Hilfe, meine Tochter heiratet (2006)

Julia Weimann has spent a year in the United States. Just before Christmas, her father, Dresden lawyer Julius Weimann, is expecting his daughter, who is nearly twenty, to return. Julius and his friend and partner in their law firm, Harald Mauthe, who is also Julia’s godfather, go to the airport to meet her. They are both in for a surprise: Julia arrives with a man she announces she intends to marry at Christmas. Thomas Berner is 34 and runs his own event-management agency. In Julius’s opinion, he is ancient compared with his daughter. For the first time, father and daughter have a serious argument. Julius feels he has to resort to drastic measures and hires a private detective to keep an eye on Thomas. Julia happens to find out and turns her back on her father altogether. She asks Sara Stein of the Bernstein agency—and Thomas’s business partner—to plan her wedding. Harald asks Sara to get involved and help improve the relationship between father and daughter. He also does what he can to get them to sit down and talk at last—and succeeds. Just when everything seems to be all right again, Julius spots Thomas walking arm in arm with a young woman while Julius is in town meeting a client, and follows them. He has to admit, sheepishly, that he was mistaken when Thomas introduces the young woman as his sister. The wedding preparations are now in full swing. Julia turns her father’s house upside down as she tries to make her dream of a wedding like the Snow Queen’s ice palace come true. Julia’s first doubts arise during a conversation with Pastor Heinemann, and then several of her friends chime in, warning her that marriage will mean giving up her freedom. Torn by her feelings, the young woman tells her father that she was mistaken and does not want to get married. She seems too afraid of having to leave behind everything that has shaped her life so far. Julius, who has meanwhile grown fond of Thomas, is at a loss. As Julius, Harald, Thomas, and Sara sit together, Sara suggests that perhaps Julia has simply panicked because she is still so young. With Julius’s help, Thomas has found out that Julia is staying with her friend Sandra. He goes to see her and demands an answer. When she tells him she no longer knows whether she still loves him, he turns away with a deeply sad look and leaves. Julius now takes the initiative and lets Julia choose a Christmas tree in the forest. She quickly understands what her father is trying to tell her. On Christmas Eve, her godfather Harald also tells her why he never married. Julia wants to bring Thomas to the Christmas celebration, but Sara tells her that he is on his way to the airport because he is going back to the States. Julia catches up with him at the last moment and makes it clear that she truly loves him. On the wedding day, a happy father leads his daughter to the altar. “Julia is in good hands,” Sara tells Julius. “And what about you?” A kiss and a caught bridal bouquet are answer enough.