Interview with America Ferrera

Save the date: America Ferrera is getting married on March 12! Well, not exactly...but Lucia Ramirez (the character she plays) will be! The 25-year-old actress is starring in the new romantic comedy, a movie about two lovebirds who are ready to tie the knot and want to bring their culturally diverse families together.

America, well-known for her part in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the hit TV-series Ugly Betty shares with us her take on marriage, the movie and why weddings aren’t complete without a little bit of drama.

So what is "Our Family Wedding" about?

Our Family Wedding is kind of based on the motto, “our marriage, their wedding” and it’s about this couple Lucia and Marcus who sort of show up in their hometown of Los Angeles and surprise their parents with, “This is my fiancé you've never met and we’re getting married in two weeks!” The family scrambles to come to terms with it as there is a clash of cultures -- Marcus is African American and Lucia’s family is Mexican. The dads, especially, start in a place where they believe there are so many differences that can’t be reconciled.

Is that what makes Lucia anxious about telling her parents?

I think that Lucia’s journey has a lot to do with her relationship with her family, especially her father, and finding a way to be the woman that she has become in their presence. You see her as this strong character who knows what she wants and then as soon as she gets around her family she’s back to being that 15-year-old girl again, you know “Daddy’s little girl.” And that creates problems for her and Marcus.

Her journey is about trying to own the choices that she’s made in her life and be honest with her family about the life that she wants and who she is. The relationship with her father is one of constantly trying to please him. You know, I want him to be happy, he’s worked hard for this life that we have. He’s worked hard to give me the opportunities that I’ve had. People get that kind of pressure all the time and so how do you then turn around and tell your parents, “I love you, thank you so much for everything that you’ve given me, but I sort of want to go on a completely different path.” And so it’s her coming to the realization that she has to be courageous enough to make that choice.

Weddings are so big, and in this movie they’re represented in very funny ways. What about weddings just makes people behave differently?

I don’t know. Weddings are crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a single wedding where there wasn’t some drama.

Such as?

You know, crazy in-laws, people who don’t know how to be present in a day that’s not about them. Family is super complicated, and when a huge change is happening in one family member’s life, it holds a mirror up to everyone else.

What’s your idea of your own dream wedding?

I have no idea. I’ve never been the type of woman to dream about my wedding day. That’s not really important to me. I have friends who have done beautiful things at city hall and then people who have had big gorgeous weddings that were lovely and wonderful. I think that when it gets to that point you can only know then what’s right for you. And you just have to wait and see.

Want to view the entire interview? Watch the video!

Interview with America Ferrera from WeddingChannel.com on Vimeo.

_{Photo: Scott Garfield}