![Carson Boatman, Raven Bowens](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Carson-Boatman-Raven-Bowens-1-1024x759.jpg)
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With This Ring: Chanel (Raven Bowens) and Johnny’s (Carson Boatman) second wedding was memorable for multiple reasons.
We learned in Journalism school that every news story should answer these questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How? The same goes for a good soap tale, but our shows are falling down on the where.
Let’s start with weddings. There’s a way to do ceremonies that won’t draw attention to the fact that soaps don’t have money to do ceremonies. Gone are the splashy location shoots (New Orleans! Central Park! Italy!) so the trick is to keep it small — like DAYS did with Johnny and Chanel. They had been married before, but Johnny got possessed by the devil and divorced her (hey, it happens) so it’s not like the duo needed a big shindig for round two. With Chanel’s mother sick, the two decided to surprise Paulina with their nuptials on Valentine’s Day in her hospital room. Abe gave Paulina a bouquet of white roses and then Chanel did the same.
Paulina: “You brought me white roses, too? You better tell me what’s going on in here.”
Johnny: “Your surgery is not the only reason we’re here.”
Chanel: “Johnny and I are getting married today!”
Abe whipped a marriage license out of his pocket and the couple asked Paulina to give Chanel away, as well as be their matron of honor and best person.
Paulina: “That’s a lot of jobs.”
This particular ceremony worked because we like the couple, the circumstances made sense, and the vows were cute.
Johnny: “Give me your tired feet, your burnt doughnuts, your lost car keys. Just give me you.”
Pleasantries all around, a few jokes about this being Johnny and Chanel’s “last” wedding, and a nurse arrived.
Nurse: “Time to go to surgery.”
Across town, Kayla was reminiscing about her favorite wedding to Steve (out of five). It was the yacht ceremony, which we saw in beautiful flashbacks of their vows on the water along with flowers and extras and big boats sailing by. Can you say money? Not anymore.
That’s okay. Times have changed. The trick is to still play all the beats of the wedding even if it’s going to be small. A soap opera wedding should not be “Find the cheapest set and add water” but that’s what it looks like when the engagement and wedding happen in the same episode.
Some recent DAYS examples:
Rex and Sarah decided to wed at the pub with Kate and Roman as witnesses, officiated by Philip.
Rex: “We’re getting married right here, right now!”
Kate: “Doesn’t seem very festive.”
EJ and Nicole also got engaged and married in the same episode. Chad officiated in the DiMera living room with Johnny and Holly present.
Ditto Eric and Sloan in the living room. Marlena officiated with Brady and Roman looking on.
Sloan: “Our first time making love as husband and wife!”
On a couch with an army blanket.
My point is that if you don’t have the where for a big event like a wedding, you have to make up for it with lots of fun moments building up to the happy couple saying “I do” if we are to invest in the marriage — like we did with Johnny and Chanel.
B&B’s Eric and Donna got a similar truncated treatment, but at least the show dragged their engagement/wedding out over a few episodes.
Eric: “Will you marry your honey bear?”
A handful of Forresters happened to be in the living room, and of course Carter officiates every wedding in LA, so they tied the knot right there. That didn’t bother me because 1) Eric and Donna had been married before 2) Eric was still recovering and 3) It was Eric’s 10th wedding. Still, a trip to a bridal salon so the Logan girls could pick out their dresses would have been fun and I’m always up for a sisterly spat over who will be maid of honor. Maybe next time.
Locations are a challenge for most soaps, but there has to be a better alternative than a small living room. I nominate Il Giardino as long as Sheila isn’t working (since she’s tried to murder most of them) unless the wedding is for Deacon and Sheila. There’s not much chance of that based on the opinion of Deacon’s daughter.
Hope (to Sheila): “You say you’ve changed. Show some growth and walk away.”
She ain’t playing.
GH doesn’t have the location problem DAYS and B&B do because they have The Savoy, The Metro Court and The MC pool set up for pretty ceremonies. Sonny and Nina chose a destination wedding to Sonny’s Puerto Rico island which is the way to go when you have eight people and a possible sniper attending. And to GH’s credit they’re playing all the beats of Chase and Brook Lynn’s wedding, treating us to battles over the location and invitations (so far) and a debate over who will be Gregory’s date — Alexis or Tracy. Cheers to that!
Funerals are also tough because soaps have to keep them small to save money but still make it look like the deceased had friends. GH rightly went all out with Bobbie’s service but chose a different solution for Spencer’s funeral by showing his loved ones placing flowers at his grave (which was odd because no body was found, but I digress) with a voiceover from Alexis eulogizing her great nephew.
With a shooter currently gunning for our faves, I fear GH will have to find more funeral locations…
Sonny: “There’s a leak in my ship.”
Ava: “And you’re far from shore.”
Watch your back, kids.
Y&R clearly broke the bank with Kyle’s splashy wedding to Lola (who?) in 2019 because his next ceremony with Summer was a small vow renewal in the Abbott garden. It’s been living rooms ever since, the last being Ashley and Tucker’s union which imploded two days later in Paris. That split is still playing out with Tucker mad that Ashley keeps doubting his heartbreak.
Ashley: “You can’t break what you don’t have.”
Ouch. If Y&R can make a bar set and fill it with extras for newcomers Jordan and Seth, surely they can pony up more than a bouquet and some folding chairs for the next nuptials. And don’t get me started on our soap faves living in hotels. I get that every character can’t have a full house with a bedroom but the number of couples doing it in identical hotel sets or on a couch (ew) is disturbing.
“Look out world, there’s a new power couple in town!” exulted Tucker as he walked out of his small hotel room with Audra at the local Athletic Club. You want to prove someone has power? Show us where your A-listers sleep and give them a bed.
Hey. It’s only my opinion.