My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is a British documentary produced by Firecracker Films for Channel 4 looking at the milestones in a Gypsy girl's life leading to the biggest day of all - her wedding - from first Holy Communion (described as a "dress rehearsal for her wedding day") to the strict rules of courtship, a hen night and the wedding itself.
The documentary aired in the UK on Channel 4 on 18 February, 2010. Based on its success, a full series was spawned called Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. It is an hour long.
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding originally aired in South Africa on DStv's BBC Entertainment channel on Thursday 10 November 2011, at 21h00. It later aired on DStv's BBC Lifestyle channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding aired on BBC Lifestyle on Sunday 6 May 2012, at 18h00.
Synopsis
Entering the world of 21st Century gypsy and traveller weddings, where ancient traditions meet modern fashions in an ostentatious culture clash, this documentary follows four gypsy and traveller families on their wedding day.
Although these young women look sexually provocative, there is a tradition of premarital chastity that is increasingly unusual in Britain today.
Considered "on the shelf" at 20, in gypsy and traveller communities many girls get married soon after their 16th birthday, with the full support of their family.
The weddings are visual spectacles – brides and their families compete to have the most flamboyant dresses, which can reach enormous proportions and sometimes weigh more than the bride herself.
Gaining rare access to this fascinating and often misunderstood community, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding uses the prism of the weddings to reveal a culture where marriages between first cousins are acceptable, but having children out of wedlock is still taboo and divorce is unheard of.
Used to facing prejudice, this is a community that lives alongside but detached from mainstream society.
It is a world of contrasts, living by centuries old religious and cultural traditions but at the same time embracing the gaudier extremes of the celebrity- and fashion-obsessed times in which we live.
Seasons
Season 1
Channel: BBC Entertainment | Aired: 10 November, 2011 | Thursday, 21h00
Channel: BBC Lifestyle | Aired: 6 May 2012 | Sunday, 18h00