My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
“Imagine biting into a wedding cake… and hearing a crunch.” 😳
This week, Christa is joined by Lauren Lowder from Burnt Out Teachers, and somehow the conversation goes from classroom chaos to one of the most horrifying wedding stories imaginable. From a painfully awkward best man speech to a wedding cake that allegedly had shattered glass inside of it, this episode unlocks an entirely new fear.
Christa and Lauren also react to a listener submission about a future mother-in-law spiraling over a seating chart and threatening to cut off her own son before the wedding. Together, they unpack toxic family dynamics, emotional manipulation, boundaries, and why some people treat weddings like emotional warfare instead of celebrations.
Plus, Lauren opens up about her viral teacher skits, the realities of burnout, and how humor and storytelling can help people feel seen and validated. If you love messy family drama, awkward wedding moments, and conversations that feel like gossiping with your funniest friend, this episode is for you.
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Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- A Viral Teacher Journey – Lauren shares how leaving the classroom led her to creating Burnt Out Teachers and building a huge online community through relatable teacher stories and skits.
- The Evolution of Miss Bunker – What started as a joke character turned into the chaotic teacher icon people now fully root for online.
- The Most Painfully Awkward Best Man Speech Ever – A wedding speech goes completely off the rails when the best man drags out a joke so long the entire room falls silent.
- The Wedding Cake Horror Story – Guests unknowingly eat cake that allegedly contained shattered glass, creating instant panic at the reception.
- Toxic MIL Seating Chart Drama – A future mother-in-law threatens to cut off her own son over where she’s seated at the wedding reception.
- Boundaries, Burnout, and Difficult Parents – Lauren opens up about the emotional reality of teaching and why so many educators feel unable to set boundaries.
- The Internet vs. Reality – Christa and Lauren discuss why social media storytelling can validate people’s experiences while also opening up important conversations.
- Wedding Confessions & Hot Takes – The episode wraps with listener confessions involving awkward speeches, uncomfortable bridesmaid dresses, and parents turning weddings into advertisements.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “You can say, ‘Hey, is there any way this could work?’ without threatening to never talk to your son again.” – Christa Innis
- “At a wedding, you’re sitting down eating for such a short period of time. Does it really matter that much?” – Christa Innis
- “Someone like this, you can’t really barter with. If they don’t get their way, they’re gonna find something to be upset about.” – Christa Innis
- “I feel like social media opens people’s eyes to conversations they didn’t even realize were happening.” – Christa Innis
- “I literally would’ve convinced myself I ate glass and needed to go to the ER.” – Christa Innis
- “I say the outrageous things teachers wish they could actually say out loud.” – Lauren Lowder
- “The cake was full of shattered glass. FULL of shattered glass.” – Lauren Lowder
- “Disowning your kid over where you’re sitting at their wedding is psychotic behavior.” – Lauren Lowder
- “Someone who has no boundaries will continue showing they have no boundaries the more you explain yourself.” – Lauren Lowder
- “I think weirdness in the classroom is fun. Kids should see their teachers laugh.” – Lauren Lowder
*This conversation is for entertainment and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please seek a licensed professional for your specific situation.
About Lauren
Lauren Lowder is a creator, former teacher, and the voice behind Burnt Out Teachers, where she brings the chaos, frustration, and hilarity of classroom life to the internet through viral storytelling and character-driven skits. Her content shines a light on burnout, difficult parents, toxic work dynamics, and the realities many teachers quietly deal with every day.
After leaving the classroom and building her own tutoring business, Lauren now helps other burnt out teachers create more freedom and flexibility in their lives. Through humor and storytelling rooted in real experiences, she creates content that helps people feel seen, validated, and understood.
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Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
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A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi, Lauren. Thanks for being here.
Lauren Lowder: Thanks for having me.
Christa Innis: I’m so excited to talk to you because I have seen your, skits so long on social media, and I think you’re hilarious. And I think, like- Thank you … the characters that you portray are very funny. So before I get into all that- Thank you … and for anyone that’s watching, I was just saying this to Lauren before, like, I’m trying a new camera, so if I keep looking down, I’m here.
I’m just trying to figure out where my eyes need to go. And same
Lauren Lowder: with, and same with me. It’s here, but I’m here, so we’re all over the place, and that’s totally fine. We’re in it together.
Christa Innis: Yeah. As long as you can hear us and see us, we’re good. Yes … so can you just tell everyone a little bit about yourself?
And then we’re gonna kinda get into all the things.
Burnt Out Teachers & Saying What Everyone’s Thinking
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. So I used to be a teacher. I taught kindergarten, first, and third. And I got to the point where there was so much going on in the classroom, like I know so many teachers, that are still in the trenches nowadays know exactly what I’m talking about.
I got to the point where I was like, “I can’t do this for, 25, 27 more years.” so I started a tutoring business, and I was able to leave the classroom six months later after starting my tutoring business and go full-time with that. And, after that, I built an online course to teach other teachers how to start a tutoring business like I did, and free up their lives and their schedules and make more money.
And, After that, after I built the online course, I got onto social media to kind of talk about my tutoring journey and give helpful tips and tricks, and talk about my course that I’d built. and one day out of the blue, I made a funny, skit type, video on, demands from principals and how funny it would be if a teacher just said no.
it was funny ’cause I was getting ready to give up social media altogether. I just didn’t feel like it was working orI just didn’t think it was doing really well. And that was my first viral video, and I was like, “Okay, I’ll stick around.”
and so then I started having teachers send me their stories. So I would throw in a, couple other skits that had happened to me, true stories. getting called out for, leaving one minute after contract time or, getting in trouble for stupid things. And teachers were really relating to that.
And after a few more of those skits went out, like I said, teachers had started sending me their stories, and just crazy things out there. And so I decided to use the platform I was building to tell, to give people a look behind the curtain into what it really is like as a teacher. And so while I s- I did still talk about my tutoring journey, my social media has kind of just transformed into now telling unbelievable, funny, crazy teacher stories, that are shared with me, and they’re all true.
And so that’s what I do now.
Christa Innis: I love that. I feel like we’re, like, in similar spaces, but different, like, areas. Like, I do more wedding events and you do school, like, teaching. Yes. And I think it really, like you said, like, opens up the curtain to kind of show what really goes on. Yeah. Because people are only, seeing one side of it.
Whether they have kids in school or their last memory was when they were in school, I think it’s really important to see all sides of it. And as we all know, teachers have a very hard time. Mm-hmm. And they’re put in very not so great situations. Yes. Yeah … so when you read these stories back, are you, like, kind of, like, brought back to where you were when you were teaching and kind of like, “Oh my gosh, I remember dealing with that” or, do you kind of like, you’re kind of like, “Okay, I’m glad I kind of moved on from that kind of area in my life”?
