Makeup Artist Drama, Reality TV, and Toxic Bridesmaid Who Ruins the Wedding with Antoinette
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
What kind of bridesmaid shows up in white to your bridal shower… with her mom in a matching “bride” sash?
Christa and Antoinette start off with some fun chatter about Antoinette’s heroic job before jumping into the wild tale of Erica, the bridesmaid who just couldn’t stand not being the center of attention. From sulking on a pontoon boat to hijacking the bridal shower, her jealousy turned every moment into a spectacle.
This episode is full of outrageous behavior, red flags in friendships, and lessons on boundaries, jealousy, and protecting your peace while planning your big day.
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Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:59 Discovering Antoinette on TikTok
02:25 Balancing Nursing and TikTok
03:27 First Viral Content: Love Island
05:03 Reality TV and Pop Culture Commentary
06:14 The Rise of Love Is Blind
10:42 TikTok Drama and Content Creation
25:22 Nursing Career and Personal Insights
28:30 Wedding Stories and Hot Takes
41:55 Unexpected Skit Request
42:22 Reality TV and Bridal Parties
43:00 Wedding Expectations and Realities
45:44 Rapid Fire Wedding Questions
49:52 Wild Wedding Story: Erica’s Drama
01:09:58 Reflecting on Toxic Friendships
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Jealous Bridesmaid – Erica sulks during a boat ride after hearing about her friend’s engagement, igniting a downward spiral of jealousy.
- Disrespectful Comments – The moment Erica’s jealousy flares when she makes a rude comment about the bride’s proposal ring.
- Bridal Shower Drama – Erica shows up in white at the bride’s bridal shower, making the event all about herself.
- Bachelorette Trip Tantrum – Erica and her boyfriend’s constant complaints and early departure from the bachelorette weekend.
- Bridal Shower Exit – Erica leaves the shower early with an excuse, hinting at deeper unresolved issues.
- Blocked & Uninvited – After a final confrontation, Erica blocks the bride and bridesmaids, effectively ending the friendship.
- Red Flags & Final Decisions – The bride reflects on the red flags in Erica’s behavior and why she should have cut ties earlier.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Some friendships are just meant to be a chapter, not the whole book.” – Christa Innis
- “When a bridesmaid makes it all about herself, that’s a red flag bigger than your wedding dress.” – Christa Innis
- “Jealousy isn’t the problem, how you act on it is what matters.” – Christa Innis
- “Your wedding is for celebration, not for managing other people’s insecurities.” – Christa Innis
- “If a friend’s making your big day miserable, it might be time to reconsider the friendship.” – Christa Innis
- “Jealousy is just information. How you handle it is the real test.” – Antoinette
- “If you’re not happy for your friend, maybe it’s time for some self-reflection.” – Antoinette
- “A true friend would never make your moment about their own issues.” – Antoinette
- “There’s no timeline for happiness. Every couple moves at their own pace.” – Antoinette
- “At the end of the day, it’s your wedding. Not a competition.” – Antoinette
*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 Antoinette:
Meet Antoinette (@msrazzledazzle), your reality TV and pop culture bestie. With over 37K followers and 3.2 million likes on TikTok, she’s built a vibrant community around her sharp takes, playful commentary, and unapologetic love for all things drama. From Love Island to Black Mirror, Antoinette dives into the juiciest corners of reality TV with wit, warmth, and a dash of razzle-dazzle. Whether she’s spilling tea or breaking down the latest season of Summer House, she brings a voice that’s both relatable and razor-sharp.
Follow Antoinette:
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A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi Antoinette. Thank you for coming on.
Antoinette: Hi. Excited to have, thank you for having me. I was gonna say, excited to have you.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: Thank you.
Christa Innis: I have been so, I’ve, I’ve been so guilty of saying stuff like that. Like I remember years ago going to like the movie theater and asking them like, or no, you order like food or something, and they’re like, enjoy your movie.
And you’re like, thanks, you too.
Antoinette: Yeah, right.
It’s just like you’re on autopilot a lot of times. You’re like, oh, you too. Oh, you too.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. It literally happens all the time. I’m just like, yeah. And it’s funny now, like my daughter’s too, but there’s times where I’m like, oh, um. Like, what was, how, I don’t even, I’ll ask a question. She just goes, good. And I’m like, well, that’s like if someone says, how are you? But it’s just like, it’s funny.
Anyways, thank you for coming on. I’m excited to have you here. Um, I know we were talking before that I just, I, I found you on TikTok. I love your content, your banter, if you will. Um, and I think that’s just like perfect for this, um, for this podcast.
Um, so you are a labor and delivery nurse by day and you banter about pop culture at night. I mean, I don’t know if it’s necessarily at night. Tell us a little more about yourself. You, and, um, I’d love to hear more.
Antoinette: I am a day nurse. ’cause you know, there are some people who only do night shifts. I am, I’m a day girly.
Okay. I can’t, I can’t do the night shift stuff. So I am a labor and delivery nurse by day, but we do like 12 hour shifts, so I’m not working every day, but I do. Um, so it’s basically like three to four days a week that I am a labor and delivery nurse. And then basically at night or the days I have off, I do, um.
Or if I have a break or more of my breaks if I try to fit it in there, you know?
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Um, but yeah, that’s, um, then I’ll do my TikTok stuff, which, um, I actually only started a year ago. Um, my fiance was like, I loved watching reality tv, and then I was always searching for other people’s takes and stuff, and then also like calling my friends and being like, oh my God, da da da dah.
And then also telling him like, um, because he also watches with me now, so like, then I’m like, oh my God, blah, blah, blah. And he’s like, well, I mean, you’re always searching for it. You’re always watching people’s takes. Like, why don’t you like, do your own? And I was like, mm-hmm. Okay. Like, yeah, why not? So.
Christa Innis: Yes.
Antoinette: Yeah. And then it, the really fun.
The Reality TV Chaos Behind the Scenes
Christa Innis: What was, what was the first like, show or thing in pop culture that like either really took off or the first like content you made about, do you remember?
Antoinette: So the first content I made about was actually Love Island season six.
Christa Innis: Oh, okay.
Antoinette: Yeah. And uh, it honestly like, really, ’cause I was getting really revved up because I felt like people were like really misunderstanding Serena and being like, oh, she doesn’t like Cordell.
And I was like, I think she does, I think she’s just like really protecting herself. Um, and so then I I, I was like feeling fired up about it and I was like, okay, fine, I’m gonna do it on this one. Um, but I feel like something that, like, I feel the season it wasn’t Love Island that like, I think really spearheaded things.
Like, for me, like, I think I got a lot of exposure during The Love Is Blind DC um,
Christa Innis: Ooh, I’m trying, yeah. I, I watched Love Is Blind. Trying to remember who, who was on that one.
Antoinette: Um, uh, Lier. Uh, we call him. I, um, Tyler, is it Tyler? I feel like I’m not, I only call him Lier, but like, because he lied. Oh my God. He like had those three children and it was like, there was all this drama about like, um, how he had these two children, but he called them sper donors and then his fiance like, believed him and like there was all like, and then his baby mama came out to be like, no.
Like, the first one was a sperm donor situation, but the other two were not. Like, we made those ourselves.
Christa Innis: Wow.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: I must have stopped right before that season ’cause they don’t look familiar to me. I just.
Antoinette: Okay.
Christa Innis: I like religiously watched it in the beginning and then like, I think I watched the first three seasons and then I just like shot. There’s like, oh my God, there’s a new season. Wait, there’s a new season. It was wild.
Antoinette: There’s so many, like it’s so, honestly I feel like there’s like almost three feels like, but I think there’s like two seasons a year. That’s what. I think there’s like two seasons a year, but it feels like there’s three. Like I feel like there’s always one coming out.
Christa Innis: There’s always, yeah. Because I think if you like sleep on it for a little bit, all of a sudden there’s another one.
Antoinette: Yeah. Yeah. Netflix is really on their zoom with it, honestly. Yeah.
Christa Innis: And the first one came out in like 2020. Right. Because I feel like I remember being locked down.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: And I was like, I’m about to binge watch this show. I care what it is. It was that in Tiger King that I was like, what’s going my.
Antoinette: Oh my God. Yes. Oh my God. I forgot about that. That was so good.
Christa Innis: That was wild. My husband and I were just like, what is this?
Antoinette: That was insane. Oh, that was good tea. That was good tv. And we weren’t doing anything like we were locked in.
Christa Innis: We were living for, yeah, we were living for like, like.
Antoinette: You said, like any morsel.
Christa Innis: Yes.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. The, the pods. ’cause they must have started. Because I feel like the pods were because of COVID. I don’t know, maybe it was written before that. I don’t know.
But those, I dunno, man. I feel like it really took off because of like, everyone was at home just watching TV and then they’re like, what’s this show? Okay, I guess we’ll watch it. And then it just blew you up on so.
Antoinette: And then blew up. And then Lauren and Cameron, I mean they’re still like the the, what’s it called?
Christa Innis: Yes. I love them.
Antoinette: You know, they’re just so, and now you know, Lauren’s pregnant, so that’s just so beautiful.
Christa Innis: Honestly, they’re just so that I love them. Yeah, from the beginning. ’cause they were just so like, and I always feel like the first season, they’re the most like real because they’re not in it all for the tv. ‘Cause they don’t know how big the show’s gonna be. They’re like, well let’s try it out. But seasons after, I feel like people just sign up. ’cause they’re like, oh, I’m gonna get social media famous.
Antoinette: A hundred percent. And we’re like really seeing that now, especially like. I, I think it was Love is blind. You really want them to be genuine because like, you’re gonna get married.
Like, you know, and I think some of these other ones, dating ones, it’s like, it doesn’t necessarily fully have to be genuine, but like, I do think a lot of them, like love is love island. I do think people, you know, people wanna be influencers, like, you know, but at the same time they’re pretty young and you’re not thinking of marriage or just thinking of dating.
So they could actually end up liking each other and dating. And it doesn’t have to be like, but like with Love is Blind. I do think people are like, they wanna be influencers, but then it’s like you end up having to think about like, are you willing to get engaged and married to somebody just to be an influencer?
That’s pretty big.
Christa Innis: That’s wild.
Antoinette: Yeah. The concept is wild to me. Like when they were like moving them into these apartments together, I was like, you don’t this, you don’t know this guy. Like
what are you doing? Nothing about them. You don’t just what they told you on the other side. Just like what we found about life.
Like, you know, nothing. Mm-hmm. Like whatever they decide to tell you. And I do think there’s a lot of people who like. In these later seasons into finding out some really messed up stuff. Really? And like, like one of the girls, I think on UK like Sabrina, she was like, he didn’t even have his own place. Like he was living with like roommates and then he like wasn’t even willing to go, like they were living in different parts of the uk.
He wasn’t even willing to go, go see her. But like, he couldn’t even afford to, so she didn’t even know that like, oh wait, like you actually really like aren’t in a place. I mean, it’s one thing if you like start dating someone and you know, they’re like financial status, but like, I really do think they should check.
I was like, are you even in, even in a place to be married, you know, to like, to put somebody first to even financially support yourself. Like in a good well, or like, not, there’s anything wrong with having roommates, but you know what I mean? Like, yeah. Like this guy I think was like 37 and like she, I think he didn’t really give all those details, which I think a lot of people would assume at three seven, like, okay, you might not have everything together, but you probably financially
are.
Christa Innis: A little more.
Antoinette: A little bit more
Christa Innis: established.
Antoinette: Established, yeah. Yeah.
Christa Innis: I think, or at least like con like. Communicate about like, Hey, I had some financial issues, or This is what’s going on here. Because there was that other guy, I don’t know what season this was, maybe two or three, where they got like towards the end and it came out. He had all this debt and there was something like he was lying about, I can’t remember their names, I can’t remember their names, but I know what you’re talking about.
We weren’t like parody a lot.
Antoinette: Social media. I know what you’re talking about. Wait, shoot. Uh, I don’t remember. Yeah, I dunno means there, but yeah, but there’s that too. And it’s like if you get married, your dad, your dad is their dad. Like so that can really mess somebody stuff up.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. That was, oh, there wa one of the first couples, Barnett.
Antoinette: Yeah. Amber and Barnett. Amber, yeah.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. They, that was something like, she was like, Hey, I have a lot of debt, and they like moved in together. He had a, he had a house already, but I think he like sold it to help pay for the debt. I mean, as far as I know, they’re still together, so, I mean.
Antoinette: Yeah. And they have a kid like, and they were like.
Christa Innis: Oh, I didn’t know that.
Antoinette: Yeah. They were child and everything and she, yeah, she, but she was upfront about it. Yeah, they, she, she was upset about it, so like, or married. So it’s one of those things where it’s like, if you know all that stuff and you’re still willing, then that’s, that’s one thing. Like she was upfront about it. He was still willing.
So it’s like, okay, cool. That’s, that’s on you, you know?
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like reality TV is just like wild to me. I feel like Bachelor, I used to watch Bachelor pretty regularly too, and then I kind of just like, then Bachelor in Paradise was like fun ’cause they all come together.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But I’ve kind of slowly stopped watching because I feel like they always just go on to be like, influencers and I’m just like, I don’t know.
I can’t really get into it anymore. It’s just.
Antoinette: Yeah. I honestly have never, I mean, I keep trying for mo mostly for content. Like, every time it comes out I’m like, okay, I’m gonna try and I just can’t get into it. So it’s like, you’ll, you’ll probably see every, you’ll probably see me, make me make one post and then just nothing else because I’m like, I just can’t get into it.
Like, I feel like it’s so overly produced too, and it just feels so fake. Like. You found 20 men or 20 women that are interested in this one person. Mm-hmm. Not saying that they couldn’t all necessarily, but like you didn’t, it’s not like they met this person. They were like, oh, the, you, they, the 20 people met this person, or you had them meet like a hundred people and these are the 20 that were like, oh, I’m actually interested in this person.
Like, you just found 20 people or whatever. Mm-hmm. I was like, it just doesn’t feel organic and then it’s just vying for one person. It just feels weird, honestly. Like.
Christa Innis: Totally.
Antoinette: I love dating shows, but that one, that’s just one I can’t get into.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, and you make it such a good point because, and it, it brings me back, ’cause again, I haven’t watched probably in like five plus seasons.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But it’s like, they’re like, oh, he’s my dream guy, she’s my dream girl. And I’m like, you would’ve said that about any person they brought on as a bachelor master. Right. And be no unbeknownst to you, like last season they were a nobody. You know what I’m saying? Like, they came on as like a random person too. It’s like exactly. I dunno.
Antoinette: I was like, you literally know nothing about these people. Uh, most of ’em don’t even get like, really a lot of screen time. So it’s like you just saw like a couple dates with whoever they were with on last season, and then now you’re like, that’s your dream person. Like. You don’t know anything about them, like Yeah, and I feel like we also saw that with Jen, like obviously like ev, all those men basically didn’t even know it was gonna be Jen.
They thought it was gonna be, what’s her name, that other, that other girl that was like really famous on Joey’s season. They all thought it was gonna be a. Somebody a different bachelorette, and that set her up for complete failure, honestly. Like, and then, ugh, that scammer Devin, like that was whole, I mean, like, I like tried to, but I was like, I mostly was like scrolling, watching things because, because I was like, I keep up with it, but I’m like, I can’t watch a whole episode.
And I, I literally can’t.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I know every once in I went.
Antoinette: You’re like two hours long too. I’m like, ah, Jesus.
Christa Innis: I know it’s, well, there’ll be like three hour season finale and I’m like, who’s got the time?
Antoinette: But why? And most of it’s not even needed. I was like, okay, this really could have been cut down.
Christa Innis: Literally.
Antoinette: Like, there’s just like a lot of different montages with like music. It’s just so gimmicky.
Christa Innis: Yeah. It’s literally them picking out rings, walking down the street through tears in their eyes, picking out their dress. And I’m like, Ugh, come on. She’s like, speed it up. Speed it up. Please. We can do this all in 10 minutes.
Let’s just tell us who picked who she picked. Yes, I know. It’s wild. Like I just, yeah. I. Props with anyone that goes on. I just, that’s just not, yeah. Not my cup of tea. That’s why I like Bachelor in Paradise better. So I have a confession. I’ve never watched Love Island. Oh, it’s everywhere. But this last season makes me wanna watch because the, the viral like sounds and stuff.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But maybe I should try it. I’ve had people tell me to watch it.
Antoinette: I think you should. I think I would watch, like, watch season six of the U of USA. Okay. I think season five and season six of USA are really good. Um, the uk I also think season five of UK is really, really, really good. Okay. Um, UK It started in uk so there’s like a lot more seasons.
Um, even Love Island Australia, I can’t remember what season. It wasn’t the latest one I think, or it was the one before last was really, really good. So I do, I really love, love Island. I feel like it’s just. Like, you know, people are on there to be influencers, but it’s also just like a dating show. You know?
Like, I mean, they’re all dating shows, but you know what I mean? But it’s also just like, uh, people being there. They get to meet each other, they get to, and like, there are definitely, you’re gonna, like, a lot of them are good looking. You’re gonna like somebody, you know what I mean? They all, and then there’s just like more like organic drama as well as they don’t allow them to get drunk.
Like the, each day they get like maybe this amount of alcohol. That’s it. Okay. I like that. Um, so it also feels like not, so you’re not as worried about some of the, like, you know what I’m talking about? Like, uh, possible things that can happen if people are like inebriated, like, you know, that they’re making decisions sober.
Um, especially if there’s anything like sexual that goes on, right. Especially because with that, you know, you do end up in there, they do end up sleeping in the same bed as the guy, as a couple that they choose and all that stuff. So, um, and they do seem to have, like, even though I feel like this season in the USA, they did not do very good job of like really doing background checks. There’s a lot of racial stuff coming out. Um.
Christa Innis: I did think that about someone.
Antoinette: Yeah. So they really haven’t like, done good background checks on people, but like in general, I do think they have some pretty cool things in place, like consent wise, like there, there’s just a light that they have in the back of the bed.
Like, so if things start happening, both people have to press it to be like, I consent to what’s happening. And if it’s not pressed, then production gets involved in like no stuff.
Christa Innis: Oh, okay. That’s a good step. Because I remember hearing years ago, like bachelor, something like happened on one of the shows and they like limit them now to certain alcohol too, because people would be like getting inebriated and saying stuff or doing inappropriate things.
Um, that was a bachelor in Paradise thing too. I remember. They were like, oh, we’re only allowed to have like. Two drinks an hour or one drink an hour maybe. Oh, wow. Because yeah, you see, yeah.
Antoinette: With them it’s literally one glass and that’s it.
Christa Innis: Wow.
Antoinette: Like there’s, there’s a whole usually scenes at night where like there, or sometimes at night where you’ll see a scene where they like, are all going up to this table and it’s just like, there’s drinks sitting out already with like a little umbrella.
And that’s, that’s their serving of their alcohol, who they get.
Christa Innis: Okay.
Antoinette: Well that’s, I know. I was like, that’s, I, I just think it’s like, it makes you feel a little bit better, but not that like, there’s not any, some type of like, oh my God, these like crappy men on here, whatever. Right, right. But I was like, well, now you know that this person’s.
Crappy sober. Okay. Like they, they’re just.
Christa Innis: He got no excuse. No, no. I know. It’s crappy.
Antoinette: It’s not a drunk child. This is who this person is. Okay.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think that sounds better too when there’s like multiple, like couple possibilities and not just like one guy and a million girls and vice versa.
Yeah.
Um, and I feel like it also gives like the bachelor, bachelorette or whatever type of show it is when there’s just one guy fending for all these women. It gives them like this like false sense of like, oh, I’m the hottest guy in the room at all times. And it’s like, you’re the only guy, like they would find a rock hot next to you.
Antoinette: You know what I’m saying? Honestly though, like the, the only reason this is working, working is ’cause a, a scarcity mindset that is literally fabricated for this show. Yeah. If you were in any other situation, there would be plenty of other options. Like you are literally the only option that they’ve given.
Yes. So they are, they have to fight for you to stay on the show. Like, remember that? Yes. Like this is like, remember that they’re fighting to stay on the show. Okay.
Christa Innis: Yeah. They’re deprived of any other men, so they’re like, well, this is my dream. Yeah. It’s so, this is my dream man because he’s only man. Oh my God, that’s so funny.
I, yeah, I feel like we would just think too, too logically about that to be on, on a show.
Sisterly Showdown at the Bouquet Toss: Wedding Drama You Won’t Believe!
Okay. So. A little more back about your content. Like what kind of, so I know you’re kind of, you were always talking about your own banter and couldn’t really find anyone that talked about it the way you did. So when did you kind of start seeing it, like take off and do you remember like the first video that really like blew up or, uh, and you said you talked about Love Island, but like, was there one type of content that you’re like, this is it, like people are really connecting or resonating with what I’m saying?
Antoinette: Um, I feel, I mean like Love Island, I started, I feel like I do really feel like it was like love is Blind that like that season that, um, and I think even for me Too, I was around then, like I started like last August. Mm-hmm.
Like around last august for season six and then I. We’re still posting and stuff, but it wasn’t really like, I think last October was when That Love Is Blind came out October, November.
Um, and that’s also when I felt like I was also taking it more like, okay, I’m gonna post every day. I’m gonna like, really, really cover this whole season, you know? ’cause I didn’t even fully cover the whole season of Love Island. Uh, love Island season six. So with the elevens blind season seven, I was like, okay, I’m really gonna, like, I’m gonna post every day.
I’m gonna like, you know, and so I was like also being more intentional about posting. And so I don’t remember what Post was like went, but it, I do remember all of a sudden, like my views started going up. And then also I went from like, I feel like a thousand to like 10,000, like within, within that like between like end of October and November.
Um, and that’s when like, I. Like, like blew, blew up. Like, and I felt like then people were really like also sending me things like, oh, I need to know your take. I need to, and so I got started getting more of that, being like, oh, we haven’t, like, did you see this? Did you see that? Like, and people writing those type of comments, um, or like getting tagged in other people’s videos, like, you know, for certain stuff.
So yeah, I, it was definitely that, that, um, that I felt like I, I started to get a little bit more known and a little bit more, um, like settled in like my like niche or my niche and like my persona, you know?
Christa Innis: Yeah. So do you have any shows that you, like currently watch that you kind of, that you wish more people knew about so you could like commentate on them more? Or are you mainly in the reality like love dating show type?
Antoinette: Um, I mean, I watch a lot of different tv honestly. So like, um, I mean, like, I mostly comment on reality tv. Yeah. Um, and mostly like the, yeah. The loved ones. I try to get into the gaming ones. Like I tried to get into Big, big Brother. Mm-hmm. I just like, it’s, I don’t really understand it, you know, like, and it is also like, there seems to be so much going on, like, so I, I tried this and, and it, it failed.
I don’t know, it didn’t work out for me, but I’m gonna try again. Another, because I really, everyone watches Big Brother. I’m like, I really wanna understand it. Um, okay. But let me answer your question.
Christa Innis: Special Forces.
Antoinette: Special Forces. I haven’t watched that.
Christa Innis: No. I feel like you would like it. It’s like reality, but it’s so like. It’s intense. Like, and there’s reality. Okay, so it’s reality stars put on a competition show, so they’re competing to win special forces. And like they’ve had people like, like Hannah Brown or Nick Vile, or, I’m trying to think of other people. They’re bachelors, but like other, like, there’s, um, celebrities.
Um, so the woman that dated like Travis Kelsey, um, like ca what’s her name? Casey, gosh not, I think of her name. Kayla, Kayla, Nicole. So like, she was on, so like, people like that are big, like celebrities, um, athletes, reality TV stars, and they compete and it’s like really tough competition. They work with actual people from special forces and it’s like intense.
It’s good though ’cause you get the drama, but you also get, like, you see them like. Trying their best to like win at this competition.
Antoinette: Yeah. Ooh, okay. I will have to check that out. I mean, like, I love anything with like drama, honestly. Yeah. I mean, also, like a lot of times on my content, I do like random TikTok drama.
Like, you know, like I, I think there’s also a lot stuff there that like randomly gets flown up for. Like, like I did the Louis Vuitton dress chocolate Louis Vuitton chocolate Yes. Drama. Um, and the girl with the, the dermatology thing that happened, that was like not washing her face, not doing anything. Her
Christa Innis: Yes. Whatever happened with that, was that out?
Antoinette: Um, she got a deal with Sarah V and started washing her face, basically.
Christa Innis: I could not tell if this was like a, um, what’s it called? Where they try to get people mad. What’s it called? Uh.
Antoinette: Rage bait.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I couldn’t tell if it was rage bait.
Antoinette: I couldn’t, I couldn’t either. Part of me feels like it was like, but then they also found like an old post, like a year ago of her having done the same thing, like, but from Reddit. So I don’t know. But Sarah v got involved and like got her to put moisturizer on, and then it started falling off, which I’m like, yeah, because you’re putting, it’s like, not like, uh, like yeah, it’s gonna fall off.
Like, but you have literally not touched your face and you’re building up dirt and old skin cells. Like, I mean, that’s, that’s what’s gonna happen. I mean, I also felt, you know what I mean? So it was like, so like I also do stuff like that where like, so my stuff is like, I have a DD, it’s a little bit a DD too, where I’m like, whatever I’m interested in.
Right. Whatever. I’m interested in that moment. Um, but it is definitely more like reality TV drama and then, um, like TikTok type of drama. Yeah. But I am interested in, like right now I’m watching Huntington Wives on Netflix, and I’m, I was thinking about like. Yes,
Christa Innis: I just heard about this. How is it?
Antoinette: It’s so good. Yeah. It’s so, so, so good. And like sometimes I will, like, I don’t always do, I don’t, for me it’s like not, it’s always, not always for views. So like, maybe I won’t get a lot of views on it. ’cause like, that’s not necessarily my main base. But like, um, like even severance, I did, I did a lot of posts on that because I love that show.
Okay. And I just wanted to talk, talk about it. I was like, somebody will, I was like, I just wanna talk about it.
Christa Innis: So people will come across it.
Antoinette: And yeah, some people will come across it, but like, yeah. So I do watch other things and so I, I guess, yeah, I guess sometimes I do wish that, like, I think it’s hard with the algorithm or from, or whatever, but like I could.
Like, find more people, it would be easier for people to find me that if I’m like doing stuff outside of the, like, reality tv, TikTok, drama, when I, when I am making those con those contents.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. It’s hard to know like what’s gonna like, take off or what people are gonna like, resonate with. Yeah. But that like TikTok drama stuff, man, that like, it goes like fast.
It’s like you gotta like hop on it fast because before you know it, if I don’t, don’t scroll for a couple days. ’cause sometimes like there’s like weeks where I just post and I’m like, I, I don’t have time to scroll or whatever. Yeah. Scroll. I’m like, wait, what’s this drama with so-and-so, what does she do to her?
And I’m like, okay, I have to find out who these people are. It’s wild.
Antoinette: Yes, yes. And some people are really, really on it. And I, and I know for me there’s, at first like I try to like for, you know, I have my. You know, some people it’s a little bit easier to do. I know like there’s some people I follow where it’s like, this is their full-time job.
So like they, they can scroll most of the day. And then like, for me it’s like, it’s not so like, I can’t, so like I, it’s like some stuff, like I’ll have some people write and be like, I want your ticket. I was like, I missed it. Like I missed it. I’m sorry. I was like, I literally do not have time right now.
Like, whatever was my schedule at that time, I’m like, I don’t have time to even comment on this. Like, I’m so sorry. Like, I’m catching babies. Like .
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Christa Innis: You were out there quite literally saving lives being, I know when you first told me you’re a labor and delivery nurse to her, I was like, how do you do it all?
I was like, you were literally an angel on earth. Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: I’m not sleeping very much.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Like, I, I always knew nurses were amazing people. My grandma was a, was an ER nurse. Oh. And so I’m like, I always like heard about like, you know, working in the ER and everything, but then it’s like once I had my baby and I was like.
These nurses are just incredible. Like, you guys are just like amazing. So how, this is totally side note and everything, but like how did you get into labor and delivery and like, I mean ?
Antoinette: Well, yeah. I mean, so at first, like, my first like nursing job was actually as a transplant nurse. So I worked, um, inpatient for people on, on a unit that just did, um, uh, what was it called?
Kidneys, livers, um, and pancreatic, some lung transplants, things like that. Mm-hmm. Um, but when I was in nursing school and I did my rounds, I like, I was like, when I, we did our labor rounds, I was like, I had like one. One shift where we like actually got to be in like the labor unit. We did a lot on Mother, baby.
Um, and I was like, oh, this is really fun. Like, I thought I would, like really enjoy it, but I was also a little bit scared because, you know, you can, some stats stuff can happen too, like losses and things. And I’m a very empathetic person. Like I’m one of those people, like, I will cry at movies, I’ll cry.
Like thinking about certain things will start to make me cry honestly. Like I, like I fox in the hound. Even just thinking about them talk will make me cry like you did. So I, I like really empathize very well with people. Like, so I, I was a little bit nervous, so like when I went to go get my first nursing job, I was like, I actually did apply for labor, but then I turned it down because I was like, I don’t know if I can handle it if something happened.
Like, but then I kept thinking about it and I kept thinking about it. Um, so then I was like, okay, I just need to do it. So then I stayed in the same hospital, but I just ended up applying and like, but it was basically ’cause I just kept thinking about it and I was like, I’m like just. I’m really interested.
Like, I was like, obviously I should like just do it then. Um, and so then, you know, it has been really good. Obviously when sad things happened, it says still really like, you know, touch me. Um, but I am able to deal with it. Uh, but like, you know, like everybody, there’s, it just is something that happens, but there’s just so many beautiful moments that happen.
There’s so, it’s so many, like being able to be there for women when they’re going through this, um, or be there for mothers, you know, not everyone identifies as women, but like, uh, being there for mothers when they, when they’re going through this, um. It just feels so beautiful and it, I really love being able to support that process, being able to support the baby and like just being there for that whole thing. So.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh, I love that. No, I love hearing like how people got into nursing and stuff and like their department because, um, yeah, like I said, I was just like, I used to work for a mom and baby burn, and so like, I would talk to like, um, nurses and doulas and, and oh, you know, just people in the field and stuff.
So I’m always just so curious about it. I love, I love that, that kind of stuff. Yeah. Just a little, little side note, but yeah, why not?
Antoinette: I love that.
Christa Innis: Okay. Let’s get into the wedding portion of.
Antoinette: Okay. I’m excited. I didn’t know. I love drama. I was let as.
Christa Innis: Yes, we, we live for the drama here. It’s a good, uh, um, mental break from, from the world and all that, but, okay.
So starting off, do you have any like wild wedding stories or wedding stories that come to mind when you, when you first think of weddings?
Antoinette: Okay. Like, it’s not necessarily wild, but I, when it’s about me, then when, and it was something I was like younger, so I don’t even know why I was doing this, but like I, it was during my sister’s. My oldest sister’s wedding, and when it was the throwing the bouquet part, like, you know, we’re all like vying for it. And then it ends up being, I look up and it’s actually me and I’m like pulling, like, pulling, like trying to get this. And I, I think I just locked in. I was like, I don’t even know why. I’m like, I, what, how old was I?
Even like, I feel like I was like 17. Like I was like, I’m next. What was I doing? Like mean? Like, but I was like, I was like, I’m fighting for this. And then I look up and it was actually my other sister, like, so, and everybody else was gone.
Christa Innis: Do you guys actually pull poll at this?
Antoinette: Yes, we were pulling at this. I just feel like we locked in. Like, I don’t even think, I don’t even know what I was thinking, like, but I was like, I’m getting this. I, I got very competitive at the, but we both did apparently. Um, my other sister were sometimes I actually dating somebody, you know, and she was a little bit older so like, you know, like made more sense.
It just made more sense. Um. But it’s so funny to like watch the video ’cause it’s just like everybody else has gone and just watching us like literally pull for this thing and then like we, I look up and I was like, oh. And I let it go. I was like, oh. I was like, so sorry.
Christa Innis: Something just came over me. I’m sorry.
Antoinette: Yeah. I was like, I dunno what’s going on.
Christa Innis: Like, like the sister thing. We’ll just let them
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Figure it out.
Antoinette: Yeah. Gosh.
Christa Innis: I’ve been to weddings where people get pretty like, vicious over like the, the bouquet toss or like push people out the way. And I’m like, yeah guys, so it’s gonna be okay.
Antoinette: It’s, it’s gonna be fine. It’s gonna be fine. I, but sometimes it’s just a competitive nature, you know? That takes over. I, I can’t tell you what I was thinking. I don’t think I was, I think, I think I just had it and I was like, it would.
Christa Innis: You’re like, okay, you can take it.
Antoinette: Yeah. I was like, oh, ooh. My bad dresser.
Christa Innis: It’s so funny ’cause I remember going like to weddings in like my early twenties, so I don’t even know if I was with my now husband yet, but like, I’d be at weddings and like I was in that mind frame where I was like, I don’t wanna get married for a while.
And the bouquet would come and I would just look at it and just step back. Yeah. I’m like, someone else take it. There’s been a few weddings like that where like no one grabs it and I’m like, oh man. We’re all just like.
Antoinette: Yeah. Like everyone’s like, oh, don’t, don’t jinx me. Yeah. Like we’re not
Christa Innis: Times have changed. Yeah, exactly. We’re waiting a little longer these days. No. Um, that’s so funny. Um, oh my gosh. I love that because, uh, it’s one of those things where like people are either like so into like the bouquet toss and garter toss and other people are like, no. Like, I always ask my audience like, what are your unpopular opinions?
And I would say like, I. Most of the time one of those come up as like, don’t do it. Like, people are like, don’t do the garter toss. It’s weird. Don’t do the bouquet toss. It’s starts fights. And I’m just like, it’s interesting how, how the dynamic has kind of changed on those.
Antoinette: Yeah. I do think, like, I think it’s one of those things where I think it can start, right?
But also I think it’s one of those things where like, it’s very easy to like get dangerous really quickly because like, yeah, people are like jumping and like, you know, there could be an elbow. Like, it’s not even like you’re trying to like do, but it’s like, I, I think for my own, I don’t think I probably would do it.
Like, just ’cause I don’t, I don’t know if anyone that’s coming would fight over it, but like, I also just like, don’t want any accident ac you know, any accidents to happen over, like just throwing this thing.
Christa Innis: I know I, I didn’t do them at my wedding and I was just telling someone a while back, but I was like, honestly, like I am not very um. Athletic. Yeah. So I could see myself throwing the bouquet, hitting someone in the face, separation, breaking something. So I’m like, not just not throwing anything.
Antoinette: But it might not even go where everybody is.
Christa Innis: How embarrassing would that be? I throw it. I don’t.
Antoinette: Exactly and I don’t want be embarrassed.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I’m like, let’s just take that away. Um, yeah. I love that.
From TikTok Stunts to Bridal Party Boundaries: Wedding Drama Gets Real
Christa Innis: Okay. Here are some hot takes that people have sent in and we can just kind of share our opinions on them. Okay. Um, this says. If you need a content day during your wedding week, you’re not planning a marriage, you’re planning a pro, you’re producing a mini series.
So they’re saying, like, I, I’ve heard of this more, more and more now with weddings. Like people are so concerned with the overall look that they’ll like, do, like, they’ll plan out content like during their video or during their day. Like they’ll film stuff or do like, tiktoks have a TikTok section. Um, I’ve never been a part of one that does that, but yeah, either this person must have seen it.
Antoinette: So they’re saying if you’re planning con, then you’re, what? What’s that last part they said?
Christa Innis: You’re not thinking about planning a marriage, you’re more about producing, like producing something like a mini series.
Antoinette: Hmm. You know what I can see, I feel like I have two ideas about it. I can see how like, yes, I feel like that could be true for a lot of people where it’s like, if you’re so focused on that and.
Also like doing different con, I mean, I think financially too, like how much money are you putting into this? Are you thinking about your life later? All that stuff. But then I also can think like, hey, but maybe somebody is like a, like they really like tiktoks. They really like, you know what I mean? Like that’s kinda like their thing.
They’re like, they’re always doing like content stuff. So then why wouldn’t they have that to be a part of their wedding too? Because it’s representing them.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Um, and if this is how you envisioned it, I don’t think that’s a big deal. As long as like, as long as it’s not like, oh my God, like this, this, okay, you guys don’t do this TikTok, right.
Blah, blah, blah. Like, right. But if it’s like, if it’s just for fun and you’re like, I want my day to be full of like different times that I can capture the day and I want. Then, I don’t know. Do you boo?
Christa Innis: Yeah. I think if the other parties are okay with it and it’s like your day and you like, tell people we’re gonna do this, it’s fine.
I’ve seen Have you seen, did you see the TikTok drama talking about TikTok drama? There was a photographer that No, she was, this is okay. She was a makeup artist that was hired for a wedding. But, um, and there were other photo, there were photographers there, but she had her own plans for tiktoks to be filmed during the day.
So like, literally they were done with makeup and she is going around doing, having the bridesmaids and bride do tiktoks while they have like another timeline.
Antoinette: Wait, wait, wait. This is the ma and she was like, involved. Yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Christa Innis: And then she caught in her car saying they treated her horribly kicking.
Antoinette: Yeah. Honestly, this is one of, one of my things that also blew up for me. Really? Like in the way, in the really beginning for me. Yes. Um, I know exactly. Oh my God, I remember this just of it. She was unhinged. Yeah, she was unhinged. Like even in the first look, she was like, she was there and in the photos making it all about her.
Yes. And the brides were crying. She’s like, okay guys. Okay. Like, that’s too much crying. I was like, why aren’t you still here? Yeah. She stayed the whole day. She stayed and then yeah, she kept making them do tiktoks. Then when it was time for like the after party for the reception, she was still trying to get tiktoks.
Yes. I, and then they tried to kick her. Yeah. Then they tried to kick her out and then she was like, she left and then she came back. She was like, no, you know what? I’m not gonna let them like bully me. And she went back. I was like, yes. I was like, no. It was crazy. I was like, I don’t understand why you’re not getting it, but you, she was like, oh my God, we were having such a good time.
We were kiking. And I was like, not for you to stay the whole day. No’s not for you to stay the whole day.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I didn’t make any said, oh, the groomsmen? Or, she said someone invited her and they were probably just like being like friendly. Like, oh oh, like in, no.
Antoinette: Yeah. Basically like, the bride, like, I think was like, kept being like, oh, okay.
Oh, okay. Like, and I think she like, just was just very kind, you know, like, and like maybe just didn’t wanna like do any confrontation. But then I, it wasn’t until like the groom later at the reception. Was like, okay. No. ’cause he was tired. Like, ’cause he didn’t actually agree to any of the things that the bride Right.
You know what I mean? Um, had said yes to and then the bride was like, no, no. Like he’s just upset. It’s okay. But then she left and it’s like, why didn’t you take the hint from the groom? Like, she’s like, well you know what, my bride, that’s what she said. She’s like, my bride wants me there. It’s like, no, she doesn’t.
