to make this significant milestone for Mel and Jack a major spectacle.
I, as part of the creative team, certainly felt the weight of fans’ anticipations regarding how Mel and Jack’s wedding should unfold. Mecca Thornhill, our set decorator, succinctly captured this sentiment by saying, “Each one of us carries a unique vision in our minds about what Mel and Jack’s wedding should be.
Smith stated, “We aimed for it to have a style suitable for Pinterest,” he said. “We wanted a warm, homely atmosphere. We desired a rural, farm-like feel. We knew we needed something in a natural setting, which was challenging given the time we were filming in Vancouver. But we got lucky. It was a stunning day. I joked that I had prayed to Taylor Swift, and it seems like when you pray to Taylor, she makes things happen.
Television
One widely accepted idea from the Trump era is that rural lifestyles and values are undervalued. However, upon closer examination, this argument seems less convincing.
Although it was a significant event, not everyone from the entire town attended. The fictional town has approximately 600 residents, but only 120 chairs were bought for the ceremony, as stated by Tony Devenyi, the show’s production designer. A few ice sculptures were also commissioned. Since they had to prepare for unforeseen circumstances at the location, it was a necessary precaution. The original wedding site was located quite far from Vancouver, where the show is primarily shot. However, worries about having limited options for adjustments in case June’s unpredictable weather disrupted the plans led them to relocate the venue just three or four days before filming began.
Devenyi stated that Virgin River already has a unique atmosphere and charm which we aimed to enhance significantly for the wedding. It’s still a quaint, small-town setting. We wanted to convey that with hard work and determination, couples could create a beautiful wedding without it being an extravagant Hollywood event.
The demands went beyond mere aesthetics for Smith at the wedding. He recognized the need to create memorable, romantic moments – such as when, at the precise moment the ceremony was about to commence, they would ride horseback back to the river’s edge, reminiscent of where their relationship had begun, or share a passionate moment under the flickering firelight in their cabin after the ceremony.
Going back to where we started at the beginning of the season had been my goal all along,” Smith expressed. “It served as our guiding light. Following numerous hurdles and challenges, I yearned for that defining moment.
Smith explained, “The romantic scene was my creation – an ice sculpture. It’s essential for such settings to have ice sculptures and romantic moments. The atmosphere needs soft lighting, the right music, and thoughtful touches. The difficulty lies in enhancing a cabin that already resembles a honeymoon suite on regular days. So, I suggested adding ice sculptures, but my idea was rejected. Instead, we opted for rose petals.
It all worked effectively for Henderson.
As Breckenridge (playing Mel) made her way down the aisle, Henderson, whose character switched from a tuxedo to his marine uniform for the ceremony, was deeply moved from Jack’s perspective. This is the woman he adores so dearly who was about to become his wife. The depth of emotion I felt during that moment, he explained, stemmed not only from the love story unfolding but also from the journey these characters have shared throughout the seasons, their bond being something profound and meaningful. So engrossed in the scene, he even forgot to remove his hat as required.
At weddings like Mel and Jack’s, a bride’s dress can be either the shining highlight or a source of frustration. During their first dance, Mel’s father, Everett (John Allen Nelson), performed a song specially written for the show by Wesley Schultz from The Lumineers. Breckenridge mentioned that Mel’s dress bustle frequently malfunctioned, making Henderson stumble over it repeatedly. This issue, it seems, was what prompted the hushed comment Henderson made to her during their dance.
Breckenridge shared that she donned thermal leggings beneath her wedding gown to keep warm during the frosty weather. “I’d step out of my dress, and the wardrobe team would unzip it for me. Beneath, I wore these comical-looking items that made it seem like I was bare, but I wasn’t. I danced around in Uggs. Onlookers were taken aback, thinking I was running about without any clothes on.
At the wedding reception, Mel sported a shrug that originally belonged to Breckenridge; she had worn it during her own wedding. She explained, “My husband sent it to me overnight with FedEx.
The two segments were captured over a span of 16 days. Smith mentioned that he treated it like an occasion more commonly seen on television broadcasts, where the wedding spanned across the last two episodes of the season. The entirety of Season 6 unfolds during a three-week period prior to the wedding. Smith stated that there was no discussion about postponing the wedding any further.
As a dedicated movie enthusiast, I felt it was unfair to my fans to proceed in that manner. Prolonging a story can lead to weariness and over-saturation, much like erosion. Moreover, I didn’t want the series to reach a point where the expected ending was simply a wedding, as that would make the inevitable seem mundane.
Towards the end of “Virgin River’s” final episode, the radiance of the wedding had dimmed slightly, creating a few suspenseful plot twists for the upcoming season. For Mel and Jack, this could imply that they might consider adopting the child of one of Mel’s expectant patients.
In reference to Season 7, we’re aiming to explore fresh dimensions in Mel and Jack’s relationship since they’re now married, emphasizing the importance of matrimony beyond merely wearing a wedding band. This means, we don’t want marriage to be just a prop on our TV show.
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2024-12-19 14:34