Product Description MY BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDING enters the world of modern gypsies and travelers, where ancient traditions meet extravagant fashions in extraordinary rite-of-passage celebrations including weddings, communions and christenings. All 12 episodes of Seasons 1 and 2, plus three one-hour specials, tell intimate stories on an epic scale, laying bare an exotic and unseen community that exists right on our doorstep. Follow the lives of several families as they approach the biggest milestone in a traveler girl s life: her wedding day, a visual spectacle with flamboyant dresses sometimes weighing more than the bride herself. And delve deeper into their lives through births, evictions, divorces and their complex relationship with the non-gypsy community. Through everyday experiences and family celebrations, learn what makes a thoroughly modern gypsy. Special Features All three original specials including: My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding The Original Film; My Bigger Fatter Gypsy Wedding; My Big Fat Gypsy Christmas Review It [MY BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDING] has delivered ratings almost as enormous as the frothy, bejewelled frocks that its subjects wear, provoked massive debate, and, it claims, provided viewers with an insight into a secretive and largely misunderstood community. --Guardian UKThe only thing bigger than the wedding dresses are the TV viewing figures --BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation) P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); About the Actor Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Jay MacMurray, 5 August 1948, St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex) is an English actress. She first became known for her appearance in the ITV drama A Family at War, that followed the fortunes of a lower middle class family living in Liverpool from 1938 and throughout World War II. She also played the role of Judith Fitzgerald, the long-suffering wife of Eddie 'Fitz' Fitzgerald, the protagonist of British Television series Cracker. She was the milk delivery lady, Granville's unrequited love interest, in the BBC's Open All Hours. During the 1980s Flynn's acting skills led to her being cast in several successful comedy drama television series - including the Beiderbecke Trilogy and A Very Peculiar Practice. She tends to play, in her own words, "feisty strong women". Thelma Madine lives in Liverpool and has four children (a son and three daughters), the youngest of which still lives at home with her and her partner. Thelma is very warm and welcoming but at the same time extremely hard working. She's built her dress-making business from the ground up. Thelma has come a long way from her humble dress-making beginnings 15 years ago. After being left with nothing after a divorce she started making and selling dresses on a market stall in Liverpool. Back then she knew nothing of gypsies except the old wives' tales and rumors she'd heard as a child. One day she was asked by a traveller lady to make a dress like the ones in Gone with the Wind. At the time she had no idea how to achieve this but through determination and experimentation she made the dresses. The lady never returned for them so Thelma hung then up on display on her stall. They turned out to be a massive hit and brought more custom from the traveller community asking for similar dresses. Now Thelma owns Nico's Dressmakers in Liverpool and is the designer favoured by traveller brides across the country competing to wear the biggest, most elaborate wedding dresses possible. After 15 years in the trade Thelma and her team have developed ways to make these dresses lighter but even bigger. Nothing is too big or too extravagant for Thelma and her team and they have made everything from Disney inspired princess dresses, to dresses with moving butterflies and corsets that light up.They also make bridesmaids' dresses, party outfits and communion frocks in an exotic blend of neon netting and material. The latest craze for travellers is the 'mini bride', which allows the bride to have a smaller version of her dress designed for a young relative to wear on the wedding day. Thelma is at the forefront of traveller fashion and continues to make dress for travellers all over the world. See more
S**N
Good series
Love it but wished that they would release the remaining seasons
A**L
Amusing glimpse into another world
My favorite "reality tv" series of all time, hands down. I've bought both the Amazon online streaming version and this DVD set, and watch the episodes regularly while I'm doing things around the house.I'm sure this show doesn't accurately reflect traditional "gypsies" at all, more like a blingier sub-set of the Irish travellers, but they are a riot to watch and I love their accents and crazy outfits. It's a little disturbing to see how young the girls get married, although they do mostly seem to be old beyond their years in terms of understanding household responsibility. There are glimmers of hope for the culture as a very few girls are seen to be continuing their education and learning a skill other than cleaning and child-raising...although some of the girls seem totally happy to be staying at home with their husbands and kids, and I say good for them if they are content! There's a lot to be said for the art of home-making and the traveller women certainly know how to keep a house (or trailer).The producer chose to bias the 'documentary' style in the travellers' favor for the most part, so you get repeatedly told that there's a lot of prejudice against 'gypsies', but the behavior of particularly the men demonstrates that non-travellers might have a good reason to give them the side-eye. Violence, disregard for law, macho attitudes and the patronizing way they view women makes traveller men easy to dislike in this series, with a few exceptions: Paddy, for all his tough-guy bravado, is really sweet to watch with his wife of many years, Roseanne. And young groom John McFadyen, despite being a little immature, has an obviously genuine love and empathy for his beautiful teenage bride Cheyenne as she goes through with a wedding shortly after losing her mother to cancer.I really hated the US version of this (and I'm American!)...to me the American women were little better than white trash and over-acted every single situation. They were loud, coarse, foul-mouthed and stupid. The storylines felt very forced and ridiculous. But in the British show, it seems much more natural...you get the idea that the emotions are real. The girls are generally well-mannered (although occasionally acting their very young age), don't swear, and respect their elders. While much of the show is about the superficial glitz and glamour favored by the young traveller girls and women, it does have a great deal of heart behind it, and that is what makes this show so compelling to watch.