Okay. But also it’s the groom’s wedding too. And he asked you to leave?
Christa Innis: Yeah. And leave how awkward that is. Like she’s probably just like, the bride’s probably just trying to enjoy her day. Doesn’t wanna start. Yes. ’cause in our minds, you know, it’s like, oh, I don’t wanna start drama. But it’s like, no, she’s literally viol, not violating, but like crossing all the boundaries at the wedding.
Antoinette: All the boundaries.
Christa Innis: She’s the makeup artist. She’s hired, she did her job. And I feel like she was even like drinking or something during makeup. Yes. Showing her drinking. Yes. All these things. And then what kills me is then like. She makes this video bashing the bride and groom showing the, like all their video footage before their, like, before they even posted to make herself look like the victim.
And I’m like, no.
Antoinette: Oh my God. I knew it. So left for her. Like no one would have even known about it if she didn’t make that video. Like the bride and groom, because they aren’t even social media people. They would not have even, no one even known about it.
Mm-hmm. She could have just have ruined this wedding and nobody would’ve known.
Yeah. But then she went online. I know she made this whole series blasted them, put their videos, their faces. Oh my God. That was crazy. Even like the bridesmaids were getting in the comments and being like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like this is not okay. And then somebody else, like there was another MUA that had worked with her in the past and she’s like, oh no, she’s unhinged.
She’s unhinged. Like, oh yeah. So much came out about that woman.
Christa Innis: Yeah, that’s, that’s wild when you’re putting your content in front of your client, like Yes. That’s the thing that like, like obviously like I love social media, I love like the connections and stuff, but you have to always put like your job first.
There’s so many people that are like, oh, I wanna create content. And it’s like, well this is not the place or the time. Like as a makeup artist Yeah. Do their before and after and be like, Hey, can I post this? You know? But you have to always check in with your client first. They might not wanna be posted and Yeah, they might not want you hanging out all day and.
Antoinette: Yeah. But she kept being like, well, they agreed to content, but they didn’t agree to like every single content that you like. I think she probably thought you were just doing the look content that a lot of like people do where it’s like, okay, they did the before and then they do the after. I didn’t think, she didn’t think you were gonna be following her around all day trying to get her.
It was like, I can’t remember. I can like hear the song in my head, but I can’t think of. I can’t say it all, but there was like, I can remember the TikTok thing that she was trying to make and she was just trying to go throughout the day. The groom, you were never even a part of the grooms party, but then you involved them. ‘Cause you’re like, well I need the grooms. And I was like, that’s when you know you’ve gone too far. Does it, does the content fit with the service that you’re doing? Right. I think you have to think about that. And does it fit within the timeframe of the service that you’re doing or are you going beyond that?
You know, also, like maybe you, if it’s something where like, I don’t, things are taking long, maybe you won’t get your content. Like, but exactly what you said, like the service should come first. Yeah. And then the content, like I, you know, like, but someone agreeing to make tiktoks with you doesn’t mean they’re agreeing to like literally every single thing that you came up under the sun.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no. 100%. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I can’t believe that. Just like came back like that. That was one of those where like, I think I took a few days off and I came back on and like I got a couple messages. Someone tagged me, they’re like, Christa, can you please make a skit about this? I didn’t. I think I just kind of talked about it.
’cause I was like, it’s so fresh. Like, I don’t know, like this is kind of wild. Like yeah, I watched all the videos and I was like, oh my gosh, this is an unhinged, like seriously insane. Yeah.
Um, okay. This last hot take says reality TV. Weddings have convinced people that bridal parties are unpaid extras. Oh.
Antoinette: Um, interesting reality. Tv. Bachelor parties, they said weddings. Oh, our unpaid extras. Is this more like, I think they were saying that like people are taking advantage of the bridal party basically.
But I feel like people have been doing that for like, even before reality TV stuff.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I don’t actually reality tv.
Antoinette: Yeah. I think it’s just some people do take advantage of the bridal party. Um, I think some people don’t realize that like, yeah, of course, like these people wanna be here for you. Um, but like, it’s not, and, and it’s like, it’s, it’s not like in, you can’t just like ask like endless amount of things. Um, you can’t also just ask people to like put all their money into your wedding or into like the bridesmaids dress or whatever, or, or whatever the makeup that they have to do or, you know, what have you.
Um, also like that whole year is not literally about you to. Everybody else in your life. Yeah. It’s like, it’s about you for you and your spouse, but like everybody else’s life is still going on. I mean, like, I have things to do. We got things to do, but I do know that I feel like there’s a lot of people who are like, you’re not really supporting me right now.
Like, I feel like you’re not doing enough for the way I was like, what are you talking about, dude? Like, I have a life. Like I will help you, but like, I’m not making a full-time job out of helping you for your wedding.
Christa Innis: Right. The world doesn’t stop because you’re getting married. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I’ve seen wild stories where bridesmaids get mad or brides get mad because their bridesmaids are pregnant or their bridesmaids get, uh, also get engaged and it’s like you don’t get claims to the whole there, there.
I mean like I had two, uh, pregnant bridesmaids and I was like, don’t feel like you have to come to anything. Your baby and your health comes first.
Antoinette: Like yeah, I mean life happens. Like, if it’s not, like, let’s say like you had like a destination wedding and one of the people got pregnant, like on like, if, if it’s that time for me, my life for me that I wanna get pregnant, I’m gonna, I’m not gonna like be like, oh no, we gotta hold off a year.
Yeah. ’cause so and so’s, you know, just in case, like, that’s not what’s gonna happen. And I think that’s absolutely crazy when people do that. I think that’s like, literally you need to get your head checked. That’s not cool. Yeah. Like that. Like you’re, you’re way too self-centered. But I think a lot of times it’s like there are probably signs about that person.
Before, yeah. You know, before the wedding there were probably signs about the person that they were pretty selfish. Mm-hmm. Um, and then it just went to like, kind of the nth degree when they felt like they had an excuse to be their most selfish shelf.
Christa Innis: Yes. Like they hear it like, oh, it’s your bride’s day.
Antoinette: So they’re like, yep. The court. Yes, exactly. They’re like, okay, well now I get to be exact you know.
Christa Innis: Here’s my notebook. Yes. Oh my God, that’s so true. Because yeah, you hear it time and time again. It’s like, oh, it’s a bride’s day. It’s your moment. So then they’re like, oh, I’ve, I’ve been waiting for this.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: But it’s not, that’s the funny part. It’s your day. It’s your day. Not your year. Not your year, your day.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And we gotta have, we gotta have, respect people’s life and their boundaries too.
Antoinette: Yes. A hundred percent.
Wedding Drama Rapid Fire: From Jealous Bridesmaids to Reality TV Proposals!
Christa Innis: Okay. Before we get to this week’s wild wedding story that we’ll react to, um, we’ll do a little quick rapid fire.
How does that sound? Okay. In addition, okay. Would you rather deal with a jealous bridesmaid or an attention hogging groomsman?
Think hard, long, and hard about this one.
Antoinette: Yeah. Um, I guess an attention hogging groom has been, I guess, a little bit. ’cause I feel like I, for me personally, I feel like I would be a lot easier to talk to that person and be like, tone it down. Yeah. Like I, ’cause I would not have a problem be like, I love you so much, but you gotta tone it down. You’re doing too much.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Versus somebody who is jealous. I don’t know if I would know that they’re being jealous or if they’re like, you know, kind of being stink face or whatever. Or like, or like eat subconsciously or consciously sabotaging things. So I feel like I wouldn’t want that type of negativity.
Christa Innis: Yep.
Antoinette: On my day.
Christa Innis: That’s a great point. Yeah. Um, would you rather your wedding TikTok flop? So like if something bad happened at your wedding or, or your honeymoon get leaked?
Antoinette: Uh oh. Would I rather have a, so I either the TikTok I have be like a flop, like someone said, let, like my wedding was a flop.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like if you had like a wedding TikTok, um, like maybe you like, posted about your wedding as a TikTok and it didn’t do well, is how I’m reading it.
Yeah.
Um, or your honeymoon, like videos from your honeymoon or photos from your honeymoon get leaked. I don’t know. Like Oh, like your,
Antoinette: I I was, I know. I was like, right. I was like, what? I was like, what type of leak? I was like, what we, I was like, I was like, what are we talking about? I’m nervous I didn’t write these.
Um, I guess like, I wouldn’t mind having a TikTok flop. I probably would think it was funny.
Christa Innis: Yeah, it’s ’cause it’d be more for me anyways if I.
Antoinette: Yeah. Just in case. There could be lots of different meanings for the leak. I’d rather have nothing leaked, just to be clear. Yeah. Just to, just to like, just in case nothing leaked.
Christa Innis: I know, I feel like the word leaked just sounds like celebrity leak. Like Yeah. Oh, there, this got leach. Um, okay. Would you rather have your wedding go viral for the wrong reasons? Or have no one shared at all?
Antoinette: No one shared at all.
Christa Innis: Yeah, same. Would you rather find out your fiance applied to a reality dating show after your engagement or that your proposal was filmed for a pilot episode you didn’t know? These are wild.
Antoinette: What the, is this, I guess, um, the film for, for, for a pilot? I didn’t know because like what the actual f*ck if you just, sorry. With the actual flip, if you just, I didn’t know if you could curse something. I was like, it’s all good. Okay. If you just, like, you got engaged to me and then you just applied to a dating show?
Christa Innis: Dude, there’s been people on Bachelor that has come out, like they have like girlfriends at home. This happens and you, the thing is why I’m sure, well, cheaters, I feel like, just don’t think about this, but they’re like, yeah, you don’t think it’s ever gonna come out. Exactly. You don’t thinking at home, like clicking and being like recognize.
Antoinette: Thank you. The internet with the, like, have you not? Are you new?
Are you new to the world now? Like the internet is like, especially with TikTok, things like information moves by fast. People are detectives. Okay. If you’re on there, they’re gonna find you and everything about you. So. Like, people always think like, oh, I can just hide it. No, you can’t. No. It’s no one else has been able to.
Christa Innis: Someone’s always watching, especially nowadays. Oh my gosh, Coldplay concert.
Antoinette: Yes, exactly. Exactly.
Christa Innis: Someone’s always watching. Yes.
Antoinette: And the funny, if they had just not ducked, if they had just not ducked, that wouldn’t have been a thing.
Christa Innis: Yes. Seriously. No one would’ve even thought twice about it. But the funny thing is, someone, do you see the behind the scenes, someone was behind them and realized later, like they had videos of them like kissing before that happened. Oh, they were like literally behind the couple.
Antoinette: Yeah. I didn’t see that. Ah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. So I’m like, oh my God. But like literally, they would’ve just been like, oh, it’s a cute couple. Yeah. Never would’ve thought anything about if they weren’t like, whoa. Yeah, exactly. And yeah, it wouldn’t, the smelling front. Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: No. Right. Yeah. It wouldn’t have been a thing.
Christa Innis: All right, last one. Would you rather have your wedding edited by Netflix or produced by Bravo?
Antoinette: Ooh. Edited by Netflix or produced by Bravo, um, I guess edited by Netflix, produced by Bravo. Ooh. I don’t know, dude, that, that’s kind of like, I, I like Netflix shows, so let’s just say edit it by Netflix.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I like it.
A Tale of Jealousy, Selfishness, and Boundaries!
All right, let’s get into this week’s wedding story submission. Are we, we still okay on time? I know we’re, yeah.
Antoinette: Yeah. No, I’m good. I love bantering.
Christa Innis: I feel like we’re doing a.
Antoinette: Yeah, no, I’m having fun. No, we’re good.
Christa Innis: Okay, cool.
Antoinette: Okay. I’m off today, so we’re.
Christa Innis: We got time. Alright, cool. Yeah.
Um, okay. So as always, I have not read this, this will be a blind reaction. Let’s just see how we go. Feel free to stop me if you want. Um, otherwise we’ll, just as you know,
Antoinette: I might have questions. I’ll let you know.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, all names have been changed, so here we go.
This story starts about two and a half years ago. Around six months before I got engaged. I was on a pontoon boat with my friends, their boyfriends, and my now fiance Ryan. One of my friends, Brooke, asked Ryan if he had any plans to propose in the future.
At that point, we’d been together for a little over a year, so it was still fairly early. But we had already talked about marriage, so it wasn’t a totally random question. Ryan told Brooke and my other friend Erica, that he actually planned on proposing in August, which was about two months from when they were having this conversation. I was on the other side of the pontoon boat and had no idea this was even happening. Next thing I know, I look over and see Erica sulking in the corner of the boat, glued to her phone and refusing to talk to anyone. We were only about an hour into a six hour rental, so things weren’t off to a great start.
I asked Brooke if she knew why Erica was upset, and she told me that when the topic of proposals came up, Erica made a comment to her boyfriend who was also on the boat, and they’d been together for three years at the time. Um. Asking when he was going to propose and he replied with something dismissive like, don’t hold your breath. Ooh. Which upset her. Yeah. Like then starts the comparison, right? Yeah. Uh, for the rest of the rental, Erica sulked and barely spoke.
After we got off the boat, she immediately returned to her hotel. Instead of joining the group for dinner the next day, she texted me asking why I didn’t make more of an effort to comfort her. I explained that it wasn’t fair for her to exec expect me to come spend my entire birthday consoling her over something I had no control over.
Okay. Fast forward six months, Ryan and I get engaged on a beach. Brooke was there because she helped Ryan plan and execute the proposal. Afterward, Ryan and I FaceTimed friends in film me to share the news. When I FaceTimed Erica to show her the ring, oh gosh. The first thing she said to me was, Ew. He let you have red nails for your proposal. Jealousy. Not a pretty.
Antoinette: What the, oh my God. That’s not a friend.
Christa Innis: This is kind of ironic. ’cause yesterday I did like a, like a different kind of video and I was like, pretending to be, I said, your best friend of me just found out you’re engaged.
Antoinette: Oh, I think I saw that. I saw that.
Christa Innis: I said something like that. I’m like, oh, I didn’t know you liked that. Kind of, you know? Yes. That’s literally like that kind of comment, like why would you say that to someone?
Antoinette: That is so rude. Like, and I feel like jealousy is a normal emotion. I do like, I don’t like, people are like, oh, we, I was like, I don’t think you should like down people for having feelings of jealousy. It just is like information for you. Like it’s not necessarily that you dislike the person or whatever. It’s like there’s something going on with you that you are that. You’re looking for. Do you what I mean? And that that person has, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s not something you can have. It’s just like, it’s some, it’s information. That’s how I think of it more. It’s information. And if you don’t actually take in that information, then I think jealousy can get out of hand. Obviously this person, jealousy got out of hand. Yes. ’cause for her to be outwardly so rude and dismissive to her friend during such a, a beautiful moment. And the fact that she also thinks of you, thinks of you so much that she calls you during that beautiful moment. And that’s the first thing you say is like, what the flip? Yeah. Like you need to get, you need to internally look.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Like you’re, yeah, you’re letting that jealousy like take over you when it’s like, yeah. You could have like feelings of being like, oh, I wish that was me first, or that yeah. Kind of sucks, but I wouldn’t be really happy for my friend because she’s my friend.
Antoinette: Yeah, a hundred percent.
Christa Innis: Um, it says I was in such a good mood that I brushed it off. Okay, good. At least Elisa didn’t ruin the moment.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, she gave me a half-hearted congratulations. And we moved on later. Our families had planned a small celebration at our house. Erica and her boyfriend came out but barely said anything to me and left about an hour later.
I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, assuming she might be having an off day, despite everything. I still asked her to be one of my bridesmaids. There we go. That gut feeling like she’s already showing signs. Um, when I started organizing hangout so the bridesmaid could get to know each other, Erica always made excuses not to come.
Her reasons ranged from anticipating she’d be too tired or needing to attend a half birthday party for a six month old. What’s a half birthday? Oh, a six month old, like half birthday. I get it. Um, to simply not liking who does.
Antoinette: Six and a six and a half?
Christa Innis: No, I was like, wait, what? Um, to simply not liking the location.
Weird. Not going to your friend to hang out ’cause you don’t like the location.
Okay. While planning the bachelorette trip, I mentioned feeling sad that one of my bridesmaids Tessa wouldn’t be able to make it because she lives in Arizona. Erica responded, I’m so jealous of Tessa living in another state gets her out of so many of these events.
Okay. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Antoinette: Okay. Yeah.
Christa Innis: I wanna be here.
Antoinette: Okay. Yeah. Honestly, I I, if it was me, I’d be like, girl girly. What’s going on?
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like what is happening here? Like you’ve been saying, I’ve been letting it go, but you’ve been saying way too many things. We need to talk.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like, ’cause that’s just rude. Like, that’s just rude. You don’t have to come, like, don’t do me any flipping favors. Okay. Okay. Like, don’t do me any, this what.
Christa Innis: You’re gonna ruin it being there. I’d rather.
Antoinette: Yeah. You are ruining it. Like you’re ruining everything. You’re making me feel bad. Like you’re, you’re putting in digs, like trying to make me feel bad about myself.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. That’s, oh gosh. She’s like putting all the signs out there.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, okay. She says I wish I had a solid excuse not to come to the bachelorette trip, so that that was her end. That’s it. Yeah. That’s your excuse. Like don’t come friend.
Antoinette: You don’t need, I’d be like, you don’t even need one. You’re uninvited. Yeah. It’s done. Done.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: That is, I would literally be like, don’t you? I would literally say that most likely I’d be like, you don’t even need one you’re uninvited.
Christa Innis: If someone’s gonna be that mopey and like.
Antoinette: Oh yeah, I wish I had a solid excuse. And you’re saying that to me.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Yeah. No.
Christa Innis: There you go. Bye.
Antoinette: Yeah. Yeah. That, that’s your excuse right? There you have it.
Christa Innis: Um, okay. She goes frustrated. I said, if you don’t wanna come, then you should stay home. Okay, good. She replied that would, that she would def look bad if she didn’t go.
Antoinette: So you look bad by not by saying this, you already, what do you mean You obviously don’t care about looking bad? ‘Cause you look bad right now.
Christa Innis: Yeah. How can you really care about looking bad if you say that? So it’s like, it’s more about everybody else, what everyone else thinks versus your best friend or one.
Antoinette: Yeah. You don’t care about me or what I think because you’re saying all this to my face. Yeah, to my face. Like, you’re being rude and mean to my face.
So it’s not, it’s not about me. It’s like, okay, what other people would it look bad for then?
Christa Innis: Yeah, exactly. Oh my gosh.
Um, while shopping for bridesmaid dresses, Erica told me she struggles when people get married before her. Really? Did they? Right. Not also, why are we telling her this at bridesmaid dress shopping again, like a wedding event for her. Don’t go if you’re gonna make it about you.
Antoinette: Like honestly, at this point, this is where the introspection we need to come in. And it’d be like, I’m in a weird place. I can literally, I don’t know why, but I can literally not be happy for you right now. Mm-hmm. I want to be, I know I should be, but I’m in a bad place.
Yeah. Like, honestly, I should just be like. I can’t do this and cut it out, like mm-hmm. But not, I feel like a lot, not a lot of people are like self-aware like that, where it’s like, I’m just not able to do this.
Christa Innis: Yeah. If it’s gonna bother you that much and every little thing you’re gonna bring up how you’re not married yet, or you’re not engaged yet, that’s a problem.
Antoinette: Yeah. You’re gonna be rude to your, to your friend. It’s, this is supposedly your friend.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like, you’re gonna be rude to them, put them down, make them feel bad about all the events that are happening around this wedding. Like, then just, then just see yourself out, like, you know what I mean? Like, be a friend and don’t go.
Right. Like that would be the way you’re being a friend. If like I’m, if I’m, I’m literally not able to control myself at this point because I’m so jealous that I need to not be involved.
Christa Innis: Yeah. 100%.
Um, she goes, especially when they haven’t been with their partners as long as she has.
Antoinette: Oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: Doesn’t matter.
Antoinette: Erica. Get over it.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Okay. Dump your partner and get a new one. Then. I don’t know, like, if, if the issue is that, then maybe you should like not be with your partner. If they, obviously, obviously I don’t think she should be with her partner. If her partner said something along the lines of like, oh, what’s it called?
Christa Innis: Don’t hold your breath.
Antoinette: Don’t hold your breath. You shouldn’t be with that. You shouldn’t be with that person.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like you’re more mad at him, I think. Yeah. You’re not mad at your friend and you’re letting him dictate how you feel about your friend, which you should be happy for her. I think you need to turn the anger maybe to him.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: You guys are on different timelines.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, but also like why even if you’re on different timelines, why would that be your answer to somebody asking about when we’re getting married? Yeah. Don’t hold your breath. Your breath. You obviously don’t like me. If that’s, if that’s like, if that’s your answer, that’s rude.
Yeah. It’s one thing to be like, I’m not ready. Gonna be like, don’t hold your breath. Okay. You, you don’t like me. Then like, you always like, you don’t care about me or my feelings, like.
Yeah. The fact that he was so quick to be like, don’t hold your breath. Not like, don’t worry, we’re gonna get married. I’ve got something planned. Or just like, I need another year. You know, whatever.
Antoinette: Or can we talk about it later? Like, can we talk like not on this boat when Yeah. Not on this boat. You, you might not be happy with my answer. Let’s talk about it in private.
Christa Innis: Might ruin your whole day.
Antoinette: Yeah, exactly right. Ruins everybody’s day and year, apparently.
Christa Innis: Yes. Oh my gosh.
Um, she said she felt she should be getting married before me. Oh, now it’s clear before me. Because of the length of her own relationship. Length does not dictate any of that. It does not ever. It really doesn’t ever. Oh my gosh. It really doesn’t.
I wanted to suggest that she stepped down as a bridesmaid, but I avoided the confrontation because I knew it would end our friendship.
Antoinette: Well, maybe, but this is not ending your friend. This should have ended your friendship.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: This should have ended your friendship. I think this girl’s being way too much of a pushover because like, this should have ended your friendship. Why are you worried about ending? Like how is this not ending it?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Like all the signs are there from the outside. I’m like, these signs are so big and red that I’m like you. Yeah. As red. Those nails that you got proposed.
Antoinette: Yeah, exactly.
Christa Innis: They are, they’re they’re like flashing at me.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Um, for the bachelorette trip, a joint bachelor and bachelorette weekend. Erica texted me the week before saying her boyfriend couldn’t take time off work. So they probably would, would come late.
Okay. Despite multiple brides, I thought she was gonna say, so they probably wouldn’t come. And I was gonna be like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Despite multiple bridesmaids offering to drive her so she could come on time, she refused. That’s another, that’s weird. If it’s one of my best friends, I’d be like, sorry, you have to work a boyfriend.
I’m going without you like, yeah. What, what, I’m sorry. I’m not wasting, wasting my time. Um, she and her boyfriend finally arrived Friday night just as we were heading to karaoke the karaoke bar. At the bar they stood apart from everyone else repeatedly asked when we were leaving and complained about how much they disliked it.
Antoinette: Why did you come? They both did?
Christa Innis: Apparently. Like what?
Antoinette: What was the point of coming then? Like, you just, like, you just like ob you want to ruin people’s time.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. You’re just miserable, unhappy people.
Antoinette: Yeah. Like, you are, you’re being miserable and you’re trying to make everyone else miserable. Like, and I have like, I’m one of those people where like, I’m like, I feel like I give so much grace where I’m like, you know, if somebody’s like in a bad place, you know, or like, and you know what?
Maybe you are miserable. Okay. But like, are you spreading your misery? That’s what I’m really asking. Like, I mean like, are you spreading your misery? And that’s what’s happening here. And I feel like that’s so like, get it together. Get it together. There’s really no reason for you to go to event and just ruin somebody else’s time. Go home. Yeah, go home.
Christa Innis: Because, yeah, no one feels bad for you. Like, don’t go there to like ruin their day. Like they’re enjoying their time. So just like.
Antoinette: Yeah. This would also be a festivity and you would literally be like, Ugh. Can we go home? Yeah, go. No, yeah, you can. Yeah, please. You literally can, you drove here by yourself because you didn’t come with us. ‘Cause you’re waiting for your boyfriend so you can, you literally can’t go.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Literally. Please. Do you already want the excuse to not come?
Antoinette: This is not an escape room. You can escape. Okay. Yeah.
Christa Innis: You’re way out. Oh my gosh. This is wild.
Um, the next morning Erica claimed she had a panic attack and decided to leave saying she wasn’t having fun. Okay.
Antoinette: Yeah. Neither were we. We could tell.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: You could tell. It’s not a surprise.
Christa Innis: You made it very clear. Yeah.
Antoinette: Like it’s not a surprise, girly.
Christa Innis: A month after the trip, Erica got engaged. Hmm. Okay.
Antoinette: Good for maybe, I hope, you know what? I hope her attitude changes now. I hope she’s very happy now.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Now she’s gonna be, wait, I didn’t read the rest, but I’m just gonna guess it’s gonna be all about her and her wedding now and then maybe they kept married first.
Antoinette: Oh my God. I bet she’s gonna be like, oh, you know what? If this was my wedding, I wouldn’t have done that. Yes. A lot of that, like, oh, you know what? I would’ve never picked that color. Oh, you know what? I kind of feel like that’s a little techy, but like, you know, like, it’s good for you. Oh my God. I hate Erica. What? Yes. God. Erica, you’re the worse.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Um, a month after the trip, so Erica got engaged and started texting me questions about wedding planning. Oh, she’s so excited now.
Antoinette: Oh, look at her.
Christa Innis: Things most bridesmaids would already know, like what wedding website I use and where my venue was. On the day of my bridal shower, Erica showed up with her mom both wearing white. Because she’s engaged, so it’s now her wedding here.
Antoinette: I literally can’t, Erica is not the worse. Erica is the worst. She can’t help herself.
Christa Innis: Her mom like matching, matching outfits, like wearing a sash bride and mother with bride.
Antoinette: Oh my God. Did you? She’s like, well, I’m, I’m also, I’m also engaged.
Christa Innis: We’re all engaged together.
Antoinette: Yeah. Oh my God.
Christa Innis: Um, she asked the other bridesmaids how long the shower would last complained about having to stay for the opening of gifts and spent most of the time talking about her own wedding plans.
Antoinette: Oh, you called it, you called it.
Christa Innis: I feel like I’ve just like seen so many stories like this where I’m just like that type of person that’s so upset and jealous and has to be rude.
The second then they get engaged. It’s me, me, me, me, me. Oh, you had your, yes, that’s it. But it’s like she doesn’t have her time yet. She’s still like.
Antoinette: She never had her time. You were rude the whole time. Like you’ve been, and then after now you’re still being rude. See? Are you just a rude person? Like that. Just who? Yeah. I was like, were there signs? You know what, I’m sorry. I feel like I was like, were there signs already that Erica was not a good friend before all of this?
Christa Innis: Yeah. I wanna hear about. Yeah. You know, some pre-engagement stories about Erica. Tell me the truth.
Antoinette: Yeah. I was like, let’s get the truth. Have you, as his friend, needed to be gone for a long time? Probably.
Christa Innis: My, my guess is, yeah. Yeah. Like, and this just brought it all out even more.
Um, when I walked over to her table, her mom interrupted me to show Erica something so cute for her wedding. About 45 minutes into the shower, Erica’s mom came up to me and said Erica wasn’t feeling well.
I know I have to say that in that voice. Yeah. No, I love it. Come say goodbye. Oh. At your shower. You need to go outside and say goodbye to Erica.
Antoinette: No, Erica can come inside. Yeah. Or, or tell her I say bye.
Christa Innis: Yeah. She can just do the old Irish goodbye. See ya. Bye.
Um, I went outside and Erica apologized, later texted me that she’s always getting sick at events related to me.
Antoinette: Oh my God.
Christa Innis: You said it weird. There must be some jealousy in the air.
Antoinette: Yeah. Right, right. I right.
Christa Innis: Stick with jealousy.
Antoinette: You’re literally getting sick by your own jealousy. Your own jealousy is making you sick.
Christa Innis: Eating you up inside.
Antoinette: Alive. Like, like your body knows terrible therapy. Immediately, please. Like, yeah.
Christa Innis: Can you seek some inner peace?
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Um, all right. The next day, my sister texted Erica and asked if she’d be getting sick on the wedding day too, and whether she saw,
Antoinette: I love the sister.
Christa Innis: The sister is awesome.
Antoinette: The sister was like, I’m done with this.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like, I’ll be her backbone for a little bit. I got, yeah. Whether she felt capable of handling the pressure.
Erica got defensive and sent me a long series of messages about feeling disrespected before I could respond she blocked me.
Antoinette: The audacity!
Christa Innis: And all the other bridesmaids on social media. ’cause she was called out for her bs.
Antoinette: She felt disrespected? She, Erica felt disrespect? Wow. Wow.
Christa Innis: That is wild.
Antoinette: She did them a favor though. Yeah. Like somebody needed to like, thank you for excusing yourself out then.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Antoinette: And she, she literally went through, just blocked everybody. Okay. Nobody wanted you ready.
Christa Innis: That’s someone that like expects you just to like, go to their beck and call at all times. No one says no to me. And so I think because the sister came in and was like, yo, you’re not being a good person. Are you gonna be there or not? Tell me now because
Antoinette: Yeah, exactly.
Christa Innis: Not dealing with this.
Antoinette: I’m glad the sister said something. ’cause it was like someone had to be like, is this, we’ve already seen the pattern for a year. Are you gonna do this on the actual important day?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Antoinette: If so, like, and I love that. Are you gonna be able to handle it? ’cause Yeah. Are, can you handle it? You’ve proven not to be able to. So yeah. Can you get yourself together before then? Mm-hmm. And she pretty much, she answered, no, she’s not. I mean by all of her actions were a No. That was the answer.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: She blocked everybody off.
Christa Innis: That is wild.
Antoinette: Oh so childish.
Christa Innis: I kind of like. Very loosely relate to this.
Like years ago I had a very like shady kind of friend. The end of, yeah, shady is probably the wrong word, just a friend where like I was always like people pleasing, bending back my backward, bending over backwards for. And many times, like last minute cancellations, like if she was gonna help me with something, like feeling sick, that kind of stuff.
And my sister texted her one day when she was supposed to come to something and canceled like the morning of, or just stopped. She like stopped responding to me and my sister was like, Hey, like. Christa’s always bending over backwards for you, blah, blah, blah. And it was like the same thing. She was rude back to my sister and then texted me like a whole thing. And I was just like, I’m done. Like I’m done. Sorry.
Antoinette: Yeah. Yeah. Like you can’t take accountability. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, all right. Last paragraph here says, looking back, I should have never asked her to be a bridesmaid. She has always been selfish and viewed our friendship as a competition. There you go. Mm.
I was trying to hold on to a one-sided friendship, but in the end she took the first opportunity to bow out.
Antoinette: Wow.
Christa Innis: They hung on by a thread there for a while.
Antoinette: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, and everyone, but I mean, that’s what we’re wondering. We’re wondering, like, it seems like Erica probably has always been a problem, and, but she just confirmed that.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like, and that happens. I mean, I’ve been, I’ve been in, in a friendship like that too, where like, it was definitely one sided.
I was definitely like doing everything. And they definitely were like selfish, but like, there were just, there’s always something, there’s like something, I don’t know what it is, but you were like, attached to that person. I felt attached to them. Um, and sometimes it can be hard to like let people go, even if they’re like, you know, they’re like not really bringing anything.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. A hundred percent.
Antoinette: Um, yeah. Yeah. So.
Christa Innis: And I feel like too, it’s like, you know, you, you think of like good times with that person. Yeah. And you’re like, oh, they’re good to me during that. Or like, this was a good time. I don’t wanna just like be the mean person and say like, I’m done with you, but also like, you, you matter too.
And it’s like, yeah. And their friendships just have a timeline and they’re just. Done at a certain point. And that’s.
Antoinette: Yeah. And this was the one, I mean, I secretly wish for this girl that like it had been earlier, so her whole, all the events weren’t like so tainted with Erica’s drama, you know? But at least her wedding wasn’t tainted with it.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. She was long out by that point.
Antoinette: Yeah, right.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Well that was a wild story.
Well, thank you so much for coming on and yeah, entering with me and reacting to this wild story. I had so much fun hanging out with you. I feel like we could talk for hours just because I do too, so much to chat about.
Um, can you again, just tell everyone where they can follow you and find your content and then anything fun you’re working on?
Antoinette: Yeah. Um, you can find me on TikTok at Miss Razzle Dazzle. I’ve been trying to change it, but it won’t change on TikTok, so Miss Razzle dazzle, and then on Instagram at bits of banter with Antoinette and then YouTube at bits of banter.
Christa Innis: I love it.
Antoinette: Um, and I am now my next thing is Perfect Match and Love is Blind uk so I’ll be reacting to those two shows.
Christa Innis: Okay. I gotta watch at least one of those. Yes, yes. I Dating Show World. Yes. Awesome. Well thank you so much.
Antoinette: Thank you.
A Shocking Bridezilla, Wedding Rules Gone Wild & a Book #2 Sneak Peek
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
What happens when a bride bans her bridesmaids from getting engaged or pregnant for two years? Welcome to today’s Bridezilla saga.
Christa reacts to a viral Reddit wedding horror story filled with outrageous demands: daily group chats, pricey dress fittings years in advance, and rules like “don’t look hotter than the bride.”
Then the chaos shifts to family feuds, shower invites without wedding invites, parents footing the bill, and a brother who plays the victim at every turn. Two weddings, endless drama, and a crash course in setting boundaries.
PLUS—Christa reads a juicy snippet from book two of her Here Comes the Drama series!
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:34 Podcast Review and Listener Engagement
02:33 Book Two Teaser: Sneak Peek
11:25 Rapid Fire: Wedding Drama Debates
16:10 Reacting to Crazy Stories
21:05 Bridesmaid Dress Drama
22:40 Overwhelming Group Chats
24:24 Bride’s Unrealistic Demands
26:38 Toxic Friendship Unveiled
33:09 Family Wedding Drama
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- The No-Life Rule – Bride tells bridesmaids they can’t get engaged or pregnant for two years before her wedding.
- The Price of Friendship – Bridesmaids expected to cover all her meals, drinks, Ubers, and bachelorette trip costs.
- Dress Code Chaos – Costly bridesmaid dresses ordered a year early, plus mandatory “mock try-on” videos.
- Group Chat Prison – Multiple platforms, constant tagging, and shaming if bridesmaids didn’t reply instantly.
- Body Shaming Bombshell – Bride tells a postpartum bridesmaid to “lose the baby weight” for the wedding.
- Copycat Behavior – Bride mimics her friend’s pets, car, hobbies, and even pregnancy timing.
- Family Feud Fallout – Brother refuses to invite his own siblings to his daughter’s wedding, after demanding generous shower gifts.
- Empty Pews, Full Drama – The wedding day ends with two-thirds of the bride’s side of the church empty.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Imagine telling your friends: congrats, you’re engaged… oh wait, not for two years, because I said so.” – Christa Innis
- “Nothing says ‘friendship’ like a daily group chat you can’t escape from.” – Christa Innis
- “The only rule at my wedding would be: don’t be a jerk. Apparently, that one didn’t make her list.” – Christa Innis
- “You don’t need a crystal ball to see this marriage starting off with control issues.” – Christa Innis
- “Your bridesmaids are not your unpaid employees, babe.” – Christa Innis
- “If the dress costs more than the friendship, we have a problem.” – Christa Innis
- “Why are parents always expected to pay, but never allowed to have an opinion?” – Christa Innis
- “A shower without a wedding invite is basically a gift grab with cupcakes.” – Christa Innis
- “Some people want a wedding, others want a stage. Guess which one this is.” – Christa Innis
- “Boundaries aren’t mean. They’re survival.” – Christa Innis
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story on Amazon
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
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
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi guys. Welcome back to another episode of Here Comes The Drama. I’m your host, Christa Innis, and I am so excited to dive into another episode with some crazy stories that were sent to me. stories from the vault as we’ll call them. As always, if I have not said it on here in a while, if you want more stories from the vault, you can always join my email newsletter and every single week I send out emails on a Thursday.
We share more stories that people send to me. I give you links of all the latest, Stories and skits that I’ve sent out, and then also our latest YouTube video just to make sure it’s all in one place. And you never miss a crazy story because we’ve got lots of them. I’m gonna do things a little bit different today.
I always like to mix it up so it seems a little unique and fun. Although the stories are always unique and fun, so. More can you ask for, so today I’m gonna do a little book two teaser or sneak peek. we’re gonna have a little this or that, a rapid fire. And then I’ve got not one, but two wild stories that, someone has sent over to me.So we’re gonna react to those together.
Sneak Peeks, Reviews, and Wild Wedding Drama
Starting off, I just wanna read a review of the podcast. so this one says, Christa has always made her guests seem like friends of hers. It’s nice to listen to such fun topics, even if sometimes crazy, most of the time crazy. I hope she’ll have on Suzanne Lambert soon.
I had Suzanne Lambert on and I adore her. I think she’s fantastic. She was cracking me up before and after recording and of course during recording, but she was, I wanna say episode seven. I don’t even know. I’ll find out and we’ll, we’ll link in the show notes, but, she was wonderful. thank you for that kind review.
Of course, as always, if you guys love the podcast, please leave me a review. it just helps more people find it and, I will of course share them as well. It just really helps. Like I said, people really understand the podcast and be able to find it when they’re looking for something fun to listen to. So that’s always a fun to read.
Book Two Sneak Peek: Romance, Secrets, and Wedding Fallout
Okay. Like I said. We’re gonna jump into book two Teaser. if this is your first time hearing that I’m gonna work on, or I am working on book number two of the, here comes the drama series. Well, surprise. I’m working on book number two. The title is TBD, I’m working on a few different options right now, and, if you are on my newsletter, email, newsletter list, very soon you’ll be able to vote on which one you like the best.
So make sure you get on that so you can be on the insider, scoop there and see what we’re working with. But book two has been challenging, fun, but also exciting. I would like to say I’m getting a little more creative with, Character development and what can happen. I’m not sticking as closely to the storyline and the skits that you guys saw previously.
Of course it does loosely follow it. but there was a lot, like, I was trying to explain this to someone. It’s like, think of the skit as the rough, rough draft, right? Like I put those together, but sometimes things just come out on a whim and later I’m like, oh, I wish it happened like this instead. So when I sit down to write, I’m able to actually like analyze like, oh, this makes sense, or should I take this scene out?
Should I add this scene in? So we’re getting a little, little, I dunno if raunchy is the right word, but we’re getting a little more in depth in some relationships. We’re adding a little more detail, and I’m changing the course of some things that happen. So it’s been a lot of fun. I do wanna say though, if you’ve not read the first book, and you plan to, you might not wanna listen to this, it’s not gonna reveal too much, but if you watch the skits, it might have some, some revealed in it.
so I’m gonna leave that up to you. It could spoil some small things, but nothing crazy. So here’s a little, teaser from the first part. Again, this is before anything’s been edited, sent to my editor. This is super, super rough, but I wanted to share it with you guys as a little insider bonus. So here we go.