Lauren Lowder: Yes. But when I read those stories, a part of me will always be taken back to those feelings of, You know, in a classroom sometimes it can feel like, the way that a school is run, it can kind of feel like customer’s always right mentality, where it’s like the parents are the customers and the families are the customers.
And, Yeah, I think it brings me back to the anxieties of those feelings where you can’t really speak your mind, and you can’t really set boundaries with people who aren’t willing to have boundaries set with them. Mm-hmm. And, so I think what I do is I say the outrageous things. I say the out-of-pocket responses that these teachers wish that they could say, to parents to give them that kind of outlet.
Like, “Man, I’m really glad she said… I can’t say that, but I’m really glad she did.” Mm-hmm. so I, do think I do that. I do that for my past self that couldn’t say those things, because I really struggled in those situations and I do that for the people that are still there now, so.
Christa Innis: It’s like that validation.
And I feel like, like you said, you get so many stories sent in to you. You’ve probably become this like safe space now for people to vent about, like, a situation that happened, whether they were a parent, a student, a teacher, or, you know, dealt with something. And you are teaching respectful boundaries, too.
Because I think so many times in those scenarios- Mm-hmm … you’re like, ” How can I show a boundary and also be respectful, do my job?” And so I think it’s the impact you’re making, too. Because of course it’s, like, entertaining, but it’s also impacting people.
Meet Miss Bunker: From Villain to Icon
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, I feel so honored. Whenever someone shares their story with me, I, just feel really honored, that they felt that they could do that and to have that space for them to be able to do that.
And yeah, I do get a lot, like you said, a lot of people just venting, too. Like, “Please don’t share this. I just needed to tell you.” … and I’m really honored to, to be able to give people that space to do that.
Okay, the character that you have That kind of, like, says it like it is. Yeah, Miss Bunker. She’s got the filter. Yes. Is that who you’re thinking of? Okay.
Christa Innis: Yes. So how did that- Yeah … was she in one of your first skits? Or did she kind of just over time, you’re like, “I need someone like this that’s just gonna, like- Cutthroat
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. So, well, it’s funny, she didn’t start out as cutthroat.
she was brought in… So let me back up a little bit. Snapchat was rolling out really funny, filters, you know? And filters became a thing within the last however many years. But anyway, they would constantly roll out with new ones, and they came out with the one that Ms. Bunker wears now.
And in my family, we were sending back that filter every day, and we were dying laughing. We just thought it was the funniest filter. And I was like, man, if I could make a character that has this filter, I just think it would be so funny. And so I kind of workshopped a little bit a new character, and wrote a skit and I filmed a skit of this new teacher coming in.
And she was super nice, but she had this crazy filter and really scared people. And after I edited it and put it together, I was kind of like, actually, this isn’t the vibe I’m wanting to give. It almost gives, like, ostracizing her or, or like- Mm … other teachers talking about this really nice teacher. I was like, that’s not the vibe I’m looking for.
so I let it rest for a little bit, and then I was telling a story someone sent in about that teacher that’s constantly raising their hand at the end of a meeting. Like, “Okay, any more questions? It’s time to go,” and that teacher is just constantly like, ” Well, have you thought about this? Well, what about that?”
And, everybody’s just pissed and wants to go home. And so I was telling that story and I was like, well, I need a fill-in. I need a character to be the one to be raising their hand, and so I justslapped the filter on this character And, people hated her. They hated her. And so then I made this…
She became reoccurring where it was like the brown-noser teacher. We all know them, and the brown-noser coworker, and always trying to suck up to the boss, and always trying to right thing. And so that was her character at first, and then throughout, the storyline and just different stories, I kind of had a moment where she just snapped and was like, ” I’m not dealing with this,”
So she’s become now a hero. She was the anti-hero, and now she’s become the hero for teachers, which I love.
Christa Innis: So. I love that. I love a story where they can come out in the end and like, make a change- Mm-hmm … and now people are, like, rooting for her, ’cause I saw, like, your merch with her, and I saw…
I was like, “That-” … “is awesome. That is so cool.” ‘Cause
Lauren Lowder: I would need to update that, by the way, because when it first came out, when sh- I first made merch for her, it said, “Don’t be a bunker,” ’cause it was like- Ugh … people know you don’t wanna be the Miss Bunker. Don’t be the suck-up.
But now it’s like, mm, people kind of wanna be her, so I’ve gotta make an adjustment to that, so.
Christa Innis: Yes. Oh my gosh, that’s so funny. And so, like, with creating these skits, do you… I know you get a lot of stories, but then do you kind of like do a mix of, like, your own creativity or, like, kind of, like, put your own, like, personal stories into it?
Or do you try to stick pretty closely with what people send over to you?
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. Well, so in the beginning, I stuck really closely to the story. And, I was kind of putting a little twist on the end of what we wish we could say, and then I started doing… I kind of have, dabbled with it as I’ve gone, but then there were timesI was doing some series.
and then there were some times where I was just writing from my own brain, and I was trying to make that clear. Like, in the caption I would say, I would always disclose, “This is a true story sent to me,” or, “Based on a true story,” or, “Inspired by a true story.” And after that, I always put in parentheses like with added flair because obviously there’s outrageous things that happen in these.
They are based on true stories, yes, but I add in some crazy details just give the story a little bit more substance. But I have dabbled. I have done some just made-up stories in my own head. and I’ve recently gone back to, in the last maybe couple months, just telling true teacher stories because I have so many that need to be told.
And, yeah, I think I just enjoy that a lot more right now, so that’s what I’ve been doing.
Christa Innis: I love that.
Lauren Lowder: What did you focus- … like, what did you teach Were you elementary school teaching, like, multiple subjects? Or what, like, grade level and subjects
were you- Oh, yes. So when I taught in the schools, I taught kindergarten, first, and third. I taught the little ones.
and then when I tutored, I taught, anywhere from K through, I think even had, like, a seventh grader one time. but mostly focused on, like, reading and math.
but I don’t tutor anymore. I do still help teachers with my course. but I don’t tutor anymore. I’m just strictly social media now.
Christa Innis: Love that. I love that.
Lauren Lowder: Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: And like I said, I just feel like you’re making such a difference. I don’t know if you feel like that, but, like, I know when, like, if, for example, like, when I first started doing content, like, I had people being like, you know, the negative Nancys out there be like, “Oh, you’re just sharing toxic behavior, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and you’re just complaining.”
But then I’ve had people say the sa- opposite, and they’d be like, “No, you’re drawing, like, you’re helping people come to, like, their own boundaries, and talk, like with, like communicate better with people that are maybe crossing over boundaries and not being respectful.” Um, and so I feel like this kind of content can be really beneficial for, like, the education system.
And, you know, you would hope it would make some kind of impact. Or maybe people that are teachers right now being like, “Okay, this is how I can talk to a parent and have a c- like, communication also, or talk to the principal and ask for different things in the classroom.” Um, again- Right … I haven’t been a teacher, so I don’t, I’m sure that’s very difficult working with a higher up system where it has to be a certain way
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, yeah.
