Before they even leave the apartment, Joey drives Chandler crazy by forgetting essential items, including his passport, all while repeatedly shouting “London, baby!” and obsessively taking photos of everything. As if enduring a six-hour flight with Monica wasn’t challenging enough! Meanwhile, Emily is already anxious, and things worsen when she and Ross show Monica the location for their dream wedding, only to discover that the hall has been demolished ahead of schedule. Upon hearing that Monica suggested postponing the wedding, Ross panics about their parents and international guests, prompting Emily to suggest they might as well cancel the entire wedding.
Back in New York, Phoebe helps Rachel realize her lingering feelings for Ross, encouraging her to make a decision. However, Phoebe warns her that it’s too late to win him back. Despite this, Rachel rushes to London. Joey, in typical fashion, insists on buying and wearing a flashy Union Jack hat, which Chandler refuses to tolerate for the rest of the day. Surprisingly, instead of feeling lost and miserable, Joey enjoys a fantastic afternoon and even manages to get a photo with Fergie. However, once back in the hotel room, after a call with Phoebe and watching Cheers on TV, Joey becomes homesick.
In the meantime, Monica explains to Ross the importance women place on their wedding day and comes up with a creative solution—a romantic transformation of the ruined hall.
Did you know ?!
• This episode aired the same day Lisa Kudrow’s son was born.
• The hotel where the Friends stay in this episode, the London Marriott, was the actual hotel that the cast and crew stayed in while filming.
• The finale was filmed in three parts, first the scenes with Lisa Kudrow were filmed in Los Angeles, then everybody went to London and they filmed the scenes on the street, then they filmed the dinner and other scenes in a studio in London before an audience.
• In the closing credits, the lady sat behind Chandler on the open top bus is show creator and writer Marta Kauffman.
• Lisa Kudrow was pregnant in real life during the filming of this episode, and was therefore not able to travel to London; therefore the writers had to find a way to keep her involved in the story while still in Monica’s apartment.
• Although Lisa Kudrow was really pregnant, she was still wearing padding when the episode was filmed to make her seem larger.
• During the closing credits, the man coughing in the seat in front of Joey and Chandler on the open top bus is show creator and director Kevin Bright.
• The London street vendor is played by Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group. One of the hats in his souvenir booth has the Virgin Atlantic logo on it. Actually there are several Virgin Atlantic baseball caps on the stand; they have tan cap bills.
• The shirt Monica wears in the beginning is the same one she wears in Scream 2 (1997).
• After Phoebe made a phone call, the scene changed to show the sign of a restaurant, “interlude…” it is an indication of the start of the second part of the two-part episode.
• The photograph of Ross that Rachel is looking at is from The One with Chandler in a Box (1997). Phoebe is also in the photograph, which was taken in Monica’s apartment.
• The lady on Joey’s recording complimenting his hat is the then Sarah, Duchess of York. After her divorce from Prince Andrew she went back to using her maiden name Sarah Ferguson. She is known as Fergie.
• This is the first episode to take place outside the United States.
• The necklace Emily wears at the beginning of this episode is the same necklace Monica wears in an earlier season.
• When Ross and Emily are arguing in the hotel room about postponing the wedding Ross is wearing 2 different boxer shorts in different shots during that scene.
• When watching on a streaming service, the opening theme song has scenes from part 1, as it was broken up into 2 different episodes.
• This episode is included on the 2000 DVD release The Best of Friends Volume 2.
• Elliott Gould (Jack Geller, Ross and Monica’s father), committed a major error by inadvertently revealing to the public that Rachel was going to turn up at the wedding, a mishap that upset Marta Kauffman, the show’s executive producer.
• Chandler (Matthew Perry) makes a reference to Monty Hall. Later in season six Rachel’s boss Kim Clozzi is played by Joanna Gleason. Her father is Monty Hall.
• When Joey gives his speech, he quotes part of the theme tune to Cheers (1982), which he was watching in the hotel room earlier in the episode.
• Chandler says “6 hour trip to London. That’s a whole lot of Monica”. Chandler & Monica come back to American in a secret romance.
• Phoebe only has around four minutes of screen time in the second part of the episode.
