Weddings are supposed to be about two people coming together in marital bliss, but somehow everyone else gets a vote. Tiffany Wu’s short film Big Day drops us into the frantic final minutes before a ceremony, where second thoughts arrive right on schedule.
Alex (Lois Shih) is trying to get into her bridesmaid dress for her cousin Emily’s wedding, and the stress of looking perfect is getting to her as one of her eyelashes falls off. Now’s a good time to cancel the wedding. The whole thing is a spectacle — a huge guest list, everyone glammed up, every detail staged to impress.
The countdown clock continues, and the bride, Emily (Janet Hsieh), still needs to get into her wedding gown. She comes in to help and lets her guard down. She’s exhausted from the grind of the day — the endless photos, looking perfect for all her friends, but mostly relatives. This is a celebration that’s supposed to be intimate but somehow belongs to everyone else. The two trade some hard truths about family pressure and putting on a show, and leave Alex to ponder that she’s not sure she wants a wedding at all.
Alex (Lois Shih) stands in the background holding a bouquet, watching the bride prepare, in Tiffany Wu’s short film Big Day (2025).
“The two trade some hard truths about family pressure and putting on a show, and leave Alex to ponder that she’s not sure she wants a wedding at all.”
For me, this day happened over a quarter of a decade ago, and the stress has never changed. I would have loved to just have a few friends over and dispense with the expense and family drama surrounding my wedding. My wife… loves spectacle. In Tiffany Wu’s Big Day, she explores the doubt, pomp, and circumstances surrounding a wedding.
The reality is we approach these big moments in our lives differently, and we become a fly on the wall to a heartfelt conversation between cousins. The stakes are small…kind of, but no matter what direction you come at the issue, we’ve all been there and can relate to the conversation.
As a film, Wu does great work capturing a conversation in a bathroom and making it more than just two people standing in front of a mirror. Lois Shih and Janet Hsieh come across as more than cousins, and their conversation flows like that of two lifelong friends. Big Day is engaging because we’ve been there, and IYKYK.