Um, also have gotten the same response. Um, I’ve gotten, you know, “Why are we just showing bad parents, and why are we just showing negative admin? There’s good admin out there, too.” And it’s, it’s like, yeah, um, and I’m really happy for teachers that, you know, have good parents and good admin and they’re in a really good space.
But for those in the trenches, it’s not like that. That’s not their reality. Mm-hmm. And just like you do, I think that you bring awareness to toxicity, dysfunctional systems, and how we can find our voice within those, and I just think that’s so important.
Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah. I love that. Um, yeah, social media is, like, such an interesting thing ’cause I feel like there’s this negative side to it, of course.
Like, and people that maybe don’t work in it or see it kind of can look down upon it. But I feel like it really- Mm-hmm … brings to light a lot of conversations that need to be had or should be had. Or, like, when you sh- showcase some kind of situation in the classroom, people will be like, “I didn’t realize that was happening,” or, “I didn’t realize teachers were spoken to like that.”
Mm-hmm. And I think it really opens up people’s eyes to things, um, in a different way, where people aren’t gonna necessarily read an article about it. They’re gonna be like, “Oh, this skit’s entertaining. Oh, wait, a teacher actually had
Lauren Lowder: this happen to them.” Yeah. Exactly. And I think some of the best comments and messages I get are when people go, “You have taught me how to not teach, treat my son’s teacher,” or, “You have taught me to be the opposite.”
And so these parents reach out to me and they’re like, “I, you know, have gone w- 100% the other way in trying to do everything that you’re not and make my, my son’s teacher’s life easier.” And that is, like, just so great to know and hear.
Red Flags, Parent DMs & Classroom Chaos
Christa Innis: I love that. Okay, so I always like to do a red light, green light with guests that come on.
And so I thought we would do- Okay … like, a teacher edition since you’re… I don’t even know if we said, your, your account is Burnt Out Teachers. Um- Yes,
Lauren Lowder: yeah …
Christa Innis: so for anyone that doesn’t follow you, they need to check it out because the skits are hilarious, but it’s also like- … a lot of, uh, like we were saying, like, you can learn a lot from it, but they’re just, they’re so well done.
So for this- Thank you … red light green light edition, we’re gonna do teacher edition. So I’m gonna read something off, and then you’re just gonna say if it’s a red light or a green light. Um, okay.
Lauren Lowder: Okay. Red light being bad, green light being good. Yes. Is there any context with… That’s it? Okay. All right.
Christa Innis: That’s it, yes. Um, parent emails at 11:59 PM expecting a reply.
Lauren Lowder: Red light.
Christa Innis: Did this happen?
Lauren Lowder: Red, red, red. This happens all the time, or on Remind they send messages, or I had a story where a teacher, um, received a Facebook message at, like, 12:00 AM. It was like, “Hey, can you help my kid with their homework?” Oh- Red light.
Immediate.
Christa Innis: See, that’s what I could not understand. It’s like, you know, when I was a kid in school, it’s like I- we didn’t have social media, right? And so, like, I think it came out when I was in college, and I’m just like… Maybe, like, late high school. Um, but I’m just like- Mm-hmm … I can’t imagine, like, having a parent find me on social media as a teacher.
I feel like that’s so, like, crossing a- So
Lauren Lowder: invasive.
Christa Innis: Yes, like please do not. I remember a college, um, professor of mine who was actually really cool and I liked her a lot. She wanted us, like, afterwards she was like, “Oh yeah, you guys can add me on, on Facebook or whatever.” And I was like, “I don’t know, I feel like this is weird.”
But she was super cool. Right,
Lauren Lowder: you gotta give it some time.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Give it some time. When I’m out of college years later. Um- Right … parent brings a gift at the end of the year.
Lauren Lowder: Oh, green light. Yeah. But what’s the gift? Because I will say do not bring a gift or a bag from Victoria’s Secret or some sort of sex toy for your teacher, for your son’s teacher, because that is always, always, always inappropriate.
Christa Innis: Wait, is that something-
Lauren Lowder: In that case it would be a red light, but a green light- Don’t say that’s happened … sound is great for this one.
Christa Innis: That feels like that shouldn’t have to be said. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
Lauren Lowder: You just wouldn’t believe. Pa- teachers get these fake roses, and at the end of the day they, like, go to open it and it’s actually, like, six pairs of red underwear folded in to make it look like a rose.
And
Christa Innis: people are like, “Yeah,
Lauren Lowder: this is a
Christa Innis: great idea.” This
Lauren Lowder: stuff. This is great, yeah. It’s great.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Mm-hmm. So don’t do that, guys. Um, a class clown who’s actually funny.
Lauren Lowder: Mm. Mm, green light. Green light, but timing depends.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Lauren Lowder: It’s all about the timing. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yes. Uh, teachers having a favorite student.
Lauren Lowder: Are they mentioning it out loud or is it just an inner thought?
Um,
Christa Innis: probably just having it, like, probably just an inner thought. That’s how I would take it. Unless
Lauren Lowder: it- I mean, you’re human. You’re a human. Green light. I’m
Christa Innis: sure you kind of, yeah. I’m sure, like, as long as there’s not, like, special treatment, ’cause those were very obvious. Exactly. Like, in high school when they had favorite students you could tell, like- That’s a red light, yeah
special privileges. Yeah, all that stuff. Reusing last year’s lesson plans.
Lauren Lowder: Oh, green light. Go for it. Yes. God.
Christa Innis: Pop quizzes.
Lauren Lowder: Mm. Mm, I think if they’re used the right way and not as, like, a punishment, green light. But it just depends on the context.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Lauren Lowder: Like, if you’re just trying to catch your kids. I don’t know.
I, I think it just depends. I taught the little ones, so I didn’t really do pop quizzes like that. I just think of, like, the old crotchety, you know, like-
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm … “
Lauren Lowder: Pop quiz” kind of thing. Yes. So I don’t know. I,
Christa Innis: I feel like I remember, like, a math teacher one time, like, people were, like, just extra chatty and, like, talking back, and they’re like, “Okay, we’re gonna do a pop quiz since none of you guys are listening,” and I hate…
I’m already a bad test-taker, so pop quiz- … I’m, I’m out the door. I-
Lauren Lowder: Yeah …
Christa Innis: just never meant-
Lauren Lowder: No, I get that level of frustration, though, like, trying to, trying to make, teach a lesson or, you know, corral them in some way. But, um, yeah, I think it just depends.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, a parent DM’ing you on social media.
Lauren Lowder: Red light.
Christa Innis: A substitute le-
Lauren Lowder: Absolutely red light.
Christa Innis: Yeah, that’s weird to me. Um, a substitute leaving a bad note about your class
Lauren Lowder: Um, yellow light. I mean, I would want my substitute to be honest with how it was. Um, obviously it’s not great to get a bad note. Like, nothing starts your day off worse when you walk in, you’ve been gone.
