A marriage that was doomed to end in disaster from the very beginning: behind-the-scenes of the “Euphoria” wedding episode
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, French production designer François Audoy has revealed in interviews the challenges he faced with the show’s creator Sam Levinson over designing the lavish wedding set for the new season of Euphoria—disagreements that even made their way into the script and were reflected in Cassie’s dialogue.
In episode three of season three, Cassie’s impending marriage, played by Sydney Sweeney, to Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, becomes one of the central storylines. The ceremony was originally conceived on an excessive scale, but ultimately descends into complete chaos—where the bride leaves in tears and the groom is injured and missing a finger. Prior to that, the series portrays a highly extravagant and almost exaggerated wedding celebration, in line with Cassie’s initial request for a $50,000 floral budget.
François Audoy explained that he and his team initially intended to create the entire floral design using real flowers, but budget constraints turned it into a major challenge. He said he spent a long time discussing the issue with the director and even suggested that if suitable flowers couldn’t be sourced, there might be no wedding at all. Ultimately, these discussions inspired parts of the show’s dialogue.
He also noted that the color palette of the floral design was inspired by food tones such as shrimp, and that the required flowers were sourced from several different states to achieve the desired shades. According to him, the sheer volume of flowers was so large that the filming location had to be kept cool throughout the production week to prevent wilting.
The idea of using shrimp-like tones originally came from his satirical view of extravagant, high-cost weddings, where luxury display becomes a symbol of social status. He also referenced inspiration from ice sculptures and unusual decorative elements such as buffets encased in ice—concepts that were ultimately incorporated into the script by the director.
During production, ice sculptures of Cassie and Nate were also created, which posed a major challenge due to constant melting and construction difficulties. However, this too was reflected in the dialogue and woven into the story in a humorous way.
Exterior filming for the wedding took place at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, while interior scenes were built on studio sets. The director of the series aimed this season to draw inspiration from classic Hollywood filmmakers such as Howard Hawks and John Ford, creating a tone that blends realism with classic cinematic grandeur.
The production designer concluded by saying that working on the project was a unique opportunity for him to operate in an environment reminiscent of classic Hollywood cinema and to gain a different experience in production design.
