Kennerley further wrote that "based on this episode, [...] "The Simpsons" is in top form. It still reigns as the funniest, brashest, fastest-paced half-hour you'll see on television." Bill Gibron of PopMatters also thought the episode was funny, commenting that it "explored the often-cited 'slippery slope' of allowing matrimony to be defined outside the parameters of a man and a woman—with hilarious results." In regards to the revelation that Patty was gay, "The A.V. Club" wrote that it "wasn't particularly earth-shattering" but that Marge's initial reaction provided a good twist to the episode. J. Stewart Burns received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in the animation category for his work on "There's Something About Marrying", although he lost the award to another "Simpsons" writer.