But, um, I think she needs to go ahead and do that. So green light. Yeah. So green light. I think she needs to do that, for sure.
Christa Innis: Communication, right?
Lauren Lowder: Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: Do you get a lot of substitute teacher stories sent to
Lauren Lowder: you? Um, oh, hmm. I, I’m struggling to think of some, so m- so not as many as I, not as many as I think.
I’ve had some.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Lauren Lowder: But none that are, like, off the top of my head right now. I can think of a… I can think of my own story when I was in high school. Uh, we had a substitute teacher one day, and this woman pulled her chair over in front of the door and sat down in front of it and fell asleep. So no one could leave without her waking up, but she didn’t do anything, and we just, we just all hung out.
I don’t know.
Christa Innis: Oh
Lauren Lowder: my It was crazy. Yeah. Oh my
Christa Innis: gosh. That’s gotta be, like… I remember having, like, a really mean substitute teacher in, um, I think it was, like, English class in, like, high school. But then I also had, like, sympathy for her too, because she was younger. I remember her being, like, tw- in her 20s. And I, I just can only imagine, like, all these, like, high school, like, maybe some were bratty, I don’t know, coming in and, like, not listening.
And, um, and that’s just… I feel like that’s probably just a difficult situation. You don’t know the students. You- they’re… If they’re… If you catch them on a day where they’re just not listening- Exactly … and you just
Lauren Lowder: have to put the
Christa Innis: foot down or you have to do a test, like, I-
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. They don’t care. Like, it…
Substituting is not for the weak, and then also substituting high school, like, you must have a death wish because- … I could not think of anything worse. That is… And
Christa Innis: like, I remember, that just brought me back. I remember we had a substitute for my math class, and the poor… It was an older man. He fell out of his chair when he went to go sit down, and I felt- Oh,
Lauren Lowder: no.
That’s really sad … 50 feet from him.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I felt so bad. I was like- Oh … you’re already- Oh,
Lauren Lowder: no.
Christa Innis: Yeah, it was already, like, an uncomfortable scenario. Like, yeah.
Lauren Lowder: Oh, that makes me want to cry. I- That’s so sad. I know.
Christa Innis: I think he laughed it off. He, like, handled it okay, but I was just like- Yeah … oh my gosh.
Lauren Lowder: Would
Christa Innis: be, like, my nightmare.
Um-
Lauren Lowder: Oh, God. Yeah …
Christa Innis: a student calling you by your first name
Lauren Lowder: Mm-mm. Red light.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Lauren Lowder: But I know in some schools, in some schools like Montessori, that’s, um, a welcome thing.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Lowder: And I can get down with that. So yellow light. I’m gonna say yellow light.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I know. And my cousins that went to school in Oklahoma, they were like, “We always called our teachers by first name.”
So they were like, that’s how they introduced themselves. And I remember- Yeah.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. So that’s-
Christa Innis: For me, it wasn’t until, like, college. Like, professors in college would be like, like the cool ones, they’d be like, “Oh, you can call me James,” or whatever. And I’d be like, “Okay.” Yeah,
Lauren Lowder: I’m uncomfy. Yeah. I can’t do that.
Sorry, Mr. Jones. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, okay. Last one, and this might be putting you on the spot, so if you don’t have one, that’s okay. What would you say your most- Okay … controversial green light or red light is that people would not expect? It might not even be controversial. Mm. What’s something that’s like a, either a hot take or something in your classroom that you were like, “This is for sure-” Oh, God
“a con. This is for sure a not, not.”
Lauren Lowder: Oh my gosh. See, it’s really hard ’cause it’s been a really long time since I’ve been in the classroom. Um, I, one thing that I can think of, um things that really pushed my boundaries and buttons when I was teaching, um, was don’t walk your kid to class every day. Like, we’re trying to build and foster independence, and, you know, in April, your child does not need you to send them off into my classroom each day.
Because unfortunately, parents like that will al- still try and push, and push, and push, and then before you know it, they’re in your classroom and they’re asking you what you’re gonna do that day and what… Like, so yeah, that’s, that’s a no-go. Parties during the classroo- during the class, during the day, school day, um, no-go.
Um, and I think my green light in my classroom was, when I think back, is being silly. Like, we laughed a lot in my classroom, and, uh, but also having that good balance of, um, expectations and hard work paired with it. I just felt like it made a really good balance. But I think it’s really good to laugh and to have your kids see you laugh.
Mm-hmm. Um, and, and yeah, make them do silly things. It was so fun to get my kids to do the weirdest things. Like, we would line up for recess, and I had first graders at the time, and, um, uh, there was one day before we went out to recess, I was like, “We are not going outside until you whisper, ‘I smell like beef and cheese.'”
And so the whole line of kids just whispered it to themselves like, “What the heck?” Um, and I just- It makes me laugh still, thinking about, like, them going home and telling, “Yeah, like, Miss Liard made us whisper we smell like beef and cheese today.” So just, like, be really weird. Just be weird. I think weirdness- Yeah
in your classroom is fun, and, um, and that’s, yeah, that’s the best I can do for you for my red and green lights.
Christa Innis: No, I think that’s good. Well, ’cause I think, too, especially in first grade, like, I feel like that’s, like, still babies. Like, they’re still young. Like, have fun at school. Like, like-
Lauren Lowder: Mm-hmm …
Christa Innis: I feel like they’re gonna be in school or work the rest of their life.
Like, why not make it fun and enjoyable? Like, um-
Lauren Lowder: Mm-hmm …
Christa Innis: I remember years ago, ’cause when I was in my elementary school, and maybe it was the same for you, but, like, I don’t remember getting any, like, homework or anything like that in elementary school. But then all of a sudden it was like kindergarten, they’re coming home with, like, homework, and I was like, let’s still make it fun, you know?
Um-
Lauren Lowder: Yeah … my daughter
Christa Innis: has a-
Lauren Lowder: Yeah …
Christa Innis: few years before she’s in elementary school, but I’m, like, just interested to see, you know, how that’s kind of, you know, changed.
Lauren Lowder: I know. Yeah.
Christa Innis: But it, it’s-
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, it’ll be so interesting.
Christa Innis: Yeah. But yeah. Yeah. I f- I love that you did that because I feel like school at that age, too, it’s like it’s all about learning through, like, fun, and I feel like it should be fun for them.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, 100%.
Christa Innis: Okay. So as we talk about, like, wedding and event stories, I know you said you had a wedding story that- You wanted to share, so let’s have at it
Lauren Lowder: Mm. I have two.
Christa Innis: Oh.
The Worst Best Man Speech in Human History
Lauren Lowder: So I don’t know what we have time for- All right … but I, I will… We- you can keep what you want. You can do whatever you need to. But, um, I have two crazy wedding stories.
