Wedding Crashers (2005)

With the cast in place, producers then had to address another difficult challenge – the film’s location.

“One of our biggest challenges early on was that the movie was initially written for Boston and Cape Cod,” reveals producer Peter Abrams. “We were always going to shoot a small portion of the film in Los Angeles, and the majority on location, but the availability of our actors was something we couldn’t control, and our window was March, April and May, which meant shooting in Boston wasn’t going to work. I grew up on the East Coast, and the beginning of April on Cape Cod can be freezing cold, so we needed to find a location that was going to be warmer.”

It was David Dobkin who initially suggested moving the setting a little further south to Washington, D.C.

“Since one of the characters in the film was the Secretary of the Treasury, I said ‘Let's shoot it in Washington,” says Dobkin. “It’s a city that is typically used for political films and thrillers, but rarely is the backdrop for a comedy. The other advantage was that I grew up in Washington, so I knew exactly where I wanted to go for everything and could shorthand the scouts and get the locations very quickly. We ultimately decided to shoot the Maryland Eastern Shore instead of Cape Cod and make Washington a character in the film.”

Wedding Crashers began principal photography on March 22nd, 2004 at the Wilshire Ebell in Los Angeles. The mood on the set was very festive due to the filmmakers’ decision to shoot the crashing montage of five weddings and receptions – Jewish, Italian, Chinese, Irish and Hindu – during the first week of filming.

“The wedding crashing montage only lasts a few minutes at the opening of the film, but I wanted the movie to start with energy,” explains Dobkin. “I also wanted to establish that same frenetic energy on set right off the bat, so we set up the first week of shooting real commando style, gunning with lots of cameras and pushing the guys through the crashing sequences.”

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson got on board with Dobkin’s vision for the initial crashing montage.

“When the movie opens, John and Jeremy have crashed over 300 weddings and it’s been good for them in many ways,” says Vaughn. “It’s not just meeting the girls – which they do enjoy – but they love the party atmosphere, the food, the drinks, the music, the dancing and the fact that love is in the air. They relish the whole event and feel that it’s the best party anyone can go to.”

Wilson adds, “We also like to spread the wealth around and be multicultural, so we crash many ethnically diverse weddings. Italian, Jewish, Hindu, Chinese - it doesn’t matter - we just come in, take over and are the life of the party. If I personally were at a wedding, I would probably try and hide in the corner, but John and Jeremy get in the center and take the opposite approach of blending in by sticking out. It’s the idea that these guys are so obnoxious that they have to have been invited, because no one would act like this much of an idiot if they weren’t.”

---