15 best weddings in pop culture ranked by how memorable they’d be to attend

Luke and Laura’s Wedding, General Hospital

Luke and Laura Spencer’s wedding on General Hospital set the bar for insane television nuptials all the way back in 1981. In fact, a 1996 issue of TV Guide ranked it No. 35 on its list of “100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History.”

The wedding had all the tropes of a fairy tale, including a (true story) curse that was placed upon the couple by Elizabeth Taylor’s supervillain Helena Cassadine, who crashed the wedding and doomed the ill-fated pair.

The nuptials set the record for the highest ratings in the history of daytime television at 30 million viewers. That this romance could beget so many rabid fans is perhaps perplexing for a modern-day viewer to understand, especially considering that the relationship began after Luke raped a young Laura. Even Anthony Geary, who portrayed Luke on General Hospital for 30 years, doesn’t quite understand the couple’s appeal.

“They had Luke become obsessed with her, which led to the rape, which was then romanticized to my great regret through the years,” Geary told the L.A. Times recently. “Ironically, the audience had as much sympathy for the rapist as they did for the victim, which nobody quite understood.”

Whether you were a virtual guest at the Spencer wedding more than 30 years ago or need to see for yourself what the deal is with this soapy supercouple, you can view their outdoor wedding ceremony above.