I love it. And, um, the first one was we went to a wedding years ago, and the best man c- went to the front to do the speech, and his aura just gave, like, unprepared. Like, you could just tell. He didn’t have any notes. He didn’t exude confidence or, like, I’m ready to do this. And, um, he got up to the front and he said, um…
He joked about not having a speech at first, and he went to walk off and realized, like, that wasn’t gonna fly. So he awkwardly… Well, I think this was his plan the whole time. But so he went to walk off. It was so awkward. No one laughed. And he was like, “I…” He was like, “Just kidding.” And he came back up to the front and he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and he unraveled it, and he was like, “Nope, that’s not it,” and he tossed it to the side.
And then he reached in his other pocket and he pulled out a piece of paper and he unraveled it. And we’re all sitting here, like… You know when you, like, are just, you could just crawl out of your own skin? You’re so em- s- you have such secondhand embarrassment for someone. You just-
Christa Innis: Yeah … ugh.
Lauren Lowder: So he pulls this second piece of paper out.
He unravels it. He’s like, “Nope, that’s not it,” like, trying to be so funny. Uh, he takes his shoe off. He pulls a piece of paper out of his shoe. He unravels it. He’s like, “Hmm, that’s not it.” And then I’m tell- I’m not even kidding, okay? I’m not even kidding. He probably did this, like, four or five more times.
Christa Innis: No.
Lauren Lowder: Finally, he pulled… Yes. No. And it was like you could hear a pin drop. It was so dead silent. Um, um, so the final thing he did was he pulled a piece of paper out that was rolled behind his ear, and we were like, “This has gotta be it. This has gotta be it. This is the speech.” And he unravels it, and he was like, “Nope.
Well, uh, good luck to you guys, and wish you nothing but the best,” and walked off.
Christa Innis: Stop.
Lauren Lowder: That was it. That’s
Christa Innis: awful.
Lauren Lowder: It was dead silent. It was dead silent, and everyone was just like-
Christa Innis: Oh, he couldn’t even say like- Like- … congrats you two, like best wish? Like, did the groom or bride make a face, or the couple?
Lauren Lowder: It was so uncomfortable for everyone. They were sit- they were just like, “Eh.” Like, the kid was a loose cannon. You could just tell. It was like, uh, he, you c- you didn’t know what he was c- capable of kind of thing.
Oh- And- …
Christa Innis: my gosh …
The Wedding Cake Horror Story That Unlocked a New Fear
Lauren Lowder: yeah, so that was really, that was, that’s one that stands out to me. But this one takes the cake literally. So we were at a wedding recently, and we, uh, we, they were serving cake. It was at the point in the wedding where they’re serving cake, and, um, they were doing it where it was kind of like they were cutting the cake towards the back, and then they had a table.
They were laying the cut slices out on the table, and people were just kind of walking up, grabbing a slice, and taking it back to their table to eat. And my husband walks up to grab a piece of, of cake, and I can see him standing there waiting, um, for a piece to slide out on the table. And everything, you could see everything happening back there, and everyone had kind of halted, and there were whispers.
And they weren’t cutting any more pieces of cake. And Gabriel turned to me, my husband turns to me, um, and kind of makes a face like, “What the heck?” And I’m like, “Well, I wanted cake.” And so he comes back over to me like, “I don’t know what’s going on. They stopped cutting the cake.” So, um, one in, one in the wedding party I think grabbed a microphone and she said, “Hey, everybody.
Um, I just want to let you guys know we have paused the cake cutting for now,” um, just awkwardly. Like, “Just wanted to let you know.” And so she goes to put the mic down, and the girl like nudges her like, “No, you need to…” Like, there’s some heated, like, “You need to say blah, blah, blah.” So she like anxiously picks the mic back up and she’s like, “And, um, um, if you have a piece of cake, please stop eating it.”
Yeah. So, uh, so of course mass just like everybody’s eyes get big as saucers. People are eating it. You could hear like forks drop. Like it was so just quiet hysteria, and, um, if that’s a thing. But, um, so come to find out they had found that the cake was full of shattered glass.
Christa Innis: Ooh.
Lauren Lowder: Full of shattered glass.
Oh, my. So I don’t know if when the cake was being mixed, um, you know, the, the person doing it, something had broken, and it got swept into the cake, like into the mixer. It was a ton of glass. Oh. And so they said, we, they were… We overheard people talking, but they were like, “Yeah, the, the cake cutters were saying they were hearing the crunching- Oh
as they were cutting the pieces of cake, and they just thought it was, you know, crys- sugar crystals.”
Christa Innis: Oh,
Lauren Lowder: my. And there were women at tables next to ours who were like, “Yeah, I got a really hard crunchy piece. I just ate it.”
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh
Lauren Lowder: So, um, yeah, that was really bad, and I’ve never been so thankful that my husband missed out on a piece of cake, um-
Christa Innis: Yeah
Lauren Lowder: because… And how psycho I am, like I couldn’t have m- I couldn’t imagine having gotten a piece of that cake and eaten it. Mm-hmm. Even if there weren’t, wasn’t any glass in it, I didn’t have a piece of cake, and I was like, “Did I eat glass? Did I accidentally eat glass today?” Like, that’s how… So I can’t imagine if I had actually had a piece- Right
of the cake, because I would’ve had to go to the ER.
Christa Innis: I would’ve literally
Lauren Lowder: been like- I would’ve had to go to
Christa Innis: the ER. Yeah. I might have been Yeah … all the way. I would’ve literally been like, “Okay, I feel it in my teeth,” or something. Like-
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. …
Christa Innis: even within the water. It’s
Lauren Lowder: cutting my… It, yeah. It’s cutting up, it’s slicing up my stomach.
I can feel it. But, uh, kids were eating the cake. I mean, like so many people had already gotten a piece of the cake. I just… I guess everyone’s fine, you know? We didn’t hear anything, so.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I’m wondering, like I wanna know like more about like, like was it a bakery? Was it like someone they just knew, or like-
Lauren Lowder: I know.
I know … I don’t know …
Christa Innis: a bakery to like not double check and then send it off to a wedding. And did they have… So the cake, the cake cutters were from the bakery, or they’re part of the venue?
Lauren Lowder: Oh, that’s a good question. Um, I think they were part of the venue.
Christa Innis: They were- And that’s- … themselves. So they, which would explain why they cut.
They were like, “Oh, this is normal,” like…
Lauren Lowder: Right. Yeah, I don’t think they knew anything.
Christa Innis: That’s wild. Yeah. At least they caught it before like everyone had it, and like hopefully there were no like injuries. Oh my gosh.
Lauren Lowder: I know, I know.
Christa Innis: New fear unlocked. All right.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. Check your food for glass, everybody. Yes. You just never know.
