Grey's Anatomy: Camilla Luddington calls season 14 finale 'one of the hardest' to film

After years of waiting, Alex and Jo will finally tie the knot during Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, which star Camilla Luddington describes as one of the hardest season finales they’ve ever had to film.

As EW previously revealed, Jo (Luddington) and Alex (Justin Chambers) will walk down the aisle in the finale, though the big day will include its fair share of challenges.

“It was really bizarre filming it, just because it’s been such a long time coming for these two characters,” Luddington tells EW. “To see Justin in his suit and to even put on this wedding dress was like, ‘Wow! We made it!’”

It’s been a long road to the altar for these two. After his failed marriage to Izzie (Katherine Heigl) in the early years of Grey’s, Alex and Jo started dating in season 9. But the couple hit a major roadblock at the end of season 12 when Jo rebuffed Alex’s proposal, afraid to reveal that her name wasn’t actually Jo Wilson — it was Brooke Stadler — and she was still married to an abusive man from whom she ran.

“I can’t believe that we’ve actually made it,” Luddington says. “Just because they’ve been through so much. We were excited to finally shoot those scenes. Then, it just so happens that — like I told you guys — there’s a lot of twists and turns to it. It’s a really fun story line for them. We laughed a lot shooting it.”

As depicted in this sneak peek at the finale, Alex and Jo do hit a rather large snag on their wedding day. But the finale will also serve as a farewell to series regulars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew, who will exit ahead of season 15. Still, Luddington is torn over whether to liken Thursday’s hour to one of Grey’s big season-enders — a la the shooter or the bus crash — or one of the long-running ABC medical drama’s more quiet finales.

“That’s difficult because I feel like, to me, on a personal level, it felt like one of the hardest ones to film,” Luddington says. “We did lose two actresses that we had to say goodbye to. But there’s no giant explosion. In that way, it’s not one of those finales. I would say that there’s lots of beautiful moments. I hope that the audience does enjoy it.”

The season finale of Grey’s Anatomy will air Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.