Chapter one, the late afternoon sun spills across the private deck, casting a golden haze over the edge of the infinity pool. Slowly leaves back in her lounge chair, her legs stretched out, sunglasses slipping slightly down her nose. Suddenly Ferris emerges from the villa with sunglasses perched on his head, wearing black swim trunks and holding two glasses of champagne.
My beautiful wife. The champagne you ordered, Ferris says, with a wink leaning forward to hand, one to Sloan. She laughs and sits up reaching for the glass. I could get used to this. The sun, the fresh air, no drama. She gestures up to the sky as if to thank the sun directly. Ferris gently settles into the lounge chair besides her and takes a deep breath, soaking it all in.
She turns to face him and lifts her glass to clink his to married life. I’m so ready for this next chapter. She leans in to give him an a quick peck on the cheek to married life. Ferris echoes smirking at her before taking a long sip. He lets out an audible satisfied. Ah, before adding, tell you what, if I could just sit at a resort like this with you by my side and a drink in my hand for the rest of my life.
I think I could die. Happy slow now reclining again, mumbles you Sure? We didn’t actually die from the wedding stress and this is heaven. She laughs. Ferris chuckles. Come to think of it, the end was kind of a blur, an out of body experience. He thinks back to the moment he could. He made a clear divide between his new wife and his mother.
Proud of the way he stood his ground. Hoping Sloan never second guesses where she stands again. He glances over at her admiring how she glows so naturally in the sunlight. He can hardly keep his hands off of her. Setting down his champagne glass. He moves to sit on her chair, gently cups her face and leans in for a soft kiss.
She lifts her head to meet him, kissing him back. Her hands, exploring his warm body. He slides fully onto the lounge chair silently praying it’s strong enough to hold them both. His fingers trail from her collarbone down to the curbs of her body. Then there’s a knock at the door. They pause looking at each other, then toward the villa without saying a word.
They silently agree to ignore it and return to where they left off. Ferris reaches for the string on Sloan Swim top. Another knock louder this time, he sits up annoyed. Next time I’m putting the do not disturb sign on her door. He walks to the door and pierce through the peephole. A bellhop stands there holding something.
Ferris opens the door, the bellhop smiles holding out a card for the newlyweds. A little spa treatment. Ferris hesitates before taking the card. Oh, thank you. Who’s it from? The call was anonymous, the bellhop says his smile a little too practiced. they just wanted to send you a little treat before you head home.
Ferris furrows, his brows. Thanks. He repeats watching. As the bellhop walks away, he stands there for a beat, peering around the front of the village, nothing. Eventually he shakes it off and heads back inside, shutting the door behind him. Who is that Sloan ass when he returns to the deck? Ferris opens the envelope and scans the card.
Here’s to making sure you relax on your honeymoon. Something tells me you’re going to need it. His stomach tightens. The words could be innocent or something else entirely. He slides the card into his pocket and forces a smile, just a little spa surprise. He says, let’s not waste it. She snatches the card from his hands, her fingers brushing
His in a lingering touch. She opens it reading the message quickly before setting it down on the table. Her gaze meets his and something unspoken passes between them without a word. She wraps her arms around his waist, pulling him closer as she leans down to kiss. The kiss deepens slow in searching and he lifts her effortlessly feeling her legs wrap around him as she clings to him guiding him towards the bedroom.
Their bodies move together. The space between them vanishing as they cross into the next room where the world outside seems miles and miles away. Chapter two, I’m only gonna do a few more paragraphs of this one, cause I don’t wanna give too much. Okay. Back in Milwaukee, tensions are running high after the humiliation of having wine spilled on her at the wedding.
Kate had stormed out of the venue hoping Ted, her husband would follow her in support, but instead he remained inside happily celebrating the couple, mingling with his friends and family as if nothing had happened. She waited a whole hour sitting alone in her car before realizing that no one was coming after her this time.
How could her family be so cruel, so unforgiving after everything she had done for them. She couldn’t believe that they were all inside the venue dancing and enjoying themselves while she sat outside alone. Finally, she decided to go back inside. Maybe that way someone would feel guilty and see how horribly her family had treated her.
She slowly walked back into the venue head slumped down, dragged her feet. She walked in and it was like no one even noticed she was missing. She spotted Ferris and Sloan across the room lost in the moment as they sh start shared a slow dance. He dipped her gracefully and the crowd formed a wide circle around them offering silent shears.
As Sloane made her way up to Ferris, he grazed her jaw and leaned in for a kiss. Off to the side. Kate noticed Jenny standing proudly with her drink in her hand, but it was the right, it was the sight of Cal. His arm draped more than friendly around her shoulder that caught her off guard. Kate stood frozen, staring in disgust, uncertain of what to do next.
She began to walk forward. Her steps slow and deliberate. Just then a tap on her shoulder. Kate quickly turned around to see the wedding planner, Yvette, and a man she didn’t recognize dressed in a suit. Kate, I’m sorry, but we’re gonna have to ask you to leave Yvette politely said, trying not to cause a scene.
Okay. I’m gonna stop there because as you guys can hear, I am not a trained speaker. I am not. A voice actor. So many people like still are like, oh, I wish you would read the next book. I like the audio book, but I wish it was your voice ’cause they’re just used to me in the skit. But that should show you guys like, it is so hard.
I don’t know, like, I dunno if I just overthink, but it’s hard to like enunciate things the right way or pronounce things the right way, especially when you’re just reading it for someone, knowing it’s being recorded. So I know I messed up a little bit while reading that, but, It was also good for me because like I said, I’m a little behind on this one and, I need to send it to an editor soon. I’m on currently on chapter 36 or seven. This one’s gonna be a lot longer. There’s a lot more detail, like I said. so I’m looking at maybe closer to a 300 page book. We’ll see. I don’t know how many chapters yet. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed that little sneak peek.
I do tend to send little sneak peeks, in the newsletter here and there just of random paragraphs. Sometimes I’ll post ’em on social media as well. But, I’m just, really excited to get it out to you guys. I know some, many of you guys read through the first one so quickly, so hopefully I can get this out to you guy pretty soon.
Wedding Drama Showdowns: This or That?
Okay, next up we are gonna do the this or that. Pick aside wedding drama debates. As I read these off, I want you guys to also like say out loud what you would rather do. I think it’s always interesting to hear differences of opinion. Okay. Rapid fire. Your DJ cancels last minute, or your photographer ghost you the day of.
yeah, we’re gonna go with DJ canceling last minute. I know I’ve done similar ones before, so hopefully I’m not repeating them. some of these, I know that one sounds kind of familiar, but you know what I feel like with DJs, again, DJs are great, but we all have Spotify on our phone. Most of us do. So photographer.
Nothing can replace a professional photographer. iPhones are great. Photos are getting better on phones, but I would rather have someone be able to focus on taking photos and not think about it. mother-in-law wears white, or Best Man gives an inappropriate speech. At my own wedding, I would say.mean, how inappropriate are we talking?
I don’t know. Like I’d probably say mother-in-law wears white. I mean for me, that doesn’t really bother me If I would look at some of these other stories. They already have some issues then. Yeah. That’s, a problem. Venue runs out of food or open bar closes two hours early. If I have to pick, it’s gonna be open bar closes two hours early because you do not want the venue to run out of food if you’re not feeding all your guests that is a problem. And I’ve heard horror stories of venues running out of food. I dunno how that happens. that’s bad to leave a wedding hungry. Dealing with a crying baby during your vows or a drunk uncle during your first dance. I think a drunk uncle during your first dance. I think that’s probably way more common.
And at that point, hopefully the music is loud enough and there’s a big enough circle where you don’t really notice it unless he is like so drunk. He’s like walking onto the dance floor and like bothering you guys. But either way, I think, the vows are definitely a more intimate moment where you probably don’t want the distractions.
Okay. a bridesmaid, drops out the night before, or a groomsman shows up late and tipsy, eh, I’d say groomsman shows up late and tipsy. A bridesmaid dropping out the night before we. Unless there was like an emergency that would be kind of crappy, that wouldn’t feel too good if the groomsmen’s a little tipsy when he shows up, whatever.
I mean, we had some drunk grooms men, they handled it fine. Okay. Rain on your outdoor ceremony or blistering heat with no ac. Rain on your outdoor ceremony. I think it could actually be really pretty. there’s something about when there’s overcast, like if we’re talking a little rain, it’s overcast.
The photos actually look really pretty and you’ve got your girls there. You’ve got, maybe your hairstylist has already left, but if you’ve got your girls, just a little hairspray, whatever. I think it’s fine. Okay. Discover a guest live streamed your ceremony without permission or see your wedding. Hashtag hijacked by strangers.
I did not have a wedding hashtag. I don’t even know if that’s a thing anymore. I’m sorry. If people are still doing that, they might be, I think that’s one of those trends that are kind of dying out, so. If someone wants to use it, that’s fine. I remember when we first got engaged, I don’t even know.
I remember kind of thinking about hashtags ’cause my last name’s in it. So I feel like you can do a lot with that. But then I was like, I don’t know if people do this anymore. caterer forgets the cake or florist delivers the wrong color scheme.
I am not, I know I said rapid fire and I’m explaining all my answers. If there’s no other dessert, you can’t forget the cake. If there’s no other dessert, Floris delivers the wrong color scheme. I’m gonna go with that because I mean, if they’re still pretty. I’m not someone that is a big, like flower person.
I had fake flowers at my wedding. I was not about to spend $5,000 on flowers. that’s just me. so yeah, if they came and they were like slightly the wrong color, I don’t know. I don’t think there’s a color I would hate or anything. Seating chart disaster exes were seated together or your boss was seated at the kids’ table.
That’s pretty funny.
I would say. Ex is seated together because in my, like in my writing era right now, and I’m like, Ooh, that sounds like a good story. Like I’m like, Ooh, two exes are seated at a table together and then maybe they hit it off. yeah, that’s just where my mind’s going. Kids table is kind of just humorous for me, honestly.
Okay, last one. Have to wear the world’s itst wedding shoes or smile through an off key karaoke performance dedicated to you. Oh, I don’t want a dedicated karaoke performance. I just don’t want that at all. But itchy wedding shoes, I don’t think I’ve ever had itchy shoes. those both sound really terrible.Okay, you guys need to tell me. What would you guys pick? I think I would go with, if we’re talking like a one minute karaoke performance, let’s just go with that. I’m not wearing itchy shoes.
The Ultimate Bridezilla: Rules, Group Chats, and Friendship Fallout
Okay, let’s get to the moment you guys are all waiting for. Let’s react to these crazy stories. like I said, we’ve got two, so let’s see what we got.
Okay.This story actually went viral a few years ago on Reddit when another bridesmaid posted it on an, am I the asshole Red? She told her side, which I’ll share with her permission, but I never got to share mine.
It’s definitely a brides list story. Okay. So when I first glanced at this, I thought she was saying this was a popular Reddit, story, which it kind of is, but she was also a bridesmaid at this wedding, so she’s kind of telling her own perspective of it, of a Bridezilla story. Okay. This is wild, and I bet you guys are gonna love this because.
We don’t get a ton of Bridezilla stories. Most of the stories that are sent to me are from brides themselves. So we get every other perspective. And people are all the time, like, well, brides aren’t perfect either. There’s Bridezillas. Yes. We all know there’s tons of Bridezillas. Hence why the name started.
Right. so I’m excited for this I’m wearing my white today. Okay, here we go. The bride started off by telling us that if we got engaged or pregnant before her wedding, we were out. Ah. I would just jump ship right then. No, that’s not a friend. You can’t get engaged or pregnant when she’s enga.
When she’s And the wedding. Wait, the wedding was more than two years away. So she expects in that two years for you to pause your own life, bow down to her and do whatever she wants in those two years, no, I’m out. Like we’re not even talking like a quick engagement. We’re talking two years away. You can’t get engaged and you can’t get pregnant.
No, I’m not pausing. I’ve always said this. I would not pause my own life or relationship for somebody else. Like I had a lot of friends that, like when other friends were getting married and stuff, they’re like, oh, okay, well I’m gonna wait to try to have kids till after because I don’t wanna be pregnant at their wedding.
And for me, I was like, your timing is your timing. Like if that’s, if you would rather like be able to party at a wedding, that’s fine. But for me, I was like, I wanna do it when I’m ready. And sure enough, like. I was a pregnant maid of honor at one of my friend’s weddings, and it was really fun.
It was fine, like my feet hurt a lot more. My body was a lot more sore by the end of the night, but I was not about to pause because another friend was getting married. Okay. She told us that we were expected to pay for everything except the wedding itself. I understand when someone doesn’t have a lot of money, but I’m talking about her meals on the bachelorette trip.
We also pay for the trip itself. All of her drinks were in clubs with entry fees. She also expected us to cover, and even her Ubers, I get helping with the party, but every single meal, drink and ride, she didn’t even want to split it. She just didn’t want to pay.
Okay. So here’s the thing with bachelorette parties, and I think communication is really important. Most every bachelorette party I’ve been on and I’ve been on a lot, I’ve never took the time to sit down and count them, but I would say I’ve been to at least nine or 10. Yeah, because I’ve been to Bachelorettes for every wedding I’ve been in and then my own, and I’m sure I’ve been to some. I wasn’t in, we’ve always just split the bride’s cost amongst everybody. And, but that’s always been kind of communicated. Like I said, with all our friend group, we kind of just know that’s what is expected. but when you kind of come in with that entitled behavior, that’s where there’s a problem. cause many of the brides still would buy like rounds of drinks or they would just like. Bring gift bags for everybody. You know, there’s different ways of like giving back to your bridesmaids. this doesn’t sit well with me because she’s coming in very rude and entitled. this is does not sound like a wedding I would be a part of. okay.
She had a long list of rules for how we were supposed to look at both the bachelorette party and the wedding. For the wedding. She picked out our dresses, which were pricey, and we had to get her approval on our hair, nails, and shoes. Oh, wow. when the dresses came in. More than a year in advance.
Why are we getting dresses a year in advance? Like most people like get engaged a year before their wedding. Right. You don’t need your dress that much in advance. Plus your body can change so much through different things, right? Unless this bride’s like you can’t gain weight, you can’t lose weight, you need to stay the way you are. Like, this would not surprise me from this kind of bride. some of mine didn’t get theirs until like maybe two months before the wedding. ‘Cause you have to think about it. Like you get sized for it, you buy it, it gets to you. ‘ cause we did all ours online. Then you have to get it like altered, right? So if you’re, shorten it, you fix up anyway. And I mean, most of the weddings I was in, like, we were just if you wanna get your hair done, I’m thinking. I’ve had some that were more specific, they’d be like, oh, I want updo for everybody. I’m personally not a fan of an updo. Everyone’s different. And then for nails, everyone was just like, do what you want with your nails. Some had like preferences for shoes, they’d be like, oh, we want gold shoes. We want just wear tan shoes. Just wear black shoes. But I don’t think I’ve had any that were like, you have to wear these shoes. One wedding, I was in one of the first weddings I was in I think the problem is, I don’t if problem’s the right word. We were just so young. So we all went to get bridesmaid dresses together and we were literally just walking around the store and like, how, when do you think about this? What do you think about this? And then we all picked the same like silver shoes and they were the most painful shoes. so we all just matched, but I think that’s kind of, we’re kind of veering away from that outlook now.
Okay. so when the dresses came in more than a year in advance, she demanded that we all do a mock try on video on our own time and send it to her right away.
This is when people are more. Care more about the overall look and like how everything’s like perfect than the actual like marriage or like wedding.
At one point I temporarily withdrew because she was too much. I wasn’t the only one, but I was one of the few who ended up going back. Ooh. I wonder why. Within days of her engagement, she started creating group chats, multiple ones, some with just bridesmaids, some with bridesmaids and groomsmen, and on different platforms like Facebook and Snapchat.
Yeah, I’m already overwhelmed. That’s too much for me.
She expected us to check them constantly.
Okay. Full disclosure, when I’m in a bridesmaid group chat, I silence it. you need, boundaries. I love a group chat as much as the next person, and I’ll be in there when I can be. But if I’m in a group chat with, let’s say, 10 other girls, you’ll never have time for anything else. If all you’re doing is reading this thing, I turn off alerts and I check it when I can. And that’s how it should be for everybody. Or if it’s too much for you, just get out of it and find out the most important things. the wedding was years away. When she wasn’t sending us long essays of rules, she was asking our opinions on wedding details. Then getting mad when we didn’t answer, why are we in this wedding? Why are these people in this wedding? This girl sounds terrible to be around. It was like she expected us to plan it out for her. She was making demands daily, but while she worked from home, most of us didn’t. I didn’t have the time to constantly check chats for her new rules. She thrived on attention. So getting married was basically her dream come true, though not for the usual reasons.
The. I’m not surprised someone like this caring more about control and having all eyes on her is not gonna be as excited about the marriage or what’s coming next. They’re more excited about the overall appeal, having a reason to post photos on social media, having people come at, oh, you look so beautiful. Oh your the most beautiful bride. They are not thinking about like, oh, I’m getting married. Oh, I’m signing a contract essentially to live and be married with this person for my life. Hopefully. this is wild. Okay. Eventually she demanded that we all meet for a dress fitting fine, but the wedding was still over a year away. She told us we had to order the dresses by August, 2020, even though the wedding wasn’t until September, 2022. What, what kind of dress are you ordering? even like custom made bride, like bride dresses. Why can I not think of a word? a bridal gown. I ordered mine 10 months before. My wedding was not custom.
It was not custom. We’re talking like a $1,200 dress. Not custom, but I’m thinking like a year is probably fine for that kind of stuff. Like, I don’t know. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this sounds wild to me. Like I said, bridesmaids I think ordered their dresses like six months before the wedding. if we did not order by then or we couldn’t attend the fitting, which she gave us a little notice for, we were out.
I need to know how many other bridesmaids there were and who all dropped out because there’s like at least three points already that I would’ve been out of this wedding. By this point, I had started ignoring the chats. I figured she’d text if it was important. She never did. She only used Snapchat. Who uses Snapchat?
if you’re only listening, I just made a face. I don’t use Snapchat. And to me, the last time I used it was like college maybe. Right? Post college to me. it was only for like instant things you want people to see. Not like, for a constant, like things disappeared, don’t they? Oh gosh.
she could see if we read the messages. If someone didn’t reply, she would literally tag the person until they replied almost as if to shame them. Oh my God, this is wild. Like also as someone like now, like it’s probably more since I’ve become a mom, but like I’ll read text messages sometimes and I’m like, oh, okay, I can’t reply right now.
And I try to remember later. Half the time. I remember later, half the time, I’ll remember like three days later I’ll be like, oh crap, I need to reply to that person. But like sometimes people just read it and they forget. Or if they don’t have anything to say, and that’s okay. Our phones like in social media and like the technology now makes it feel like if someone texts us or calls us or emails us, we have to reply right away.
And so we just always feel like go, go, go, go, go. I have to reply. And it’s like no boundaries, like people do not deserve access to us 24 7. We deserve to shut off from the world as much as we want to. that’s just too much. I get it.
It was her wedding and she was excited, but the demands were reasonable. When I skipped the fitting, she shamed me in the group chat and got others to do the same. Got others to do the same. Who is shaming her then? What the heck? This is so weird. Who? Who would stay friends with someone like this?
That moment caused my many bridesmaids to drop out. She got replacements, but most of ’em eventually dropped out too. Replacements. Gosh, the viral Reddit story came from another bridesmaid’s perspective. In short, the bride who was a photographer made backhanded comments about her body after she had a baby, basically telling her to lose the weight.
I knew it. I knew this kind of person with shame, someone for a weight gain. Telling her to lose the weight for the wedding, which your body, anyone knows anyone that’s had had a child or just as you get older, it’s so much harder to lose weight. And it’s not even that, it’s your body just changes, your body handles food, exercise, um.
Sitting down, you know, just your body changes. So even if you don’t gain weight, sometimes you go up in sizes or sometimes you gain weight and you go down and like you’re, it’s just everybody is different. Like how in the year of 2025 do we still have to explain that everybody’s different, but metabolism’s different, how we absorb food is different.
Like I’m no health expert. I can just see like we can, we need to accept people. Like that’s wild. I would never make comments about a friend’s weight and say, you need to lose your baby weight. What the heck? This wasn’t out of character. The bride often made comments like that and later tried to act innocent.
She thrived on putting others down to make herself feel better. Even before the wedding, I had my own horror stories. She copied everything I did. At first, I thought it was cute, like a best friend thing, until I realized it wasn’t I got a pet. Then she got one only take of it up later. She later copied my car, my purchases, my style, and even my hobbies, worst of all.
But when I became pregnant at 20 unexpectedly and in a difficult situation, she spent my entire pregnancy reminding me how glad she was that she wasn’t pregnant. Why? Why are you still friends with this girl? She does not like you. She does not like anybody. She sounds like someone that’s very unhappy, so she has to constantly put people down around her and someone that’s gonna make fun of you or put you down when you’re pregnant or your body changes, or when you’re going through a sad moment in your life, she’s not gonna be there for you.
Oh my gosh, this is wild. Um, she spent my entire pregnancy. Oh yeah. Okay. So later, after visiting me at 37 weeks, she suddenly started saying she wished she was pregnant too. And within a month she was trying. Soon after she ended up pregnant as well. So these girls are really young. I’m trying to wait. Is this all before the wedding?
I’m so confused. Okay. It says, before the wedding, this all happened. So she was pregnant at 20 before the wedding, so I don’t know how many years later this was it. And so the bride and herself have children. Okay. Fast forward, she eventually apologized and I was back in the wedding. Things went smoothly though she still micromanaged for the bachelorette party.
She wanted us to buy three new approved outfits for going out. No, like I’ve talked about before, I’ve been to many bachelorette parties where there’s like themes and I love it. I love a good theme. Sometimes they’re hard to find, but we go to thrift store. Sometimes we buy stuff on Amazon. You know, whatever.
You can find like. No one would be like, you have to buy a new outfit, or we switched outfits. Like no one would be like, you have to go buy a new outfit, and I, I need to approve it. Like, no. Um, and she kept reminding us to not look hotter than the bride. I work out regularly and was the slimmest in the group.
So she often made outfit suggestions that she knew wouldn’t flatter me. She wanted all the attention. During nights out, if men came up to talk to me or the other bridesmaids, she would immediately jump in, announce that she was the bride, and start bragging. Oh my gosh. The wedding itself. I’m just, you know what the most shocking thing about all this is, is that she still has bridesmaids and friends at the end of this, because this is just so wild to me.
Like I’ve never personally been in a situation like this where a bride was like terrible. So. You can never say how you would truly, truly, you would never know how you would truly, truly act unless you were in that position. But on the outside, there’s like eight different moments now where I’d be like, yeah, I’m gone.
Yeah, I’m gone. Yeah. I’m not in this like that is wild. To me, that is the most shocking part of this whole thing, is that she still had friends stick by her side and stand up by her side during the ceremony. Um, it says afterwards she was angry that we didn’t talk to her enough or try harder to see her.
Later she announced another pregnancy, even though doctors had warned her, she was high risk. Thankfully, she and the baby were fine, but the due date was the same as my birthday. She repeated the date to me without even realizing it, and when I said I was honored, she was triggered and actually. Arranged to be induced early.
This girl will never be happy. Our friendship officially ended when she shamed us all for forgetting her wedding anniversary. Okay? Like you can know your friend’s wedding anniversaries, but like there are so many, like, as we get older, there’s so many things to remember, right? It’s like birthdays, anniversaries, kids’ birthdays, uh, you know, whatever.
Your own personal life things, right? Your own, your own family, husbands birthday, your own anniversary, your own kids work, work stuff. I mean, there’s so many things I would never expect any of my friends to wish me a happy anniversary. Like I’m more shocked when people say happy anniversary. I’m like, oh, I guess it is my anniversary.
What do you know? That is wild. Our, uh, she says, I know this is long and all over the place, but there’s just so much to unpack. I. Girl, I feel for you and I, and I can’t, I’m not, I hope this doesn’t come off that I’m like shaming her for staying friends with so long, her, so long. Because it’s hard when you are really invested in a friendship or you’ve known someone a really long time and maybe she flipped or maybe you’re just used to being that.
Yes, yes girl, that friend that’s always there, right? I know I have before where you’re just like, yeah, I’m there for you. I got this for you. I got this. And then finally, years later, or as you get older, you can look in the mirror and be like, why did I do that? This girl never did anything for me. Or all she did was talk bad about me.
Why was I still willing to do all these things? So I’m just responding to this as who I am right now. But if this happened, you know, when they were in their early twenties, if this happened when I was in my early twenties. Maybe some of the stuff I’d be like, okay, it’s fine. She’s my friend. It’s okay. But this girl is a straight up bully.
And I’m glad as the years went on, more and more brides were like, or bridesmaids in her wedding, were like, okay, this is not normal behavior. I am not gonna be friends with this person. Wow. Well thank you for sharing that. I, I think we need to find the actual like Reddit story now and read the other bridesmaids perspective and, um.
Family Feud at the Altar: When Weddings Expose True Colors
If there’s more as you’re unpacking this, feel free, feel free to send more. All right, guys, I got one more story. Um, as I first, when I first started reading the beginning of story number one, um, I thought it was a Reddit story, so I was like, okay, well we need to have a submission too. So we’re gonna have two submissions today.
All right, here we go.
Okay. We had a pretty dramatic situation at a family wedding that might make for an interesting story. My youngest brother is very narcissistic and controlling. He always thinks he’s the center of attention at every family gathering. He makes everyone miserable and demands that we constantly consider how things are impacting him.
When my oldest niece got married, she did not include either my daughter or her other cousin, my brother’s daughter, as attendance. Both girls were pretty disappointed. Later, when his youngest daughter was chosen as a flower girl, my brother and his wife insisted they couldn’t possibly pay for a dress or anything related to it.
My parents ended up footing the bill for her entire outfit. Okay. I’m trying to get like the family tree in my head. So her, her youngest brother’s narcissistic, her oldest niece got married. Did not include her daughter or her brother’s daughter. Then his youngest daughter was chosen as a flower girl. Got it.
It’s hard when just one kid is invited to a wedding. That’s what’s kind of weird. Um. That’s, and it’s hard for kids to understand like, oh, we want you as a flower girl. You’re invited, but no one else’s. It happens though, fortunately. Okay, fast forward to my daughter’s wedding three years later. She felt terrible for her cousin who had been left out before, so she made her one of the bridesmaids.
Once again, my brother complained that he couldn’t pay for anything, so my husband and I covered the cost of her bridesmaid dress a tie for him. Outfits for both his wife and other daughter since they were guest book at attendants. Wow. You paid for the whole wedding to get dressed for your wedding. Okay.
The whole family, I feel like I said, the whole wedding, whole family, they took it full advantage of the food, enjoyed the entertainment, but didn’t lift a finger to help with set up our cleanup. Yeah. A couple years later, his oldest daughter, the one who had been a bridesmaid, was now getting married. Okay.
Okay. I’m getting this now. Okay? Mm-hmm. A couple of years later, his oldest daughter, the one who was a bridesmaid, was now getting married. There was a lot of talk about what kind of wedding they were planning. Keep in mind. This brother has never hosted us, never paid for a meal, and always brings the cheapest things possible to family gatherings.
But now he was going to host a full buffet dinner and margarita bar for this wedding, and naturally we were all excited. The invitations went out and only my parents were invited. None of the other immediate family received an invitation, including my daughter who had been a bridesmaid for her cousin.
Wait, so that’s weird. So he didn’t invite his own siblings to the, to the wedding, and she didn’t invite her cousins to the wedding. Okay. I asked when we could. Expect our invitations and was told we had to make selections because there were just too many friends we wanted to invite. There’s not room for you guys at the church, so you’re not a priority.
I added that. This of course, was after I had been invited repeatedly to multiple wedding showers. Multiple. How many wedding showers are there? Hosted by different family members and reminded about the importance of being generous with my gift giving. Okay. There’s a lot to unpack there. First of all, if you are getting invited to a shower, you should also be getting an invite to the wedding.
I personally think it’s very rude to invite someone to the shower that you do not plan inviting to the wedding. A couple of exceptions would be. If, um, let’s say it’s a really, really small wedding, like destination or you’re, you eloped, or, um, a micro wedding. So pretty much no one’s getting invited. Then you do like a work shower, like your work team, you know, throws, throws a surprise then sure, that’s fine.
But other than that, for the most part, if you are having a shower, everyone should be invited. I. If you’re not inviting everybody, don’t have a shower. That simple. Um, second part of that is who is this family member that’s reminding you about the importance of generous gift giving? That is wild. That is wild.
Needless to say, we were very hurt. The one time my brother was going to pay for dinner, we weren’t even invited, but oh well, we decided to make other plans for that weekend. When the wedding weekend arrived, it became clear that most of her so-called work friends weren’t even going to show up on her side of the church.
There were only about six family members in attendance. The night before the wedding, my brother called me demanding to know why I wasn’t coming. What as though he hadn’t told me I wasn’t invited, I calmly explained that we knew we weren’t invited and had made other plans. He became irate, accusing me of being mean to his daughter, saying I didn’t care that she wouldn’t have enough people on our side and insisting it would look bad that her own family wasn’t there.
So this is someone that wants you there. When they need you and when they don’t, they don’t want to even think of you or see you. And because he realized that friends weren’t coming, friends that he thought he could count on weren’t coming, they’re like, oh look, that’s when we rely on family, our generous gift givers.
That is wild. She says, we still didn’t go. And sure enough, her side of the church was two thirds empty. That’s when people lean more into the looks of it all again. Again, you know, they’re like, oh, we have to say no to family ’cause they have to forgive us. Right? That’s the thing you hear too, is like, blood is thicker than water.
That all those phrases, they’re like, oh, the family has to forgive us, so we’re gonna put them on the bottom of the totem pole. But it’s very clear here that they probably should have just invited family, but. That is wild. Family dynamics are crazy around these kind of events. So true colors came out and now you know not to bend over backwards for someone like that or help out someone like that because it sounds like he was just trying to use you.
All right guys. Well, that is all I have for this week. That is a pretty wild couple of stories there. Hope you guys enjoyed the Bridezilla story. I know many of you guys have asked for one. as always, you can submit. Stories to me, big or small, I get full on novel sent to me. I get tiny little,
Stories about things that happen, and then people also send me questions about advice. So if you guys ever have any of those, you can DM me on social media. You can submit it at the link, in the show notes as well. All right, guys, well, thank you so much for joining me. don’t forget that my brand new book, I don’t know how long I can call it brand new for, but I’m excited.
here comes the drama of Ferris and Stone Story is out now. We also have the audio book out now, which I’m so excited about. I know I’m not the voice actor, but she is amazing. Her name’s Shiloh James, and she just did a, such a great job. and don’t forget to tag me on social media at Party Planning by Christa for a chance to be featured on my page.
I love seeing your guys’ dms, reposts and videos, all about the book. It’s been so much fun to read. and of course, leave a review. It just helps more people see it, and I love seeing them. all right guys. Thanks for hanging out with me and I’ll see you next time. Bye now.
Education Hot Seats, Reality Checks & a Red Flag Romance — with Colleen Borgert
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Weddings can bring out the best and the worst in families but what happens when the drama takes center stage?
In this episode, Christa and Colleen Borgert dive deep into a story about a whirlwind engagement, a strained family dynamic, and a wedding that almost didn’t happen. Did the bride make the right choice when she called off the marriage after just one month?
Tune in as Christa and Colleen share candid thoughts on red flags, family loyalty, and how important it is to trust your instincts when the pressure’s on. A powerful reminder that it’s never too late to walk away from a bad relationship.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
07:22 Teaching Background and Career Path
12:14 Wedding Would You Rather Questions
18:41 Meeting Her Husband at a Wedding
24:36 Discussing Wedding Food and First Dances
30:12 No Ring No Bring Wedding Policy
36:20 Wedding Story Submission
42:26 Red Flags in the Relationship
48:42 The Divorce and Moving Forward
54:39 Wedding Confessions
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Engagement Red Flags – The couple’s whirlwind engagement raised questions about moving too fast and overlooking key signs.
- Family Drama Unfolds – The bride’s experience with her fiancé’s family dynamics and how it impacted her big day.
- The Sister’s Role – Colleen shares her thoughts on the fiancé’s younger sister and the implications of her behavior.
- Unspoken Expectations – How family members’ expectations can shape wedding plans, and the consequences of unmet expectations.
- The Pushback on No Kids Policy – Colleen’s wedding no-kids policy and the pushback it created from family members.
- Taking Control of Your Wedding – The importance of setting boundaries with family members and ensuring the wedding day feels right for the couple.
- Dealing with Toxic Family Members – The challenges of navigating toxic family relationships and prioritizing your own happiness.
- A Bold Divorce Decision – The courage it took for the bride to end the marriage and choose a life that was healthier for her.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Sometimes the most dramatic moments are the ones that push us into the right decision.” – Christa Innis
- “There’s no rule that says you have to settle for a big wedding if it doesn’t feel right for you.”– Christa Innis
- “When we look back at those relationships, we realize: we were just rushing for the sake of rushing.”– Christa Innis
- “If something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut, even if everyone else says you should push through.”– Christa Innis
- “Wedding day stress isn’t just about the day it’s about what it reveals about the people around you.”– Christa Innis
- It’s not about the number of guests, it’s about the intimacy and connection you want to share.” – Colleen Borgert
- “Some family dynamics are just too toxic to navigate around. You’ve got to know when to step away.” – Colleen Borgert
- “At that moment, I realized that the wedding I envisioned wasn’t the one that was actually happening.” – Colleen Borgert
- “It’s hard to face red flags when you’re too caught up in the idea of what should be.” – Colleen Borgert
- “A good family should never make you feel like you’re walking on eggshells, it should always feel like a safe place.” – Colleen Borgert
About Colleen:
Colleen Borgert is a Catholic ESL Director, wife, and mom with 15 years of experience in education. She is passionate about advocating for all students and dedicated to unlearning and growing into the best version of herself. Colleen’s journey into TikTok began as a way to raise awareness for a comfort closet in her school, providing essential items like toothbrushes, socks, and deodorant for at-risk students. Her efforts gained traction, and after the election, her content evolved to reflect the changing landscape of education. Now, Colleen shares insights on shifting educational laws and provides parents with important updates on what’s happening in their local schools.
Follow Colleen Borgert:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
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
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi guys. Welcome back to another episode of, here Comes The Drama. It’s so funny, I put together these intros week after week and you know, I thought it would seem more and more natural, but like sometimes when I read off things, it just feels like I. Uh, not very natural to me. But anyways, thanks for being here, guys.
I’m excited to share another exciting episode. We are joined by Colleen Bogart this week. She’s also known as Leanie Borg on TikTok. She is a Midwest mom educator and all around advocate for her students who need it most. Colleen is known for her heart humor and the way she shows up unapologetically herself.
But don’t let the smile fool you. She’s not afraid to speak up. Stand strong and keep it real both in and out of the classroom. In this episode, we play around of would you rather dive into some wedding hot takes, of course. And then finally, we react to a wedding story submission with an ending you will not see coming.
And I just wanna say, I had so much fun hanging out with Colleen. She’s so real. She was so much fun, and I’m excited for you guys to hang out with us. So without further ado, here’s our episode. Enjoy.
Hi, Colleen. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much. I’m so excited. I’m so excited to have you here. I mean, I think I was telling you before we started recording, like I came across your stuff on, on TikTok and ology. Probably like, I don’t even know, time is, time is funny, but it was probably like over a year ago.
I just love the stuff you put out. So thank you for taking the time and being here today.
Colleen Borgert: Thank you. Yeah. Um, I’ve been on TikTok a little over three years now and have been following you and all of your wedding shenanigans that you put out there and amongst everything that’s happening, like you’re really good comedic relief for me, so I appreciate that.
Christa Innis: Oh, good. Oh, that’s, I love, I love hearing that. It’s kind of goofy just how the internet, I was just telling someone it feels like, it’s like talent show on like. Phone, you know, like you’re scrolling. And I just kind of like pic feel, feel like it’s like talent showing when you’re like in elementary school and everyone’s like, Hey, check out what I got.
And then it’s like the next person, they’re like, Hey, check out what I have to say. And it’s just like this funny world we live in
Colleen Borgert: it, it really is. You know, like I can envision myself doing like little somersaults on, on the stage in middle school being like, TA Yes. And now here we are.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. So true.
And just like the world, I mean, you cover a lot of it too. I feel like the world and everything that’s going on, it’s just like, there’s so many, there’s a lot of negative things going on in the world. Scary things. Mm-hmm. And so I just, I feel like maybe it’s my way of detaching. I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s, yeah.
But, um, but you know, and
Colleen Borgert: thing, things are really heavy right now and, and they’re really heavy for people of all ages, especially in education and that detachment piece, like that’s needed. So we can get up every day with a full bucket. And get to work and keep changing lives. So your detachment is my, is my healing.
So I appreciate you so much.
Teacher Turned Advocate
Christa Innis: Well, thank you. I know. I appreciate what you do too. Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself, what you do, and kind of how that pivoted into what you share on social media?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. So, um, this is gonna be my 15th year in education and I’ve kind of always had more of a social work type background.
And that’s originally what I got into TikTok for. Um, I was raising awareness to help build a comfort closet for, um, kiddos in my school that were from at-risk backgrounds. So, um, I would put out items that we needed, like toothbrush, socks, toothpaste, deodorant, um, just to get eyeballs on that Amazon wishlist link, and then it kind of blew up from there.
And then. After the election when everything kind of in my world pivoted and changed a little bit, so did my content. Um, because everything in the education world is shifting and changing and I wanted to let parents know, Hey, this is happening in your neck of the woods, so come on up to the front and hear about it.
So now I share more, um, educational laws that are changing, things that are adapting within the educational world.
Christa Innis: I love that. I feel like it’s so important because I, I’ve seen especially in your own content too, people will sign off on things or they’re like, agree with something until they really get to the nitty gritty and they’re like, wait, what’s happening?
Wait, department of Education’s going away. You know, and they’re like picking up these things. They’re like, wait, what does that actually mean? And they need people that are in it that know the ins and outs to explain it.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. And, and it’s easy for every single person to kind of wear a school hat in the sense because they were a student at one point in their lives, but the lens that they see things through is that student lens and maybe not what’s behind the curtain.
So hopefully I can just pull that curtain back for people and let them see the nitty gritty of what things actually mean.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so like what. Kind of going back, what inspired you to initially become an educator? You said you started with social. Did you start with social work and you were kind of in that field and then you kind of moved into be teaching?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah, so, um, I kind of was always in the school social work realm. And then just recently, a few years ago, I kind of navigated more into the classroom and now I work at a Catholic school. So I’m a Catholic, um, English, a second language director. And um, what I do is I ensure kiddos that do not have English as a first language, have equitable education.
