Brooke Shields as Lana in Mother of the Bride

The breathtaking tropical scenery of Mother of the Bride has raised questions about whether the 2024 Netflix rom-com was really filmed on location in Thailand. Directed by Mark Waters, Mother of the Bride follows a geneticist named Dr. Lana Winslow (Brooke Shields), who is shocked to find out that, after a year abroad in London, her daughter Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) is not only engaged but getting married in a month. Lana soon discovers that the father of the groom, Will Jackson (Benjamin Bratt), is also her former college sweetheart who ghosted her decades ago.

The cast of Mother of the Bride also features Sean Teale as Emma’s fiancé RJ, Rachael Harris as Lana’s best friend Janice, Chad Michael Murray as Lana’s much younger potential love interest Lucas, and more. Other than the opening scenes set in London and San Francisco, the bulk of Mother of the Bride takes place at a luxury resort and surrounding beaches in Phuket, Thailand, for the destination wedding. Every scene looks like paradise on earth, leading many to wonder where exactly filming for Mother of the Bride took place.

Anantara Layan Phuket Resort, Thailand

Part Of The Resort In Phuket Where Emma, R.J., & Their Wedding Guests Are Staying

In Mother of the Bride, Emma tells her mother Lana that the company she’s interning for, Discovery Resorts, is paying to have her wedding held at “one of their Anantara Resorts in Phuket, Thailand.” Although Discovery Resorts is fictional, Anantara Resorts is a real company owned by Minor Hotels, and Mother of the Bride was actually filmed on location at two of Anantara’s luxury resorts in Phuket, Thailand. One of these two hotels is Anantara Layan Phuket Resort, a beachfront resort located amidst a “lush hillside” (via anantara.com) overlooking the Andaman Sea.

Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, Thailand

Part Of The Resort In Phuket Where Emma, R.J., & Their Wedding Guests Are Staying

The other Anantara resort that where Mother of the Bride was shot is Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas. This pool villa complex is located at the northern tip of Phuket roughly 16 miles north of Anantara Layan Phuket Resort on “a long stretch of golden beach fringed by lush national park” (via anatara.com). Shields told Decider that “the two different [Anantara] resorts were put together [in the editing process] to look like one resort.”

Phang Nga Bay, Thailand

Will & Lana’s Secluded Getaway & Yacht Scenes

Nearly all the scenes in Mother of the Bride outside the resort were filmed in Phang Nga Bay between the mainland and Phuket Island. One of the establishing shots upon arrival in Phuket is an aerial view of Ko Panyi, a floating fishing village in Phang Nga Province. There’s also an establishing shot of the famous Ko Tapu islet near Khao Phing Kan island in Phang Nga Bay. Known as “James Bond Island” after being featured in the 1974 Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, this limestone karst tower is a popular tourist attraction.

The shots of Lana, Emma, Will, and R.J. lounging on a yacht were also filmed in Phang Nga Bay.

Later, after her fight with Emma, Will takes Lana to a “great spot up the coast,” which is the secluded island of Koh Ku Du Yai north of Ko Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay. This is where they have Will and Lana get stuck without cell service and end up having a heart-to-heart on the beach. The shots of Lana, Emma, Will, and R.J. lounging on a yacht were also filmed in Phang Nga Bay.

Old Phuket Town, Thailand

The Shopping Montage In Town

Other than a brief establishing shot of Dibuk Road toward the beginning of Mother of the Bride, Old Phuket Town only appears in a montage of the bride, groom, mother of the bride, and father of the groom going into town the day before the wedding. Emma and Lana are seen shopping at a boutique while R.J. and Will visit a barbershop.