"A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American television dramedy Ugly Betty and the series's 30th episode overall. It was written by Silvio Horta and Marco Pennette, and directed by James Hayman. The episode was originally broadcast on ABC in the United States on November 8, 2007. Ugly Betty centers on Betty Suarez's job at the fashion magazine MODE, despite not fitting their expectations of beauty and style. In this episode, MODE creative director Wilhelmina Slater attempts to marry the magazine's publisher Bradford Meade.
Victoria Beckham guest-stars as herself in the episode, appearing as Wilhelmina's maid of honor who steals attention from the wedding. She was originally supposed to wear a fatsuit as part of a joke about weight gain. Vanessa Williams's ex-husband, retired basketball player Rick Fox, appears as Wilhelmina's bodyguard and lover. Vera Wang makes a cameo appearance, and designed Wilhelmina's wedding dress and Beckham's bridesmaid dress. Wang first drafted a larger taffeta wedding dress, but Williams felt it was inappropriate for Wilhelmina's age and requested a simpler design. The wedding was filmed over several days at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.
The episode was publicized through a TV Guide cover and a fictional wedding announcement in The New York Times. "A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding" was well received by critics who praised Beckham's cameo and Becki Newton's cover of Kelis's 2003 single "Milkshake" during the wedding. It received two nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award. The scenes about Ignacio Suarez's United States citizenship ceremony attracted attention from academic scholars. The initial broadcast of the episode was viewed by 10.9 million viewers and number one in its time slot for adults between the ages of 18 and 34.
Plot
Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) has moved out of her familial home following an argument with her father Ignacio (Tony Plana) over her relationship with Henry Grubstick (Christopher Gorham), who has impregnated another woman and has decided to move to Tucson, Arizona to care for the child. As a result, Betty refuses to attend Ignacio's United States citizenship ceremony; she feels guilty about being blackmailed into lying to her boss Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) about Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) who is having an affair with her bodyguard Dwayne (Rick Fox) in order to get Ignacio his visa. Wilhelmina used her connection with her senator father to secure the visa in exchange for Betty's silence. Betty and Henry move in together, and he encourages her to attend her father's ceremony.
Wilhelmina's assistant Marc St. James (Michael Urie) is stressed from planning her wedding to Bradford Meade (Alan Dale), the CEO of Meade Publications. Wilhelmina worries her maid of honor Victoria Beckham is stealing the spotlight, and attempts to undermine her by replacing Victoria's Vera Wang dress with a less appealing garment. Victoria, however, still attracts media attention. Meanwhile, Bradford and his daughter Alexis (Rebecca Romijn) celebrate the return of advertisers to the fashion magazine MODE, after a boycott regarding Alexis's role as its openly transgender co-editor-in-chief. Daniel feels ignored by his father, who has chosen Alexis to be his best man. Christina McKinney (Ashley Jensen), MODE seamstress, reunites with her husband Stuart (Derek Riddell) after leaving him in Scotland years ago; he reveals he is dying of a rare disease which requires a $100,000 operation.
Daniel suspects Wilhelmina is having an affair with Dwayne, although Betty denies any knowledge of this. Prior to the ceremony, Wilhelmina has Victoria locked in a confessional booth. Following Henry's advice about the importance of family, Betty attends Ignacio's citizenship ceremony; they apologize to each other and Betty reveals how she secured his visa, and he encourages Betty to tell the truth to Daniel and stop the wedding. Betty interrupts the event to talk to Daniel in private, who then fires her for lying to him about Wilhelmina's affair. After Betty leaves the church, Daniel reveals the affair to Bradford, who refuses to believe it. During the pause in the ceremony, MODE receptionist Amanda Tanen (Becki Newton) sings "Milkshake" while accompanied by an organ. Bradford returns to the altar and collapses, with Wilhelmina and Daniel attempting to resuscitate him. Betty watches these events from a monitor in Times Square.