Um, now more than ever. That’s extremely important. Um, I think that I feel. So I shouldn’t say think. Mm-hmm. I feel so passionate about this because I also grew up in an extremely, like poor environment, poor households. So I know what it took to like claw my way to get here. And I know that if it’s possible for me, it’s possible for other kids if I can just be that adult that I needed when I was younger.
So that’s definitely what fuels me every day that I get up and I go to school.
Christa Innis: I love that I’ve, I’ve heard that quote before about like, you like need to almost think about who you needed as a child because that’s gonna, that should be kind of like who we are as adults, because that’s gonna kind of put us back in that mind frame of like, okay, I really need an adult to hear me.
I really needed an adult to support me or understand me. Um,
Colleen Borgert: to make you feel seen and valid.
Christa Innis: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like that’s. I feel like that’s such a pivotal thing to remember because we get kind of lost in the day to day. And then especially as educators, you want someone to really care. Like, you know, my, my daughter’s too young for school yet, but when she’s in school, I’m like, you want a teacher like that that’s gonna really think like, okay, they’re gonna hear everything I say or they’re gonna see me as a person, like even if I’m quiet or, you know, those kind of things.
Colleen Borgert: Absolutely. And see the parent too, because the parent is an important part of all that.
Teacher Balancing Truth & Boundaries
Christa Innis: Yeah. Mm-hmm. So do you think, so I know you’ve kind of posted before about like, like your content changing, especially after the election, but I think even before the election you were kind of, you know, talking a little bit more about what could happen, these kind of things.
So with working at a Catholic school, is it hard to kind of. Do you have to stay in line with certain things or say certain things? I don’t wanna like get you in trouble either, so I wanna make sure you’re saying things that are okay. Mm-hmm. You know, like, are there guidelines like you, can you say certain things online or where does that fall in line with your teaching?
Colleen Borgert: Well, I think in general that is kind of just a teacher box that everyone has to stay in. Um, when it comes to my Catholic faith and, and where I align, at first I was really nervous to kind of like go out in those waters and let people know like, Hey, I’m a, I’m not a public school teacher. I’m a Catholic school teacher.
But once I showed people that. I am here for all kids regardless of religion, race, background, culture. People started to see my authentic, you know, views that I wanted to present and the information that I was giving people and it was well received. There are definite lanes that you have to stay in, um, as a teacher.
And then I think my lane is just a tad bit smaller being a Catholic school teacher, but the things that I am bringing are fact-based. Educational laws to people. So I’m really proud of that. And I think as long as I stay in my lane, you know, I’m good. And I’ve had a lot of wonderful support from my school community.
Um, they have backed me up 110%. Um, they believe that every child has the right to a free and equitable education as I do regardless of race and religion. So it’s been really good. Um, but at the end of the day, I’m an adult and I have to be able to control what I say to stay in that lane.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, absolutely.
No, I love it. I love that they’re, they’re behind you. ’cause I mean, just in general with like content creators, like just different jobs, I’ve heard different stories where they’re like, you can’t say this, you can’t post this, you can’t do this. Um, so it’s really good to hear that there’s like supportive, um, uh, schools and communities out there.
Colleen Borgert: Oh wait, I totally butchered
A Diagnosis That Changed Everything
Christa Innis: that question, but chair, like a pivotal moment in your life that kind of shaped how you approach teaching.
Colleen Borgert: Um, I think one thing that changed my view on how I view all kids in the classroom is my son was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome when he was in kindergarten and. As a parent, just hearing that diagnosis, not knowing what that looks like, um, in our, in our lives, let alone in the classroom, surrounded by, by kids he does not know.
It, it really made me like peel back my eyelids and open my eyeballs to every single kid has something different that’s going on inside of them. Mm-hmm. Every single kid that is in front of me is going to feel one way or another on a certain day. And my son deserved to have a teacher that was like, okay, you are different and you’re unique and that’s wonderful.
And how are we going to ensure that you get the exact same care and attention as every single other kiddo. Mm-hmm. In here. And I think as we’re looking at things today that are happening, happening politically. We have to remember that we are all just one diagnosis away from having a unique child. We, you know, we are, we’re one car accident away from having a child that might need to be in a wheelchair that is going to need different accommodations and is going to need a teacher that is, is loving and caring and will do absolutely everything for your kid.
Like they would for Susie Hugh, who is always there 20 minutes early, raising our hand star reader. Mm-hmm. Like every single child is different. And I want my kid to have a teacher that loves on him. Like I love on every single baby that I see every single day of the school year. Mm-hmm. So, like his diagnosis, it, it was rough for us.
It was scary. We didn’t know what that would look like. So that, that was, that was hard.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I think that that’s, yeah. Such an important thing because like you said, anything can change in a minute. I think. A lot of times people just like look at like, what’s gonna affect me and me only? Mm-hmm. And if you look outside and say like, well, how is this affecting other people?
Or how is it affecting that family? Or how is it affecting this family that leads to more compassion and empathy and understanding. I think that’s really what the world lacks. Because, because, um, not to like generalize, but I just feel like those are the things I’ve observed is like there’s a certain group of people that let’s look at like, well, it doesn’t bother me, so I’m fine.
Right. It’s like what anything can change, anything could happen. Like you said, like mm-hmm. Um, emergencies happen all the time or you know, I don’t know. Things, things just can change quickly. Um, that’s, yeah. That’s such a good thing to think about. Um, okay.
I wanna switch into the wedding, wedding kind of topic.
And as I was kind saying to you before we started recording is like I’m adding, I’m kinda shifting these podcast episodes a little bit different to like more conversations in the beginning, but I still haven’t kind of figured it out a transition. Sometimes it just happens naturally and other times I’m like, all right, so onto the wedding stuff.
So sorry if it seems kind of abrupt. We’re working on it. No first timer here. I think it seems fabulous. Okay. I was just like talk my way through stuff. ’cause I’m like, or like, what is it called? Not talk my way through it. I don’t know, I just like when I dunno what I’m doing, I just keep talking and figuring it out.
Girl. Same. And you’re a hand talker. So, oh my gosh. The number of people, when I first started making content that would like, like hate comments about like me using my hands, I was like,
Colleen Borgert: I dunno, I don’t know. Yeah. It just happens. I get the same. And then my next video I come out 10 times harder just like.
Christa Innis: You thought it was bad before, just wait. I know, right? It’s like, I will make sure I do it now. Well, yeah. And so one comment I got last night was, um, like I, because you know, I do like the skits and stuff, but every once in a while I come on and I’ll like explain something or I’ll give like a little background.
Someone basically was like, no one likes when you do that. Like, don’t come on and explain things. We’re here for the skits and the skits only. Don’t talk and waste our time.
Colleen Borgert: People are so rude keyboard warriors nowadays. Like, it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s, I know, it’s crazy. I just have to
Christa Innis: laugh at the ridiculous ones.
Weddings Would-You-Rather
Okay, so starting off, let’s do a little, um, wedding. Would you rather Ooh. Completely Just random. So, okay. Um, it’s a lit, some of them might be a little tied to being a teacher, but then we’re gonna do like other ones. So here we go. Okay. Would you rather have to teach a class of 30 kids in full bridesmaid attire or chaperone recess in high heels the day after a wedding?
Colleen Borgert: Oh my goodness gracious. Well, with the amount of dancing that I do and the way that I get into shout and put my hands up in the air, yeah, I’m definitely gonna go with the 30 kids in the classroom like, yeah. A bridesmaids dress. I love a good dress up any day of the week.
Christa Innis: Yes, I know. It’s a fun, fun excuse to have like a princess day or something.
Colleen Borgert: Right. Like since Wynn is dressing up bad at school, so I, I totally will take that. But my 41-year-old body nowadays after wedding dancing, I can’t like, oh my gosh. Beautiful day recovery and yeah.
Christa Innis: No
Colleen Borgert: fun.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I know. It’s funny how that like just changes all of a sudden, like I’d be like, when people have like the full wedding weekend, I’m like, I need like one big day and then I need like a couple days of recovery.
Thank you. Yes.
Colleen Borgert: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Mm. Yeah. After, after a good wedding, you know?
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Okay. Uh, would you rather give a wedding toast with no preparation or do the Chacha slide solo in front of the whole reception?
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh. Chacha real smooth now. Mm. Um, I would much rather. I think just give a wedding toast.
Like, it, it, I’m a group dancer, but solo dancing, like my, my, my face drops. Like my, my face gets serious. It’s, it’s not very cool to look at. I don’t think anyone would want that, but hand me a mic and I, you know, cheers the bride and groom. That’s something I can get behind. Get behind. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. All right.
Um, would you rather attend a wedding where the ceremony lasts three hours? Or one where the DJ only plays kids? Bop.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, okay. Um, that’s a tough one. Oh man. This is, this is almost like, would you rather go to a three hour PD or do a kids bop after school hour? Oh my gosh. I, I, I think I know, I think I’m gonna still go with the three hour ceremony.
Christa Innis: Oh, I
Colleen Borgert: know. At least. At least it’s quiet.
At
Christa Innis: least it’s quiet. Oh my gosh. I think I would go kids b really? Every once in a while. I don’t know if it’s ’cause of my, my daughter’s too. And so every once in a while, like I get really into those kids bumps. I mean, we, I mean they, they are catchy. They’re, they’re catchy. Luckily she’s really into Wicked now.
So we listen to the Wicked soundtrack, but play, I love it. But, uh, I love a good, you know, Disney, so I don’t know about Kids. Bop we’ll see how that would go. But I
Colleen Borgert: think it’s because when I imagine kids bop, like I imagine like kindergartners. All up on me, you know, like jamming with me with their hands going down, you know, like yeah.
That’s just the vision that I have from the experiences. So yours and mine, maybe a little different.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Different vibe. Yeah. Um, would you rather sit at the all singles table with ex students? Oh, ex students’ parents, or be seated next to the couple’s ex.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh. I, I actually would take the parent table for sure.
Yeah. Without a doubt. I have been really blessed with wonderful parents and that’s, you know, I did eight years in public school and I’m still connected to so many of my public school parents that I love and adore. And the last like five years in the Catholic school system, like I just, I’ve been really lucky, so.
Oh good. I bet that table’s really fun. Signed up. Yeah.
Christa Innis: And like all those parents, like letting loose. I bet it would be like a great table,
Colleen Borgert: right?
Christa Innis: Yes. Love that. A
Colleen Borgert: for everybody. Yes.
Bridesmaid Dress Drama
Christa Innis: Okay. Would you rather wear a neon bridesmaid dress that clashes with your skin tone or have the name, or have your name spelled wrong on every wedding program?
Colleen Borgert: Oh my goodness. So I am the worst speller in the world. I can totally see me misspelling something in my own wedding. I, I probably did to be honest. Um. I also wore the wrong colored bridesmaid’s dress in my cousin’s wedding two years ago. So I’ve done that as well. Um, but I’m still gonna have to go with if that bride wants me to wear, you know, the worst color in the world.
But she is like, this is my vision. I’ve I’ve got you.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Colleen Borgert: I’m, I’m ride or die for the bride. So you,
Christa Innis: you strike me as someone that would be like a really great bridesmaid. Like, you’re like hands on. You’re like, what do you need? I got you. Like, I just get that vibe from you.
Colleen Borgert: Well, until, until literally you see that I bought, I bought the wrong color, which is before we’re walking down the aisle.
So there when you’re
Christa Innis: walking down the aisle,
Colleen Borgert: oh my gosh. We walked into like the get ready room where all the dresses are hanging up. Yeah. And the maid of honor comes up to me and she’s like, oh, Pauline. Have you seen your dress? And I’m like, yeah, it’s hanging up. It’s so cute. She’s like, it’s the wrong color.
So everyone had gotten like a, a, a shade of sage. Okay. And mine was just a different shade of sage green. And
Christa Innis: you could tell So it from different like places or like, she told you like, oh, get it sage. And just sent like a picture of what she liked and then everyone just went and got thrown or, so I
Colleen Borgert: confirmed via text and I’ve always got receipts.
I pulled that out and before I bought it I was like, this is the color correct. And she said, correct. But the bride, my cousin, she was so relaxed. She’s like, I don’t care. You know, ’cause I’m crying at this point. Aw. She’s like, I don’t care. You’re walking down the aisle. You know, I’m like, I’ll stand in the back.
I don’t have to be in the wedding. Like, oh,
Christa Innis: was it that different?
Colleen Borgert: Um, it was like one shade lighter. You, you could,
Christa Innis: you could tell,
Colleen Borgert: you could tell I ruined the wedding pictures for sure. Oh. But you know, this is the family. She was a great, I mean, she’s just a great person, so I got really lucky. Um, but yeah, if the bride needs me, whatever the bride needs me to do, I’m gonna do it.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. I, you know, I feel like, especially now too, it’s like I’ve seen it more weddings where the bridesmaid dresses don’t exactly match. I know. I actually love that. Yeah, I know. I feel like it’s like adding a little more uniqueness. I think, like at my wedding it was like, um, from, from Birdie Gray, which is like, you can order them all online, they’re under a hundred dollars and you just, you can pick like a color scheme.
So like, mine was like mov, but there’s like three shades of mov and people are like, what color? I’m like, I don’t care. Any of the, any of them. Any of them,
Colleen Borgert: they’re gonna look so pretty.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I just feel like. It, I feel like gone are the days where people wear the exact same dress. Right. Maybe every, I’m sure it happens here and there, but
Colleen Borgert: Yeah.
And in my wedding, um, I just did black satin. All the girls just had to do a black satin and it needed to be like t length and didn’t care other than that, so yeah, it was really unique. Like I just, I, I love the non-uniform look. Yeah. And that’s probably the Catholic school teacher in me coming out being like, eh, we don’t need a uniform up in here.
We’re
Wedding Party Love Story
Christa Innis: done with the uniforms, please. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. Let’s move into some wedding hot takes and stories. You said you have a story of how you met your husband at a wedding, so let’s get into that.
Colleen Borgert: Okay, so I met Mr. Borger. Uh, we were both in the same wedding party for my cousin almost 16 years ago.
And, um, he kind of clocked me right away and was like, that’s the girl I wanna marry. So we got to the reception, danced a little bit. Um, there was definite connection early on. We both went our own ways. Um, the next week he called my cousin, old school, got my number, called me on the telephone. I heard this man’s voice who does that anymore?
So un heard of these days. I know. And he asked me out on a date and we have been together ever since. But yeah, he went up to my cousin who was the bride, and said, I just want you to know I’m gonna marry that girl. And
Christa Innis: oh my gosh, that’s like a romantic story.
Colleen Borgert: I know I love, love.
Christa Innis: Oh my God. So how is he connected to the wedding?
Like was he like a groomsmen or He was the fiance’s or fiance, I guess your cousin’s husband.
Colleen Borgert: Yes, friend. He was, um, a longtime childhood friend of the groom. Okay. So now they get to be at family functions together and we’re like pretty our kids together. So it’s. It’s wonderful.
Christa Innis: I love that when like, they’re already kind of like connected, so there’s like no extra introduction.
It’s like he’s already kind of, you got an in, he’s got an in. Mm-hmm. Um, and then for you, it was a family wedding, so your family was probably already there. And so like did he like meet your parents then at the wedding and everything?
Colleen Borgert: Um, I don’t know if he necessarily like, met them, met them at the wedding.
Yeah. But he was invested in the fun that my family can have for sure. We are in good time, so I love that. Yeah, he, he was there for it.
Christa Innis: Oh, that’s awesome. I love that story. ’cause like, usually when I ask people like crazy stories, they’re like, I mean, I, I kind of put people, I try to not put people on the spot, but, um, I.
I love that it was like a positive good story. Yes. Because I always tell people, I’m like, people just remember these crazy moments. That’s why I share them. But like for the most part, like there are so many great wedding stories and like fun moments and just like, just like wild moments about, you know, yes.
Things hanging out. Um. Awesome. I love that.
The Great Wedding Dinner Debate
Okay, let’s get into some wedding hot takes. Okay. These are people send me on Instagram. We’ll just kind of react together and see uh, what our thoughts are. Okay. This one says buffets over plated dinners faster, more variety and fewer awkward chicken and steak texts.
I dunno what the text means, but,
oh, I just copied something. Yeah. Fewer awkward chicken and steak dinners.
Colleen Borgert: So are, are you asking which one do I prefer?
Christa Innis: It’s just a hot take that someone sent, so, yeah, I mean, you can say what you think about it. Um,
Colleen Borgert: so there, there was one summer, um, like my husband and I had been married for maybe like two years, and we legit had 10 weddings from like May until September.
Like mm-hmm. He’s five years older than me, so my friends were in like prime time wedding season. Mm-hmm. And it was almost every single wedding had the same chicken with that white gravy. I think it might. Oh yeah. Like on top with the mashed potatoes and everybody thinks that they’re doing something special when they’re not, you know, like it’s just boring.
But one of our friends catered in Qdoba at their wedding. And I have never forgotten it. Like, I have never forgotten the Qdoba wedding. And I hope that if this airs they hear this and they know how special their Qdoba wedding was to me. So, you know, I’m a, I’m a fan of a buffet, you know, poor girl from a poor neighborhood.
We loved our buffets growing up. Um, so I don’t mind a good buffet at a wedding.
Christa Innis: I know. I was just saying to someone, like when I was younger at weddings, I was like, like years from getting married, I was like, oh yeah, I wouldn’t, I don’t think I would do a buffet. I like the plated dinner. And then as I got older I was like, I love a buffet.
Like I just love it. And then of course when I got married I did a taco bar and I was like, this is where it’s at. Oh, you did the, you did
Colleen Borgert: the taco. There are people that came to your wedding that 20 years from now are gonna be like, I went to a taco of our wedding and it’s going to be you girl. Yeah. That is the wedding that they are referencing.
It’s yours.
Christa Innis: I was just like, I. Never really was a big fan of plated dinners unless they’re like, I don’t know, every once in a while. Yeah. Like surprised me. Really good. But I also worked at a hotel for, gosh, three years in college. So like I would saw all the banquet foods and I saw them and not like saying they were gross or anything, but like I saw how they would keep ’em warm and I just, I don’t know, just not my thing.
And so I was like, when there’s a buffet though, you take what you want. Maybe go for seconds, get a little guacamole in there. We’re good.
Colleen Borgert: Yes. I’m here for it. I’m here for it. And I love that you did. I can’t believe it. You did Taco. I know. You’re
Christa Innis: seko. Dopa. I was like, yes. It was pretty close. It was like a local place, but it was like, it was perfect.
Like perfect.
Colleen Borgert: Yes. Yeah. And people appreciate it.
Christa Innis: And pizza for a late night snack. Yes.
Colleen Borgert: The, the best weddings that bring out that 11:00 PM like fill your belly up snack. The best.
First Dance or Skip It?
Christa Innis: Yes. Oh, it’s the best. Um, okay. This next one says, not every wedding needs a first dance. Some couples just wanna party, so let them
Colleen Borgert: I agree.
Like if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. This is your special day. Who am I to say that you have to do something to make me feel special or this whole thing makes sense. Yeah. That doesn’t make any sense to me.
Christa Innis: I know, and I’ve heard of like parents like fighting back on it and being like, no, you need this.
And it’s like they don’t wanna be the center of attention. They don’t want that big moment. It like, it’s okay. Like no one should be forced to do anything at their wedding that they aren’t comfortable with, or that just doesn’t interest them.
Colleen Borgert: Right. Did you do a first dance.
Christa Innis: I did. Yes, we did
Colleen Borgert: too. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love it.
I love, I love a first dance. Yeah.
Christa Innis: But if they
Colleen Borgert: don’t want it, they don’t want it.
Christa Innis: Yeah. A hundred percent. We did a choreo, I’m gonna mess up the word choreographed. We practiced ourself.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh. We are not
Christa Innis: dancers either of us. I’m not. Okay. So when are you posting that to TikTok? I might have years ago.
I’m trying to think. I might have to repost it. I’m gonna get my scroll game
Colleen Borgert: on. I know. I
Christa Innis: gotta think about what I posted it. Um, probably not in a long time ’cause people were like asking about it once I, so we watched YouTube because I was like, okay, one lesson I always learn brides, if you’re listening was take some kind of dance course.
You don’t have to like pay for it. If you are doing a first dance, you don’t have to like pay for it. There’s free ones on YouTube, right. Um, and so we started doing that, like just to learn like the steps. So we, because I’ve gone to so many weddings where you can tell they’ve literally never danced together.
Right. They stand there and they just like look awkward. They just sway and they’re
Colleen Borgert: like leaving lots of room for Jesus. You know? It’s
Christa Innis: like, come on guys. Like let’s not have that first time you guys ever like, get in a room, dance together, be like in a, in front of a hundred people. Right? Right. So like I knew I didn’t want that awkward moment.
So like, we did like our step practicing and then as we were watching, or like YouTube, it was like suggestive videos and it was like Taylor Swift, uh, oh gosh, what song is it? Oh my gosh. I sounds, is her, this is her first dance. Yeah. Why am I drawing a blank? Ah, it’s Taylor. Um, oh, now I’m gonna like, have to like find it ’cause it’s gonna really bother me.
Um, but it’ll come to you in a few minutes
Colleen Borgert: and if not divorce will come. It’ll be
Christa Innis: fine. It’ll be fine.
Colleen Borgert: We’ll just pick your voice in. It’s
Christa Innis: can, I’m gonna sing it and I can’t sing. Can I go where we can? I can’t sing. Hold on, hold on. I’m a swifty. Give it to me. Be this clo forever and ever. And, and take me. Huh?
And with a, that called you’re my, my lover. Lover. Lover. I knew we’d get there eventually. Yeah. Okay. So it was to lover.
Colleen Borgert: Love that. Yeah. And there was a
Christa Innis: really cute dance on YouTube and they showed what to do. So we did like a little spin. He like picked me up in the end. Oh. And we didn’t tell anyone we were doing it.
So it was likes you
Colleen Borgert: had like your, um, baby moment from dirty dancing where he like Yeah.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Little less graceful than that, but Yeah.
Colleen Borgert: But I do love that you told brides that they could just get on YouTube, like they don’t have to spend their money. Yeah. Just hop on YouTube. Yeah. I, I love that you remind people of that it, it doesn’t have to break the bank to be special.
Christa Innis: Yeah, exactly. Like, we literally did it in our, in our apartment living room and we just practiced like every week. I think we was like, Monday nights we’re gonna practice our dance. Yay. Okay.
No Ring, No Bring and the Reality of Guest Lists
Um, next one is no bring, no ring, no bring is totally fair. Sorry to your new hinge date of two weeks. What are your thoughts on No ring, no bring.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my thought. Okay. So my husband, my husband did not get invited to a second cousin of mine’s wedding. We were not engaged. We got engaged the next month. Okay. And during the time I was like, I can’t believe they won’t let me bring him. Like, why would they not? Mm-hmm. And now that I have children of my own and I see the cost of things and I, I see more of like that behind the curtain.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I
Colleen Borgert: can see that and I can respect it for what it is now. Yeah. I tell you. But when I was in the moment, it felt like, oh, my partner isn’t allowed to be here, but I, I can understand it now. I can respect it now.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I, I totally get that. I had a similar thing, it was my second cousin’s wedding. Gosh, I don’t even know how long ago it was.
My hu Now husband and I were just dating, but we were living together for years and they like invited, it was weird. It was like they invited all of us, but like they put like, I can’t remember, there was something weird about it, but like, we were like, oh, um, I don’t, I didn’t, I didn’t know if they like, didn’t know his name or something like, weird, but like I had been with him like longer than this couple had been.
So like they’d met him many times. Like, this is your person at this point box. Yeah. This is like very clearly my person. Yeah. Like he like plus one of the other weddings in the family, like, he’d been to their house and then this second cousin, it was like a fairly like quick like, which no hate or anything.
Of course. That’s, that’s awesome. Right. But it was fairly quick. So like, they had been together like a short time and like he wasn’t invited and I was like, oh, I’m just making sure. Yeah. And again, now looking back, I’m like, we were not that. I was not like super close with them. So I was like, I get it. And I ended up just going with my mom and my sister.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. Which, you know, tho those can be fun times too. And it was fun, you know, like unexpected fun moments without, you know, the old ball and chain that, that’s fun too. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I do think there’s a difference between, you know, you had been dating your now boyfriend for years and I was almost engaged versus like, oh, two weeks ago I met Jimmy, you know, down at the gas station.
Yeah. Can he come too? Yeah. Like that’s
Christa Innis: different to me. I know. I just read this crazy Reddit story this morning where it was like. This girl was demanding to be invited to her boyfriend of a few months wedding, like, or his friend’s wedding. And she, he was like, oh, I don’t get a plus one. And she’s like, well, I’m your girlfriend.
I should be able to go. And he’s like, well, they didn’t gimme one. I’m a groomsman. I don’t really wanna start anything. And she’s like, no, if you like really like me, you need to like bring me. And that’s where I’m like, it’s only three months. Mm-hmm. He’s probably only least friends for years. I don’t see like where, why you have to automatically give a plus one.
Right. I agree. I agree with that. It’s very, it’s very nuanced. I think in a lot of it, it’s not all black and white. It’s kind of like each individual thing is gonna have different. Rules. Right?
Colleen Borgert: Like we, we didn’t do kids at our wedding. We had a no kid wedding. Um, but our final total, even after we got all the nos for our RSVPs, we were up to like 370 people with no children.
Woo. Like, you know, and that is hard for people to grasp too, you know, like, what do you mean I can’t bring my kids?
Christa Innis: Yeah. But when
Colleen Borgert: you are from such a ginormous family like you. When you eliminate those kids, you’re able to say, okay, my second cousins can now come and, you know. Yeah. So I think we have to remember to pull back the curtain on everything and kind of say there, there’s always more back there than what we initially think.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. 375 people,
Colleen Borgert: too many.
Christa Innis: That is insane. It, it was like 360 people. Too many. Let me tell you, if you were to do it again, do you think you would do it a lot smaller?
Colleen Borgert: I would do it. I would do it so differently. I I would do it smaller. More intimate. Intimate. Is that inter intimate? Intimate. In intimate?
I kinda like intimate, but it’s intimate. Intimate, you know what I mean? I, yeah. I would make it, it would be much smaller, quaint, and just a few close people, and I would probably want to do a surprise. And just if you wanted to show up at this random thing I invited you to, you get to come to my way. Oh, I love that.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I love that. I know, I think it’s like with age, we’re kind of like, because I always tell people if I were to get married in my early twenties or something, I think I would’ve gone way too big. Invited way too many people. Mm-hmm. And you know, like I had just been outta college or something, so I’d probably had like all my college friends.
Yes. My bridesmaids. And it’s like now here I am, like 15 years or ish out of college and I’m like doing the quick math out of college and I’m like. Half those people I don’t even talk to anymore. So I’m like, I’m, I would not have wanted them at the wedding. ’cause then they’re gonna be all these pictures like, you know?
Right. And that’s exactly how it,
Colleen Borgert: you know, and, and I’m blessed and lucky and it’s easy for me to be, to say now, like, oh, I would do it differently. But that’s because I got that moment. Mm-hmm. You know, I got the big moment of, you know, all my friends, all my family. But yeah. I don’t talk to the majority of the people that were there at no fault of theirs or mine life.
Just, I’m just, yeah. You know, just happens. Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: Did you get pushback with the no kids at your wedding?
Colleen Borgert: I did. There were a couple people that gave me pushback. Um, a couple family members and a couple friends. Uh, one of my bridesmaids had had her daughter like two weeks before the ceremony, so she brought her daughter to like, feed her parents came like, things like that didn’t bother me.
Yeah. But if I knew if I am, if I let. One family bring their two kids, then the next family had, and then before you know it, it’s 500 people. Right. And you know, so it’s not that the children, it was more so just I needed the number as low as possible to be able to invite all those people I no longer see anymore.
Christa Innis: Right. And then you wanted to be equal playing ground for everybody. Right. For everybody. Totally makes sense. Yeah. That’s one thing people don’t realize. And a lot of the stories I get, it’s like, they’re like, just make me the exception. Oh, my kids are fine. It’s like, well, you don’t understand if I let you bring your two kids and then yours.
And then I read a story the other day where an aunt was told it was just the aunt and uncle, and then she RSVP’d for. Her adult children who are four kids, their significant others and their kids. So, so she wrote in on the card 15 or something, extra people.
Colleen Borgert: I can’t
Christa Innis: like you’re not talking to one extra person.
You’re talking three extra tables. Two extra tables,
Colleen Borgert: yeah. Like in, in, in what world and in what mind does that aunt think that that is okay? Like I can’t wrap my mind around people that do things like that. But there’s people out there that do it. Mm-hmm. All the time. Yes. It’s crazy.
Christa Innis: It’s, it’s again that mind frame of me.
This, this is, this is gonna affect me if I can’t do it this way, or Oh, it’s fine. Right. I’m the exception. She loves me so much. Yeah. I’m her favorite aunt. Yeah. Yeah. And it’s so funny ’cause when I like do these skits, people are, I’m like, when I’m like acting them out, I’m like, oh gosh, this is so dramatic.
I’m making this 10 times worse than it probably is. And people will comment and they’ll be like, no, that exact thing happened to me. Or like, that is exactly what, yeah. Talk that way. Yeah. I’m just like, oh man, this is wild. Okay, speaking of before we get too over on our time, so are you still, are we still okay on time?
Yeah, I, I’m, I’m good. Okay. Let’s get into this week’s wedding story submission. So, as always, I’ve not read this yet, so feel free to stop me at any time and react or we’ll just kind of react together. Okay. Here we go. Okay. Let me see if I get my scroll. Okay, here we go. Here.
Bridesmaid Meets Her Groom’s Family
Hello Krista. I just wanna say I love your skits.
I have a story that still blows my mind years later. I’m not sure if it’s juicy enough to be considered drama, but it was wild for sure. Back in October of 2013, I started dating a man who was seven years older than me. I was 23 and he was 30. He had a younger sister who was exactly one month older than me.
She was the baby of the family and never did anything wrong in their eyes. She was also a teacher, which becomes important later because I’d always been, I’d always wanted to be an elementary school teacher, but had to pay for college on my own. Most of his family lived in New York or Florida, which also plays a role later.
Okay,
Colleen Borgert: hold on. So we’ve got a 30-year-old man. Mm-hmm. Dating a 23-year-old.
Christa Innis: 20. 23-year-old? Yes. Okay. And sister, who’s also 23 is my Okay. Teacher. Got it. Out of state relatives? Yes. Okay. By May, 2014, my then boyfriend had been in and out of the hospital several times for various issues, even having surgery to remove his appendix.
He thanked me for being by his side through everything and bought me a nice coach bag to show his appreciation. I had never owned a designer purse before. Then he asked my youngest sister for help, for help planning something my sister knew. I absolutely hated surprises and told me he wanted to propose and ask for suggestions.
So she’s just like, this is what he wants to do. Okay. I’m like, at what point? Okay, wait, so may They met in October, 2013 by May, 2014. So is it like a year and. No, not even, no, that’s just like six months. Oh, that’s like six months later.
Colleen Borgert: November, December, January, February. Yeah, that’s like five, six months. Oh, wow.
Okay. Okay. We are going, went
Christa Innis: along. Okay. Uh, then he asked. Okay. She gave him several ideas, so I wouldn’t know which one he’d pick or when it would happen. He also asked my biological dad for permission, which was odd because I’d always been closer with my mom. Okay. Mm-hmm. You would think he would know that, but maybe not in five months.
I mean only six months. Who knows? Who knows? Yeah. In 24, in June, 2014, he proposed and I said, yes, his youngest sister. Okay, so now his youngest sister planned a visit to our town in July, 2014 to see one of her guy friends. Okay. He messaged her brother. Okay. I’m like drawing my head. Yeah. Oh yeah. Duh. Oh my gosh.
Saying she wanted to see him and meet me. Okay. So they hadn’t met.
Colleen Borgert: And she’s getting ma. Okay. So she has yet to meet even his family at this point?
Christa Innis: Yeah, and they’re engaged. So she’s just kind of, okay. So she was just giving us background on the sister, but at this point they hadn’t even met. So he meets this girl and proposes in six months.
She hasn’t met the family. Maybe they don’t live, comes in town. Right. So she comes in town when she wants to meet. We planned everything around her visit, but when she arrived, she met up with her friend and blew us off.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, okay. To this.
Christa Innis: Oh, it gets better. I have never met her
Colleen Borgert: to this day. Hold on. Pause.
Pause one. They’re still together. I don’t, well, I don’t know if she
Christa Innis: just wrote to this day. I’ve never met her. Oh, oh. So I’m like really confused, like, is this, we’re talking 11 years later. And that 2014, unless I’m reading, is
Colleen Borgert: weird, flabbergasted. Like, so there’s nothing to indicate if the, if they are still together, except the phrase.
To this day, I still have not met her.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I’m gonna see. Let’s see. Okay. Let’s see what happens next. But I’m pretty sure she means like she just blew her off that time and then that was it. I don’t know. Okay. She says we set our wedding date for Saturday, October 25th, 2014. So about a year after they met, no one from his family was able to attend.
Oh.
Colleen Borgert: Red. Is that a red, is that a flag for you? I think it’s
Christa Innis: a red flag. Yeah. That’s a why. Okay. So Sister blew, blew them off, doesn’t go to meet her. And then no one from his family can just make it right. That, that seems red. That’s red flag. Red flags are everywhere for me. They’re, they’re popping. I’m sorry to this.
I mean, I don’t know what happens next. So, I’m sorry to this person that, that sent this in, but I’m just like, this is all very fast. Yeah. And weird that his family can’t show up.
Colleen Borgert: Right. And I think the, the, the age is like, the red flags are like popping and I’m like, hold on a second. So I’m excited to hear what comes next.
Yes. ’cause I’m trying to put it all together in my mind.
Christa Innis: Yeah, same. I know I’ve got like the family tree going on right here. Yeah, drawing here. Um, okay. Um, so no one from his family was able to attend, but they planned to watch the ceremony live on his sister and like, oh,
Colleen Borgert: 2014, is that like what on, like, how do you watch it live in 2014?
Yeah,
Christa Innis: because Facebook Did you like Zoom? Like I don’t even remember Facebook Live in 2014 because was I in 2014? Oh, I was having a baby. Okay, you’re like where? Yeah, I was having a baby. You were. But yeah. How do you I don’t know because I remember, okay, I was working at trade show. I honestly think it was 2014 at my fir, one of my first jobs outta college.
And they, my manager, I worked in marketing and she was like, look at this new app where you can live stream. And I remember her showing me, and that was before like Facebook Lives and stuff, because then I think it was bought by Facebook. So that may some, she had something, she had something, something maybe even like FaceTime and can you, you could FaceTime then, right?
I don’t even know. I
Colleen Borgert: feel like I still had a flip phone back then. Like with the A, B, C texting, you know, like, dun, dun dun. Oh my gosh. You had to hit it like three. I mean, you’re so young. Did you ever have a phone like that? I’m not that much younger than you, honestly. Oh, you look amazing Ellie. How you tell me you’re younger than me?
I’m turning 35 this year. Okay. Yes. You are a baby. You are a baby.
Christa Innis: Is that what, five years? That’s not seven. Seven. I, it’s funny though. I see seven. Oh, okay. Well, I don’t know. Yeah, it’s all, it’s alright. It’s all I feel like you’re at, I’m at the age where like. I, I was gonna say I have friends in their twenties, but I’m like, I don’t, I guess I have some friends in their twenties, but I have friends in their four, you know, like it’s Right.
You’re
Colleen Borgert: now to the point where you can go both sides.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I mean, I had an hour long conversation with my like 85-year-old neighbor last night and it was the best, like, I love chatting with her and so I’m like, I just, age doesn’t matter to me. Yeah. But, um, it’s funny, I like see 2014 and it also feels like yesterday and then I’m like, wait a second.
I have to remind myself, we’re like in the 20. That was a long time ago. Yeah, it was a while ago. Oh my gosh. Um, okay, she says, um, then on his sister’s birthday, September 26th, we’re giving some personal details though, so hopefully they don’t listen to this. Um, he was in the hospital again. I had no cell service and was too focused on my fiance.
The next day I reached out to her, to which, her belated happy birthday. So I’m confused. So. She says they never met. Maybe they just mean in person. So she talked to her. I think she has to meet in person. I,
Colleen Borgert: yeah, because she came in town in July, the sister blew her off.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Colleen Borgert: And then I’m thinking September he gets sick.
And then the wedding is in October.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That’s what it sounds like.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. So, so they just haven’t met in person. They’re a, B, C, texting each other, right?
Christa Innis: Yeah. On their flip list. Texting. Yeah. So, okay. So she reached out to Wisher, um, a belated happy birthday and apologized for missing it the day before. She completely lost it on me, calling me a horrible person for ignoring her on her birthday.
Colleen Borgert: No hard pass.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like, we’re not like five or six years old where we like, you know, you are at this point, if she was praying like 24, like you can survive one
Colleen Borgert: day.
Christa Innis: Right. And your brother’s in the hospital. Mm-hmm.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. Like, yeah. That’s, that’s another flag flags.
Christa Innis: Huge red flag. Yes. Where, where are his parents in all of this?
Like, right, like she hasn’t really mentioned them except that they’re just not coming. They’re not coming. Which is weird ’cause it says family’s in New York and Florida. They’re in, um, Kansas City. It says. Okay. Then she insulted me saying she was a teacher and I was too dumb to finish college and get my teaching license.
Oh no. Just missing a birthday by one day and being with your brother in the hospital.
Colleen Borgert: Oh no. College. If you go to college, it does not make you any smarter than anybody else. I don’t get that many Gives, gives you a set of tools to be able to do a job. It doesn’t equate to being smarter than anybody.
Right?
Christa Innis: Yeah. And don’t, I just don’t get that mentality of like mm-hmm. Oh, I went to college and you didn’t, it’s like you probably went to college ’cause you had either a privilege to go to college, right? You had funds to go to college. You had, you don’t, you don’t know the full story of, and you’ll just choose not to.
And that it’s ally. Okay. And there’s no one’s smarter if we’re going or not going. Right? Oh
Colleen Borgert: yeah. That, that would, that would be like a, like I would feel that as a knife. Mm-hmm. Like that, that comment to me that that would stay with me. I feel like I’d carry that for a while.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh, for sure. Um, it says, after that she blocked me on everything.