D**E
Stunningly Awful
To be clear, I recommend this (set of) DVD(s). It is very interesting, but it is also quite awful. And I mean "awful" both in the traditional sense as well as in the sense of causing one to be full of awe.Pretending to be a documentary that investigates the world of the English Gypsies and Irish Travelers, it is, in fact, only mildly restrained propaganda on behalf of these same groups. For those who are ignorant of the (English) Gypsy culture, the series is clearly intended to create sympathy for them. The hook is to show young girls parading around in dresses that cost thousands of pounds and weigh up to a couple hundred pounds. But there is so much more.Gypsy courtship. Gypsy academics. Gypsy personal hygiene (apparently, they buy their "caravans", ie, trailers, without toilets but don't use them even if the trailers have them).Men are, for various reasons, mostly ignored. Likewise ignored is from where all the money comes to buy the dresses and all the other silly things that go with a Bit Fat Gypsy Wedding. Of course, when one of the men, one who buys a new, fully equipped Audi every 6 months (!), states he's in the "metal recycling" business, you have to wonder...Note that like most TV shows from the UK, there are no subtitles. Not in general, not for for hard-of-hearing, nor for foreign languages. There are a few English subtitles whenever one of the interviewees speaks a particularly incomprehensible dialect, but there are otherwise none. As a nonresident of the UK, I find this very irritating as many English dialects and even some accents are difficult to understand. There is simply no excuse for not providing this option.
B**0
Fascinating, but with ominous undertones
I first became aware of this series after seeing one of the later episodes on TV. It's an unstinting look at the symbolic ceremony of an ancient culture that's losing its integrity and relevance in this millennium. The fashion and lifestyle of the gypsies and travelers of the British Isles combines very conservative traditions with lavish -- sometimes outlandish -- modern trappings. What is most striking is the youth and naivete of the brides, most of whom are poorly educated and totally dependent on the men in their lives -- be they fathers, brothers or husbands. The fairy tale nature of their weddings is often followed by physically, financially and emotionally restricted lives. No wonder they want one very special day in one outstanding outfit and setting before embarking on their futures. This is a visually stunning series, but frightening in some of its implications. Contrast the freshness of these young brides with the worn faces of their mothers; that says it all.
G**N
A Good Watch
Purchases this for my wife. She absolutley loves these programs. The gypsy culture is a unique culture. I honestly mean this in a good way. This program gives you a on intimate look into the different gypsy ways of life. The families are full of love, the dresses are over the top, and the emotions run like a mighty flood river.
L**R
Be aware
This is an ok set for the UK series. Packaging is on par for the price. Be aware there are no closed captioning or subtitles. This is a big issue for me.
C**H
Living gypsy style
Is exactly what the description on the box says. It's about gypsies and travelers and gives you a look inside their lives and their heritage. I don't know if this is how all gypsies or travelers are but it is very entertaining and fun to watch. But if you have problems understand people of other nationalities then this might not be for you unless you put subtitles on.
P**.
The original!
I have to admit, the Gypsy wedding series is one of my guilty pleasures. I'm sure that a portion of these are scripted and maybe not 100% accurate. However, I do enjoy watching the episodes.
J**N
Loved it
Loved it. Good quality
