Longford adapted this film from an American stage melodrama that he and Lottie Lyell had starred in the previous year. The narrative of the play on which the film is based is described as follows:
'The story of the "Fatal Wedding" is clear cut, full of pathos and sensationalism, bearing remarkable testimony to the many incidents of an everyday life, and the plot turns on the machinations of a scheming woman, who with her male accomplice, endeavours to destroy the happiness of an affectionate wedded pair. The two schemers manage to convince the husband, that his wife has dishonored his name, whereupon trouble ensues, and a divorce is obtained, and the wife has to support herself in poverty for years. During this time of trial she is greatly assisted by her girl child, who is appropriately designated "The Little Mother," and it is mainly owing to this child's endeavours, that the husband is eventually convinced that he has been the victim of a vile plot, and the husband and wife are once more happily united.'
Contemporary sources indicate that the film followed the play's plot closely.
[Source: 'Fatal Wedding', Kadina and Wallaroo Times, 29 October 1910, p.2.]