My fiance was upset for a moment and then defended her saying That’s just who she is, and she’ll come around soon. Soon enough. No, someone that says that they’re not coming around Uhuh. And that’s also like, that is your
Colleen Borgert: fiance.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Colleen Borgert: This is the person that you’re getting ready to say I do too. And you’re just, he’s just gonna be okay with people being mean to you.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And see, this is where, again, I don’t know the rest of the story, so I’m sorry if it works out a different way, but like, I hope, I don’t know, maybe it doesn’t work out, but like someone that like jumped the gun really quickly to someone that was much younger than him and was like, let’s move fast. Six months from now we’re getting engaged.
My family’s not gonna be there. I don’t know. I’m getting some bad vibes and I don’t, yes. So
Colleen Borgert: I live by the rule that whoever you date, if you can subtract that amount of years and you wind up under the age of 18, it, it shouldn’t happen
Christa Innis: yet. You know? So, so if you subtract her age by their distance Yes.
Yeah. Of seven years.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. Then I’m like, Hmm, that’s, that’s icky to me a little bit. Mm-hmm. You know, not to say that it, it, it won’t work out, and I hope that it did, and I hope that they’re happy. But that age gap, the, the life experiences that people have are so vastly different. Yeah. You know, a 30-year-old to a 37-year-old, they’ve had a lot of similar life experiences.
You know, you minus that number and it’s like, okay, they’ve been a, a grown adult for a long time, so it’s not necessarily the number that I get. Tripped up on. Yeah, it is. How much life experience is attached
Christa Innis: to those numbers? No, that’s a really, that’s a really good point. ’cause people are always like, well, my parents are this or that.
And it’s like, it’s a good point of like, well, when did they meet? How did they meet? What, what were they at in their life? Right. Um, ’cause yeah, I’m thinking like 23. Like, I was like freshly. I mean, I graduated at 23, so I was like, freshly outta college 30. Like, you’ve been in the, you know, job field for a while.
Colleen Borgert: Yes. And you know what you want in life, you know, and you know this man, he may be like, yeah, that, that’s the woman that I want. I’m going after her. You know, I’m, I’m gonna, I’m gonna get her. But was she ready for that? Could she see the red flag of hey, your fiance. He is not supporting you right now. And I think that that comes with life experience, you know, just growing into your own as a woman and, and the value that you bring to the table, you know?
Yeah. So, I don’t
Christa Innis: know. It’s a little, Hmm. Yeah, it’s a little, um, interesting. Okay. She says she never watched our wedding. Okay. So they got married and to this day, I haven’t spoken to her since September 27th, 2014. So we’re talking about 11 years. So they
Colleen Borgert: got married still. I’m so happy that they are happy.
I wanna put that out into the universe, but I’m still so confused.
Christa Innis: Well, there is still more. Oh, okay. Let’s go something. We can see what, what’s so, but she, so she said she hasn’t spoken to her. I even visited their mother’s house Oh, oh. In New York in February of 2015 where she lived. I still never saw or heard from her.
Interesting. She lived there and then didn’t show up.
Colleen Borgert: You refused to come by
Christa Innis: in November. Here we go. In November, 2014, I asked for a divorce and thanked his dad and stepmom for trying to help us through our marriage troubles. I I, can I give a I knew it. I was like, can I applaud it? Like, yes girl. I just,
Colleen Borgert: you know, and maybe it was the sister, maybe she was looking at it all being like, I can’t support this.
Like, I can’t, but No, no. Nope. I can’t validate that sister’s comment in my mind. The comment I
Christa Innis: tried. Yeah, I know. We were trying to be like, I know. And it’s like, where does that come from though? Either like where I’ve, I have a lot of questions still too. Um, it says his stepmom threatened to have his dad, my now ex father-in-law.
End my life if I ever contacted her son again. What? Because she asked for a divorce that just a whole family sounds very toxic. And red flag. She
Colleen Borgert: dodged a bullet. Like literally it sounds like she dodged a bullet. Yeah. Because the mom is like, I’m gonna enter your life. So she
Christa Innis: also very threatening, like Right.
Trolling maybe?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. No, that, that whole 30 to 23, my flag went up immediately. I knew it. Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: You, I, I saw your face too. And you’re like, wait, so she’s 23? He’s 30 there. Oh, six months later they went. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Um, so they were married for, wait, they weren’t even married a month because it says their wedding date was set for October 25th.
She filed for divorce in November, so it wasn’t even a full month.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my like, okay. Does she include like, where am I now? Like, do we get to heal? Hear like the healing part of all of this because, um,
Christa Innis: no, but there’s a little bit more. Okay. Because like a little more of a paragraph. Let’s see. Um, it says we got back together for a little while, but never spoke to his dad, stepmom or sister again.
I later found out his older siblings were annoyed at how much their younger sibling, younger sister got away with. I mean, at 24 she threw a fit because her brother was in the hospital and I wished her happy birthday a day late. It wasn’t like I’d forgotten entirely. Side note, I graduated a few years later after divorcing her abusive brother.
Okay, now we’re getting a little more of the context. Yes. And I’m working on my master’s degree. I also ended up teaching for a few years.
Colleen Borgert: Yay. Yes, queen. I love that. That was
Christa Innis: a happy ending because you know what? You saw your worth and you saw like, I went out of this situation and I’m glad. It was not even a month that you were just like, you know what?
I’m out. And I hope this is a lesson too for people listening that like, ’cause I’ve had, I’ve had friends before that are like, well, everything’s already paid for. We have to go through the wedding. It’s like, it’s never too late. Like just if you are in a bad relationship, it’s okay. Like it’s Right. Or Yeah.
Colleen Borgert: And, and that goes like both ways too. Like as a boy mom, having only boys, like I want them to know that as well. Like they bring worth to the table too. And they need to be love and respected. And if they need me to fake a heart attack as I’m lighting that wedding candle so that they can run out of the back door, I, ugh, I will do it.
I will do it for them. It’s never too late for happiness.
Christa Innis: Yes. No, I totally agree. I feel like we, obviously, we don’t know the full situation here, but the fact that she threw in that he was abusive, abusive. Which I kind of got the vibe he was controlling or something because of, you know, the moving so quickly and, um, him being a lot older.
But, um, yeah, that, I mean, that’s, that’s a scary situation. So always knowing in your gut or like listening to your gut about it. I hope she had someone on her side that was like, Hey, this doesn’t seem right. Right. ’cause it sounds like they went to his, his dad and stepmom for like, helping through marital issues.
So I don’t know if she had anyone on her side that was like, Hey, this guy is not right for you. Like this Also having Yeah. Also having that like third party, like, I know like, as like, you know, you, it’s nice that his parents were willing to help, but I feel like they should probably have had like a th like a therapist or something come in and Right.
Really sit them down Yeah. And be like,
Colleen Borgert: this is what we’re looking at here.
Christa Innis: Yeah. But I’m glad she got out of that because that could be very bad.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh, yes. Like I, and again, it’s that life experience. Like you just don’t know. At such a young age, sometimes you do, but most part, like, you just, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Yeah. And it’s hard to see those things until that frontal lobe is developed, which is like 25, you know? So wild.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. It’s wild how like, at least like my grandparents’ age, it’s like they were like married, having kids like 19, 20, and that was like what they were expected to do. And they went to college to get their MRS and they, you know, that was their job.
Mm-hmm. And it’s just Wow. ’cause they were still children in my eyes. I’m like, you’re at 19, 20, 21. Like, you’re still a kid, right.
Colleen Borgert: You’re just a baby. Like you are still a, I’m still folding clothes for my college kid. I’m like, there’s no way you can get married right now. Like. I am folding your t-shirts for you.
Like the, it’s, you’re not ready. You’re not ready.
Christa Innis: Yeah. It’s, it’s wild. Um, well that was a wild story. Thank you to this person for sending that in because I think, um, it was a different kind of story that we’ve got, you know, and I think it’s good to kind of get all the angles of these kind of stories, and I’m really proud of you.
So, yeah.
Maid of Honor Regrets & MIL Drama
Colleen Borgert: Good job writer in person. What do you call the, what do you call, like submitter?
Christa Innis: Um, yeah, story submitter or like, I usually like online, I’ll say like op, like original or original poster, but I guess they’re not really posting it. They’re just sending it to me, so, yeah. Writer in.
Colleen Borgert: Good job. Writer in.
We’re proud of you. Yeah,
Christa Innis: we got, we’ve got great grammar over here. Oh my gosh. The number. It’s really in intimate, intimate over here. Intimate. Which honestly intimate. I think you could do something with that. Like I see, I, I worked in marketing the past like 13 years, so I always think of things you could do a mint at wedding.
It’s called an intimate, intimate listening. Oh, it’s so
Colleen Borgert: intimate here. I love it. If you’re listening, do it and then tag me in it so I can see all of your love.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh, I love it. Okay. I always end these on, um, a couple of confessions that people send in. So let’s read these and then we’ll get on with our days.
Okay. Okay. Um, let’s see.
Okay. This says, I kind of regret who I picked to be my maid of honor. I would’ve still had her as a bridesmaid, but yeah.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, I, I think that’s normal. You know, we kind of touched on that earlier. Just your life just changes and unfolds in different ways that you just don’t know how you’re going to need different people, and it’s okay that she was that person in your life, in that moment and that it might be someone different right now.
Like, it’s okay that both of those happened, and both of those can be true.
Christa Innis: Yeah, and I’m, I’m kind of reading it as she hasn’t gotten married yet, and she like asked them, that’s how I’m reading, but maybe I’m reading it wrong. Like, she has, she asked them to be in the wedding and so like the wedding’s coming up, but they’re like, and she wants to take it back and like, maybe it’s like the maid of honor’s not really stepping up, but I think that’s too, it’s like.
Expectations and communication too. Or maybe that maid of honor just doesn’t really know what to do or, you know. Right. Or you’re just not as close with that person. It’s hard.
Colleen Borgert: It, yeah. It’s hard and you don’t wanna hurt anybody’s feelings.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, this says I plan to cut my mother-in-law out of my life, regardless of what my fiance wants to do.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, Ooh. That’s gonna, that’s, that’s a, a therapy for sure. I feel like. Right. Like,
Christa Innis: yeah. I mean, I feel like if, if the, if it’s valid where like the mother-in-law’s done something like terrible turn, just treats her poorly, then I feel like the fiance should be backing her up and like Right. Being that buffer.
I feel like it should never be between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law because this is about the son or something. Right. Right. There’s
Colleen Borgert: something
Christa Innis: going on
Colleen Borgert: and it shouldn’t just be about her.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so it’s gonna be almost impossible. To just cut out the mother-in-law if the fiance is still talking to her.
Right. So then I need like, figured out of like, who is he gonna fully support? What’s the issue here? Right. Unless you guys just don’t get along, then I don’t know how that would work. But
Colleen Borgert: then you have to figure out like you’re, you’re gonna form a family together. Mm-hmm. Like, you’ve gotta figure it out.
Christa Innis: Gotta figure it out. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Uh, okay. This last one says, my grandma’s being, my, my grandma being my biggest supporter for eloping helped me elope and deal with all of the backlash.
Colleen Borgert: I love a good grandma. Like, is there anything better than a good grandma? There’s, there’s not, the, the, there hands down top five things a good grandma.
Like, you can’t, you can’t beat it. Yeah. And one that helps you elope and then says, not only am I gonna help you do it and I’ll help you plan it, but a grandma that says, you go and then I’ll tell everyone I did it and I’ll take the heat. Like, go live your life. That’s an amazing,
Christa Innis: you need that. I remember, it’s kind of funny, like, um, so I grew up, like I grew up Ca Catholic and I, um, you know, so like with Catholic parents, like, it’s like you don’t move in before you get married, like, right.
Mm-hmm. Like you child, my grandma’s Catholic, my parents, you know, like that. So this is nothing against that. It was just like how like I was raised, you know? And um, I remember though being like, I’m so close with my grandma that when my husband and I now husband, we were gonna move in together. I told her first and she was like, that’s great honey.
I’m so proud of you and my parents were fine with it. I’m the youngest. So they were like, by that point, they were like
Colleen Borgert: right by that point they’re just like, get out of here. Yeah.
Christa Innis: But I was like, it was just funny. Like, I told my friends, I was like, yeah, I told my, my, now she’s 90. But at the time, you know, she was.
Gosh, how long have I been with my husband? It was, she was like probably 80, but I like told her first and she was like, that’s great. I’m so proud, so excited.
Colleen Borgert: See top five. You’ve got one. She’s great. Yeah, you’ve got one. I’ve got one too. My grandma, um, for her 80th birthday five years ago, she’s still here.
Um, she jumped out of an airplane. She went skydiving on her way and
Christa Innis: we all went and
Colleen Borgert: yeah, she even, you know, got a second set of dentures so that if they fell out, she would have her. She was ready. She visited all of her doctors to get like the, okay, but there’s nothing better than a good grandma.
Christa Innis: That is amazing.
Oh my gosh, I love that. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you.
Colleen Borgert: This was so much fun. I truly enjoyed it.
Christa Innis: Good. Oh, I’m so glad. Like it was so much fun hanging out with you. And can you tell everyone again where they can follow you, find your content, and then anything fun you’re kind of working on?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah, so again, my name is Colleen Boer. You can find me on Instagram at at Miss Colleen b or at Leany Borg on TikTok. And if you are looking for educational news that is happening in this political climate, I am the teacher you want to follow. ’cause I’m gonna give it to you like it is. I love it. Awesome.
Well thank you so much. This was awesome. Thank you. Have a wonderful night.
Christa Innis: You too.
The Mental Load, Modern Motherhood & Drama That Sent Someone Packing — with Paige Connell
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Ever wonder what happens when a mother-in-law goes full wedding meltdown mode?
This episode dives into an unforgettable wedding story where chaos, drama, and unexpected twists steal the spotlight. From limo mix-ups and cross necklace demands to elopements and courthouse ceremonies, these real-life tales prove weddings rarely go as planned.
Listen as Christa and Paige navigate fiery family dynamics, outrageous demands, and the art of keeping your day stress-free despite unpredictable relatives.
Whether it’s dodging drama or finding joy in the unexpected, these stories remind us that love, and a little patience, always wins.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:39 Viral TikTok and Childcare Costs
04:10 Mission and Content Focus
06:09 Gender Equity and Mental Load
19:09 Wedding Hot Takes and Rapid Fire
24:59 Reading the Wedding Story
25:13 Mother-in-Law’s Wedding Day Meltdown
30:05 Deciding to Elope
31:47 Courthouse Wedding Drama
38:01 Reflections on Weddings and Relationships
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- The Guest List War – How a simple seating decision spiraled into a full family fight.
- Bridesmaid Betrayal – The shocking move the bridesmaid made behind her back.
- Mother-in-Law Overreach – The bold demands that crossed every line.
- Setting Boundaries Under Fire – The moment the bride decided to stand her ground.
- Choosing Peace Over People-Pleasing – Why walking away from tradition saved her sanity.
- The Fallout After the Wedding – The lasting impact of these choices on family relationships.
- What Paige Would Do Differently – Her biggest takeaway for anyone planning a wedding.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Sometimes the ‘happiest day of your life’ is just the most expensive therapy session.” – Christa Innis
- “Weddings don’t make people crazy, they just turn up the volume on who they already are.” – Christa Innis
- “Know your audience and know what you and your partner want ultimately.” – Christa Innis
- “Family drama doesn’t magically RSVP ‘no’ to your wedding.” – Christa Innis
- “If someone’s love for you hinges on an invite, it’s not love, it’s leverage.” – Christa Innis
- “If you haven’t been a parent to young children in a very long time, you don’t know the realities of the cost.” – Paige Connell
- “My goal with that conversation is to help women articulate what’s happening in their lives so they can better process that with their partner, find equity at home, and hopefully in the workplace as well.” – Paige Connell
- “We have this narrative of the work that men do outside of the home being really important, if not more important than the work their partner does at home.” – Paige Connell
- “Whenever women do something that remotely prioritizes themselves, we position it as selfish.” – Paige Connell
- “Peace was my real wedding gift to myself.” – Paige Connell
About Paige:
Paige is a working mother of four who shares relatable content on TikTok and Instagram, highlighting the everyday experiences of women balancing motherhood, careers, and relationships. Known for her candid insights on the mental load of motherhood and the challenges of creating equity at home and work, Paige’s content resonates with millions. She also advocates for affordable childcare, paid leave, and reproductive rights, sparking important conversations about what families need to thrive. Her impactful voice and relatable storytelling have led to features in Scary Mommy, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and more.
Follow Paige Connell:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
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
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi Paige. Thank you so much for coming on. Thanks for having me. I’m so excited to talk to you. I was just saying before we started recording that I think I first saw you on, I wanna say it was probably TikTok or something and you stitched Dave Ramsey and I love like this like feminist movement where we were just calling out people that maybe say things that are a little harmful to, especially when we talk about moms and the mother load. And I always tend to like just jump right in.
Paige Connell on the Childcare Crisis and Gender Equity
But can we talk a little bit about what that was? I kinda wanna talk about your platform and how that’s kind of like grown over the years and what you kind of focus on?
Paige Connell: Yeah, sure. So that video in particular was right up my alley because I talk a lot about childcare and he was talking about the cost of childcare.
And so for context, I create content and I started out talking about just being a working mother and. part of that conversation is logistics. How do I make it work? How much do I pay for daycare? What does our schedule look like? Just all of those things. And I was just sharing my lived experience of motherhood, and the very first time I went viral on TikTok was talking about how much I pay for daycare, because people were just astonished at how expensive it is, and, didn’t even believe me transparently. A lot of people were like, that’s not real. And so I spend a lot of time bringing awareness to the childcare crisis because this is something that is happening to most people in our country, like most people and parents are experiencing the high cost of childcare and the impacts of that.
And so. When I saw the video of Dave Ramsey saying $25,000 a year for childcare, like, that’s not real. I felt like I had to respond because it is very real. It is the lived experience of many, many families, and for me, he’s a financial expert. He should understand the finances of the people he’s speaking to and the fact that this is the reality for most people in our country.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I think when. You get to a certain, I don’t know, I would say platform of his, He can’t really relate to the common person, the common family. and so I feel like, I feel like your content is so necessary because so many moms might go in and see something like this, and it’s like, oh wait, I shouldn’t be paying this. Or like, this isn’t normal, but like we can’t relate to someone like that, that actually is not in it. Right.
Paige Connell: Totally. Yeah. I think first and foremost, I think he’s of a different generation, and so childcare looks different today than it did even 10 years ago. And so if you haven’t been a parent to young children in a very long time, you don’t know the realities of the cost, right?
So I think in that way he’s out of touch. But it is his job to be in touch with what the average experience is of parents in our country, especially if he’s giving out financial advice, but I also think just in general, Dave has a very specific idea of what it should look like, right? He had a stay at home partner. He personally likes that, right? Like that idea of women providing that childcare, or at least he insinuates that in some of his content. And, yeah. You know, I just think it’s, he has a very specific platform and form of advice that he gives, and I just felt like in that instance, you know, I’m not a financial expert. I don’t pretend to be, but in that instance, he was saying something that I felt like was so outlandish and out of touch that it had to be addressed in some way.
Christa Innis: So I know I kinda jumped the gun right into like that conversation that I saw. But can you tell everyone a little bit more about what you post about on your page, your content, and what you feel your mission has become, with your posting?
Paige Connell: Sure. So yeah, I talk a lot about being a working mother and the realities of what modern marriage and motherhood look like specifically for women. I will say my following on all platforms is 99% women, sometimes 98. You know, it fluctuates. But it’s mostly women because my content for them is relatable and it’s something that they understand and see themselves in.
I would say the thing that most people know me for is speaking about the mental load specifically as it relates to motherhood, but I speak about it in general as well. And my goal with that conversation is to help women articulate what’s happening in their lives so they can better process that with their partner, find equity at home, and hopefully in the workplace as well.
And as part of that mission, I also talk about systemic things like lack of pay, parental leave, lack of affordable childcare, the motherhood penalty in the workplace. So my overarching goal is to help women advocate for gender equity in all facets of life. So not, being the default parent by default, right?
All of these things that I think as a society have been very normal for very long, but are leading women to feel burnt out and exhausted, and I do that through. Sharing my own experience, but also just thought leadership on these topics in general.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I love that. It’s so powerful and it’s funny, I mention it every time and time again, but like before doing all of this, I worked for a mommy brand and ironically it was before I had my daughter and so but with that, it was, I heard firsthand stories from moms, like struggling to go back to work, having to go back to work after six weeks or unpaid leave. And when I started kinda like digging into it, I was like, this is outrageous. Like it’s, we’re in a country where they want us to have more kids, but then there’s no support when you do have those kids.
Why Paid Parental Leave and Shared Care Matter
So what do you think are the biggest like things like work. I mean, workplaces is one thing. What can workplaces do? What can we do as a society to kind of like raise awareness to all this stuff?
Paige Connell: I think talking about it first and foremost is really important, bringing these topics up. You know, the things I’ve mentioned, childcare, paid parental leave. We often view these as women’s issues, when in reality they’re a family issue. They should be impacting anyone who is a parent, not just women, but women are the ones that disproportionately take on this work, right? So if there’s no childcare, who stays home?
Christa Innis: Typically, mom.
Paige Connell: Who adjust their career? Typically, mom.
Right. And so that’s just a societal expectation. And then sometimes people will point to the fact that, well, oh, the husband makes more money. And that just points the wage gap, right? It’s just like, it’s this kinda like chicken and egg thing, right? We’re struggling at home, we’re struggling in the workplace, and they’re really tied together.
And so I think on an individual level. I like to tell people this is not a failure. Like if you’ve ended up in a position where you’re burnt out and exhausted and you’re struggling with the mental load and your career has taken a hit due to childcare or whatever it might be. You’re not alone in that.
That’s not a personal failure, that’s a systemic failure across the board. But also there’s certain things that are within our control that we can do. And so we can’t fix all the systems at one time, but we can do some things, which is, for example, if your husband has access to paid parental leave, he should be taking it.
So many men don’t. So many men have access and they don’t take it, and they don’t take it because they’re afraid it’s gonna hurt their career, which ultimately just hurts women’s careers more and hurts their partners and their baby and all of the things. And so, we need men to be doing that. We need, policies that support parents in the workplace.
So adequate sick time, adequate paid leave, flexible work schedules. We need to stop these return to office mandates that disproportionately impact women, right? Like there’s all these things, but also within our homes. One of the reasons I suggest paid parental leave not suggest I strongly encourage, is because when men take it, they’re more likely to carry that mental load with their partner from the beginning and.
The mental load disparity happens very, very early on, typically even before you have kids. I think about, when my husband and I were in our twenties and we were going to a million weddings, I always bought the gift and the card and booked the hotel and coordinated all the things, and he was there, but I was coordinating it, right?
Like I carried that mental load. It wasn’t super heavy until we had kids, and so being aware of these dynamics in advance and talking about them with your partner, putting systems in place to avoid one person carrying too much, that’s something we can do, and there’s tools to do that.
Christa Innis: I love that. Yeah. I feel like it’s such an important conversation that a lot of families don’t, either don’t have or don’t know they should or can have them because it’s just, that’s the way it was when I grew up.
Or my dad went to work, my mom was home. So I just thought that’s how it went. And I think, like I said, with working at the mom brand, I was able to see like. I don’t want that when I go through postpartum, I need my part. It was like, have your partner support you, get your partner involved in the process.
Because so many women would like tell me like, oh, my husband wasn’t even in the room when I gave birth. Or he went right back to work the next day. Yeah. And even if they had a choice to stay home, they’re like, oh, well I gotta work. And it’s just like, you don’t realize if you are setting your family up for failure if you don’t take that time as a partner, to the one that gave birth, right? And so I feel like it’s such an interesting conversation because that push and pull between work and sticking up for your family essentially.
Paige Connell: Yeah. And I think, you know, it’s the narrative, right?
We’ve put a real premium in our country on men being providers and doing the paid work and women doing the unpaid care work at home. And so even like the overnight feedings I’ve said on social media, like, dad should be doing some of those, even if they’re partners breastfeeding, like they can change the diaper, they can soothe the baby. And men are like, well, I have work tomorrow. It’s like, she’s gonna be up tomorrow too. Okay. Like, and doing something incredibly important, which is caring for your newborn. And we have this narrative of this work that men do outside of the home being really important, if not more important than the work their partner does at home.
And so I really think we should push back on that. And I do think most men wanna be good dads. They wanna be good partners. But to your point, like as a society and, kind of what’s been modeled for us just doesn’t show us what that looks like.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I was talking to someone the other day and they were asking like, oh, how was your, postpartum?
And I realized, I’m like. Obviously I had a lot of challenges and stuff, but I think because like my husband at the time, like where he was working at the time, he got like two weeks off. I was like, this is what it’s gonna be like when I’m, postpartum. Like, I’m gonna need you to help with this. And like, I remember just being responsible for like breastfeeding.
I was like, other than that, he did everything else or we were able to split other things. I would hear of all these moms like having like postpartum depression and obviously that’s so nuanced. There’s so many reasons why women go through that. Right? Totally. But I feel like a lot of it could be helped with a supportive partner or supportive workplaces because a lot of times these women are stressed about going back to work in a few weeks and they’re not getting paid and they have to get their child in daycare and, that’s a lot.
Paige Connell:There’s a lot. you even mentioned daycare. Women are typically the ones finding childcare, and that’s really hard to do. And so yeah, it’s not as simple as just being home, taking care of a sleeping baby. You know, it, it’s pretty complex what’s going on. I’m glad to hear that you had the support that you need.
I mean, similar to my husband had. Not a lot of time with our first three kids. He had no time. and then with our fourth, he had four weeks and it was night and day experience for us. Right. It was a vastly different experience for me. and I think that’s so important. I wish everyone had that.
Christa Innis: I know.
It’s like, imagine how it would be if men were like forced, like, you have to be home during these 2, 3, 4 weeks, whatever that looks like. And just support women.
Paige Connell: Yeah. I mean, some countries do that. They mandate it, that men have to take it, and there’s like specific rules around how that looks. And so yeah, I think unfortunately in order to get men to do it, oftentimes it has to be mandated.
But I do think, more and more men are doing it, but we still need to see that improve across the board and. There’s data to show that, the work that women are doing and the mental, they’re caring it leads to real impact, mental, emotional, physical tolls on women, and that has a long-term impact on their lives and their well-being.
And so if we care about that, if we care about mothers as much as we say we do, then we should prioritize their care.
The Double Standards That Keep Women Carrying the Load
Christa Innis: Yeah. So I bet with like posting this kind of content, I mean, I see it ’cause I follow a lot of content about like talking about, inequality with women or, women empowerment.
There’s always the haters in the comments. What do you think the most, like, not necessarily like hate, comment, or like argument against what you have to say, or, you know, negative comments that people will comment and how do you kind of handle that?
Paige Connell: Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people say couple things, that I hate men, which I don’t, I don’t hate men.
I just want men to show up in a more meaningful way and I think most of them want to do that, which I know not everybody believes that like I actually am a person on the internet who says, like, I actually think most dads wanna be good people and good parents. they’re not doing it necessarily, but I think they want to.
And so it’s worth trying to get them there. But most people say, I hate men, or, that my husband must hate me. Those are two top comments, because I’ve talked about my own experience in marriage and motherhood with my partner and what that journey’s been like. And so, this mostly comes from men.
Obviously it’s not coming from women. I would say the vast majority of women. Feel understood or at least relate to something that I’m saying, even if not everything. But those tend to be the top comments, which is because I’m pushing for gender equity that yeah I don’t like men and then men in my life don’t like me.
Mm.
Christa Innis: I feel like too, it’s like people that say that kind of thing, in their family. It’s like, if it’s not, broke, don’t fix it kind of thing. Yeah. It works for them, but does it actually work for them? Maybe it works for them as the male partner, but have they actually sat down with their partner and asked, does this work for you?
But I think they are probably afraid to ask that question because they don’t wanna get the push back or have to carry more of that mental load.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I think it’s, layered. I think it depends on the person, obviously. And. one I hear from women in their sixties, seventies, all the time who are like, I wish I’d had this when I was younger.
’cause I just suffered through it. And I spent 40 years of my life catering to somebody who never helped me at all. And I hear that constantly. And then I’m lucky enough to hear from young women who are learning about what they do and don’t want in a relationship. But I think for men, some of it’s, you know, what did I see growing up? What did my dad do? What did my mom do? I think to your point of happiness, one of the comments that I see often, which is always so surprising to me, and I think comes from a very specific subset of men, is that men will sacrifice their happiness for their family, and women will sacrifice their family for their happiness.
So insinuating that women who expect more from their partner or choose divorce because they’re unhappy, are choosing their own happiness above their families, and men are willing to suffer for their families. and it’s this very specific talking point that I find so interesting. But I think it’s, again, trying to position women in this bad light the same way we do as single moms.
Single moms are bad. Where are the dads? Right? Like the moms are there. Like we talk about that. Like the impact that being raised by a single mother has. And we never say like, okay, the impact of a father being absent has, right? Like, we never talk about that. So I think it’s a branding thing, but essentially like.
Whenever women do something that remotely prioritizes themselves, we position it as selfish. When women have a career, they’re selfish, right? They’re, looking to make a ton of money. They’re letting somebody else raise their kid. When men do it, they’re providers, they’re family men, right? They’re putting food in the table.
We vary different narratives for men and women in our society. So much so that. We would never call a mom a hands-on mom or a present mom. Mm-hmm. But like so many women will be like, I have the best husband. He’s such a present dad. He is so hands-on. It’s like, yeah, you, kind of have to be hands-on with the toddler.
Like there’s no other version of parenthood. Right. For women. And so it’s just so interesting. I think some of it is just, yeah, the status quo, what we’re used to, and then other parts of it are kind of like, yeah, what we think about men and women at their time and whose time we truly value.
Christa Innis: That’s such a good point.
Yeah. It’s like I’ve seen videos about where it’s like a mom could be juggling like a few kids at the store and they just, they’re like, that’s a mom. The kid might be like throwing a tantrum or something and they’re just like, okay, whatever. She’s doing her mom thing. But if a dad does it, he’s such a good dad.
Paige Connell: The best dad.
Christa Innis: She’s such a good dad. And I remember like people will say like stuff about my husband, they’ll be like, oh, he changes the diapers. Oh, he takes her places by her himself. I’m like. Well, he’s her father. Like why wouldn’t he? Yeah. But I feel like it’s also generational, like, at least my parents’ generation, I feel like a lot of times it was Stay at home mom, so she was with the kids a lot, the dad was at work and you know, you saw them for dinner time the older generations are like, what’s happening here? Like, something’s shifting.
Paige Connell: Totally. I think things are shifting. I think in the millennial generation you’re seeing more egalitarian relationships, which is amazing. you’re seeing a little bit more polarization in the younger generations between men and women and what they expect from one another.
And I think. There’s many reasons for that, but it is interesting how different millennial men are compared to their fathers. And I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s a good thing, but it doesn’t come without push back. obviously, when you’re talking about these, deeply ingrained expectations of men and women, when you push back on those people, it gets uncomfortable.
Christa Innis: Yeah, definitely. it’s for the better good of, everyone. For sure. I agree. what’s your message for anyone listening that. Maybe is, struggling with the mental load right now and doesn’t kind of know the first steps to take either with their partner or their family or their work.
Paige Connell: So with the mental load in particular, I often say the first thing you have to do is just start to understand what it is. I think oftentimes women feel incredibly burnt out and exhausted and they feel like they’re kind of on this hamster wheel they can never get off of. They have this ongoing running to do list that’s always there and never shorter. And they can’t articulate that, right? Like when their partner says What’s wrong, they’re just like, I don’t even know. There’s a million things I could tell you. A million things that I’m stressed out about right now. Right? And so first and foremost, I suggest people familiarize themselves with the terms and what’s actually playing into the mental load.
And so one way to do that is to, we say, make the invisible visible, write things down every thought that pops into your brain, which is like, I have to pay, the school for a raffle basket. My kids need cash ’cause they’re going to the beach tomorrow with camp. I have all these reminders on my phone and I think a really important way to do this is just write everything down.
For a week, two weeks, just write it all down and look at it and you’ll see, you’ll start to see what that mental load looks like. What are the things that are weighing you down? What’s stressing you out the most? What’s causing the most tension? Where do you think your partner can support you?
Where do you feel like you’re strong? being able to look at it in a really concrete way. I use a spreadsheet, I offer this to people, whoever wants it, it’s part of my free guide, but I have a spreadsheet and it just lists a bunch of tasks that most families do. It’s from the book Fair Play. E Rodsky created this game, which is a really great way to make that invisible labor visible.
Doing that is so helpful just for you as a person to be able to see it and say like, okay, this is why I’m tired, like this is why I’m stressed out. and then from there. You can think about having a conversation with your partner, but I often tell women like, sometimes you’re not ready for a conversation with your partner and you just need to be able to say it to your therapist or say it to your best friend and start to articulate what you’re feeling.
And then once you’ve been able to do that, then you can start to have the hard conversations of, okay, well what does it look like for us to change this?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I love that. Saying it out loud. ’cause I feel like a lot of times, like as women, we like keep things in until like, yeah. Kind of builds up a little bit and then it’s like you can’t take it anymore.
So, I love that, getting it outside, saying it to a therapist, a friend, and kind of piggybacking off of that. Okay, let’s get into, because I know everyone loves the crazy stories Wedding Hot takes. Let’s get into some different hot takes for weddings. if as we’re kind of talking, you have like any wild wedding stories or wanna share anything, you know, don’t, no pressure to share anything personal if you don’t want to. But, okay. These are hot takes that people sent to me. Here’s what they said. It’s okay to skip traditions that don’t resonate with you, including the white dress.
Paige Connell: Yeah. Why not? My daughter’s daycare teacher just got married and she wore a pink dress, and my daughters are all about it. They’re like, that was beautiful. It was like a baby, like very light, light pink. But they, like a four and 3-year-old are obsessed.
Christa Innis: Yeah. So I love that like old princess dress. I know. I feel like there’s so many things that we do with weddings or whatever it else It is, and we don’t like ask why.
We’re just like, let’s just do it. Yeah. Yeah. It says you don’t owe anyone a plus one, especially if they’ve never met the one. Mm, yeah.
Paige Connell: Yeah. There’s a weird expectation that you have to give people a plus one. And I think, going back to the finances talk from the beginning, it’s like, it’s expensive to have a wedding and I’m paying for your plus one to be here.
And I think depending on what, who’s funding it, right? Like having that understanding, be able to understand, especially if they’re your close friends, like. I can’t give everybody a plus one, and I think that should be okay. I think context matters if you’re inviting. A coworker who knows no one and you give them no plus one.
I actually think that’s probably pretty uncomfortable for them. If you’re inviting your cousin who has 20 other cousins at the wedding, they don’t need a plus one.
Christa Innis: Right? Yeah. Like your 16-year-old cousin that just started dating someone. I think they can come with their parents like that. That’s fine.
Yeah. I find this interesting thing when I post about either, like if I do a skit about plus ones or kids being invited or something like that. People have this, they either are like, yes, I agree. Like no one needs, you don’t owe anyone an invite. Right? The other side of people are like, just say you’re broke if you’re poor, don’t have a wedding.
I’ve had some people say that and I’m like, just because they’re not inviting the whole world and then some, doesn’t mean they don’t have money or they’re broke. There’s just everything’s nuanced. Right? And it’s just like, I don’t know.
Paige Connell: Yeah. It also reminds me of, like, when I talk about childcare, people will say, well, don’t have kids if you can’t afford ’em.
And it’s like, okay, but I am having kids that I can afford. It doesn’t mean that it’s not expensive. people are having weddings that they can afford. It just means they can’t invite your plus one. So it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s very, to me, it’s very like classicist to be, like, to say, you’re broke. It’s like everybody’s having the wedding that they can afford.
That they, they can afford or that’s within their budget. And if you don’t like it, then don’t attend. Right. Then don’t go. But I don’t think we should judge anybody for the scale of their wedding or how many people they can invite or how expensive it is, because at the end of the day, you know, we’re all living in this world and this economy together.
Right. We all have different means. I think it’s a very strange take to have,
find that so.
Christa Innis: Honestly. Yeah. It’s so interesting. Yeah. That’s such a good point too about the kids comment, because you hear that all the time and it’s like. One, it’s like if just because someone has a budget or they’re like, oh, this is expensive, or we can’t afford to do this because blank, it doesn’t mean like they made a poor choice and why are we why are we putting someone down because of their life? And I don’t know.
Paige Connell: Yeah, it’s also a very privileged take, right? Like we’re all like one bad medical disaster or layoff away from struggling financially like most people in this country. And so if you have that perspective, you can understand that some people maybe aren’t prioritizing plus ones at their wedding because they’re saving for a down payment on a house.
And so they’re not broke. They just have different priorities to you, and that’s okay. But I do think it’s a pretty privilege take to have that. Like, just, just say you’re broke side of it.
Christa Innis: It’s so people are, people are funny in the comments about honeymoon stuff or paying like, um, gifting at a wedding.
All these kind of things that are just like, just do what you can afford. People are more happy to have you be there. It’s like, yeah. Very interesting.
Rapid-Fire Wedding Chaos: The “Would You Rather” Edition
Okay. To kind of kick off a little bit more, and before we get to the wedding story, this is rapid fire. This is kinda like just a new little wedding chaos, rapid, rapid fire thing. Okay. Um, would you rather have your childhood nemesis in your bridal party or your partner’s ex sitting front row?
Paige Connell: Partner’s ex.
Christa Innis: Okay. Would you rather have the fire alarms go off during your vows or your mic cut out mid speech?
Paige Connell: Mic.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like that happens at like a lot of the weddings, anyway.
Paige Connell: I was gonna say, I, and I’ve been at a wedding where the fire alarm went off. It wasn’t during the vows, but we had to evacuate for a while.
Christa Innis: Oh gosh. I just heard a story where the fire alarm went off. And they all had to go off into the parking lot and they ended up just like the DJ just played music out there and they like opened up a bar outside.
They’re like, we couldn’t afford wait for hours. And I was like, I love that. I love that turn of events where you just make the best of it.
Paige Connell: It’s memorable. Yeah, exactly.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Everyone will always talk about that wedding. Um, would you rather have your cake be made of styrofoam for display or taste like cardboard?
Paige Connell: Styrofoam.
Christa Innis: Would you rather your hairstylist ghost you or your makeup artist show up two hours late.
Paige Connell: Hairstylist ghost me.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, would you rather accidentally post your private vows on Instagram or text them to your ex? These are wild.
Paige Connell: Instagram. I’ve said worse on Instagram for sure.
Christa Innis: Right. It’s like at this point someone was asking like how I post content and I’m like, once you kind of start, you’re kind of like, we’re all on this floating rock together.
Like once you Yeah. It’s like once you get it out there, you’re like, I don’t care. Like these sting sometimes still, but for the most part, I’m just like, it feels kind of like, I dunno if you’re ever like scrolling, like TikTok, do you feel like we’re just like, all like on a talent show and we’re all just kinda like posting like different things and like it kinda just rolls past you after a while.