Christa Innis: Seriously. Oh my gosh. I’m thinking of that one scary movie where she like… This is gross, but she like thought it was an apple, but her mind tricked her and it was actually a light bulb. That’s giving like- Oh,
Lauren Lowder: what was that? … me, like, the creeps. Wait, you just, you just unlocked a memory for me.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I don’t even r- It was so long ago I saw it, but it was something where they like mess with your mind, and I remember her picking up an apple, but then it j- was like a light bulb.
And I remember watching that and being like, “Oh my gosh, that’s like the-
Lauren Lowder: Oh
Christa Innis: Yeah. Out of all the scary movies I’ve seen, that is a nightmare.
Lauren Lowder: That is a nightmare. God. All
Christa Innis: right. Well, that, those definitely take the cake. Those are some- Okay. It’s time to react to a wild story that someone sent. Um- Great … feel free to stop me at any time.
I’ll kinda pause as things happen too, and then we’ll-
Lauren Lowder: Mm-hmm …
Christa Innis: give advice if they need it. Okay.
Lauren Lowder: Okay. Here
Toxic MILs, Seating Charts & Emotional Warfare
Christa Innis: we go. “My future mother-in-law, we’ll call her Diane, has been a headache for a long time. She’s standoffish, but puts on a nice face around others. She has never liked me. When my fiance, Jake, told her he planned to propose, she cried and said I was stealing him away from her.”
Oh, God, the famous- Oh,
Lauren Lowder: gag me.
Christa Innis: Ugh. “We took her, her to look at wedding venues one day.” See, someone like that, that I knew didn’t like me, I would never bring them along. I’d be like- Why
Lauren Lowder: is she included?
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Lauren Lowder: Why is she included? If
Christa Innis: you don’t like me, you don’t get to support me or be a part of this. Sorry.
Lauren Lowder: No.
Christa Innis: “She constantly criticized my dream venue. At the second venue, when we jokingly did an exaggerated waltz after being shown the dance floor, she scolded us. After that day, we stopped including her in planning. That was just the beginning- Okay … almost two years ago. In all that time, she has barely asked about the wedding unless it was about herself, her dress, her hair, her makeup, or her schedule.
Now we’re three weeks out from the wedding. She was dog sitting for us and saw the seating chart I spent hours making.” Oh,
Lauren Lowder: no. Here we go. The dreaded seating chart.
Christa Innis: Yes. Sh- I could just picture her, okay, moving here, like, moving these all around.
Lauren Lowder: Oh, God. “
Christa Innis: Her immediate reaction was to panic and call Jake demanding he made me re- he make me redo it because she didn’t like her table.”
Ugh. “When he said no, she said horrible things, threatening not to dog sit again, saying he should be ashamed, and that he’s not the son she raised.” I can, like, picture- Mm … this woman, like, ugh.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. Oh, I know exactly what she looks like, yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. “And that she would keep up appearances until the wedding, but be done with him afterward,” over a seating chart.
That’s
Lauren Lowder: w- Disowning your kid for where you’re sitting a- at their wedding is psychotic, lady. Yeah. You’re, you’re lucky you’re even invited. Jesus.
Christa Innis: She needs to be studied. Like, this-
Lauren Lowder: Well, I mean,
Christa Innis: like, and I’ve had, like, therapists on before with similar stories, and they’re like, it’s that enmeshment where they feel like- Yes
their son is, like, literally, like, an- a limb. Like, “They will do as I say.” An
Lauren Lowder: extension of them, yes.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yep.
Lauren Lowder: Yes.
Christa Innis: And they can’t separate- Um … that they’re their own person.
Lauren Lowder: No.
Christa Innis: It’s, like, scary. Yeah. Here’s how the conversation went. Oh, wait. Um, after hearing that, I decided to text her. Oh, no, girl.
Lauren Lowder: Oh, no, that’s not good.
Not good. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Not good. I had already asked my mom and my maid of honor for advice on how to handle it, hoping to resolve things quickly and calmly. Here’s how the conversation went. Me: “Hi, Diane. Jake let me know you’re upset about the seating arrangements. I’m really sorry to hear that because I put a lot of time and care into both the layout and the chart itself.
We combined tables because Jake really values how well both families get along and wanted to feel like one big family. I made sure certain relatives were seated together and thought others would enjoy sitting with people they don’t see often. Jake and I reviewed everything together before finalizing it.
I’m disappointed this has become such an issue, and I hope everyone can still enjoy the wedding and their time together.” Okay, fair enough. That’s nice. I also
Lauren Lowder: am
Christa Innis: like- Mm-hmm … why overexplain yourself to someone like this? Like, she’s obviously not gonna-
Lauren Lowder: Don’t. Someone has no boundaries will only continue to show that they have no boundaries the more you explain.
Christa Innis: Yes, and, like, that victim that, this is her time now to be like, “I’m a victim. Let me show you how much I’m a victim.” Um, Diane, “My mother and brother will feel slighted, and honestly, my relationship with them isn’t great right now. I don’t need to make it worse.” So I’m guessing either she’s not sitting with them, I don’t know how that-
Lauren Lowder: Right, I guess it’s affected- She could be this-
that in some way.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Me, “I’m really sorry you feel that way. I put a lot of thought into making sure everyone would enjoy their tables and while still being near with each- near each other. It’s just for dinner. Everyone else will be mingling the rest of the night.” That’s the thing, too. It’s like at a wedding, you’re actually sitting down eating for such a short period, and then people bounce around, you dance.
So does it really matter?
Lauren Lowder: Right. You’re not… Yes, exactly, you’re not chained to your ch- chair the whole night. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. “If you’d like, I’m happy to reach out to them and explain our reasoning.” Oh my gosh, she’s being way too nice.
Lauren Lowder: No, do- doing too much. You’re doing too much.
Christa Innis: Diane, “Sure. If you had asked, I would have told you.
I offered to help, but you didn’t want it. Sometimes you have to do the right thing, and separating me from my mother and brother is wrong.” Okay, so it sounds like what they did is put maybe their immediate parents at one table together, and then other- Mm-hmm … family next, which I see it happen all the time.
And plus, like- Yeah … putting together seating charts is like, it’s like a puzzle piece. Like, you have to, like, get everyone in there and- It is …
Lauren Lowder: it’s
Christa Innis: a lot of work.
Lauren Lowder: It’s, it is. It’s like defusing a bomb. It’s not just, like, one tiny… If you move people, then you’ve gotta change other things. Now, I guess if she had just been a normal human and been like, “Hey, is there…
I know seating charts are so hard. Is there any way I can sit next to my brother and blah, blah, blah?” And then it was like, “No, like I, I really…” whatever. And she’s like, “I totally get it. Just thought I’d ask,” you know? Yes. Like, that’s a normal interaction. It’s like three sentences- Mm-hmm … and that’s, that’s normal.
