Name: My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Genre: Documentary, Reality
Rating: 5.0
Cast: Barbara Flynn, Paddy Doherty

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Barbara Flynn

Paddy Doherty

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 4, that explores the lives and traditions of several Irish Traveller families as they prepare to unite one of their number in marriage. The series also featured Romanichal in several episodes, and has been criticised for not accurately representing England’s Romani and Travelling community. It was first broadcast in February 2010 as a one-off documentary called My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, filmed as part of the Cutting Edge series and voted Most Groundbreaking Show in the Cultural Diversity Awards 2010. A series of 5 episodes were later commissioned, and the series first aired in January 2011. A second series began airing in February 2012. A third series was not made, rather the show ended with six stand-alone specials.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

This episode looks at the milestones in a Gypsy girl's life leading to the biggest day of all - her wedding. From first Holy Communion (described as a 'dress rehearsal for her wedding day') to the strict rules of courtship, a hen night and, of course, the spectacular wedding itself, this episode examines the traditions and rules followed by Gypsy and traveller girls in Britain today.

Born to Be Wed

Romany Gypsy Pat faces criticism for marrying a non-gypsy. But his bride Sam is determined to prove her Gypsy girl credentials with a 14-stone dress that lights up in the dark. With 21 underskirts and moving diamante butterflies, it weighs more than the bride's father. Six-year-old Mary Ann lives on Europe's biggest traveller site, Dale Farm in Essex, which is home to more than 1000 travellers. With a site eviction looming, Mary Ann's mother Margaret hastily arranges the celebration for her daughter's first communion.

No Place Like Home

A look beyond the enormous wedding dresses, sequins and tiaras to unveil the lot of a Gypsy woman. It's not all just about having blingtastic nuptials. With literacy and education largely deemed unnecessary and domestic abuse startlingly common, the contrast between the daily life of a gypsy girl and the glitz and glamour of their wedding day is stark.

Desperate Housewives

While Gypsy and traveller women want to be a princess on their wedding day, the reality in the Gypsy community is that on every other day it is man who is king. This film looks at the testosterone-filled world of the traveller man, where disputes are settled with fists, and status is conveyed by the car you drive. Ex bare-knuckle boxer Paddy, the patriarch of a traveller site in Salford, explains the role of a traveller man and, crucially, how he earns enough to keep wife Roseanne happy.

Boys Will Be Boys

This film visits the annual Appleby Horse Fair and examines the prejudice against the travelling community in Britain today. Discrimination is nothing new to the traveller community and their secretive seclusion from mainstream society seems to be their only defence.

Bride & Prejudice

Christmas is a time for family, a time for peace and harmony - but it is also a time to celebrate. This film follows the celebrations and traditions of members of the Irish traveller community at Christmas, as well as two of the most jaw dropping weddings ever shown. Filmed last year, the programme follows a mass-Yuletide First Communion ceremony. It also follows some of the unique traveller preparations that go on in the run up to Christmas, and spends Christmas Day itself with Paddy and Roseanne at their home on a traveller site in Salford.

My Big Fat Gypsy Christmas

This episode explores the competitive streak that lies behind the now famous gypsy look and the extraordinary sacrifices that are taken to achieve it.

Diamantes Are Forever

In this episode, Irish Traveller Danielle is determined to live her life in a traditional way and, at just 15, is planning a lavish black pink and bling hen party.

I Fought the Law

As the eldest granddaughter of a family with both Romany gypsy and Irish traveller heritage, 15 year old Santana is expected to follow strict rules for girls and set a good example for her younger family members.

School of Hard Knocks

This episode explores further the cultural divide between gypsies and non-gypsies and looks at what happens when the two worlds are thrust together in marriage.

Love Conquers All

For Gypsies and Travellers, a clean family name is crucial, and the consequences of losing it are devastating. After causing a scandal by spending time alone with her boyfriend, Rosanne is rushed up the aisle to save her reputation.

Reputation Is Everything

In this episode we witness a community at a cross roads, as the battle to preserve the gypsy and traveller way of life intensifies. Will the future tear their culture apart, or do they have a place together in the modern world?

Out of Site, Out of Mind

For generations, traveller celebrations have been a family affair. In this episode we meet the Mcfadyens, a large Irish traveller family in the midst of a series of celebrations.

We Are Family

If you thought all the wedding excitement of 2011 is focused on Westminster Abbey, think again. Channel 4 viewers will have front row seats to celebrate THE wedding of the year: a Big Fat Gypsy one. Some people may live in palaces and some in caravans, but regardless of wealth or title everyone wants their own wedding day to be absolutely perfect. In this one-off special from the makers of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings cameras follow behind the scenes as a team of wedding planners are tasked with orchestrating the biggest, fattest wedding of the year.

My Big Fat Royal Gypsy Wedding

This one-off Valentine's special explores love and courtship in the Traveller community, following Ina and Danielle as they prepare to wed their first loves. In the Traveller world it is still common to get hitched young. Both the brides in this episode are 16-year-olds marrying their first loves. Ina Casey is marrying her first boyfriend. After having got together in secret, the couple were 'outed' by Ina's uncle - who 'squealed' - and they were quickly engaged. Now she prepares for her wedding day with a dress made from glitter fabric, material more commonly used in wallpaper. The show also catches up with Travellers Danielle and her 21-year-old fiancé Brendan as the groom-to-be celebrates his stag do, Traveller-style, and the young couple prepare for their wedding day. Danielle's wedding is scheduled to take place just a day after her 16th birthday. But despite her youth, Danielle is convinced she has made the right choice.

My Big Fat Gypsy Valentine

Ever since the first Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, millions of viewers have watched the extravagant weddings and asked the same question: where does the money come from? It has been one of the Travelling community's most closely guarded secrets. Until now... Gypsies and Travellers form some of the richest and the poorest elements of society, from Alfie Best, a Romany Gypsy worth a reported £100 million, to down-on-his-luck Romany Gypsy George. This programme lifts the lid on a community with its own unique customs, traditions and attitudes to money. Meanwhile, Irish Traveller Larry is planning an amazing wedding for his eldest daughter Margaret. Eight bridesmaids, 300 guests and a huge white dress don't come cheap, and Larry has been saving all his life. But as he later reveals, some Travellers have a secret way of financing their breath-taking weddings...

My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune

Dressmaker Thelma Madine reveals the secrets behind her most outrageous creations, from design and production through to the unique excitement of a Traveller or Gypsy wedding day. Thelma relives the mayhem and magic that went into creating the most incredible outfits, recalling everything from glow- in-the-dark wedding dresses to her famous pineapple and palm tree costumes.

Best Dressed Brides

This episode follows one travelling clan over the course of a tumultuous year, witnessing the clan's constant game of cat and mouse with the councils, the daring 'land grabs' in the dead of night, the battles with the local residents, the hardships of long winters in freezing caravans, and the joys of being free spirits and testing the limits of the law.

Life on the Run

The Luck of the Irish

Ladies' Day at the races is a big date in the Gypsy calendar. This one-off special explores the unique bond between the Travelling community and their horses. While the splendour of Ladies' Day at the races is traditionally seen as the preserve of the British aristocracy, across the racetrack, on the other side of the fence, thousands of Travellers and Gypsies gather for one of the biggest dates in the Gypsy calendar. From the unique spectacle of a horse fair to the excitement of a controversial road race in the dead of night, the races may mean many things to Traveller men, but to many Traveller women it's a place to stand out from the crowd, and, more importantly, to find love.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

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