The Mother-in-Law Who Turned Two Weddings Into a Battlefield
Okay. Let’s get into this week’s wedding submission. As, as always, um, people just send me different stories to react, to give advice or. I guess it’s kind of, I was gonna say unsolicited, but they sent it so I guess it’s solicited. Um, so yeah, feel free to stop me at any time or we can add little side stories. So let’s see. I have not read it, so let’s see how it goes.
Okay. She says, or they say, so this is a long story. It started when my brother-in-law got married a few months before our wedding. My mother-in-law insisted on paying for the reception. The couple offered to chip in because they wanted to include the bride’s grandparents.
My mother-in-law said it was fine and that she would handle everything. Okay. On the day of the wedding, she was incredibly sweet, thanking everyone for coming. But as soon as the guests, including the couple left and the bill came, she completely flipped out. Mind you, this was a low key reception, a buffet at a buffet style restaurant.
My husband tried to calm her down and even covered, offered to cover the cost for the bride’s grandparents, but she refused and said they were all ungrateful. She had also insisted on paying for the limo the bride took to the church. It was chaotic getting ready that day. There were three limos outside and the drivers were directing us where to go.
We even got into one limo and were told it was the wrong one, so we had to switch. At the time, I had a year and a half old daughter. She wasn’t in the wedding, so my mother-in-law offered to watch her until the ceremony, after the ceremony. Anyway, I’m in the limo with the bridesmaids and the flower girl.
We arrive at the church and there’s my mother-in-law, absolutely fuming. Apparently the limo we rode in was meant for the bride to be fair. The only difference was the color. She had my daughter on her hip and was walking up the steps. When I saw the bride pulling up in the other limo, she practically threw my daughter at me and I tripped trying to catch her so she wouldn’t fall.
My gosh. Okay. Then she walked over to the bride’s limo. Tried to hand her a cross necklace to wear. The bride politely thanked her, but explained she was wearing her late grandmother’s necklace who passed just a few months before. That must have been the last straw. She reached into the window, window of the limo and tried to pull the bride out, screaming and cussing that she didn’t deserve her son.
Oh, wow. Okay. That’s wild. Um, and then like nothing had happened, she walked back to the steps and tried to take my daughter again. I told her absolutely not that I was going to walk down the aisle with her. I had already cleared it with the groom who was in the back of the church sobbing. The bride’s parents asked her to leave, but she said, “You’ll have to call the cops. I’m not leaving without seeing my son get married.”
Imagine saying that, and then demanding to be there for the wedding.
Paige Connell: No, that’s crazy. I mean, well, is that it or is there more?
Christa Innis: There’s more. Okay. It’s already pretty wild. There’s a, yeah, like another page. Okay. Oh gosh. Like it’s, it’s funny, like these stories, like sometimes they seem like out of left field, so I don’t, ’cause you know, you don’t really get like the before. As sometimes you get some of this stuff, but then all of a sudden it’s just like this crazy like day that just like goes wild. Um, okay sure enough, the cops came and escorted her out. That’s wild. Okay. The rest of the wedding was actually beautiful and went off without a hitch.
Paige Connell: Well, that’s good.
Christa Innis: I guess that’s good. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay.
Paige Connell: I’m confused though. Did she pay for the reception and the rehearsal? It must have been the rehearsal dinner. That she was talking about at the beginning. I can’t imagine she’s paying for a reception she’s not attending. But…
Christa Innis: I know, well it said she insisted on paying for the reception, but…
Paige Connell: Maybe that’s the rehearsal dinner. Myabe it’s at the restaurant. I don’t know.
Christa Innis: Yeah, because it sounds like the night before. Yeah, right. Said, oh yeah. So I’m wondering if she meant rehearsal, maybe. Yeah. Because yeah, it was the night before at a restaurant, and then they got a check. Mm-hmm. So, yeah. Yeah. I can’t imagine she’d offer to pay for it now, especially if everything.
Paige Connell: No, sure. She was escorted away by the police then she wasn’t there for the check. Right.
Christa Innis: Yeah, that is wild. Just because they took the wrong limo. I’m so confused of like, there must be another backstory or something that happened.
Paige Connell: I mean, it sounds like she doesn’t like the daughter-in-law and it also sounds like, I don’t know, there’s so many accounts out there that talk about these kind of mothers of son dynamics and mother-in-law dynamics and I think this sounds like someone who, obviously we do not have the context here, but like wanted this wedding day to be about her and what she wanted. Um, I also think the grandparent thing is so strange ’cause it’s like it’s two people. You agree to it. Um, and I think. You. Yes. Like if, if somebody paid for my rehearsal dinner, I would say thank you and be grateful and all the things, but, um, you shouldn’t do it because you wanna parade. Like if you’re offering to do it, and if you’re agreeing to do it, it’s, you know, I don’t, I don’t know what she wants from the bride and groom and they’re obviously preoccupied with everything else and that day’s about them. And so. Even if they are thankful, it doesn’t have to like, I don’t know. I don’t know what that person wanted.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I feel like it’s that common trope of like, they offer to pay for it, but there’s this like invisible string or like, they’re dangling a carrot, you know, to be like, we paid for this, so we get to do this. Or, there’s all these like. If I do this, then I get this and it’s like, that’s not how it works. If it’s a gift, an actual gift, and you wanna help, then treat it as a gift.
Paige Connell: Yeah. There’s no strings attached or control, like you don’t get to control a situation because you financially provided for it.
Christa Innis: Right. Yeah. And I feel like they want like this, like red carpet then rolled out like, oh, that’s, that’s her. She paid for the event, you know? But it’s like, it’s still not gonna be about you. It’s about the bride and groom.
Paige Connell: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Now she says, now my wedding. After all of that, my husband and I decided we were going to elope to Vegas. We asked my parents it. You’re like-
Paige Connell: Get it. I get it. Yeah, I get that. I eloped as well. I get it.
Christa Innis: Okay. Okay. Um, I guess you can. If you wanna share stuff, but um, you can.
Paige Connell: Yeah. Oh no, my family just doesn’t get along and so I figured instead of that whatever is happening here, I don’t think that would’ve happened to me.
But I think, um, I decided instead to elope with my husband in Italy and we had the best time by ourselves. And so, I mean, I get the eloping I actually recommended to everyone. Even if your family is not complicated, because personally to your point earlier, like weddings are expensive. People are never gonna be fully happy with everything that you do.
And I’m a person who, if you are a person who knows that you’re gonna show up at your wedding and be more concerned with everybody else having a good time than having a good time yourself. Don’t have a wedding, and that’s who I am. Like I would be running around being, are you having fun? Are you having fun?
Are you having fun? The host and I wouldn’t be having any fun. And so eloping, I was able to do whatever I wanted, which was great.
Christa Innis: That’s such great advice because I know brides were like, I was a bridesmaid for them and the whole time they’re more concerned about everyone else. They’re doing everything for the other people.
And it’s like, yes, you wanna, you know, care obviously, and you want people to enjoy themselves, but it goes by so quickly. And if you’re there like stressed about everyone else and like, oh, did so and so like their food, or did so and so blah, blah, blah. Then it’s like it loses the whole purpose, I think.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I agree.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, okay, so she says they eloped to Vegas. Um, we asked my parents to watch our daughter and began saving for plane tickets in a hotel we had planned for a two month window. Um, wait, they were going for two months?
Paige Connell: I’m assuming in two months. Like two months from then. Maybe. Maybe. I dunno.
Christa Innis: No, that was, yeah. Sometimes I read as I’m reading these, I’m like not absorbing. I get it the right way. Um, okay. But as life often goes, something unexpected happened. I found out I was pregnant with our second child, no flying for me. So we decided to get married at the courthouse and plan to do a vow renewal in Vegas on our one year anniversary. We wanted to keep it simple and stress free.
So the mother-in-law from the previous story is, is that, that’s gotta be her husband or partner’s mom.
Paige Connell: It’s her husband’s, yeah. Mom. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Okay. So a mom of two sons it sounds like. Who?
Paige Connell: At at least two? Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah, at least two. Yeah. Who might not like the daughter-in-laws? Okay.
His mom insisted he stay at her house the night before, even though we had already been living together for two years. She also insisted I wear her cross necklace, so she’s going through these same like motions. Despite me not being religious, I had found a dress I love on sale just, just $260 for the dress, Petco and veil. I’m not into heels. I even wore flip flops to the previous wedding, but she took me shoe shopping and made me get these blinged out heels instead of the white slipper style shoes I liked that were only $10.
I, I don’t understand. Made me get like, she’s like, poles are up to the front and is like, you’re wearing these on your wedding day. So I’d be like. No.
Paige Connell: Yeah. Yeah. I think, yeah, I get it though. I think some people have a hard time. Like if you’re a, uh, which I sometimes say I’m like a natural people pleaser. I’d have a hard time finding a way to like tactfully say no. Uh, but, I think also like, yeah, sometimes, especially with your own wedding, it’s like, yeah, I’m not wearing those shoes. Thank you though.
Christa Innis: That’s so kind of you.
Paige Connell: It’s kind of you. Um, but I’m gonna politely decline.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, I know. And I’m sure it’s like so complicated seeing how she reacted to the last wedding. So she’s like probably tiptoeing totally to this mother-in-law. Gosh, that’s gotta be a nightmare. Okay. What was supposed to be a short 25 minute ceremony started to feel like a full-blown production.
I was pregnant, emotional, and just wanted to marry my husband, eat a burger, and go home. My parents offered to take us to an Italian restaurant after the ceremony. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but my husband really wanted to go, so I agreed I figured I’d settle for ravioli instead of a burger. They invited his mom, my best friend, who was my witness, and his brother, who was his witness.
The whole time at the restaurant, his mom was making nasty comments to his brother about his wife. Oh my gosh. So she still doesn’t let this all go. I also wonder how between that wedding and this one, how the relationship was, if they were like, you know, we’re gonna keep our distance. Or if we’re like, oh, it didn’t happen to us, we’re just gonna brush it off. Because getting arrested and pulled outta your son’s wedding is a big deal.
Paige Connell: Yeah, totally. Yeah. I don’t know. Uh, there’s a lot of missing pieces here.
Christa Innis: Yeah. He eventually got up and left. Then she started on in on my husband saying he wasn’t sticking up for her. It got super awkward. I finally said, it’s our wedding day. We just wanna celebrate with the people we love. She looked me dead in the face and said, well, now I have no sons. Are you happy now?
Paige Connell: Yeah. I think, I think she’s just a classic example of the, like, boy moms we see on social media, the the ones who are a bit, um. Yeah. Are never gonna be pleased with whoever the other, uh, it’s weird to say the other woman, but the, the wife is, essentially. I think this is a lived experience that many women have and it feels like a no-win scenario. I mean, obviously we don’t know the intricacies here. We dunno what’s going on from this story. It sounds like she feels like she’s like losing quote, unquote losing her sons to their wives, which like. I think that’s what’s supposed to happen. They’re adults. Um, so yeah, that’s complicated for sure.
Christa Innis: Yeah. There’s a, there was a term for, I just had a therapist on last, a couple weeks ago, and there’s a term for it. It’s like. I can’t, no, I don’t wanna butcher it and like say the wrong thing, but Yeah. It’s like, or enmeshment. Enmeshment.
Paige Connell: Yes. Yes.
Christa Innis: And she was like, it’s when they like can’t see their kids as separate people. Mm-hmm. Even when they’re into, they’re adults, they feel like they always own, owe them, or they always are connected in some interesting way that’s not Yeah. Normal. Yeah, not normal, but I guess it’s not.
um, okay. I was shocked in complete disbelief. My husband calmly asked her to speak. To speak with her outside as they were heading out. He told my best friend to grab my coat and purse. We got married in December and bring them to him. She followed and handed them to his mom. Later he told me, he told her her behavior toward me, toward him, toward us was completely unacceptable that she wasn’t going to ruin another wedding day.
He told her we needed a break. There we go. And that she had to accept that her sons had found women they love. She jumped in her car and sped off. We went five months with no contact after that. The root of it all control. She constantly tries to compete with everyone financially, emotionally, and otherwise.
That was nearly 14 years ago and to this day, we still have to take breaks from her.
So they’re not no contact it sounds like, but-
Paige Connell: Maybe low contact. I think some people go like low contact with their parents, where they engage with them when it feels like they can and then otherwise. You know, take space from them. I mean, that’s really hard. I think you hear about these stories a lot of times, and I just dunno that there’s a healthy way to interact with a person who’s going to engage. Even if I felt incredibly wronged by somebody on their wedding day, I would say nothing. No, ma no matter what, my sister, I don’t care. Like, I would say nothing. I’d be like, that’s for another, that’s for my therapist for another day. You know? That’s not for now. I think, um, people who don’t have that capacity, obviously, um, that’s a very different situation and obviously I imagine for their, her sons like so hard to navigate.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I feel like that’s so, that’s gotta be so hard coming in as like a daughter-in-law really excited to like.
Marry this person and having your in-law like hate you just because you’re with her son. Yeah. No other reason. And you really can’t win. I feel like in a situation like that, unless the mom goes to therapy maybe, or like do some social searching or something, I don’t know. Um, that’s just gotta be really challenging.
Paige Connell: I can’t imagine. Yeah. Honestly.
Christa Innis: I’m proud of the, the fiance or the husband because a lot of these stories, you don’t hear them mention the fiance or partner or husband. A lot of times it’s just like their personal story with the mother-in-law or if it is a mother-in-law story or the situation, and we’re always.
Where are they in this story? So I’m really glad that he like put his foot down, was like, this is not okay. Because you don’t always hear that in these stories because-
Paige Connell: It sounds like both of them did, both, both brothers, um, stuck up for their partners and I think that’s really important. You hear that a lot, which is like, I have these awful in-laws and my partner doesn’t do anything about it.
And you know, I think that’s a really difficult situation to be in. So yeah, I think it’s great that both partners, you know, stepped in.
Christa Innis: Yeah, absolutely. Well, that was a wild, wild wedding story. Um, okay. Um, you know, talking, it’s funny that we were talking about eloping and stuff because I, when I share these kinds of stories, people are always like, oh, that’s it.
I’m gonna elope. And I think the important lesson here is like. Know your audience and know what you and your partner want ultimately. Because I think eloping is a great idea. I don’t think everyone should elope, but I think it just do whatever makes sense for you and block out all the noise because it’s so easy to think like, oh, my parents or my sister, or whoever it is, wants this big wedding for us.
And then you do it and you’re like, that’s not what I wanted. And then it’s, yeah. Disappointing.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I think weddings have become this like big, big, I mean, they’ve always been a big thing, but I think now too, in the age of social media, it’s like, what’s the hashtag? What’s this? What’s that? It doesn’t matter at the end of the day.
And I think having a strong partnership is ultimately. The thing that you’re gonna hold onto for the rest of your life is not gonna be that wedding day. I will say I have friends who’ve absolutely loved every single second of their wedding and loved having one and would do it a hundred times more. And I think if you are that person and you think that’s going to be you, you should absolutely do it.
Like do that. And if you’re not, that’s okay. And if it doesn’t end up being the best of your life, that’s okay. Um, and this is not meant to sound, um, flippant, I guess, or I don’t know if that’s the right word, but like, as a wedding guest. I couldn’t tell you what somebody’s bouquet looked like seven, seven days later, let alone seven years later.
I don’t remember, right? I’m here ’cause I love you and I wanna have a good time and I’m gonna dance and I’m probably gonna cry at your vows, but I, you know, I don’t, no one else is nearly as invested as you are. And I tell my friends all the time, like when I’m a bridesmaid, I’m like, don’t worry about my pictures.
You’re never gonna look at ’em again. You’re really not like, you’re never gonna look at this picture of you and I in my bridesmaids dress again, you’re only gonna look at pictures of you and your husband and maybe your family. Yeah. Um, and that’s just the truth. Like at the end of the day, we’re doing it for us and our partner and there’s so much that goes into it that we stress about, and it’s like, no one else is gonna remember this a week from now.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Paige Connell: You know? So don’t kill yourself. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I know. It’s like you hear people getting stressed over like. I mean like the favor being, uh, oh my gosh. I was in a wedding once where they were stressed about the way the favor was on the, on the plate, and I was like, no one’s gonna notice. Let’s not stress about that.
It’s okay.
Paige Connell: And they never know. Like, I didn’t know what it was supposed to be, so I don’t know that it’s wrong. Exactly. You know, like you’re the only one who knows. And here’s the thing, if, if a vendor has royally messed up and you’re paying a lot of money for it, like you should care. Um, but in the sense that you should try and get your money back, not in the sense that like anybody else cares.
Christa Innis: No, absolutely. I would say it was kind of a blessing. Like my husband and I, all our, like good friends got married before us. We were like one of the last ones. And it’ll allow us to see over the years, like what we liked, what we didn’t like, and learn from brides too. Like being like, oh, like I didn’t, I wasted money on this, or I really wish I would’ve done this, or, um, I caved and did this when I really sh you know, whatever that was.
Yeah. And I feel like we chopped off a bunch of people too that like. They wouldn’t have cared to be there or not. And so I feel like you can, we can learn a lot from, from observing, I guess. Um, yeah. Okay. I like to just end these with, uh, some confessions. People send me their crazy confessions in Instagram.
Um, this one says, um, my fiance wants me to remember the good times with the in-laws, and I just don’t think I can. So that sounds like a. Yeah, maybe a bad relationship where-
Paige Connell: Maybe with the in-laws. Yeah. I mean, I think like you can’t, you can’t ask somebody to do something that they don’t have the capacity to do. So it is what it is.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That sounds like to me, without like assuming too much, it just sounds like the son’s probably put in the middle of like the in-laws. His wife not getting along and he doesn’t want to like, cause a barrier or say no, you know, and so he is just like, just think of the good times. So, that’s hard.
Um, my sisters were so much drama at my wedding then got mad when I didn’t want to be at theirs. Oh.
Paige Connell: That’s, that’s hard.
Christa Innis: That, yeah. That’s tough. Um, last one says I have to invite someone I hate because she’s the wife of my, of my fiance’s best friend.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I think you do have to invite her kind of, Ooh, I don’t know, it’s tricky. I would say if something has actually transpired between the two of you and she is a person who’s caused you harm. You don’t need to, and like your partner should be the one to have that conversation with his best friend. If you just, just like don’t like her, like you just don’t vibe, you don’t like her energy or like just who she is as a person, I think that’s slightly different.
Um, if somebody’s caused you direct harm, it been unkind to you, you shouldn’t have to have them at your wedding. If it’s just that you just don’t like them. Like, I don’t know. I think we can, you are not gonna pay attention. You’re not gonna notice her. Again, going back to the, like, if you have a hundred people at your wedding and you hate one of them for no real reason, and I’m not saying you do, but if, if that’s what it is and it’s like, just don’t pay attention to her. Like just ignore her. It’s you. You don’t have to interact. There’s enough people there to buffer that. It doesn’t have to impact your day.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, that’s, that’s a really good point. And I wanna say, I’ll try to say it so it’s not like too obvious, but I have to say something similar happened at our wedding. I wouldn’t say hate, of course, I don’t hate anybody but someone in our wedding that’s like really close with my husband started dating someone. I knew from my childhood that was just like, like kinda like a bully, not like a nice person. Yeah.
Paige Connell: Yeah.
Christa Innis: And when I found, like, I was like, oh, we have to give him a plus one. I know he’s gonna bring her. And it was just kinda uncomfortable, awkward, not nice person, but I just like put my feelings aside with it and it ended up being fine. Like, it ended up being fine. Totally fine. She was awesome. And I feel like it was just me kind of holding onto some like childhood thing of like, okay, I don’t know how this is gonna go.
And it was fine. So, I don’t know, I, I don’t, not saying recommend to like all of a sudden like, let it go. ’cause we don’t know what happened with these people, but just Right. Totally.
Um, well thank you so much for coming on. I feel like we kind of jumped all over the place because I’m like, oh, like let’s talk weddings and, um, mental load. But I feel like there’s so many important conversations to have and I was just telling someone, like I started by just sharing like, you know, wedding stories on here. ’cause that’s what I do on my, in my content. But I feel like it’s so much more complicated than just wedding. There’s relationships, there’s um, you know, new, you know, new relationships, dynamics, that kind of thing.
And it all ties into so much more. So thank you for coming on.
Paige Connell: Thanks for having me.
Christa Innis: Can you again just tell everybody where they can follow you, what kind of content you share, and anything interesting or fun you’re working on?
Paige Connell: Yeah, sure. I share content on modern marriage and motherhood and what that looks like in relation to gender equity, and you can follow me on pretty much every social media platform at, she’s a page turner.
I also have a website. She’s a page turner.com, a substack, all the things, and so. You know, if you Google it, you’ll find me.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Well, thank you so much. It was awesome chatting with you.
Paige Connell: Thank you.
Stories from the Vault: My In-Laws Hijacked My Wedding!” (+ Bonus Teaser!)
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Ever wonder what happens when a mother of the groom tries to hijack her son’s holiday plans?
Grab your wine, because this episode is a rollercoaster of family drama and jaw-dropping holiday chaos. Christa shares part 1 of Here Comes The Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story, diving into Kate’s controlling ways and Ferris’ careful navigation to protect his relationship with Sloan. From Thanksgiving meltdowns to snow-covered windows, emotions flare, boundaries are tested, and secrets threaten to spill.
Stick around for the jaw-dropper: a carefully planned vacation turns into a perfect surprise. Will mom ruin it or finally learn to step back? Listen in and experience holiday drama like never before.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Podcast Review and Announcements
02:37 Patreon Episode Introduction
03:51 Mother of the Groom Files: Hot Takes
09:56 Confessions and 9-1-1 Advice
17:51 Stories from the Vault
27:44 Mother-in-Law Takes Over the Wedding
28:51 Family Drama Unfolds
29:42 A Wedding Without Approval
31:36 The Photographer Leaves
32:21 A Punch at the Wedding
32:56 Reflecting on Family Boundaries
34:10 Patreon and Future Plans
35:56 Audiobook Preview: Family Tensions
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Birthday Special Announcement – Christa shares it’s her birthday and gives listeners a bonus look at a Patreon episode.
- Podcast & Book Updates – Highlights the audiobook release and exclusive author’s note for fans.
- Fiancé’s Silence – The groom-to-be stays surprisingly calm, brushing off the friend’s toxic behavior.
- Family Dynamics – Relatives get involved, adding fuel to the fire and complicating emotions.
- Mother of the Groom Chaos – Kate panics over Ferris and Sloan’s Christmas vacation, creating tension.
- Holiday Meltdown – Thanksgiving turns dramatic with red wine stains, snow, and heightened emotions.
- Ferris’ Firm Stand – Ferris sets boundaries with his mom while remaining respectful, protecting his relationship.
- Subtle Support from Ted – Dad quietly navigates the drama, encouraging Ferris without escalating tension.
- Vacation Planning Drama – Kate tries to insert herself into the couple’s plans despite their wishes.
- Surprise Proposal Tease – Ferris plans a proposal, creating a cliffhanger moment that leaves everyone on edge.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Ever wonder what happens when a mother hijacks her son’s holidays? Buckle up.” – Christa Innis
- “There’s nothing like a little wine, snow, and family tension to spice up Thanksgiving.” – Christa Innis
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Blog Transcript:
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Christa Innis: Hey guys, welcome to this episode of Here Comes The Drama. I’m your host, Krista Ennis, and it’s actually my birthday today. and so I wanted to do something special for this birthday episode, and that is share one of my all time favorite Patreon episodes. Called the mother of the groom files. You guys are always asking me to share more stories and more content, and this was a wild episode with a wild story, so I thought I would give back to you guys this week.
But first, just a couple of fun announcements. We’re gonna start with a podcast review. This is from Monica. Daniel, it says, I don’t ever listen to podcasts, but when I saw your Facebook post that you started, one, I had to start. Your skits are like crack. You want more and more and more. LOL. Thank you so much for the kind review.
If you guys are loving the podcast, please help me out by leaving a review on iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen. It just really helps the show get out to more people. Now one more extra bonus for this week is in case you missed it, my new book Here Comes The Drama is now officially an audio book, and I’m so, so excited.
I’ve talked about the process before, but I, worked directly with Tan Tour Media and I was able to listen to actual auditions from voice artists and Shiloh James just had the amazing voice. That I thought would fit so well with these characters. and so it’s now officially out. There’s also an exclusive author’s note that I was able to record myself and the little behind the scenes, note at the very end.
So as a little bonus to you guys, stick around at the very end of the episode, and I’m going to include a. First look at the book. You’re gonna get chapter one, directly to you so you can enjoy that. as a little bonus there. I don’t know how many times I just said bonus you guys. Side note. August has just been a wild month already.
I can hardly keep up. I can’t believe it’s already, by the time you guys listen to this, it’ll be almost over and I’m just like trying to catch up. I feel like if anyone else is feeling that way, I’m right there with you. anyways, I wanna remind you guys that I’m doing a big YouTube giveaway. This is actually the last week to enter.
you got a few more days left actually. so for my birthday month I did a YouTube giveaway. All you have to do is subscribe to my channel and then comment entered on my video, and we will link that in the show notes so you can easily find it at the bottom. we are doing a $75 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of my book for the grand prize winner.
And then every single week we’ve been picking winners for some smaller prizes as well. just a way to say thank you for all you guys that listen and follow on YouTube. Alright, so like I said, we are going to, Give you a special look at a Patreon episode. This was my all time favorite one, the mother of the groom files.
Mother of the Groom Chaos
This was a wild episode where I read, oh gosh, we do some hot takes and I gave you my takes on these mother of groom situations that were sent to me. a mother of the groom, 9 1 1 advice call. So someone sent me in something that happened to them and they’re trying to deal with the. Situation. And then I read a couple of stories and one is probably top 10 wildest mother of the groom stories I’ve ever read.
So we’re gonna go ahead and play that whole episode for you and I hope you guys enjoy it. And don’t forget to stick around to the very end of the episode for the first chapter of, here Comes the Drama.
Hey guys. Welcome back to another exclusive episode of, here Comes The Drama After Dark, just for my amazing wedding party, my Patreon members. I’m so grateful and happy that you’re here with me. First things first, if my voice sounds a little scratchy or I’m sniffling, I apologize in advance. I swear it’s allergies.
I’m not sick. I swear every time I step outside, I’m sneezing like four or five times. Just that time of year, you never know what you’re gonna get. And apparently this year the allergies are crazy to me. So I’m gonna try my best to not sneeze while recording. And we’re just gonna have some fun today. so last month we focused all around mothers of the bride.
Today we’re gonna go to the other mom at the altar, and that is gonna be the mother of the groom. And as I start this episode, I wanna remind you guys. That it’s not all moms. Okay. I still get messages from people that are like, you focus so much on moms all the time. We’re not all bad. And believe me, I know this.
I talk about it time and time again that my own mom and my mother-in-law are amazing. They are not like this. I honestly, until I started really making this content, I didn’t realize people dealt with this. of course I’ve heard and seen things over the years. But some of these stories are just so shocking to me that people can act this way, during a wedding.
So I know it’s not all moms. But there are some really crazy ones out there. So, that’s what we’re gonna focus on today. here’s what we got going on. Of course, I’d like to switch it up every single month just to make things a little interesting and, feeling a little more exclusive and special for you guys.
So first things first, we’ve got some Hot Takes Mother of the Groom Edition, confessions in Chaos. So. Reading some confessions that you guys sent me that actually happened to you and then that’s gonna turn into a 9 1 1. Someone has a little dilemma going on and they would like some advice. And then last, but certainly not least, of course it’s not least because you guys love it the best.
It’s the stories from the vault. today I’ve got two crazy ones and of course I’ve not read them, we got some good ones for you. But I’ll react, along with you. So let’s get started. let’s go right into the hot takes. All right, The mother of the groom should have a special role, but it doesn’t need to mirror the mother of the brides.
This is gonna depend in a relationship with each of them. I mean, I do think. In all the weddings I’ve been a part of, I should say most of them, they had a unique role. but a lot of times both moms were there doing everything together, or just being a part of, the bride getting ready.
Right. I. so of course you’re gonna have your special moment with your own mom versus your partner’s mom, but I really feel like they have similar roles because it’s both their kids’ weddings. I’m very anti, it’s the bride and groom’s day, or. The bride and bride’s day. The groom and groom’s day.
it’s the couple’s day. Right. So I feel like it’s really important that depending on your relationship, whoever wants to be involved is involved the same way we’re not leaving anybody out. Of course, that’s, again, depending on how your relationship is. okay. Two. It’s okay if the mother of the groom doesn’t help with the planning.
Support. Doesn’t always mean involvement 100%. I think sometimes I see stories where the bride gets so mad at the mother of the groom for not being involved, but. They don’t have to be, and that’s not necessarily their wheelhouse. there was one I read not that long ago where the bride was mad because she gave a task to the mother of the groom and it was basically to book the Airbnb for their wedding event and it was gonna be hosted in the backyard or something.
she kept saying like, oh, she was taking so long to do it. And by the time, know, it was getting closer and closer, all the ones that I had really liked were booked. And I was like. If I were the bride, I would never just put that in the hands of someone else. And I don’t blame the mother of groom for that because she might have never had this kind of responsibility before.
She might not be into planning and then this was just kind of put on her lap. Maybe she’s never booked an Airbnb. so when it comes to things like that, I don’t think it’s up to the mother of the groom to want to be involved. She can support you guys in other ways and I think that’s perfectly okay. number three, mother-in-laws giving input on the guest list should only happen early, not the month before invitations go out.
So they could give input or tips anytime, I’m sure, again, depending on your relationship. But yeah, we are not asking for. And like guest list a month before, that’s just too much. there was another mother-in-law story where they asked her way in advance to send a guest list and she kept refusing because she didn’t like that they were only gonna invite 100 people.
So she kept pushing back and saying like, no, I’m not sending you a list. I’m not sending you a list. then they went the extra mile and were looking in heraddress book to get. Her friend’s addresses to send an invite and I’m just like, if it’s gonna be that difficult, why even try? yes. I think everybody, if you’re gonna have your parents’ friends be invited, reach out to them early enough, give them a deadline and be very clear.
okay. I’m gonna do a couple more ‘ we’ve got a long story for you guys and I don’t want, it to be like a two hour episode. I’m sure you guys wouldn’t complain, but Okay. A neutral colored dress is totally fine as long as it’s cleared with the couple first. Uh, it’s so hard because some of these things are gonna be really individual.
Some people might be like, no, absolutely not. For me personally, I think neutral is totally fine. what’s wrong with neutral colored? Yes, maybe avoid white. but I think you can do other neutral colors in general. I think if you’re not sure, ask the bride groom, but. I would never assume that white is okay.
Right.
Number five, it’s not rude to set boundaries with your future mother-in-law. It’s healthy. That goes with for anybody, even people that you have a great relationship with. Boundaries are so good, I think so many times we think boundaries are a way of like shutting people out or being mean, especially if you’re a people pleaser.
It’s not like boundaries can be like, I turn my phone off at 7:00 PM and I spend time with just my family right here. I don’t answer the phone even for my best friend, my boss, whoever it is. And I think that’s so important because so many times, like we think we can be at everyone’s beck and call and that we’re gonna be mean if we say no or don’t answer.
But no, you gotta have boundaries. Last one. The best thing a mother of the groom can ask is, how can I support you instead of assuming what’s helpful. Yeah, I think that’s great. If you are in a wedding, if you are a mother of the groom, if you are the mother of the bride, if you’re a father, like whatever your relationship is to them, how can I support you is a great way.
Instead of just jumping in and saying, I’m taking this task from you because nobody likes that. Okay. Next section. We are gonna do some confessions. I have a couple of confessions here that people sent me, and then the last one’s gonna be more of like a 9 1 1. What do I do in this situation? Okay, first one, mother-in-law told my son she could help him come up with an escape plan.
What if the day of he gets cold feet? So I’m guessing the son then told his partner. It was like, my mom told me this. That’s insane. That’s insane. we wanna encourage the couple. I mean, unless it’s completely toxic and, it’s a bad relationship, which even then, like you gotta make sure like you really are protecting your son.
Otherwise, I’m not saying anything. I said this a while back in an episode. This girl was talking about her whole family didn’t like the partner of her brother. Right? And they wanted to say something so bad. And I was like, you can’t, you can’t say something if you just don’t like somebody, because if something blows up, it’s gonna go back into your face, right?
If you say like, oh, I don’t like her, she’s not right for you. It’s gonna come back to bite you. It’s better to just be supportive. of course if there’s certain things that they say that’s going to, that are just like, down or rude, put you down, that kind of thing. But if it’s just like, I don’t like them because of the way they talk, I don’t like them because they don’t seem right for you.
I’m just protecting you. Like, no, we don’t need to say that. Okay. Two. My bridal shower, my mother-in-law gave me a cookbook and said, you’ll need this more than anyone. No. Okay. As someone that I am very insecure with my cooking. Like I enjoy doing it when there’s no pressure. I like cooking for my family, but I feel like I’m surrounded by so many cooks that are like really good at what they do, that I’m just like, I just second guess everything.
that’d be a little insulting. my husband and I buy cookbooks all the time ’cause we like try new recipes and stuff. But to specifically say to someone, ’cause you need this more than anybody. That’s just a, we call that a backhanded compliment. Actually, I’m not, that’s not even a compliment.
That’s just backhanded. okay. My mother-in-law kept calling it her son’s wedding and didn’t mention my name once in the entire engagement announcement. Ooh, okay. I catch myself when I’m like talking about someone’s story or reading someone’s story, I’ll say like, bride this, and I’m like, no, I need to stop doing that.
The couple’s day, the couple’s wedding, it’s so ingrained in us to talk a certain way. Right. But I feel like society says like it’s the bride’s day. So when you say it’s like your son’s day and your leaving out his partner, that’s intentional, right? Yeah, that’s pretty hard. I had someone on my podcast, Janelle Riedel, was on my podcast a couple weeks back, and she, well, by the time this comes out, it’ll be probably like two months back.
But, she had a very similar story sent to her where there was a, birth announcement. So this woman was saying her and her partner, her and her husband decided they did not want their babies. Face put anywhere, like on social media or anything like that, they made this very clear to the parents.
They go to the parents’ house to go visit them when the baby was like a newborn and sitting right on the table, there was a newspaper clipping where they had a birth announcement. The grandparents put in a birth announcement in the newspaper. Not once did they mention the daughter-in-law’s name. It was just proud grandparents of said the baby’s name and then said their son’s name.
That was it. So that is intentional, you are purposely leaving someone out when it took two people to make that baby. So I don’t know. that’s making a statement for sure. Okay.
Here is the 9 1 1 confession. she’s kind of more of like asking for help. Right. Okay. My mother-in-law just told me she bought a white dress to wear to our wedding because it’s the only color she looks good in.
Okay. I’ve gotten similar ones before. Okay. I told her I wasn’t comfortable with that and she said I was being territorial should be honored that she’s making an effort at all. My fiance is trying to stay neutral. The wedding is in three weeks. What do I do? Okay, first things first. I’m only talking about this general situation right here because I don’t people coming back and being like, oh my gosh, I can’t believe you care about people wearing white at your wedding.
I personally, I wouldn’t care again. It depends on the relationship because if you already have a rocky relationship and someone’s like, I’m wearing white to your wedding, I’m getting a full gown. Again, back to the intentional. It’s intentional they want you to feel a certain way, right? So my guess is if she says, oh, I only look good in white, so I’m wearing a white dress to your wedding, it’s because there’s already some kind of rift there, right?
First things first, the fiance staying neutral is not okay. He needs to make a choice of who he’s backing up. if he’s choosing to marry you, should be backing you up, right? He needs to be the one to, communicate to his mother that this is not appropriate or okay. Now again, I’m speaking for this couple because she has made it clear she is not okay with it.
If you’re okay with white at your wedding, this is not. Relating to you, right? So he needs to be the one to communicate to his mom, Hey Sophie, whatever her name is, has said she’s not okay with it. And I would actually rather her be the only one in white as well, really make it more what he thinks and be that bridge, right?
Because if he’s trying to stay neutral. It’s gonna make them bash even more, right? Because they’re both gonna try to get him on their side. So he needs to make a clear standing point. Being the wedding is only in three weeks, so she’s gonna try to like push back and push back and say like, oh, well there’s no time to get a new dress.
Oh, I can’s, the only dress I have. There’s time. There’s time. you’ve made it very clear that you’re not comfortable with it, so. All you can do is communicate and you need to let your partner know that he needs to communicate to her. that being said, if she still chooses to show up that day in a white dress, you can.
There’s different things you can do. Talk to your vendors ahead of time, maybe your photographer and say like, Hey, my mother-in-law has told me he’s gonna wear a white dress. What do we do? They might be able to situate her. I mean, it’s hard because she’s the mom, so she’s gonna be in the front pictures.
They might be able to like move her. So someone’s like standing in front of her. I know this happened in one of the stories sent to me. She said the photographer worked with her and like, it was like an aunt though, and they put someone directly in front of her. So you couldn’t really tell. and then you have to decide how important it is to you and it’s hard.
This is where you are like, you know what? We’ve dealt with so much with her already. This is it for me. I’m done. I’m done dealing with it. Then you have to make that decision and tell your partner and try to get him on the same page. If this is one little blip in the day and there’s been no other issues, Just let it go. Everyone’s gonna know you’re the bride and everyone’s gonna look at her and be like, that’s ridiculous. So you kinda have to decide and make a decision on your own and with your partner to be like, how big of a deal do we wanna make this? Not saying you’re the one making a big deal, but like, do you wanna escalate it or just drop it?
Okay. So you guys listening at home,
what would you do? Let her wear it. And again, she would outshine nobody. Right? Would you ban her from photos? Would you ask the photographer to gray scale her dress or like move her somehow or politely ask her to sit the wedding out. These are like four different, complete different things. Me, if I were in her situation where you already communicated and it was an issue.
I think I would just let her wear it, not I wouldn’t shine anybody. And then I would probably be like, okay, photographer, what can we do here? And then I would just like not worry about it. But again, I’m not in that situation. It’s very hard when you already have like a bad relationship. Right. Okay, here we go.
lemme get a drink of my energy drink here. It’s just to warm up my vocals because. I’m telling you guys, these allergies are just like making my throat scratchy.
Hijacked Wedding Family of the Groom’s Control
Okay, here we go. Mother of the groom confessions. These are stories from the vault. So someone sent me these stories, okay? It’s finally my turn to share.
My husband and I had a set wedding date that was really meaningful to us, it also worked well with one of our closest friend’s work schedules. His mom had found a venue she thought would be perfect, but it wasn’t available on the date we’d chosen. She asked me what I thought about it, and if we’d consider switching dates.