Christa Innis: Yeah, it’s not like threatening to never talk to your son again and like-
Lauren Lowder: Psychotic …
Christa Innis: having a whole tantrum. Yeah, like let’s just learn to communicate. You can say like, “Hey, would you mind? Is there any way this could work?” Um, me, “I appreciate that you offered to help, but truthfully, you haven’t shown much interest in the planning.
You rarely ask about the wedding unless it involves you.” Ooh, she’s like- Here we go. It’s the battle Oh, boy.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, here we
Christa Innis: go. Ooh, “If you had reached out earlier or shared strong opinions about seating, this might have been different, but asking for changes three weeks before the wedding isn’t realistic.
I’ve spent hours organizing names, tables, and the chart itself.” See, I feel like, too, it’s like, and I’m not shaming the bride, ’cause you know what? She said cl- clear as day the mother-in-law does not like her. She never has. She put down everything. But also I feel like it’s like she doesn’t like her, so she’s like, “Why am I going to ca-,” she doesn’t like her back.
You know? Like, the daughter-in-law probably doesn’t like her. Right. And so she’s like, “I’m gonna tell her like it is. I’m not gonna cater to her.” What
Lauren Lowder: do I have to lose?
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. At this point, tell her like, “Uh, you already don’t like me, so I might as well just be like- Yeah … I’m not changing anything. I’m gonna tell you why.”
Um, so.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, it’s a win-win. Nothing to lose. You know? If like she doesn’t ever talk to you again, a win. If she changes her ways, a win. But either way, it’s a win.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. “Diane: I was told not to be involved. Me: I don’t know who told you that, but it wasn’t me. I’ve actually been upset that you and your husband haven’t showed interest.
I often feel like when I bring things up, the topic gets changed. Diane: I was told it was your wedding and whatever you want goes. I was trying to be a good mother-in-law. I always offered help. Me: It’s Jake and my wedding, and again, I never said you couldn’t be involved. From my perspective, you haven’t shown much interest beyond general offers.
If we had talked more about planning, you would’ve known when things like this were happening.” Gosh. Mm-hmm. It sounds like just a big communication, like, mess. ‘Cause who’s- Yeah … to, like, maybe, maybe Jake stepped in and was like, “Mom, I don’t want you involved,” because to protect her. But-
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, yeah …
Christa Innis: I don’t know.
Lauren Lowder: Diane- Also, too, like why are you fighting for her to be involved when you know she doesn’t like you and you don’t really like her? It’s like- Yeah … it’s kind of a gift that she hasn’t been interested or involved, and take the win, you know? That’s
Christa Innis: what I think,
Lauren Lowder: too. But I don’t know.
Christa Innis: A lot of times in these stories, again, not to like group it all, but when there’s like a daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, like, issue, they get offended then when the mother-in-law doesn’t want to be involved, which I’m like, if they don’t wanna be involved, don’t hold it against them.
Maybe they’re distancing- Right … themselves because they know they can’t bite their tongue. Um, so now it’s- Mm … kinda like salt on the wound. Everything’s out, and so I feel like they’re, now they’re just kinda like gonna go at it.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. It’s so much deeper than just not being interested in the wedding-
Christa Innis: Mm
Lauren Lowder: unfortunately.
Christa Innis: Yes. You’re taking her son away. Mm-hmm. Um, Diane, “Again, I was told to stay out. It’s your wedding, not mine.” Me, “That may be true, but Jake would never tell you not to talk to me about it. He’s heard me say I’m hurt that you’re not involved.” Diane, “I felt unwanted in the planning. I didn’t want to be a nag.
I asked Jake instead. You control him,” ooh- Mm … “and I didn’t want to push you away and lose him.” Me, “I don’t control Jake. That’s a ridiculous thing to say. I moved here so he could stay close to you. I took the bar here. We bought a house here. We are having the wedding here.” Diane, “You have already taken him away.”
Oh, g- Oh my God, lady … so I feel like I’m reading someone’s personal text. I mean, I guess I am. I
Lauren Lowder: know.
Christa Innis: Gosh. See, I’m like, I, I don’t know if it’s, like, my age or what, but I’m just, like, past, like, the… If, if it’s not going in a direction, you just gotta call it a night. Like-
Lauren Lowder: Call it. Call it. It’s too much. It’s too much.
Too much via text.
Christa Innis: She says, um, this is the, the last two things they say. Um, she says, “Jake is an adult. He makes his own decisions. He chose to build a life with me. He decides on how involved others are. This is unreasonable.” “Diane, I’m sorry you feel that way. I always wanted a good relationship with you.”
At that point, I stopped responding because the conversation was going nowhere. So there you go. I honestly don’t know what to do. She clearly needs help, and Jake says this is how she is. She has outbursts, then later feels embarrassed and apologizes. But I’ve told him I can’t just deal with it forever. He needs to set stronger boundaries, and he refuses.
He thinks he can manage it by cal- by being calm and diplomatic, while I tend to trust my instincts and speak up. This is the first time I ever directly confronted her. I’m completely at a loss for how to move forward, and honestly, if she follows through on cutting him off, I might just take that opportunity and move closer to my family.
There’s so much more that happened, but I really need advice on what to do next. Oh, okay.
Lauren Lowder: Mm.
Christa Innis: What would you say?
Lauren Lowder: Okay, so I would, um- This woman needs a project, okay? She needs something to keep her hands and mind busy, because when it’s, when her hands and mind are not busy, she does crap like this. So I would give her a project to do to help out with the wedding, and I would make it, like, the most surface level thing that she could do and help with so then that she can’t be like, “Well, you didn’t have me involved with anything.”
Mm-hmm. Um, I’d be like, “Hey, can you, you know, tie the flowers together?” Or, or, you know, um, just the most basic job, assign that to her, and kind of scratch that itch that she’s needing, she’s needing from you to be involved.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Lauren Lowder: Um, and then the other s- and then don’t even address any of the other stuff.
That is just not even your problem.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Lauren Lowder: The fact that she has no boundaries with her son, with herself, with other people, that is, that is her crap. Yeah. And, um, yeah. I would just focus on the life that you’re building with your mans and nothing else matters.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like it’s not, I don’t know the OP’s name, but I don’t feel like it’s her place to-
Lauren Lowder: Right
Christa Innis: tell the mother-in-law how it is. It needs to be the son, if anything.
Lauren Lowder: No.
Christa Innis: Because it’s only gonna cause a bigger rift. Like, if they’re all together, they’re gonna just, like, pull each other farther and farther apart, and it needs to be the son that sits down with her and, like, be like, “I’m choosing my wife.
I’m still your son, but, like, this is my new life.” Because it’s- I don’t know. Someone like this, you can’t really, like, barter with. You can’t, like, be like, “Oh, okay. We’ll do this if you do that,” because- There’s no reasoning.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah … yeah, she’s made her mind up.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah. If
Christa Innis: she doesn’t get her way, she’s gonna either cut him off, or it’s, like, an empty threat just to, like, see what they’ll do.
