All hell is breaking loose today during the double wedding on Days of our Lives, and nothing will ever be the same for couples Sonny and Paul (Freddie Smith and Christopher Sean, respectively), and Chad and Abigail (Billy Flynn and Marci Miller, respectively). A very unexpected guest crashes the beautiful ceremony, bringing the heartfelt vows and pledges of everlasting love to a screeching halt. But how exactly will Abigail handle the mayhem that threatens to tear her union with Chad apart? Soap Central spoke with her portrayer, Marci Miller, to find out.
soapcentral.com: So many great things have been said about the scenes scheduled to start playing out when the wedding begins on Friday. What do you think makes this wedding can't-miss TV?
Marci Miller: There are just a lot of unexpected surprises. I always really enjoy when we have everybody together in one room. A lot of times for soaps, they'll do a wedding in the living room with very close family or something like that, but for this one, they've pulled out all the stops, and so everybody is there. Everybody is in the room, and it's so nice to look around and see everyone. And as the vows are being said, there's so much history with different relationships and couples and people. There's a story within the story, with the fact that it's this big opportunity to celebrate something that everybody believes in and cares about. It was really special for me to stand up there and look out and see all of those faces that you know and love and you grew up watching. It's really cool. And then, of course, nothing goes according to plan; we have things that kind of get off track a little bit. But that's part of what makes it so great.
soapcentral.com: Isn't saying that the wedding gets off track a bit of an understatement?
Miller: Yes! [Laughs]
soapcentral.com: Obviously everyone is clamoring to know who's going to crash this wedding. You can't say, of course, but can you tease how Abigail reacts to the chaos?
Miller: Oh, it's so shocking. It is so shocking, and leading up to getting everything to fall into place for the wedding was a lot of work, and there were obviously obstacles for them to overcome. But it happens, so I feel like she thinks, "It's finally here! It's here, it's here, it's here!" And then this thing happens. This person walks in the door and just totally rocks her world. And she's forced to make a choice and figure out, "What do we do now? Can we go on with the wedding? Can we not go on with the wedding?" When this person walks in, it sets a whole heap of other things in motion.
soapcentral.com: A lot of mayhem will be hitting, but are there any special or romantic moments between Chad and Abigail before or during the chaos?
Miller: Yeah, I mean we definitely get the chance to exchange our vows and communicate to one another the way that we feel and the way that we have felt. The love that they have for each other is really special and really unique compared to the relationships that either one of them have ever been in in the past. And they covered so much ground to get to this place, so I think it's cool for them to have the moment to just stand across from each other and look at each other and say, "You're it for me. You're the one." And there is so much being said just in choosing to stand across from each other in front of all those people.
soapcentral.com: Chad and Abigail have really had an uphill battle: Why do they continue to stay with each other when drama just plagues them?
Miller: Oh, man! It never ends. But I think the idea is they fall down, they get back up, and they're stronger. Then they fall down again, they get up again, and they're stronger still. All the things that they've been through, it makes them who they are, and it makes them more willing and wanting to fight for one another.
soapcentral.com: What does it feel like to stand up there in front of ALL your castmates? Is the pressure more intense being such center stage in comparison to a normal day?
Miller: Yeah, there is actually. Because it's the wedding, they're all in the scenes, they're listening to what's going on, but in a funny way, it felt like I was doing a mini play with Billy and Freddie and Christopher. We were up there, and everybody was watching, so it was a little bit of a different pressure. There are so many people in the audience that I admire and respect, and so you want them to think well of you, and you want to do a good job and tell the story well. So, yeah, I was a little more nervous than normal, to be honest. But it all went well. There was a lot of love in that room. And it's interesting how you can communicate that and how it's communicated. Nobody is saying anything, but I felt loved while I was up there and supported.
soapcentral.com: Did you do anything special to prepare for filming the wedding scenes?
Miller: I definitely took some time to think. I'm married in my real life, so just kind of reminiscing about some of those moments, just the way that I felt coming down the aisle and seeing my husband, Ryan, at the end. There are a lot of really lovely moments that I was kind of able to revisit in my own brain to kind of prepare for this. But at the same time, it is very unique. But the human aspects of it, the commitment to somebody that you love for a lifetime and taking that journey down an aisle and having those people there, those very human aspects are still very similar to what I experienced in my real life, so I saw a lot of parallels.
soapcentral.com: How would you have reacted if somebody had crashed your real-life wedding?
Miller: Oh, I can't even imagine! [Laughs] Honestly, I think I would have locked myself in a room. I'd just be like, "I'm not dealing with this!" It would be so uncomfortable, I couldn't even deal with it. I'd be like, "Let me know when they're gone. And somebody pass me a pint of ice cream!"
soapcentral.com: I find it so hilarious that these four soap opera characters decide to have a double wedding, because there's obviously a history of wedding drama in Salem. And having a double wedding means double the chance of something going awry!
Miller: Oh, I know! And before, leading up to these scenes, we had scenes where we sat in the church and filled out an application of sorts, and we had to list all of the people and family members who had been married in the church before, and there was a scene where Billy and I were listing off all these marriages that happened in the church that did not work. [Laughs] We were like, "No, that didn't work. Bad example. Nope, bad example. Uh, bad example, bad example, bad example." [Laughs]
soapcentral.com: I so love that Ron Carlivati works in those bits of comedy in all that drama. He's so good at effortlessly slipping humor into the shows he writes.
Miller: Totally. And things are historically sound, and that is something I've really appreciated. For example, there's this beautiful scene where Missy [Reeves, Jennifer] comes in, and she talks about Jack and says, "I see Jack in your eyes, I see Jack in J.J.'s smile." I love that he references these characters who have been really important not only to the characters on the show, but the people who have been watching the show. So it feels good just to even reference them and talk about them and have a moment to appreciate and remember. He does a lot of good stuff with history.
soapcentral.com: I've always been such a huge fan of Ron Carlivati. He writes such great stories that affect everyone on the canvas. What do you think about his writing overall and the way he orchestrated this wedding?
Miller: Oh, my gosh, everything is so interesting. Even the things that we're shooting now, never shot anything like this in my life. I've really never done anything like this in my life. It's a lot of really unique and interesting [material] that is able to incorporate a lot of the things that are important to the fans and a lot of the values and reasons that they watch the show. It's very grounded and supported. He has just a super, super creative brain, and he keeps us all on our toes. He's constantly challenging me, pushing me outside of my comfort zone in really wonderful ways. I've been super grateful for the opportunities that he has provided by being here.
soapcentral.com: Is there anything else you want to add about the shenanigans ahead?
Miller: Definitely just tune in. People are going to be on the edge of their seats. I'll tell you, from watching the three gentleman -- Freddie, Christopher, and Billy -- amazing performances. Stunning, stunning, stunning. I was trying to keep myself together while watching them. They were so touching and beautiful. So really, great reasons to watch.
Who do you think will be crashing DAYS' double wedding? Do you think Chad and Abigail will actually tie the knot? What do you hope for the couple in the weeks ahead? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