I told her it was a beautiful venue, but I wanted to keep looking. We really wanted that specific date and I was also considering something outdoors. Then I went to work. When I got home, my husband was buzzing with excitement saying how thrilled he was that we had a venue and locked in our date. What? I was totally confused.
Turns out my mother-in-law had gone ahead and booked the venue anyway without waiting for our answer, just assuming she knew best. You are kidding me. Okay. I take back everything I said about reading crazy stories. This is the craziest mother of the groom story I’ve ever read. Why would you take that into your own hands?
And then I’m also wondering, I know that’s probably gonna come up, but I’m also wondering why the fiance heard it from his mom and was like, okay, this is awesome. This is cool. Wouldn’t he go to his like fiance first and be like, Hey, this is weird. Did you talk to my mom? But he’s like excited for it. Come on.
Okay, because we had agreed that his family would be covering the costs for the venue, I felt cornered. I ended up going along with a change and just tried to make it work. No. Oh my gosh. I feel terrible for her because here’s the thing, like, oh, I feel so bad for her because it’s like the husband comes in or partner comes in he’s like.
Oh, this is so great. We got this venue. So then she sees his excitement after already talking to the mom, the mother-in-law, and now she feels like she has to say yes because they’re paying for the venue. in reality she already told the mom like, no, I’m gonna keep looking. And she was like, you know what?
Screw you. I’m gonna do what I want anyways. no, it’s not your wedding. Oh my gosh. A few weeks later, I was talking about wedding dress in SPO during a family dinner with his side of the family. That’s when my father-in-law decided it was his job to take charge of my wedding dress, even though my family was paying for it.
Okay. In general, it’s weird that the family thinks that they have control over her wedding dress, but the father-in-law. I wouldn’t trust my own father to pick out my wedding dress. I wouldn’t trust my husband to pick out my wedding dress and he is got great style, but so it’s nothing against that. It’s just that’s such a personal, personal thing.
Oh my gosh. He insisted I buy it on Amazon to save money. But I had no problem spending $900 plus on my husband’s suit. That seems like a lot of money. We spent, gosh, I think under 300 from my husband’s suit. this isn’t sponsored or anything, but we used Modern Groom and it was like so easy. They sent it to us at home.
My husband and I are very like, let’s check the boxes. Like we. I don’t need to go somewhere and see 10 suits and see which one looks best. We pretty much were like, let’s look at them online and do it like, I don’t know. I know everybody’s different. That was just us, $900 plus for a suit, but he wanted her to order her dress on Amazon.
I politely told him I’d figure the dress out with my mom. He went ahead and ordered several dresses anyway was furious when I told him I’d already made a decision with my mom. Ew, I’m sorry. That is gross behavior. They are to completely like pulling her out of her own wedding situation. I need to talk to this person and get her on the podcast because this is like what?
That moment pretty much set the tone for the rest of the wedding planning. Tense. Okay. So again, where’s the fiance in all this? Why is he not backing her up and be like, dad, that’s fricking weird. Why are you ordering wedding dresses for my fiance on Amazon? What? he should be standing in here saying like, no, this isn’t okay.
I’m getting heated guys. Okay. My mother-in-law wanted to plan every little detail. She constantly reminded me that I hadn’t been married before, almost as if it was her way of justifying why she needed to take over. Oh, I’m so mad for her. Any bride, I mean I should say, majority of brides haven’t been through that before, and even if they’ve been married before.
Typically I see like they do a different style, like they do something different. Right. But it’s like even if she had been married before, I feel like this mother-in-law would’ve come in and been like, no, we need to do it my way. Like, why is that any constellation to be able to go in? She’s probably been married 30 years, so things have changed a lot since she got married.
So she’s trying to like redo her wedding through her son and daughter-in-law. It’s like, no, no, no, no. She kept pushing for her daughter, my sister-in-law, who I’m not close with to be one of the bridesmaids. Apparently she wasn’t a bridesmaid in her other sister-in-law’s wedding five years ago, and my mother-in-law wanted to fix that.
Oh my gosh. This family, I explained kindly that I had a specific vision and that anyone who wanted to wear a specific color to the wedding was welcome to wear dark green, but it wasn’t required. Later I got a message from my sister-in-law, double checking the color she’d been told by my mother-in-law, and it was the exact color of my bridesmaid dresses.
Why am I not surprised? Oh my gosh. I talked to her directly. She was super understanding, and from then on she came to me to confirm details. Oh my gosh. This mom was just like, Nope, it’s my wedding. Now I’m gonna do what I want. But the craziest thing, it happened a couple months before the wedding when we were sending out invites.
I had a few friends come over to help address envelopes and had previously asked my mother-in-law for all of her addresses the day of, she told me to just drop off the invites and send them out herself. No, I’m calling it now. I dunno what’s gonna happen. Do not do that. Do not do that. Someone that’s already ignoring your every wish.
your, every vision for the wedding is not gonna follow through with that simple task. No. Okay. I don’t like the next sentence. I was rushing to work, so I dropped them off and said I’d come pick up whatever was left later. No, But Why do we need the mother-in-law to send them out herself if they’re already labeled and everything?
Ugh. Biggest mistake she says. After she mailed the invitations, she casually mentioned we might need to do a reprint. I was confused. I had like 59 extras. Why would we need more later that week? While checking over the shared guest list spreadsheet, which I finalized eight months ago and shared with both sets of parents and my husband, I found the issue.
She sent out over 100 extra invitations about a month and a half before the wedding. My like planner self is getting so bent outta shape right now. This is not, oh my gosh. We need like a mean bridesmaid for every one of these nice brides because this is not okay. And again, where is the husband? Where is the fiance?
Also you don’t need to share. Your guest list with everyone. I had no reason to be like protective of my stuff, but like I don’t need to send my guest list to every single person, so just my husband and I had it like, why does everyone need to see every single person? We reached out to all the parents and they sent us their list, and I took care of everything else.
Again, if someone’s already showing you not to trust them, don’t trust them with a new and important task. Okay. She says, my family was providing the food, so I was beyond frustrated. I had always said they could invite as many people as they wanted, but it needed to be finalized months in advance. I asked my husband if he recognized the names he didn’t or were they distant cousins?
He had specifically said didn’t want there, or they were distant cousins that he specifically said he didn’t want there. the worst part, because the invites were already sent, I had no way to contact these people and uninvite them. I’m exhausted. I am exhausted for this bride. I cannot believe that this happened.
I am so sorry. couple more things that happened behind my back too. She tried to gather baby photos of me, even though I specifically said I did not want a slideshow or a wedding video. She tried to invite her own guest list to a bridal shower that was being hosted by my aunt. Why am I not surprised?
She did a hundred extra people to the wedding? I didn’t know what happened with this. Okay, let’s see. Then came the wedding day. People showed up late. Two of my husband’s groomsmen arrived an hour and a half after they were supposed to, and 30 minutes after the ceremony was scheduled to start. What? Oh my gosh.
People need to be reminded a hundred times. Some people need to be reminded a hundred times. Luckily we have no one late for our wedding, but I hear it happen all the time. we asked everyone to arrive an hour early for photos. Even my in-laws showed up 30 minutes late, adding to the chaos.
Luckily, once the ceremony started, everything turned out beautifully, but the lead up absolute hell. I need to know how this ended. I need to reach out to her and ask her what? The heck happened after this. Like, what is going on here? Because this is literally insane. The fact that a hundred x people were invited.
I need to know, like, did you need a bigger venue, a bigger room? How much was the cost, like. It was probably one of those where she was like, the mother-in-law was like, we’re paying for it. So if I wanna invite more people, I can. It’s my party now. that’s where I’m like, don’t accept money from people.
They’re gonna hold strings over your head and dangle it like a carrot. Right. if people want to help as a gift and you respect them and they respect you, then yes, let’s do it. If they wanna help, that’s great. If you already have a weird relationship, if they’re trying to control things, no, we’re not gonna ask for that.
We’re not gonna accept the help. again, where’s the fiance? Where’s the fiance in all of this? And why is he just on the Back burner or behind the scenes when his mom’s taking the lead. your wedding was hijacked. They, they took it from you. And I feel like those are the kind of weddings where people are most unhappy when they look back.
I’m glad she’s able to say, you know what? Everything turned out beautifully. Maybe it’s just me, but I would not be so, I wouldn’t be so like, cheerful about that. I’d be like, you know what, this was my, time to do my thing and it was taken from me, so I dunno. Oh my gosh. I feel like my blood pressure is up from that story.
A Wedding Day Gone Off the Rails
All right, I got one more short, one short-ish, so let’s get into it. All right. We almost canceled the wedding.
Everyone in our families was horrible to us. My mom made a huge deal about my dad coming with his wife. They’ve been married for 10 years. My mother-in-law was against the whole thing because in her view, you’re supposed to date for exactly five years first and already have bought a house. Oh my gosh.
Where people come up with these things. Some people get married after six months. Some people get married after six years. Some people get married for 20 years some people already have kids first. Like, why does it matter to you? If two people decide together, Hey, let’s get married. Just let them, oh my gosh.
I can’t imagine being so like stuck in my ways. We were 33 and 36 and we didn’t see the need to wait. I. She didn’t approve of my red inexpensive wedding shoes or my pre-ordered dress from Ali Express. She didn’t like that. My venue only held 100 people, that we invited only close friends and immediate family, and that her cousins weren’t invited, that we didn’t have a formal dinner, and that we skipped a dance floor altogether.
What that sounds like to me is that it’s just two people that were right to get married and knew exactly what they wanted, and I think that’s amazing. All weddings don’t have to be the same. All weddings don’t have to have a dance floor or an open bar or a formal dinner. Do what makes sense for you if you just wanna party and have some cake, invite your favorite people more power to you.
I don’t get why. I bet people get so like uptight about it. We hosted a five hour gathering with an open bar and buffet full of food. What more could you ask for? You got a full buffet of food and you got an open bar. I mean, that would make me happy. you don’t really need much else. Right. She even hated that.
My husband made my wedding bouquet himself. He crafted it as a final gift. I think that’s amazing. Wow. I received before walking down the aisle. He made it as a gift. I received walk before walking down the aisle. One of his close friends handed it to me right before I entered. love that. I’ve never heard of that before.
I actually laughed the whole way down the aisle because my mom didn’t make it to the church on time. Where is this Poor girl’s family. My mother-in-law shushed me for laughing. She had already screamed at my husband the night before. My mom wasn’t at the church because she wasn’t ready. Oh my gosh. I had gone to her house to have my makeup and hair done, but I was left alone while she and my younger sister disappeared to another part of the house to get themselves ready.
My older sister stayed with me for a bit, even though she was pregnant with twins. She eventually left for the church. Oh my gosh. I just don’t understand. People just can’t be there for someone else let them shine on their day. It’s so disappointing to hear these stories where they’re like, yeah, I was alone, or My mom didn’t come, or My maid of honor was late, or The groomsman never showed up.
It’s like, come on. It’s not that hard. Be on time or be where you need to be for people that you really care about. It was so sad that even the photographer left quietly without saying anything. I was ready to go, but my mom still wasn’t, and she told me to wait because she needed more time.
I said, not my problem, and left. She arrived 15 minutes later. Okay. That’s crazy that the photographer left really though. ’cause that has a contract tied to it. You shouldn’t just leave your photographer. My mother-in-law invited her cousins to the church anyway. One of my husband’s female cousins wore a white dress another white dress debacle.
I went out to the terrace with one of my best friends for a cigarette, one of my husband’s other cousins followed me to see what I was doing and didn’t leave until I did. Weird. Later. One of my husband’s brothers told me that now I was a part of the family. He hated me and then punched my sister’s husband in the face.
What? Okay, this is weird. So there’s family drama, and with all of that, I was still so happy. I honestly didn’t care, but I cut them all off after that. I don’t know how people move forward after these crazy events take place. I could not stand to be like at a holiday with someone that treated my family like that.
Sounds like she cut them off, but like that’s hard ’cause it’s your husband’s family and if you have kids together or if you move, or all these other big life events like. Where’s the family now? so that’s terrible. I’m props to you for having good boundaries and all that, but gosh, both these stories are wild, wild, wild.
You guys know, we have a lot of mother-in-law stories, and again, not all mothers, but these stories right here, were sent by two different, couples. We get a lot of them just because I think a lot of brides follow me, but I do my best to go through different quote unquote problem. People, right. So, we just get a lot of mother of the groom stories, but I promise you there are crazy stories about every member I’ve seen.
Oh my gosh. I think I need get my blood pressure checked. That’s that first story was wild, you guys. Oh my gosh. Okay. Well that was a wild ride. Thank you guys for listening and being a part of my wedding party Patreon. It means so much to me that you guys are here. and take the time to hang out with me here.
a lot of fun to put these episodes together because I kind of feel like it’s. Off the hook. I don’t know. I put a lot of planning behind it, but it’s just different than the regular episodes. So it’s fun to do these little bonus ones. If you guys love this episode, please do me a huge favor and tell one friend about this Patreon.
Share it on social media, share it with a friend in a text message, whatever that is. just spreading the word really helps, more people hear about it. So let’s keep that going. Next month, we are gonna chat all about the wedding guest stories. And this is one we haven’t really talked too much about.
So I’ve got some good ones from the vault that I’m gonna share with you. And if you guys have a story that you wanna contribute from a wedding that you’ve been to or you’ve seen, or your own wedding, or you’ve read it somewhere, send it to me in the, wedding party, Patreon group chat, or you can message it to me anywhere.
And, I’ll try to get it on the show. All right guys. Thanks so much for hanging out with me this month, and I will see you next time. And until next time, keep the drama fun and the champagne flowing. Bye now.
All right guys. I hope you enjoyed that special. Look at a Patreon episode at full disclosure. We are currently pause on Patreon right now, so if you’re looking to sign up, don’t, ’cause it won’t be there. to be completely transparent, I just don’t have the bandwidth right now, so I just didn’t feel like it was right for me to.
Keep creating content over there when I just didn’t feel like I could give all of myself to it. So I’m putting more into the skits, more into my book, and then more into, of course, these podcast episodes here. So I hope you guys enjoyed it again, that was such a fun episode for me to put together, and I’m glad more of you guys can listen to it.
The Thanksgiving Reveal That Changed Everything
Now as promised, here’s the first chapter of my audiobook. Here comes the drama. Enjoy.
Part one, chapter one, Kate can’t believe her ears. She picks up her glass of wine, throws back what’s left, then stands up and storms out of the living room with a loud huff. Her daughter Jenny, watches her leave in pure confusion, then glances at everyone else before quickly jumping off the couch to follow her.
Mom, are you okay? She yells after her hurrying closer. She notices a drop of red wine has stained her mom’s white blouse. Ugh. I just know she’s doing this to get my son away from me. Kate charges into the next room looking unsteady, like she’s about to burst. What are you talking about, Jenny? Quickly, interjects Sloan isn’t taking anyone away from you.
Her eyes drift toward the window where snow has just started falling. At first it was light and quiet, barely noticeable, but now it’s beginning to fall in thick clumps, sticking to the glass, like something trying to get in. Kate pushes up her round brown glasses as a be of sweat drips from her forehead.
Did you not just hear them? They come waltzing in here on Thanksgiving to tell us they’re not going to be here on Christmas. Her voice trembles with a mix of hurt and disbelief For a moment, she questions whether or not she’s overreacting, but the thought vanishes as quickly as it came. Her stance is firm now.
There’s no going back. Jenny looks at her mother dumbfounded. She takes a deep breath to save herself from calling out her mother’s ridiculousness right here, right now. Yeah, they planned a vacation together. I think it’s perfectly acceptable. She runs a hand through her long, dirty blonde hair, exhaling sharply.
You can’t tell them not to go on vacation together. The snow was falling harder Now. Piling on the windowsill in soft, heavy heaps, like the weight of everything left unsaid in the room. But on Christmas, there are 364 other days of the year. Why’d they have to pick Christmas? Kate’s voice gets louder each time she talks and there is clear panic in her voice like she’s been robbed.
My guess is because they wanted to spend the holidays together. Jenny sarcastically replies, this isn’t some weird thing for a boyfriend to do with his girlfriend. Kate rolls her eyes before putting her head down and her hands and mumbling. You just watch Jenny. This is how it all starts. Then soon they’re just not going to show up for certain holidays.
She looks up staring off as if she just had an epiphany hearing her own words. Mom. You should be happy that Ferris found someone he loves and wants to spend his time with. Jenny says, resting a hand on her mom’s back. Now can we go back out there, put on a happy face, and enjoy the rest of Thanksgiving?
She raises both point of fingers to the corners of her mouth, exaggerating a smile. After a long pause, Kate pulls a tissue out of her pocket and dabs her face. Although Jenny didn’t see any tears. Fine. Kate stands tall, touches up her short brown hair, and forces a painful, wide smile. How’s this great?
Jenny gives her a swift thumbs up and gestures for her mother to follow her back out into the living room where the others are. GI is the first to step back into her parents’ living room. Where she spots her brother, Ferris at the fridge, grabbing two beers, one for their dad, Ted, and one for himself. The room is warm with the scent of Thanksgiving leftovers, and the muffled hum of conversation drifts in from the dining room.
You need more wine, babe. Ferris calls out over his shoulder. His voice casual but affectionate. His short, faintly golden hair with brown undertones is slightly tussled. A few strands falling in his face as he reaches for the fridge. Sloan is curled up on the couch, legs crossed, swirling the last bit of red wine in her glass, her long, almost black hair drapes over one shoulder, catching the warm glow of the Christmas lights.
She’s wearing a soft knit sweater, dress in a deep burgundy, paired with thick socks, comfortable yet casually stylish in a way that almost seems natural to her. She looks over at him with a small knowing. Smile. No, I still have some left. Thanks, Sloane. Smirks and turns just a little as she notices. Jenny walking back in.
Oh hey, everything okay? Her eyes flick between Jenny and Kate searching for any sign of what just happened. She knew Kate was upset about the trip. But sometimes it was easier to pretend she didn’t notice than to invite more drama. Yeah. Sorry about that. Jenny says quickly, my mom thought she ate something bad.
Her voice is light, but there’s a flicker of something else beneath it before Sloan can press GI shifts gears. So anyway, tell us more about your trip. Where are you guys going? She walks right up to Sloan and sits down at the chair across from her. Kate Reenters the room lingering near the doorway, arms crossed displeasure, practically radiating off her.
We’re going to Santa Monica. Sloan replies quietly combing her hair behind her ear. I’ve never been before. Ferris knows I hate the snow, so he planned for a warm vacation to get us out of here. It was all his idea, so he’ll have more of the details. She looks over at Ferris now seated next to her on the couch, Ferris hands, beer to his dad.
Then takes a sip of his own and leans back. Yeah, I mean, I don’t have too much planned yet, but I thought we’d escape the dreaded Milwaukee winter and soak up some sun for once. He nods toward the window where thick clumps of snow swirl in the wind. Before reaching over and gently taking Sloan’s hand Sloan glances down at their intertwined fingers, a soft smile forming as warmth blooms in her chest.
But even in the comfort of this moment, she can feel Kate’s disapproval lingering like a heavy cloud that refuses to pass. That sounds amazing. Jenny jumps in quickly. What do you think, mom? Doesn’t that sound fun? Her voice is too chipper. Eyes flicking toward Kate with the hope that a simple question might smooth over the crack in the room.
Ted shifts slightly in his chair. His gaze fixed on his wife. He raises his eyebrows just enough to signal, go easy, try to be happy, but it’s clear he’s bracing himself after almost 30 years of marriage. He knows her moods, her tells he knows exactly where this could be headed. When Kate answers, yeah, it sounds great.
With a snap of sarcasm. Ted Exhales just barely for a split second. It seems like that might be the end of it, but then he catches the sudden shift. In her expression. She gasps his shoulders, stiffen. Here it comes. Maybe we should all go. Her somber mood instantly flips to excitement making her way to the front of the room.
Sloan tenses, every instinct screams at her to shut the idea down, but she hesitates. It’s not her place. Kate has always been dismissive of her. Why would this moment be any different? Funny mom, Ferris cuts in forcing a chuckle, but there’s an edge of unease in his voice. No, I’m serious. Wouldn’t it be great?
Kate stands as if she’s launching into a full blown presentation. She turns to her husband, eyes bright with enthusiasm. Ted, shouldn’t we go? Ted? Takes a deep breath. Kate. We can go to Santa Monica any other time. I don’t think we need to hijack our son’s vacation with his girlfriend. He runs a hand across his forehead as if trying to smooth out the wrinkles.
He’s certain are forming. Oh, come on. It’ll be so much fun to spend Christmas together in California. Kate is starting to act like this is the best idea she’s ever had. She turns back towards Ferris, gesturing to the Christmas tree already up in the living room, decorated with ornaments, with brief reminders of their childhood.
You know how much Christmas means to me. Ferris opens his mouth like he’s about to say something when a defeated look appears on his face, and he stops. He knows his mom. She doesn’t take hearing no very well, and it would turn into a huge ordeal if he tries to push back Now. He tries to figure out a way to get her to back off a bit and decides to change the subject.
Leaning forward and peeking around Sloan to catch his dad’s eye. Wow. Dad, I am so full. That Turkey you made was fantastic. Way better than last year’s. Ted Beams about to respond. When Kate jumps in. It was, you really know how to make the holidays special around here. All of you. Her smile is a little too bright as she claps her hands together.
Now, who wants dessert? She asks already pivoting toward the kitchen. That sounds great. I’ll help you. Jenny says, as she shakes her head behind her mom and disappointment, as Kate and Jenny disappear into the kitchen, Ted leans in lowering his voice for only Ferris and Sloan to hear. Hey. He says, offering a warm smile.
I think the trip sounds perfect. You too deserve it. He pauses his eyes flicking toward the kitchen, and you know how your mother is. She just needs a minute to adjust. Don’t let it ruin your plans. Ferris puts his arm around Sloan gently pulling her closer. There was no doubt in his mind. Sloan didn’t want his mom on their couple’s vacation and he wasn’t going to let it happen.
It wasn’t unusual for his mom to try to control new situations. In the past, he might’ve let it slide, but not this time. Sloan was different. She was his person. She was articulate, compassionate and beautiful, but not in a way that banked for attention. More like the kind of beauty that you noticed slowly.
Then couldn’t unsee. Ferris used to tell his mom everything back when he was a kid. It had felt natural, easy even. She always knew what to say. Always had a plan. But then he remembered the summer after seventh grade. He had been obsessed with skateboarding, saving up every dollar from mowing lawns to buy his first board.
He and his best friend Ben, would spend hours practicing tricks, wiping out on the pavement, laughing at their bruises until Kate decided it was dangerous. He’s a bad influence. She had told him one night, arms crossed, lips pressed into a thin line. Always pushing you to do reckless things. You’ll break an arm Ferris, and what about school?
You need to focus. He had argued, of course he had, but then came the nagging, the disappointed size, the gentle, but firm reminders of all the things she had done for him. I’m only trying to protect you, and so he quit. He told Ben he was too busy and that his mom needed his help around the house. It wasn’t true, but it was easier than fighting about it or living with guilt.
Now, years later, Ferris knew better. He saw the pattern, the way she packaged control as concern. It wasn’t just about skateboarding or friends or even his career. It was everything, every choice, every step he took, which is why he barely told her anything anymore. They enjoyed their dessert together.
Moving past the idea of them all, going to Santa Monica for Christmas. Ferris did his best to get his mom talking about her new book club with the neighbor Ladies after dessert, he and Sloane start inching their way to the door, getting on their shoes and coats so they can head home. Oh, leaving so soon.
Kate’s voice carries a hint of surprise, though it’s clear she’s more focused on keeping them there than acknowledging how difficult she could be. Sloan turns and smiles at Kate trying to keep things light. Yeah, it’s getting light. I’m hoping to call my mom on the way home since we didn’t get to see her this year for Thanksgiving.
Kate ignores Sloan’s comment and turns towards Ferris. Well, bye guys. It was so great having you guys here for Thanksgiving, as you should be for all holidays. Kate accentuates the all to make sure they remember where she stands. Ferris forces a smile before placing his hand on Sloan’s back as they turn to leave.
I’ll meet you in the car in just a sec. I forgot to grab some pie to take home. Oh yeah, sure. Bye Kate. Bye, Ted. Thanks again for having us. The food was delicious. Sloan says, wrapping her scarf around her neck as she stepped out of the house. Okay, so there’s pumpkin and apple pie left. Which did you want?
You know what, I’ll go grab you some of each. Kate says as she hurs into the kitchen. Um, I’ll have some apple, but actually I don’t really need any pie. Ferris says, checking to make sure Sloan hasn’t walked back into the house. He looks directly at his mom. Can I talk to you for a second? Sure. Of course.
Look, I’m really excited for this vacation. I’m going to start planning tonight. Kate interrupts a little too quickly. Ted easing his way back into the living room, props his legs up in the recliner. His eyes are tired and it’s clear he’s had enough for the night. He knows exactly how his wife can be, so he shuts down, retreating into his own space.
No, mom, you can’t come. Ferris says his tone firmer this time. What do you mean? Why? Oh wait. You’re breaking up with Sloan, aren’t you? I knew something was off tonight. What? No, nothing was off with us tonight. I’d really like this trip to just be Sloan and me so we can have some time alone. A long time.
Kate Scoffs. What do you need alone time for? You already live together. I hardly see you anymore. She pauses before adding. I wouldn’t want to intrude, but maybe I could just stay nearby. Dad and I will get our own hotel room. We’ll have our own time, but we can meet up for dinners and stuff. She continues rummaging through the kitchen cabinets.
Searching for a container bag big enough for the leftover pie. No, I’m sorry. I love you, but this trip is for Sloan in me. I need you to respect that Ferris states for a moment. Kate wonders if she’s being too harsh, if maybe she’s giving him a reason to pull away. But the thought is bleeding. She quickly reminds herself of everything she’s done for him over the years.
He still needs her. Well, what if something happens? I could help you plan it. It’s already planned and paid for Ferris Exhales. But look, I need to tell you why. It just needs to be the two of us. Okay? Kate stops what she’s doing and stands there wide-eyed, staring at her son. Actually, I kind of want to tell Dad too really quickly.
Hey dad, can you come in here, Ted Hurries over from the other room to join them. So really quick, I want to talk to you and mom to let you know why I want to take Sloan on vacation. Just the two of us. Oh man, I think I know where this is going. Ted says, with a big smile on his face. Ferris looks over at his mom.
Who looks like she’s just seen a ghost. I actually plan on surprising Sloan and proposing the first night we’re there, the room goes silent and Ferris looks at both of his parents for any kind of approval. Ted looks at Kate waiting for her reaction, proposing what? She responds slowly. Her voice tinged with uncertainty as she tries to piece it all together.
She knew exactly what he meant, but if he saw how confused she was, maybe he would take it as a sign that the timing wasn’t right. Come on, Kate. Ted finally jumps in. Oh my gosh, Ferris, this is so exciting. He walks up and wraps his arms around his son. Giving him a strong, reassuring pat on the back, the silent gesture filled with unspoken.
Congratulations. Kate just stands there staring at the two of them, vowing her naivety. Marriage Mom Ferris says, is he loosened his dad’s grip on him and turns. What else am I going to propose? What, but you hardly know her. Are you sure she’s the right one for you? She starts shuffling around the kitchen, cleaning up items from dinner, forgetting about the pie completely.
Ted is caught in the middle looking around like he’s praying for an out. I don’t consider two and a half years together. Hardly knowing each other. Yes, I know she’s the right one for me. Ferris’s voice is tight as he peers out the window behind him to make sure Sloan is okay in the car. His mom isn’t backing down, but you are so young.
Maybe just give it some more time. Ted can’t hold his tongue anymore. I think what your mom is trying to say is congratulations, right to Kate, he says. Looking over at her, giving her every opportunity to change her tune. Congratulations. It hasn’t even happened yet. He is just telling us his hypothetical plan.
He still has to really think about it. She smiles. I don’t think you realize how big of a decision this truly is for her. She says Condescendingly putting her hand on the counter to reach out and touches. Ferris pulls his hand back and moves away from the counter. Okay, well I can see where this conversation is going.
He takes a moment to take a breath and gather himself. Thank you Dad for the congratulations. Sloan’s waiting in the car, so I gotta get going, but um, thanks. I guess he hurries past his parents and out the door before he realizes he forgot the pie, sh*t.
Hired Bridesmaids, Fake Weddings, and a Parking Lot Party with Jen Glantz
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Weddings and meltdowns? A tale as old as time. In this hilarious and heartfelt episode, Christa chats with Jen Glantz, professional bridesmaid and founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, about the chaos, comedy, and confessions that come with walking down the aisle.
From makeup disasters to fire alarms (yes, really), we hear a wild listener story that proves a great attitude and a solid DJ can save any wedding. Jen also shares her bold take on why the bridesmaid tradition might be on its way out — and we are HERE for it.
So grab your glass of champagne and tune in for secrets, laughs, and a whole lot of drama. Because if it didn’t go off the rails at least once, was it even a wedding?
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Starting Bridesmaid for Hire
02:10 First Experiences as a Hired Bridesmaid
03:37 Wedding Drama and Secrets
10:32 Reflections on Weddings and Marriage
24:12 Surprise Weddings vs. Bridal Showers
24:39 Bridesmaid Dress Dilemmas
26:26 Wedding Day Mishaps and Makeup Mayhem
28:01 A Wedding Day Story: Locked in the Bridal Suite
36:02 Wedding Chaos and Confessions
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- When Makeup Goes Rogue – One bridesmaid’s obsession with touch-ups led to mismatched foundation and delayed the entire glam schedule. A perfect example of beauty chaos in action.
- Locked in the Bridal Suite – Just minutes before the ceremony, the bride was accidentally locked in a historic art museum room by a kid… and had to be freed by maintenance.
- The Corn-on-the-Cob Catastrophe – Steam from dinner set off the museum’s smoke detectors, forcing a full-on evacuation mid-wedding. Yes, over corn.
- Dancing in the Parking Lot – With no venue access, the bartender rolled out drinks and the DJ kept the party going outside. Crisis = avoided.
- The Uninvited Plus-One – An estranged wife of a guest showed up unannounced and partied like she was on the list. Because of course she did.
- The Case for Bridesmaid Extinction – Jen shares her spicy hot take that bridesmaids aren’t just unnecessary, they’re on their way out completely.
- Strangers Are the Best Listeners – Jen opens up about why she connects more deeply with strangers than friends, and how that makes her job as a pro bridesmaid uniquely powerful.
- Chaos, Confessions, and a Wedding That Still Won – Despite the disasters, the couple (and their guests) still call it the most fun wedding they’ve ever been to, and that’s the real win.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “This is like literally a movie-like, all these little things that happen? Insane. Wild.” – Christa Innis
- “We shield ourselves in certain ways, not because someone’s making us, but because it just feels easier to be our full selves around strangers sometimes.” – Christa Innis
- “If you go into your wedding day knowing something will go wrong, you’re gonna be fine. It’s the ones expecting perfection that freak out.” – Christa Innis
- “Please, guests, don’t tell the bride drama during the wedding. Save it for next week!” – Christa Innis
- “Just leave it to the professionals, and please, put down the iPad.” – Christa Innis
- “I don’t love weddings, I love helping strangers through one of the most stressful times in their lives.”– Jen Glantz
- “Your best friend might lie to spare your feelings. I won’t, I’ve got no stakes in this game.” – Jen Glantz
- “Being locked in a room on your wedding day? That’s my literal nightmare.” – Jen Glantz
- “You don’t need bridesmaids. In five to ten years, I think they’ll be extinct.” – Jen Glantz
- “If you have good people and good vendors, they can carry you through anything, even a wedding evacuation.” – Jen Glantz
About Jen:
Jen Glantz turned a closet full of bridesmaid dresses into a bold idea: what if you could hire a professional bridesmaid? After joking about always being a bridesmaid, a lightbulb moment, and a Craigslist ad, led to 250+ inquiries in two days. In 2014, she launched Bridesmaid for Hire, offering unbiased support in a $300B wedding industry. Since then, Jen’s helped hundreds of clients, trained a team of pros, and become the go-to expert on wedding chaos, featured on the TODAY Show, GMA, and more.
Follow Jen Glantz:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
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
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi Jen. Thank you for being here.
Jen Glantz: Thank you so much for having me.
Christa Innis: It feels so funny to like say hi now ’cause we’ve just been chatting nonchalantly for like 30 minutes. I’m like, oh, maybe we should like start recording. I feel like we just so naturally just started like hanging out like old friends. ’cause I’ve been following your content for such a long time and I feel like it just fits so well into what we’re gonna talk about today.
Jen Glantz: Oh, I’m so excited to be here. I love the show. I’ve been following you too, and I feel like we’re like long distance best friends who needed a reason to meet and now we’re meeting, so this is great.
The Professional Bridesmaid Who Saves Weddings (and Keeps Secrets)
Christa Innis: Yeah, and we just found out that our daughters are like pretty much twins, like born the same time, so that’s pretty fun too. So all these things just lining out, which is kind of cool. So let’s talk about a little bit more about you. you started Bridesmaid for Hire, so let’s talk about that and then we’ll get into all the drama and crazy stories that you might have. So how did you get started and like what made you start it?
Jen Glantz: It was such an accident. I was in my early twenties and like a lot of people, I was just asked to be a bridesmaid so many times by friends. And then what happened? It was like distant friends, people I hadn’t spoken to in forever started asking me to be a bridesmaid.
And I didn’t really like being a bridesmaid. I thought it was expensive. I just thought it was like too much. I didn’t like it. And I was venting to my roommate one night after two of these distant friends asked me and she was like, Jen, they’re asking you ’cause you’re a professional. Like you’re just good at this.
And I had like a light bulb moment where I thought, okay, if I could do this for people who I hardly know, maybe I could do it for people I really don’t know. And at the time, Craigslist was a big thing. So it was a Friday night. I opened up Craigslist and I posted an ad offering my services as a hired bridesmaid for strangers.
The ad went completely viral. I got hundreds of emails, people wanting to hire me, and now it’s been a decade and I’ve been a hired bridesmaid for hundreds of strangers.
Christa Innis: That’s amazing. I was gonna ask you, how many times have you been at BRIDESMAID now? So now it’s been like in the hundreds?
Jen Glantz: Yes. There were years where I worked like 59 weddings a year. I would work two or three weddings a weekend. I didn’t see anybody, none of my friends, not my boyfriend, who’s now my husband, like I was only on the road working weddings. I’ve since slowed down a little bit ’cause I have a toddler, but I still do it and the business is alive and well.
Christa Innis: Wow, that’s amazing. And so. What was that like first wedding? Like where you worked with a stranger? Like were you kind of figuring things out because I’m sure it’s so different with someone you know, versus someone that like you know nothing about. Like were you interviewing them first, finding out that you’re a good match? What were kind of the stipulations for like working together?
Jen Glantz: It was so crazy ’cause I had posted this Craigslist ad. I got all these responses and I just happened to scroll through one, her name was Ashley from Maple Grove, Minnesota, and in her email she was like, I wanna hire you because my best friend, I just fired her as my maid of honor. She was jealous. She was sabotaging the wedding. Ashley had mentioned that her mom had passed away and she just really didn’t have the support that she needed. And I got the email. I called her up, we talked for a little bit, and I thought. Okay, let’s do this. I had no idea what I was doing. I wasn’t the best bridesmaid in the world. I didn’t like being a bridesmaid. But I posted this ad for fun and I got this response and I thought, okay, well maybe it is my calling. So a couple weeks later, I got on a plane. I flew to Minnesota, I walked into her house and I was her bridesmaid for the weekend. We instantly connected. I found this like love for her in so many different ways.
I was able to show up for her. I walked down the aisle for her. I wore the dress. I danced on the dance floor with her. And I remember getting back on the plane thinking this was the craziest thing I’ve ever done. And nobody’s gonna understand this, but I absolutely know that this is something that the world needs and I’m gonna spend my life doing it. And that was 10 years ago.
Christa Innis: Wow. So I’m sure you get, like you said, like this girl had just fired her maid of honor. So I’m sure you get all kinds of like dirt or tea or stories like from people that are like, okay, like this is the bridesmaid to look out for, or we’re having issues with this bridesmaid. Like, are you so quickly like brought into the drama or brought into the dynamics of the family?
Jen Glantz: Oh, beyond. I don’t know if you realize this, like, and you do this probably too. It’s like we tell strangers things a lot easier than we do tell our friends, our family members. I know like, I’ve been on the subway or I’ve been on a bench in New York and I’ve struck up conversation with someone and told them a secret that my friends don’t even know about me.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: You know, we go to therapy, we tell the therapist things nobody knows about us. Yeah. So to a lot of people who hire me, I’m that temporary pair of ears that they can just trauma dump and never have to see again.
Yeah. I think. Interesting thing is, is that when someone hires me, nobody else knows I’m hired.
So they don’t tell their family, their friends, sometimes they don’t even tell their Beyonce. But I do think I bring this energy to people around me of you can trust me, you can tell me things and I won’t judge you. ’cause I really have no stake in the game to judge you. Mm-hmm. So I end up being that bridesmaid with no agenda, no real intentions. And people come to me to tell me things because I think I give off that energy. So I have mothers telling me things, bridesmaid telling me things like everyone telling me things and yeah, you often leave the wedding and you’re like, I am so full with drama right now. I don’t know what I’m gonna do with like, I need to explode, but I have nowhere to explode. It’s the weirdest and worst feeling after the wedding.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. So when you’re thinking back of all the weddings, I mean, I’m sure you’ve all these like flooded memories that come up. What’s like one of the craziest or like out there things that you either witnessed or you heard about or you saw at a wedding?
Jen Glantz: I worked a wedding one in Staten Island. I got to know the bride and the groom for about three to four months. Everything checked out. Everything seemed normal. I get to the wedding, we get her dressed. We have a great morning. Everything is going really well. All of a sudden, five minutes before the ceremony, all her guests are seated.
The wedding officiants there. Five minutes before the wedding, she grabs my arm, pulls me in a room and locks the door and she says, Jen, I hate the groom. I don’t wanna do this. Oh, that was the first time that this has happened to me. Like, you see this in movies, the bride who’s I don’t wanna do this, let’s go.
Yeah. But this was happening in real life, and I think this was like two or three years into the job where I never experienced this. So I basically said to her like, look, I will call us an Uber. I’ll sneak you out the back door. Like we will go, I don’t care. I’ve been paid. I don’t care. You know?
But I personally can’t sleep at night unless you sit down with the groom and tell him you’re leaving because like that just doesn’t seem right to me. Yeah, this isn’t a rom-com. This isn’t a movie. This is people’s real life. So I basically put the groom in the room with her. I put a timer on my phone for 10 minutes and I was like, you guys talk for 10 minutes and then I will come back and whatever is decided I will help you with.
