Jenna Fischer:I wasnt, because we had been together now for a couple seasons.
Thats exhausting and its not realistic.
Things where theyd have to weather the storm together, which is more interesting and realistic.
Everyones going to be like, Yay …
I hope you enjoy your marriage with all your horrible baggage.
Not a happy ending.
Paul Feig:We were going to shoot on this boat, theLady of the Mistor whatever.
Brian Baumgartner:Maid of the Mist.
So the first obstacle?
Shooting on location on an actual boat on the river below Niagara Falls.
I was so worried, like, are we going to get soaked?
Is the camera going to screw up?
Kim Ferry:Both [Jenna and John] got soaked the first take, it was awful.
There was no electric on the boat and it was for the wedding scene.
And then we get out there and were near the falls, and all of a sudden its likewhooooosh.
It just soaks both of them.
Debbie Pierce:What did you do?
Kim Ferry:I started laughing.
And then we just went with it.
We had to keep filming.
Theyre like, Can you fix it?
Im like, Are you kidding me right now?
John Krasinski:I remember showing up and I cant walk, Im so sick.
One of the most romantic moments in the show, Im not actually kissing Jenna.
Im kissing her cheek because I didnt want to get her sick.
Brian Baumgartner:I think for that moment, you should have just gotten her sick.
John Krasinski:Thats an awful thing.
But thats why I did a big Humphrey Bogartlike twist kiss away from the camera.
Do you remember that?
John Krasinski:Oh my God, now I remember, yes.
John Krasinski:The horse was going to go off the cliff.
He jumps out at the last minute.
And while Pam and Jim are getting married, a horse goes over in the background.
Everyones just screaming at me.
They were like, You cant have a horse die at the moment of maximum romance!
He fought for it and fought for it.
John Krasinski:Up until shooting, that was in there.
I think it was Rainn, he was like, even I think this is nuts.
Brian Baumgartner:The moment of you standing there on the boat is so beautiful.
Do you want a horse diving over a cliff?
And it seemed like, yes, Gregdidwant a horse diving over the cliff.
But it was beset by problems.
It was like an intervention of normal people in the life of a comedy addict.
Paul Feig:It was a very last-minute thing.
We had like a day or two.
And that wedding video was all over the internet.
Paul Feig:It was kind of the perfect setup.
Literally, I had like a half hour left.
I was like, I dont even have time to get this dance number!
So were going to have maybe two takes at it.
And the first time they did it, it was gold.
Its just like, thats it.
I mean, I still get so emotional watching that because its so beautiful.
The way that it goes back and forth between the two.
Its not even cocky, its just a sweet smile, like, I got her.
John and Jenna came into my bay to see it.
They were like, We need to see this show.
We need to sign off on this.
And after they watched it, I turned around and theyre both bawling.
For the poignant moments, all you want is to make people cry.
It was really a sweet moment to be a part of their journey and be a witness to it.
From the book,Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office.
Copyright 2021 by Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman.
Reprinted by permission of Custom House, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
This article was originally published onNovember 17, 2021