But-
Lauren Lowder: Exactly …
Christa Innis: either way, someone that gives an empty threat, how long do you really want them around that often? But I don’t know.
Lauren Lowder: Exactly. Yeah. And I agree. It’s always if it’s your parents, it should be you-
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm …
Lauren Lowder: dealing with it. And if it’s his parents, it needs to be him having the conversation moving forward.
I totally agree.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, and I, I think it’s hard, too, when the, the, the in-law, the son or daughter in-law is the more outspoken one, or the more… I shouldn’t say outspoken, but where she says, “I tru- I speak up more. I trust my instincts more.” He’s a little more diplomatic- Yeah … and calm. So I think it’s harder when the in-law is like that because-
Lauren Lowder: I
Christa Innis: know, yeah
it, “Oh, they’re controlling you. Oh, they’re telling you like it is.” Um, so yeah, I feel like because it’s so close to the wedding, like exactly what you said, like, give her a small task, one that’s not going… the wedding’s not gonna depend on it. So if she doesn’t follow through- No … it’s fine. Like, you’re still gonna figure something out.
Right. And then if she wants to get hellbent over not sitting at the same table, she’ll be the one that looks ridiculous if she throws a tantrum, which-
Lauren Lowder: Exactly …
Christa Innis: sucks, but I don’t know.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, and that’s her, and that’s her and her karma, and that’s all you can say.
Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah. Oh, my gosh. Well, good luck.
Lauren Lowder: Wow, what an intense story.
Christa Innis: I know. I hope- We hope
Lauren Lowder: that helped.
Christa Innis: I know. I hope that helped. I know. I have to see when she sent it ’cause hopefully the wedding’s, like… Hopefully this was, like, a newer story and the wedding didn’t already happen. But either way, we can reach out. Oh,
Lauren Lowder: yeah.
Christa Innis: Maybe there’s a follow-up. Our
Lauren Lowder: thoughts and prayers are with you.
Wedding Confessions & Unhinged Guest Behavior
Christa Innis: Yes. Okay, I always like to end these episodes with confessions that people send me on Instagram, so we’ll just react to them. This week we s- Okay. My eyesight. I gotta zoom this in. There we go. I need to go to the eye doctor. Okay, um, a time you felt ignored or unheard during your wedding or someone else’s.
Okay, let’s see.
Not being the center of attention at my own wedding. Ooh, that’s interesting.
Lauren Lowder: Okay.
Christa Innis: Maybe-
Lauren Lowder: Wait, so- …
Christa Innis: like, overlooked
Lauren Lowder: Okay, wait. Help me understand what’s going on right now. Are you reading-
Christa Innis: So people from- What- … Instagram send me in confessions. And so like- Okay … we post like, “Send us, like, a question box,” so they can anonymously- Yes
submit. And so we said, “What’s a time you felt ignored or unheard?” And so this person said, um- Got it … “In the center of attention at my own wedding.”
Lauren Lowder: Got it. Yes. And that was it. That’s all that this person
Christa Innis: said.
Lauren Lowder: That was it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah.
Lauren Lowder: Yikes. Yeah.
Christa Innis: So that could e- I mean, there’s a lot of reasons that could be. I mean, it’s like s- just a lot going on, and people kind of caring more about themselves than being like, “It’s the bride and her day.”
You know, that kind of thing.
Lauren Lowder: Yes, of course.
Christa Innis: Um, let’s see.
I don’t know what that… Oh When my sister-in-law got up and gave a speech without being asked
That ended with asking for keys from… Wait, what? Okay. When my sister-in-law got up and gave a speech she wasn’t asked to make, and it ended with asking for keys from all the female wedding guests. I don’t get what that means. Hmm, what? Keys It’s gonna be more complex than that That’s crazy. Sorry,
Lauren Lowder: girl.
Yeah. I don’t
Christa Innis: know what that means. Um, okay. And then, “Parents own a business and were using my wedding as an advertisement. I have no say.”
Lauren Lowder: Oh,
Christa Innis: ew. I don’t like that.
Lauren Lowder: Yeah, that’s, that’s icky.
Christa Innis: Do they own, like, a wedding business? Like- Okay
Lauren Lowder: Or like a car dealership and they’re having the wedding at the car dealership.
And they’re like, “Come on down to Bob’s Honda and see our daughter get married.”
Christa Innis: Yes. That’s hilarious. Um, okay, last one. “The bridesmaid dress options didn’t fit me right. The bride refused to compromise and was so uncomfy.”
Lauren Lowder: Oh, that sucks.
Christa Innis: I don’t like that. I feel like everyone has different body types, and I feel like you need to consider what your bride, what your bridesmaids are- Yeah
Lauren Lowder: comfortable
Christa Innis: in. Like, you can’t be, like super picky as a bridesmaid, but you also, like, don’t want your bridesmaids to be uncomfortable. A little bit of both.
Lauren Lowder: Exactly. There’s a, there’s a line, yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. All right. Well, that’s all I got this week. Thanks for coming on.
Lauren Lowder: Oh, thanks for having me. That was so fun.
Christa Innis: That was so fun. Can you tell everybody where they can find your content? I also know you have a podcast too, so make sure you tell us, like, where everyone can find your podcast, what that’s about- Yeah … and your social media content.
Lauren Lowder: Yes. So you can find me everywhere at Burnt Out Teachers, BurntOutTeachers, all one word, on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
Uh, and Threads, I guess. I’m not really on there much, but my stuff is. My videos post there. Um, and yes, recently started a podcast with my two, uh, childhood best friends, and it’s called The Borderline Besties. And we are borderline besties because Abby and I are best friends. We’ve been best friends for 27 years, and then my cousin Michael is one of my best friends, and obviously we’re cousins, so we’re family.
Mm-hmm. Um, but Michael and Abby have only met a couple times, so it’s like this cool dynamic of they both know me in different ways, and then watching them both interact. And, uh, everyone is so funny. They are so brilliantly funny. And, um, but anyway, this has been a dream of mine for a really long time, to get all of us together onto a, a space like a podcast.
And it’s just, we talk about so many different things, but this is my newest baby, and you can find us anywhere, uh, at The Borderline Besties as well, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. Um, and we talk about everything, all different types of things. We’re trying to kind of narrow in on what it is that we wanna talk about each week.
We’ve done conspiracy theories, we’ve done food, we’ve done, you know, trying to live as an adult in the world. Um, but it’s, it’s pr- if I do say so myself, it’s pretty funny. They are so funny, and it’s a, it’s a good time, so.
Christa Innis: I love
Lauren Lowder: that. Yeah, so you can find me, uh, find me there too.
Christa Innis: I love that. All right.
Burnt Out Teachers, Borderline Besties. Awesome. Well, like I said, I’ve been watching your content for so long. I think you’re hilarious, and I’m really glad we got to officially meet, so thanks for coming on.
Lauren Lowder: I know. Thank you so much.