The original end to Jim and Pam’s wedding on The Office is almost too ridiculous to believe

It’s been over 10 years since Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly said “I do” on The Office. Hard to believe, isn’t it? When it comes to famous moments on the series, it’s tough to imagine Jim and Pam’s impromptu Niagara Falls wedding during season six going any other way. But according to the cast and creators, it almost did.

In what Entertainment Weekly called an “Oral History of Jim and Pam’s Wedding,” those who put the whole episode together revealed the way things almost went down during those unforgettable nuptials. And you’ll certainly be surprised by how it almost ended.

According to the show’s creator Greg Daniels, while writing the wedding episode, those behind the scenes wanted it to be like “The Office movie.” And so, the change of scenery set the stage for other fun changes and new moments not usually possible during the work hours at Dunder Mifflin.

Daniels explained:

"One of the great things about it was seeing the characters outside. Like, you never saw Kevin at home, so you didn’t get to see them doing much of life. It really opened up a lot of fun story pitches for all the different characters. And a wedding is a classic comedy setting; like, all Shakespeare comedies end with a wedding."

So what aspect of Jim and Pam’s storybook wedding didn’t make the cut, you ask? Apparently, it involved a horse. While looking over earlier drafts, Daniels said he noticed some funny things that were later changed, including a never-attempted horse bit.

According to director-producer Paul Feig, the original ending was much more controversial and it wasn’t just because of the horse. Of what might’ve been, Feig told Entertainment Weekly:

"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. But then, in an absolute insane thing, they had this crazy ending where Dwight [Rainn Wilson] gets the horse and rides it into the falls."

Greg Daniels admitted that in the beginning, he was “really committed” to this plot twist on The Office, claiming they went back and forth for a while at writers’ meetings, trying to decide if the silly idea was even possible or not.

Ultimately, his fellow writers came to the conclusion that sending Dwight on a horse through Niagara Falls was nothing short of “insane,” and Daniels said he inevitably backed down.

While this ending would’ve surely been good for a laugh or two, it might’ve also undercut the special and sincere feeling that Jim and Pam’s wedding gave (and still gives) its adoring fans.