What do these films have in common: Dimboola (1979); Muriel’s Wedding (1994); Thank God He Met Lizzie (1997); The Marriage of Figaro (2009); and A Few Best Men (2011)? They all feature an Aussie wedding.

There has been little serious study of white weddings in Australia despite the scale of the white wedding industry and its impact on young lives. As a social ritual, it is fraught with ideological conundrums and contradictions that are part of the wedding culture.

How does Australian film represent the “white wedding” ritual? In particular, how does it represent gender identities and heterosexual romanticism in the context of Australian national identity. Unlike the USA, very few such films have been produced in Australia and the sample of five films analysed here can be taken as representative of the field.

A broad pattern analysis is presented rather than a close reading of filmic text to identify the messages that such films carry.  The paper can be accessed and downloaded at: Australian_Film_and_White_Weddings