Hallmark’s ‘Wedding Veil’ Movies Were Inspired By ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’
Clothes have the power to transform your life. Just ask the three characters at the heart of Hallmark Channel’s hit Wedding Veil trilogy. Avery, Emma, and Tracy are three friends who discover an antique veil that’s said to bring true love to the person who possesses it. Over three movies, each woman is surprised to find herself connecting with Mr. Right, perhaps thanks to the veil.
So, where did the network get the idea to make a movie series about an article of clothing with mysterious powers? You can thank the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ inspired ‘The Wedding Veil’ movies
In The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, four teenage friends – played by Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, America Ferrera, and Alexis Bledel – discover a pair of jeans that fit each of them perfectly, despite their different body types. When they go their separate ways for the summer, they agree to share custody of the pants. While wearing the jeans, each girl experiences some major life changes, but it able to get through them with the help of her friends.
Hallmark exec Elizabeth Yost was a fan of the movie, so when Lacey Chabert and her producing partners brought the idea for The Wedding Veil series to the network, she jumped at it.
“The background is, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is one of my favorite movies and I had been looking for a way to co-mingle our talent in a movie,” Yost told E! News. “So when this concept came to me, it was the perfect candidate.”
Lacey Chabert had wanted to collaborate with other Hallmark actors for years
For Chabert, The Wedding Veil movies were a chance to fulfill her dream of working with some of Hallmark’s other female stars.
”I have been trying to find a project for years where I could collaborate with some of the other women from the network,” Chabert told E! News. “It was a real dream of mine to be in a film with some of the other ladies. And it was always the number one fan question: Will you guys ever have some sort of crossover? Will we ever get to see some of you together? This was the perfect vehicle for that.”
Ultimately, Chabert teamed up with Alison Sweeney and Autumn Reeser for the trilogy. Each woman starred in one movie and played a supporting role in the others. It was an approach to movie-making Hallmark hadn’t tried before, and it proved to be a hit with viewers, who made the Wedding Veil movies some of the most-watched films on Hallmark last year.
Lacey Chabert, Autumn Reeser, and Alison Sweeney return for the second ‘Wedding Veil’ trilogy
In The Wedding Veil movies, it’s a veil, not pants, that works its magic on the characters’ lives. While Chabert, Reeser, and Sweeney’s characters all ended up happily married at the end of their respective movies, their adventures with the veil aren’t over. Fans will get to see the next stage of their journey in the follow-up trilogy, which begins Jan. 7.
In The Wedding Veil Expectations, Avery (Chabert) and Peter (When Calls the Heart’s Kevin McGarry) are busy renovating their new home when they get some exciting news that will change their lives forever. It airs Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. ET.
In The Wedding Veil Inspiration, Emma (Reeser) and Paolo (Paolo Bernardini) must return to Italy to take care of his father, where she discovers a new passion for making art accessible to everyone. It airs Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. ET.
Finally, in The Wedding Veil, Tracy (Sweeney) and Nick (Victor Webster) head to Greece for their long-delayed honeymoon. When they get stranded on a secluded island, they must confront their life choice. It airs Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. ET.
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