A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding
In this episode, MODE's creative director Wilhelmina Slater attempts to marry the magazine's publisher Bradford Meade.
Wang first drafted a larger taffeta wedding dress, but Williams felt it was inappropriate for Wilhelmina's age and requested a simpler design.
Christina McKinney (Ashley Jensen), MODE's seamstress, reunites with her husband Stuart (Derek Riddell) after leaving him in Scotland years ago; he reveals he is dying of a rare disease which requires a $100,000 operation.
During the pause in the ceremony, MODE's receptionist Amanda Tanen (Becki Newton) sings "Milkshake" while accompanied by an organ.
"A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding" has a runtime of approximately 43 minutes;[1] it was written by Silvio Horta and Marco Pennette, and directed by James Hayman.
[2] The episode includes Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's 1984 song "Hallelujah", which is heard during the ending sequence.
[3] Along with Becki Newton's rendition of "Milkshake", the wedding scenes include Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney's 1982 duet "Ebony and Ivory" and Hot Chocolate's 1975 single "You Sexy Thing".
[4] In the episode's initial storyline, Beckham was to wear a fatsuit for a joke about her weight gain following her move to the U.S.[4][5] An ABC insider said; "Everyone at the wedding will be expecting skinny, beautiful Posh to show up.
[7][19] Some media outlets promoted the episode as "The Wedding of the Year";[20][21] Ferrera, Williams, and Urie were photographed in their costumes for a TV Guide cover.
[24] "A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding" marked a rise in viewership compared to the previous episode "Something Wicked This Way Comes", which was viewed by 9.9 million people.
"[3] Denise Ward of the Los Angeles Times commended the episode for "pull[ing] our collective gut in all directions (and we're still deliciously dizzy)", and singled out its use of comedy and drama.
[33] Entertainment Weekly's Kate Ward wrote that the episode had "all the drama with plenty of pitch-perfect comedy", citing scenes between Marc and his boyfriend Cliff St. Paul as the notable high points.
Ward, however, questioned whether the time spent on Ignacio's citizenship ceremony could have been used for other characters, though she found the ending to his immigration storyline to be enjoyable.
[16] On the other hand, Amina Akhtar of Vulture dismissed the episode as one of the worst in the show's history; she criticized the script as containing numerous plot holes and the costuming as too tacky given the characters' association with a fashion magazine.
[35] TV Guide's Aimee Deeken singled out Beckham's advertisement for an energy drink during a wedding-related press interview as her favorite part of the episode.
Ward preferred it over the original, writing that she "personified train wreck during her church-y rendition",[16] and Matos referred to the performance as risky yet successful.
[3] In a 2010 article looking back on Ugly Betty, The Guardian's Kira Cochrane likened its "occasional musical moments", like "Milkshake", to "the best stage spectacles, those filled with wild outfits and wilder songs, which make you laugh with one breath before ripping out your heart with the next".
[39] Music journalist Paul Lester wrote that the inclusion of "Milkshake" on Ugly Betty and other television shows were signs of the song's "cultural penetration".
According to Chicana/o studies professors Eliza Rodriguez y Gibson and Tanya González, the related scenes juxtapose Betty's and Ignacio's faith in the government.
[44] According to Rodriguez y Gibson, the episode sends a message that "citizenship does not guarantee against marginalization nor does it offer protection, nor friendship, nor inclusion.
