The Original Ending To Jim & Pam's Wedding On 'The Office' Was... A Lot

It's been 10 years since everyone's favorite TV couple, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), tied the knot in an unforgettable, hour-long episode of The Office. It seems like the wedding was only yesterday, and you might have actually watched it only yesterday if you're anything like the legions of fans who rewatch The Office on Netflix constantly. But, no matter how long it's been since you last checked in with the folks of Dunder Mifflin, you'll appreciate these adorable details about Jim and Pam's wedding on The Office.

In honor of the tenth anniversary of the wedding episode, titled "Niagara," a few key people from The Office talked to Entertainment Weekly about it. The team behind the hit NBC comedy offered some behind-the-scenes details about one of the biggest episodes the series ever produced. Some of those details are just as cute as Jim and Pam’s romance, while others are a bit more out of left field. In fact, the team even shared how the wedding could have ended very differently, thanks to a would-have-been wildly fatal horseback ride off Niagara Falls. Let's just say it's a good thing the wedding turned out the way it did, because rewatching this special episode is a tried-and-true practice of The Office fans everywhere.

1. Originally, Pam's Ex Was Going To Show Up On A Horse

Big interruptions are a huge part of many TV wedding episodes, and originally The Office was going to feature one. Before Jim and Pam got together, Pam was engaged to Roy (David Denman), and the original draft of the "Niagara" script had him making one last play to win her back. Episode director Paul Feig said:

All throughout the episode, Roy’s [David Denman] been kind of haunting around and unhappy that they’re getting married, so when they ask if anybody has reason why this couple can’t get married, he rides into the church on a horse to sweep Pam off her feet like a knight in shining armor and declares, 'I have an objection.' And she’s like, 'What are you doing? No, I want to get married.' She sends him away, so he has to ride his horse back out of the church.

2. Dwight Was Going To Have A Pretty Horrifying Horseback Moment Too

In the original script, Roy would have abandoned the horse after Pam rejected him. And that would've worked out perfectly for Dwight (Rainn Wilson), who originally became intrigued by horses during the trip to Niagara Falls. The Office creator Greg Daniels said:

It was like Dwight got fascinated with this historical display at the hotel that talked about various animals. It started with a cow had been swept over the falls and survived, and then a couple of people tried to go over the falls in a barrel and were killed, and then some sheep went over the falls and survived. And he came up with this theory that you could survive going over the falls if you were riding a horse, because a horse would have the instinct of how to swim properly.

So in this version of the script, after Roy left the horse, Dwight would ride the horse to the falls. He was then going to jump off the horse just as they reached the water, and the horse would have continued to leap into the falls, creating a pretty dark backdrop to Pam and Jim's wedding. Luckily, the team decided against that fatal plot point. Daniels said:

I remember scouting this tank on the Universal lot and talking about how we’re going to shoot this horse being swept over the waterfall. Then we got to the table read and I was the last defender of the horse. The entire staff and actors were yelling at me: 'Don’t ruin Jim and Pam’s wedding with a horse!'

3. Pam & Jim's Boat Wedding Was Filmed Right In Front Of Real Tourists

The production team wasn't able to get a private boat to film Jim and Pam's intimate Niagara wedding. Instead, they had to try to keep the film shoot as secret as possible while in front of real Niagara Falls tourists. Krasinski said:

We had to get it all done in a matter of an hour or so. We had to hide the fact that it was us and try not to let people see the actual wedding in case it got spoiled. On top of it all, I had the flu. So one of the most romantic kisses in the show… is actually just me giving her a huge kiss on the cheek because I didn’t want to get her sick.

4. Fischer Cried The First Time She Saw The Wedding Party Dance

In the episode, the entire Dunder Mifflin team came together to recreate the viral YouTube video featuring a flash mob dance down the aisle. Fischer didn't get to be a part of it, since her character was waiting at the altar, and she was hit with a big wave of emotion the first time she saw it. She said:

I hadn’t seen it, they’d all been rehearsing it, and then I was very frustrated that I was stuck in the back of the church. I went up to the front to watch it and I was actually crying during the first rehearsal. It’s so sweet and joyous. I think it was a stroke of genius.

You can watch the emotional wedding and all other episodes of The Office on Netflix... for now.