<P> The title of the song refers to Douglas Coupland's novel Shampoo Planet, wherein the main character, Tyler Johnson, says: "I am writing a list of tragic character flaws on my dollar bills with a felt pen . I am thinking of the people in my universe and distilling for each of these people the one flaw in their character that will be their downfall--the flaw that will be their undoing . What I write are not sins; I write tragedies ." </P> <P> "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" is Panic! at the Disco's first single to have a music video . ("The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" was the first single, but no video was filmed .) The video for the song takes place at a strange, circus - themed wedding played by the Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque . </P> <P> The video starts as the bride, played by Jessie Preston, and groom, Daniel Isaac McGuffey, are about to be married . Her family dresses and behaves formally, but are revealed later to have fallen asleep and have eyes painted on their eyelids . His family are lower - class entertainers and carnival folk, and interrupt the wedding . The ringmaster, played by vocalist Brendon Urie, acts as narrator and disrupts the events . After an argument between the two families, the bride runs out and is followed by one of her guests . The ringmaster drags the groom outside by his tie, where his fiancée is kissing the guest who followed her out of the church . The groom straightens up, looking shocked, and Urie and the groom bow to the camera . The ringmaster is revealed to be the groom's alter ego . </P> <P> The music video by director Shane Drake won the award for Video of the Year during the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards . This marked the first occasion since the 1989 VMAs that the winner of Video of the Year did not win anything else . The video was also ranked No. 7 on VH1's list of the Top 100 Videos of 2006 . </P>

Who is the groom in the i write sins not tragedies video