So in that 10 minute time, they basically hashed it out and they realized, okay, like they actually don’t wanna marry each other. They don’t like each other, they don’t wanna do this. But the weddings now and my, you know, the wedding should have started. So basically what they decided was that they were gonna go through with the wedding.
They never signed the marriage license, and it was just gonna be fake because the truth is like nobody actually knows if you sign your marriage license. And that’s what marriage actually is, is that legal document. So honestly, at a lot of weddings, they just don’t sign the wedding, the marriage license, and they’re not really married.
So the wedding starts, they don’t sign the marriage license, they’re like miles away from each other. The first dance, they’re like high schoolers who like won’t touch each other. It’s an outdoor wedding. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day. It starts storming torrential downpour. Everyone’s soaking wet.
They go to move the cake on the dance floor, the cake falls off the table. Like literally everything goes wrong. It was as if the universe was like, this shouldn’t happen. And I just remember leaving that wedding thinking like, wow, like this is crazy. It was crazy.
Christa Innis: Like you mentioned, it’s not like a romcom, but it kind of like it sounds so crazy they’re like together this whole time playing this wedding and then the day of, they’re just both like, yeah, you know, I don’t really care. Let’s just go through this fake wedding. And did anyone else know?
Jen Glantz: No, because, all her friends were just like, why, what’s going on? And I was like, oh, they just like have to talk about something before they go do their vows.
So like nobody really knew. But then I think during the wedding there was obviously a sense of like distance and hatred between them. But a lot of people don’t really pick up on that. nobody really questioned it. And yeah, I think like after the wedding ended, a couple months later, they just went their separate ways. And that happens. I mean, not a lot of people, but people will break up or get divorced a couple months or a year after they get married because they felt this way on their wedding day, but they just didn’t admit it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I’ve, seen it happen before too, where like all the signs were there and I’ve talked this before, so sorry to people listening. They’re like, I’ve heard this story, but A wedding that I was in years ago, and it was like all the signs, like every single event that we had around the wedding, the shower, the bachelorette party, even the rehearsal like ended with her in tears, like saying, I don’t wanna do this and I, like, we all sat in the car and we’re like, you don’t have to do this. We will figure out a way to get you out of this. But it was like more about now the presentation of the wedding and it was like, no, we’ll make it work. And I’m like, if you have all these negative gut feelings, I don’t know, like something’s telling me, you know? And so I feel like that happens a lot too. ’cause it’s more of the pressure of the big day, oh, family’s flying in. Oh we already paid the vendor. Or what are people gonna think of us? And it’s like, well it either doesn’t work out now or down the line it you get divorced or whatever. But yeah…
Jen Glantz: And in a weird way I get it because I do think like it’s hard to back out right before, and I’ve talked to so many people who are like. I remember walking down the aisle of my first marriage thinking, wow, this is gonna suck to have to do again. Like they knew on their wedding day that it just wasn’t gonna work.
But they were so far deep into it, and I get that, like, you get yourself so far into a situation, you might just take it to the finish line and then back out of it after. I can never judge people for that, and I completely, completely get it. But yeah, it’s really weird when someone admits that to you because there’s this aura around a wedding that everyone’s supposed to be in love and happy, but that’s not always the case.
Christa Innis: Right. I know. I think that’s where like in the wedding industry, it gets very caught up with like, looks and appeal and like, who’s spending the most money. And I feel like that’s where like a lot of the drama comes into with like, the lot of stories I read, it’s all about like looking good and like, flashy, flashy. And it’s like, are we getting lost in the mix of all this chaos around weddings versus like. A couple that just has a very intimate wedding and just signs a paper, Or just has like 15 other closest friends,not saying one’s better than the other, but I feel like sometimes we get lost in like what other people want for us or looking good in front of other people, for sure.
Jen Glantz: I think it’s scary because we get so lost in it that the wedding ends and then you’re left with the marriage and you’re like, wait a second. I spent no time thinking about the marriage. I spent no time planning what would be next. That there is that wedding blues thing where after you get married you’re like, what now?
What is life? Do I really wanna be with this person forever? Like I didn’t even have a wedding. But I did feel that after we got married, the first year of marriage was so hard for me. ’cause I was like, wait a second. I’m stuck with this my whole life, like this little thing about my husband, like he’s never gonna change this.
I have to deal with this forever. Like I definitely had moments of that where I was like, wait a second. But like I think we just feel really strange after the wedding. And if you do a good job preparing for marriage, asking your partner the right questions, being on the same page about finances and future stuff, then the wedding will end no matter how you get married.
And your marriage will be off to a good start. But if you focus so much on the wedding and then you leave the wedding, you’re in debt, you’re sad ’cause that chapter’s over, it makes marriage really hard and that first year can be kind of brutal.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I agree with that too. I feel like there’s a lot of people that don’t realize or they realize, but they kind of pushed it aside. They’re like, oh, everything’s just gonna fall in place. Because I think it’s like the movies, you know, we talk about the movies and it’s like, you see all these like romance movies when you grow up and the finish line is the marriage or the wedding, right? And so like they get married at the end, they fall in love and they live happily ever after. I dunno if it’s like how girls grow up, right? We see these movies with princesses but like there’s more after the happily ever. After the big thing, there’s the actual life starting now.
Jen Glantz: It’s so boring. Like honestly, it’s so boring. So like how are you gonna be okay with that? You know? I feel like you planned this like grand wedding and then it’s over, and then you’re like, wait, now I’m on the couch with this person for the rest of my life. There’s a big reality check that I think people feel and no one really talks about.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, for sure. Yeah. I think that’s such an important conversation. I mean, we see these a lot, these stories when they come together, to get married. And then it’s like that, we were just talking about this before recording, how different families and personalities come together for this big day.
You hear like for example, somebody’s mother-in-law stories and then now you’re like, I’m married into this family, so now I have to see this mother-in-law at every single event. Or I have to see this cousin that hates me every single event or whatever that is. So like what people say is you’re not just marrying your partner, you’re marrying the family, or you’re marrying a routine or you’re marrying, that becomes your life, I guess.
Jen Glantz: It really does. I think the drama you’re experiencing within the wedding won’t go away. When the wedding is over. It will carry through to your life. So how you deal with it, how you process it, how you fix it during the wedding will be an indication of how you can handle it after. Because drama doesn’t just come and go with the wedding I think it sticks around for a long time, if not forever sometimes.
Christa Innis: Yeah. So in these scenarios, when you are hired as a bridesmaid, I feel like some of these dramatic moments are moments where they like kind of wanna like pull you into what’s going on. How do you like mix, empathy versus professionalism versus like how do you kinda like carry, I feel like it’d be so challenging for some of these moments.
’cause you’re like, okay, am I a friend here, but am I also like a bridesmaid? Like how do you do all that?
Jen Glantz: The only way to do it is to go all in. To go all in and pretend and not pretend, but to truly believe that this person is your friend, and to treat them that way and to show them like this level of love that you have for your friends, for this person you hardly know, which I think makes doing the job hard.
And you at the core have to be a person who. Likes other people who enjoys other people, even people who are so different than you. So I go all in. I have to listen to the drama, I have to take it on. It becomes my drama. And you have to really be there for the person, even if inside you’re thinking, this is so stupid.
This is so, like, there’s bigger problems in life. Like you’re thinking all these things. It’s just like when your friend vents to you and you’re like, I wanna tell them. Like, get over it. But instead you’re like, no, I’m here. I hear you. I’m listening. Well, how can we get through this? Like, you really have to be in the moment.
But I think again, when you leave these weddings, you never see these people again. You’re cut off from the drama, you don’t always know how things end. And you go back to your real life and you’re like, who do I talk to about this? And for a while it was like really, really hard. It would take me like 24 to 48 hours to detox from this drama and everything I experienced.
And it was really tough. And my husband, who was my boyfriend back then. He would be like listening, but he wouldn’t be able to fully understand or process ’cause he didn’t walk in those shoes.
Christa Innis: Right.
Jen Glantz: So yeah, it became really hard. It became like I was living in this double life where I’d come back to my real life and I would be like depressed because I’m just like shedding all of this emotion that I carried for a weekend.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I think I saw, and I, if you do this for every wedding, but like sometimes you like. People don’t know you’re a hired bridesmaid. so sometimes you have a story means you have a different name. So how did that kind of start and do you think those are more common than being who you are as like known of, a hired bridesmaid?
Jen Glantz: So most of the time when they hire me, I have a fake name, a fake backstory, and I integrate into their life. So they’ll say, okay, I want you to be Jackie from high school. Here’s where I went to high school. Here’s everything you need to know. And I study this identity. I study all the facts from street corners to clubs we were in.
I read the yearbook like, oh my gosh, on this role as Jackie. And then when the wedding ends, Jackie disappears. And it’s not that weird ’cause like friends do come and go from our lives. So it’s very normal that Jackie would just be flaky and like never talk to this person again. That happens. So I become Jackie and then I ditch Jackie.
And then the next wedding I go to, I become Samantha. And I change my identity for these people to really integrate into their lives. They wanna keep it a secret. They don’t want people to know, and that’s their choice. And I carry that out for them.
Christa Innis: Wow. So. That sounds like you’re like the FBI or you’re like undercover. Do you ever stress out about like, what if I actually say the wrong name when I’m just chatting with someone?
Jen Glantz: Oh, like beyond the secret is when you’re talking to people, you just talk more about them and not about you. So like if they ask me a question, I’m like, everything’s good. I’m like, yeah, I’m good.
How about you? Like you just throw it back on them so that you don’t talk very much, which is. Totally fine. Like you could be the shy bridesmaid who just is like kind of aloof and that’s the personality you take on.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That also sounds so fun ’cause it’s like you get to like live up whatever, like you’re just telling these crazy stories. You’re like, yeah, when I was in college I did this. And you’re just living your best life. Do you go to bachelorette parties? Do you go to showers? Like what other kind of events do you attend and like what are those kind of like?
Jen Glantz: I do bachelor parties, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, bridal showers.
I think the most interesting part is that I don’t drink, I just don’t like to drink. I haven’t drank in so many years, so I go to all these things completely sober. And it’s interesting because a lot of these environments are meant to be you, and people are kind of more rowdy and drinking. So when you’re the sober one, you see it in such a different light. Like you see the drama in a really different light. But also like I need to be sober because my job is not to party with them, it’s to fake party with them, but be there for them and you really need to have a clear mind. So I think that’s like a lot of people who want to work this job are like, I’d be so good at it. I love to party, I love to drink. I’m like, but that’s not the job. The job is to be like an emotional support animal for these people and really just like be there with all the twists and turns. And I think that it’s less glamorous than people think it is.
I’m Not Wedding-Obsessed But I’ll Be There for You”
Christa Innis: Yeah. okay, so you said like in the beginning you weren’t really a fan of being a bridesmaid, but then through making this your business and then like being in so many different weddings, is it like something that you find joy in and like what are your favorite parts of it all?
Like, because I’m sure it’s so different. I’m sure you meet like very organized brides that like tell you like this, this and this. And other times you’re probably helping them organize a little bit more. So has that like shifted or changed since you’ve done it?
Jen Glantz: You know, I’ve said this publicly from day one that I don’t love weddings. I don’t understand them. I did not have one. I’m not wedding obsessed. I never was the little girl who cared about weddings. I still feel that way. I don’t necessarily love the wedding environment. I absolutely have this like deep love for strangers and helping people Idon’t know. I’ve always been like that.
It’s just part of my personality. I find it harder to connect with people in my life. I find it easier to connect with strangers, and that’s why I do it. That’s why I love it. I do think my favorite part of the job is being able to help a person during a difficult time in their lives. People don’t label weddings as that, but they actually are.
It’s really tough for people to have a wedding, especially ’cause most people have a tough family dynamic. They have secrets they have. Problems that surface during the wedding and they don’t really have anyone to turn to. ’cause your friends, they’re busy or you feel scared to tell them this information ’cause it will live with them forever.
So being able to enter a person’s life and help them process what should be a good time in their life, but is often a stressful time. Is the reason why I really love this job. I am not qualified to be a therapist, nothing like that. But I do feel like a little bit of my job is therapy for people, or at least it’s like a secret keeper.
Like I hold onto their secrets for them. and to be able to help them get through that is what keeps me going. It just happens to be in a wedding setting.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I’m sure like you were saying earlier, like having an unbiased opinion from someone or just an open ear is helpful. ’cause you think like all your closest people at a part of your wedding or something, they’re all gonna have some kind of bias around you.
Like whether that’s good or bad. Right? And so just having someone there that’s there to help you and listen, like I’m sure just feels good to be like, just be on my side for this. I just need to tell you about this crazy thing my aunt did, or you know, whatever it is. Um, yeah, and I’m
Jen Glantz: Not gonna lie to you because I have no stakes in the game.
So like, if you want my honest opinion, I’m gonna be honest. If you want unbiased advice, I’m going to do that because I don’t have to ever see you again. So I’m not gonna say things because I need to tiptoe around you. I’m gonna say what you want because. That’s kind of the relationship is like, I am completely going to be unbiased for you.
I’m not going to lie to you. I’m gonna try to help you and do what’s I think is best for you because I have no stakes in the game where your best friend might be like, oh, Jen, like you’re just having cold feet. Like go through it that go through with it because they don’t want you to be embarrassed and they have all these like other agendas.
I have no agenda except that I’m, my job is to be there for you like a true friend would.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I love that you said too, like it’s easier to talk to strangers about things than like people in your own life. ’cause I was like, it’s weird. I like kind of, I get that what you’re talking about. It’s such like a profound thing that I’ve never thought about. But like even when I started my TikTok account, I made sure like. It was a brand new account. I didn’t tell any of my, even like best friends that I was doing other than my husband, no one knew I was making videos on TikTok until like it hit a certain point. Then I was like, okay, they’ll probably see it somewhere. So I was like, here, like, just so you know, I’m not like lying or like making things up. I was like, here, this is my account. because it just felt easier to almost feel like, you know what? These people don’t know anything about me. I can be like on the internet and do a weird skit and know they’re not gonna be like, oh, that girl’s weird. ’cause I’m like, I have no idea who that is. You know.
Jen Glantz: Less pressure for you because then you don’t have to think about, okay, what is my friend gonna think of this? Or what is this person gonna think? Like, it’s less pressure, it’s the more authentic version of you. I think it’s amazing when people do that because I think like we’re so swayed by the people in our lives for so many things.
Like I think It could be good to get engaged and not tell anybody for a really long time and spend that time making your own decisions about what you want for your wedding because you’d be surprised, like the second you get engaged and you tell people, everybody has an opinion for you. Everybody is swaying you one way or the other. And I think that’s really hard for people. So I love that you did that because I really think it allows you to be authentic without the pressure of everyone in your life.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I think we definitely, I don’t know if it’s like shield ourself in certain ways. Not because one’s making us, but I just think we naturally like maybe act a certain way around someone or say something around a person. And that allows us to be like our, like you said, authentic self.
Okay. I know we’re kind of like behind schedule and I know you’ve got, I don’t wanna like keep you too long, so let’s get to the next area and if we have a cutoff, let me know too.
Jen Glantz: Oh my God, no. Thank you. I’m like texting my husband. He’s like, Just wondering. So I was like texting you.
Blisters, Secrets, and Surprise Weddings
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, sorry. Okay, so we’re gonna do a quick rapid fire and then we’re gonna do this week story submission, if that works for you. Okay. So Rapid Fire Wedding Chaos Edition. Would you rather find out the bride copied your wedding, or your best friend booked her wedding the same day as yours?
Jen Glantz: I’d rather someone copy my wedding because I feel like. That wouldn’t bother me as much. I do feel like it would make me kind of flattered that they liked my style or my design, but I think my best friend having the same wedding, that would be, really awful. Like, yeah, that’d be tough to get over. And I think it would separate the friendship.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I agree. Would you rather have a maid of honor speech include your most embarrassing story story or your biggest secret?
Jen Glantz: I think embarrassing story. ’cause I think if it’s enough distance, time-wise, you can process that. It’s funny but secret. That could be like a dagger to the heart. I don’t know.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Especially you don’t know if it’s coming. You’re like, great.
Jen Glantz: Right. No embarrassing story. I feel like with distance it could be funny.
Christa Innis: Yeah. would you rather have to plan a surprise bridal shower or a surprise wedding?
Jen Glantz: You know, I once went to a surprise wedding and it was so cool. So I think I would say surprise wedding actually, because I feel like it’s so shocking for everybody that like it is kind of magical. Whereas bridal shower, it’s cute, it’s fun, but like I think the wedding could be really, shocking.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like showers, like in my parents’ generation at least, they used to be a little more surprised. Like my mom was like, we never knew when it was coming, and like you would just get surprised. So, yeah well, surprise wedding sounds really fun. Would you rather wear a bridesmaid dress you hate, which you might have? Sorry about that. Or shoes that give you blisters.
Jen Glantz: Mm-hmm. God, this one’s like really dark. I would say bride me dress you hate. ’cause when you take it off at the end of the night, you can like leave it behind. But we’ve all had those blisters on our feet that linger for like a month and are so painful no matter what shoe you wear. Like my feet right now are like tingling, thinking about it. So I think I would say ugly dress.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. I can only imagine the amount of bridesmaid dresses you have. You could probably have a collection.
Jen Glantz: Yeah, they’re literally all in garbage bags at my husband’s, parents’ house, and then we have an office and I just have like garbage bags of dresses.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh.
Jen Glantz: Ever need a bridesmaid dress? Let me know. I probably have it. Oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: You could have like your own bridesmaid, like resale store or something from all of them.
Jen Glantz: I tell all my friends and I tell everyone I know, like, if you ever have to go to a wedding, call me first. I’ve got dresses in every size. Like, come over, take ’em. But the only rule is you cannot bring it back like once. It’s yours. It’s yours. I don’t want it.
Christa Innis: would you rather have to redo your hair and makeup three times or redo the seating chart the morning of.
Jen Glantz: I think the seating chart, I think you can get away with that easier, but you’re doing your hair and makeup, that takes so much time that I worry it would push the wedding time start. So…
Christa Innis: Yeah, that would stress me out. would you rather have a wedding, be kid free or phone free?
Jen Glantz: Because I have a kid, I’m gonna say phone free. I know that kid free weddings are like such a thing. But I do think there is such like life that these little kids bring to weddings and I’m so biased. But I do think like it’s more fun. Whereas like a phone wedding, I think we can all like put the phone down.
Like everyone’s taking like videos of them on the dance floor. Like of what? No one wants to see your head on Instagram of you like bobbing your head dancing.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: Let the kids come if you want.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Leave it to the, professional photographers. Yes, yes. Yeah. Be present. And it’s so funny because, and I know this is gonna be a blanket statement, but I feel like the, older generation that tends to be like, oh, get off your phone.
They’re the ones more on their phones at weddings when I am at weddings or their iPads.
Jen Glantz: Thank you. I was just gonna say that I’ve been to so many weddings where they’re the first two rows and their iPad is like up in the air and I’m like, oh my god. No. Yeah. I think like phone free would be amazing for everyone. Oh my gosh. I love that.
Locked Doors, Dessert Raids, and a Surprise Guest
Christa Innis: Okay, and now the story submission, are we still okay on time?
Jen Glantz: So nervous. Okay. Awesome.
Christa Innis: Okay, so this is this week’s story submission. I’ve not read it yet, so we’ll react together. this might be drama for some, but to me it was just funny. Here’s the story of our wedding day.
I come from a big family and most of them stayed in the same hotel as us the night before the wedding in different rooms. Of course, my husband took, my cousin, took it upon themselves. To make sure my husband and I didn’t accidentally run into each other the night before the ceremony. It was actually the first time he was meeting some of them, and he thought it was hilarious how seriously they took their self-appointed mission as my gift to my bridesmaids.
I paid for professional hair and makeup. One of my bridesmaid, let’s call her Leah, is a family member who kept going back for touchups between everyone else, the rest of the bridal party, my mom, even my daughter. Which caused a delay for me getting ready and threw off our timeline. Karma’s real though, because she had her makeup redone so many times.
I love that. We were just talking about having makeup redone and then this just happens. She had her makeup redone so many times. She ended up with two different foundation shades. So now in all the wedding pictures, she only shows up in profile. We got married in an art museum that used to be an old mansion.
The bridal suite was the original master bedroom complete with its original door. The museum was still open to the public when the wedding started, our ceremony was at 4:30 PM and the MU museum closed at five and there was a kid’s room right to the outside of the suite. Okay. A lot of, lot of set up details here.
Um, after the bridal party left to line up for the perception processional, I had a few minutes to myself. Not even two minutes later, I heard a kid fall into the door. Yep. They jammed it shut and I got locked inside. This sounds like a movie. Oh my gosh. I would be freaking out. Oh God. I would not do well with that. I’m telling you right now.
Jen Glantz: No, my like, literally my number one fear is getting locked inside of a bathroom. I will never lock the door. I’m like, this is like my fear. My fear,
Christa Innis: Yeah. Have you ever been somewhere where the, the doorknob gets like clicked and for a minute you’re like, this is where I live now.
Jen Glantz: It happened to me the other day. In like a dark little coffee shop bathroom, and I could not get the door open and I, I was freaking out. I was like, how does this end, it’s my, it’s my biggest fear. My whole body like shuts down and get hives. Like I’m listening to this and I’m like, on the wedding day, like the worst thing that could happen.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. She said, when I didn’t show up downstairs, my wedding coordinator came to find me and discovered that the door was stuck. I was laughing the whole time. At least Alicia can laugh about it. I give the credit. I know. I’m like sweating, thinking about it. I know. She ended up grabbing the maintenance man and my photographer and they had to take the hinges off the door to get me out.
Jen Glantz: God.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. This is like a total side story, but I’m thinking about how there was this one time. So we have a balcony where we live and one time my husband and I were out, like reading one morning, this was before we had kids, our daughter, and I’m like reading and he’s like, I’m gonna go in and shower.
And I’m like, not paying attention, so I’m just reading blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he, um, wasn’t thinking. And I like finally go to go inside. The door is locked and he like was just, just doing his normal thing. So he just like shut it. And I’m like out there and I’m like, and it was like a hot day and like this is me just like being dramatic.
And I didn’t have my phone out. I didn’t bring my phone out, I didn’t bring my watch out. And I’m like. Oh my gosh. Okay. I’ll just try to read, I’m like sitting there panicking and I’m like, what if like, he like takes a long shower and like sometimes he just like, like, um, breathing exercises. And I was like, what if he takes so long to get outta here?
And then he like finally comes out and I’m at the door and I’m like, he’s like, oh my gosh, did I lock you in?
Jen Glantz: Nope. Like, what if he left to go out or something? Like what would you have done? What would you have done? I dunno.
Christa Innis: I don’t know. I mean, luckily we’re not too high off, but I probably would just flag someone if I saw ’em on the street. Like, hey!
Jen Glantz: Yeah, no, but like that is like terrifying. That is. But even being stuck out there for five minutes, like your life kind of flashes before you, you’re like, is there an end to this? It’s scary.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Especially when you on the clock, like you lose like track of time. You’re like, how long was I out here for?
I don’t even know what it was. I, no, it probably 30 seconds, but it feels like 20 minutes, like two minutes. Um. Why my mom always called me dramatic growing up. Um, okay. The ceremony went great. Okay, so I guess so she got out, ceremony went great. Cocktail hour, also a win. Then dinner service started. Remember, we’re still in a museum.
They brought out a fresh tray of corn on the cob and the steam from it set off the smoke detectors. Because we weren’t an official museum event, we had to evacuate until the fire department arrived. Damn.
Jen Glantz: Oh my God. Okay. I honestly thought the fire department was gonna have to come to knock down the door.
So I’m like, okay. There’s, I’m glad the fire department’s coming now. Like that is awful. Imagine standing outside in your wedding dress with all of your guests just like standing this room.
Christa Innis: This is like literally like a movie, like seeing like all these things. I’m just glad she’s like being able to like look back and like laugh on it.
Jen Glantz: Yeah. Yeah.
Christa Innis: She said 30 minutes outside, no fire trucks. It’s like weddings, like 30 minutes is a lot of time. There’s a lot that can happen. Yes. Turns out the security officer told dispatch not to send them since there wasn’t an actual fire, but the museum’s insurance required them to come, so we were stuck outside for over an hour. Oh no!
Jen Glantz: Oh my God. That is crazy. Like also like are, were they allowed to bring drinks with them? Food with them? I doubt it. Like I’m sure. Yeah. And like, God, the temperature was, and people standing around like it, I think it also kills the vibe ’cause everyone was probably like up, up, up. And then they’re like back down to reality. So recovering from that must be really tough.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Seriously? Yeah. Then you’re, yeah, you’re like, you’re like outta your party mode. You’re like, okay, what? When are they gonna get here?
Jen Glantz: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, it says, but don’t worry, our bartender pulled their truck around and kept serving drinks. There you go. In the parking lot, the DJ grabbed a speaker and his phone and the people were dancing in the parking lot. I love that. That is so awesome.
Jen Glantz: She did it right. That’s how you, but that’s also how you know that like. This couple is good and chill because they were able to look at a situation like this and not panic and they were able to figure out a way to get through it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, and this is one of the things I talk about too, like in different like videos and stuff is like I get sometimes brides being like, oh my gosh, your video stressed me out. Like I don’t want wedding to be like that. And I’m like, no, I’m telling you, most of the time there’s no drama or people don’t know about it. Like it would be something so small and you just talk about it later. But if you go in with like. In your mind, like, okay, something will go wrong today. It’s bound to happen. There’s gonna be something, right? But if you tell yourself that, then you’re just gonna be like, oh, okay, okay. The dress needs to be steamed and we’re gonna be a little late. Or, oh, so and so’s Uber didn’t show up. You know, like there’s always gonna be something. But like if you’re just like, what can you do? Make the best out of a situation and go roll with the punches, right.
Jen Glantz: So true. I think. Yeah, exactly. Like you said, people have to go into it knowing that at least three things will go wrong. It just things happen in threes. Three things most people won’t know. You might not even know, and that’s good too, but there’s no such thing as a perfect day. I mean, these things happen. It’s life.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. And too, like we were talking about, is like I dramatized a lot of the skits while some Yes, I’m sure happened just like that at weddings. Um, like for example, there was like two, like two pretty small things. I wouldn’t say small. Drama ish moments that happened at our wedding, but we didn’t know, like us as the bride and groom, no one told us it happened until like weeks after.
They were like, oh, by the way, so and so said this to so-and-so. And then we were like, wait, what? And so they kept us out of it. So if you’re listening to your guests at a wedding, always keep the bride and groom out of it. Don’t tell them about little dumb things that happen. ’cause at the end of the day, like it doesn’t matter and don’t let it affect their day.
Jen Glantz: No. And if you’re in the bridal party, don’t tell the bride anything until like exactly like a week later. But yeah, I see sometimes made of actors or bridesmaids will like run up to tell the bride. I’m like, oh no, no. Like keep them out of this. They don’t need to know. It makes them just feel a lot better not knowing the truth.
Christa Innis: Yeah, absolutely. Um. She said go, but wait, there’s more. When we finally got back inside, someone had thrown out our dinner plates. Why? Why is someone trying to ruin this wedding? Crazy. Yeah. Um, and people had already started raid the dessert table. We didn’t have a cake, just two chocolate fountains, one with white chocolate for me and one with milk chocolate for my husband.
Interracial couple goals. Um, so she says the caterer had to rearrange everything to make the couple table look full again, so we could have our, our cake moment when we dipped and fed each other. As the party kept going, we noticed a woman dancing like she was having in the time of her life. Neither of us recognized her, so we assumed she was someone’s plus one.
We were wrong. It was the estranged wife of one of my husband’s friends. She found the invitation and decided to crash the way.
Jen Glantz: God. Okay. This is like a wedding where it’s like bad things happen in threes, but this is like, we’re at like six, like this is crazy, crazy. At that point, I’d just be like, okay, invite the fire truck crew, like whatever.
At this point, you know, all can come in who sees an invitation and is like, yeah, I’m gonna go, but I’m not invited. Like, that’s ballsy.
Christa Innis: That is really ballsy. Yeah. Just be like, you know what? I’m gonna stir up some drama. I mean. I, it’s, there’s no drama about her. I guess she just showed up, so,
Jen Glantz: Yeah. Yeah. And when you look at the perspective of this whole day, that’s like the least dramatic thing. So it’s like, okay, great. Like we have a wedding crasher, but also I was locked in a closet. The fire department was here. There’s no food. The desserts ruined. Like perspective wise, we’re like, let her stay, like let her have her best time here. She’s welcome.
Christa Innis: Yes, yes. Um, she said it’s been five years and people still talk about how ours was one of the best weddings they ever attended, despite all the chaos, and honestly, I have to agree, we laugh about it every time we tell the story.
It makes a really good story to like just tell people. I love that. Like every little thing that happened, they were able to just like laugh about it and be like, we’re a fun couple. We don’t care. This is not gonna bring us down. I love it.
Jen Glantz: I mean, honestly. A lot of weddings are the same, and you leave them and you’re like, well, that was it. Like that was like the last one. And like you hear a story like this and imagine like going home and telling people this story, like it makes it fun. I don’t know, it’s not like I don’t wish bad things on anybody, but like I do think when hiccups like this happen, they do make for good stories and memories for people.
And the last thing you want, I think, when you’re planning a wedding is for people to leave and be like, it was generic. Like it was just, you know, okay. Like you kind of want them to have like a moment to talk about, obviously not. So dramatic like this, but yeah, I feel like, but something people are, yeah, yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I mean I feel like the dancing in the parking lot where the de like that is so fun and the fact that like they just thought quickly. It’s also a sign that she hired some great vendors because I feel like I know vendors that would not be as like, no. You’ve heard, I’m sure you’ve seen or heard stories too, or you just, there’s some vendors that are just very like, this is it. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Jen Glantz: Yeah, no, I, it shows that she had like good vendors, good people at her wedding, good partner. She had a lot of good, and I think if you have a lot of good going for you, it’ll outweigh anything that happens at your wedding.
Christa Innis: Yeah, totally. Um, yeah, that’s like another note for people that are listening. ’cause like I’ve heard even weddings about like. It down pouring, but it still just ends up being this beautiful day and they just like dance in the rain or they like have beautiful photos and everyone’s just like sopping wet and they’re just like, but it was amazing. Like if you’ve got good vibes and you’ve got that good energy, it’s gonna be amazing no matter what.
Jen Glantz: I agree. I agree.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Well that was a crazy story. I’m like picturing it as like a movie. All these like little like things that happen like. Insane. Wild.
Jen Glantz: I give her a lot of credit. I think she made the best of it and I think it’s a true testament to other people. Like, go with the flow, it’s gonna be okay. And yeah, there’s things that are gonna happen that you just can’t plan for.
Christa Innis: Absolutely. Okay. I like to end these with, um, weekly confessions. So people send me confessions on Instagram, so I’ve got a couple here that we’ll just react to, um, at the very end here. Okay. Um, wedding planning landed. My mom and I in therapy six years to this day, don’t, and we don’t talk about it.
Jen Glantz: Yeah.
Christa Innis: that’s rough. Like we were just talking about, weddings can bring out the worst in people, but can also just bring out all these like unresolved emotions. ’cause I feel like it’s all this one day different personalities coming together, finances, starting new lives. It’s, it’s a lot.
Jen Glantz: It’s not the wedding. This was gonna happen either way. Just the wedding. Propelled it forward, unfortunately, yes.
Christa Innis: Um, it says, my middle sister and I missed our eldest sister’s wedding ceremony because of a traffic jam. Ooh, that is some traffic jam.
Jen Glantz: I know. I’ve seen that happen. I’ve seen it happen. And then the couples like, well, do we push the ceremony back and wait for people? But like, there’s a timeline. Uh, it happens like we did not go to my, my husband’s brother’s wedding. There we’re all very close with him. We did not go because my 2-year-old had 105 fever. Yeah. And we couldn’t go, like we just physically, my, my husband ended up going, but we couldn’t go. And it was like so hard to explain people without kids. It was so hard to like explain the situation. But in my head I’m like, I know this is the biggest day of their life, but like there will be other days, I’m like, this is like a circumstance we can’t control. And I think you have to kind of let that go and people miss it or they can’t go. ’cause of like these crazy circumstances, forgive, because they try Like you try your hardest.
Christa Innis: Yeah, you gotta try. Yeah. And you can’t, you can’t hold on to like a, like a grudge. Hopefully. I mean, she doesn’t say too much other than that, but it’s like hopefully the sister doesn’t hold on Grudge and. If it was just a ceremony, maybe there’s a reception after and they all, you know, dance the night away.
Jen Glantz: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, our flora, this last one says our florist was shut down by the IRS the week of our wedding. No notice and no help.
Jen Glantz: Hmm. That’s tough because like you already spent the money. It’s hard to find. Some in the week of flowers are like a decent part of the wedding. That is. That is like really tough. That happens though. Like your vendors are businesses, they’re people like things. Things happen.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: But there will be someone who can come pick up the pieces. Like you can always try to find a solution, even if it’s on a wedding vendor, like try to look outside the box or event people or just like people who are like learning, like amateur people who can kind of step into the role and make it better for you.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. It sucks when there’s like something like that that happens. I had people that happened to a friend of ours with a vendor, like they went bankrupt and like closed like a month before their wedding was supposed to happen, and it was like. Scramble. Like, let’s see what we can do.
Jen Glantz: It’s awful. My heart goes out because that’s like the last thing you wanna deal with the week before your wedding. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Totally. All right, well thank you so much for coming on. Before we sign off, do you have any like crazy, like what’s a hot take you have about weddings? I know you have, you have something that you’ve shared before.
Not to put you on the spot, if you have one. Um, what’s like a hot take that you.
Jen Glantz: You don’t need bridesmaids. I think in five to 10 years, bridesmaids will be extinct. Have your friends be there for you in the ways that they can and the ways that you want. But they don’t need the official title. They don’t need to walk down the aisle.
They don’t need the bridesmaid dresses. They don’t need any of that.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: All right. I love that.
Christa Innis: Well, where can everyone thank you so much for coming on. Of course. Like it was so much fun hanging out with you and meeting you officially. I feel like we like already know each other. It’s so weird how sometimes like internet.
No. ’cause you like see people and you like watch their content, but where can people follow you of course and keep up and what’s like the next kind of thing you’re working on?
Jen Glantz: People can find me @bridesmaidforhire.com. I’m on TikTok at Instagram at Bridesmaid for Hire. I have a newsletter called 1-800-BRIDESMAID and my book is called Finally the Bride.
You can find it on Amazon. It’s a lot of crazy stories you haven’t heard before, and thank you for the support and thank you for having me on the show.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Yeah, definitely. I wanna check out your book as well because I. I feel like you have so many crazy stories and I feel like I would, I’ve seen so many of your, I think I’m on your, your email list too, where I’ve seen like some of the stories that people send in and, um, your advice for bridesmaids. So any brides should definitely go check it out. Well, thank you so much.
Jen Glantz: Thank you. Yay.
The Best of the Best: Brides, Betrayals, and Shocking Moments
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Ever wondered what happens when your maid of honor ghosts you before the wedding? Or when your vendors vanish right after the ceremony?
In this solo episode, we relive the wildest guest submissions from Here Comes the Drama, and trust—these stories are chaotic, cringey, and completely unforgettable:
- Baby Bumps, Brawls & Breaking the System with Payal Desai
- Vegas Vows, MIL Meltdown, and Uninvited Guests with Saron Olkaba
- Mother-in-Law Drama: Wedding Secrets, Demands, and Hot Takes with Suzanne Lambert
- Career Pivots, Friendship Red Flags, and a Trashed Groomsuite — with Rebecca Rogers
- Money Fights, Fake Promises, and a Forgetful DJ with Cassie Horrell
From unexpected RSVP dropouts to emotional fallouts with best friends, I walk through the most jaw-dropping stories that left couples speechless, and sometimes, in tears. Whether you’re planning your own wedding or just love the mess, these listener tales offer both caution and catharsis.
And yes, we’re naming names (well, not really)—but we are talking about the friend who asked for a dress budget… then didn’t show up. Buckle up for the confessions that didn’t make the seating chart.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:28 Wedding Chaos: Would You Rather
07:00 Personal Wedding Stories
10:54 Top Five Moments
27:39 Navigating Awkward Family Dynamics
28:17 Fiancé’s Support and Confrontation
30:26 Mother-in-Law’s Silent Treatment
32:33 Fourth of July Weekend Drama
34:26 Wedding Day Tensions
36:32 Reception Chaos and Aftermath
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Maid of Honor Vanishes – One listener shares how her MOH disappeared before the wedding—and never explained why.
- No-Show Vendors – A couple pays in full for vendors who left immediately after the ceremony with no warning.
- Ghosted by a Guest – A friend confirms attendance, asks about the dress code… and never shows up.
- Mother-in-Law Cold Shoulder – One bride describes how her MIL ignored her while she walked in wearing white.
- Unexpected Plus-One – A groomsman brings a date who tries to break into the groom’s suite.
- RSVP Regret – Brides reflect on the pain of rearranging for people who backed out last minute.
- Dress Paid, Friendship Lost – A bride pays for her friend’s dress, who then stops speaking to her.
- Bridesmaid Burnout – Emotional stories from women who sacrificed time, money, and mental health for other people’s weddings.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Weddings have a sneaky way of showing you who’s really in your corner.” – Christa Innis
- “The drama doesn’t always happen at the altar—it’s in the group chats, RSVPs, and dress codes.” – Christa Innis
- “Sometimes the most thoughtful thing you can do is say no to being a bridesmaid.” – Christa Innis
- “Family dynamics don’t magically fix themselves because you’re getting married.” – Christa Innis
- “Being asked to be part of someone’s big day is an honor—but it shouldn’t cost you your boundaries.” – Christa Innis
- “I was standing in the kitchen while everyone else had a seat at the table.” – Guest
- “The bride didn’t even acknowledge me—just grabbed the mic and started yelling.” – Guest
- “I skipped the wedding and lost a friend, but I couldn’t afford to go into debt over it.” – Guest
- “They cut people from my side just to fit more of theirs.” – Guest
- “I cried over missing her bachelorette—but that hurricane showed me I wasn’t supposed to be there anyway.” – Guest
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story on Amazon
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
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
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hey guys. Welcome back to another episode of, here Comes The Drama. I’m your host, Christa Innis, and this is a solo episode today. If you guys are new here or new to listening, I do one of these every month other than the Patreon episodes, which is completely separate. but I thought we’d do something a little different this month and because we are,
seven months in of doing the podcast and it’s just been so much fun to create. I thought today we would do something a little different and highlight the top five moments from all the episodes so far. And I’ve seen podcast use before where they share like a little snippet, but I want you guys to feel a little like it’s still a unique episode.
Okay? So at the very end, of course, as always, it’s gonna be a brand new story. But before we get to that, I’m gonna do top five moments with different guests on the show and play the clip from that episode and introduce it as to. Why it was just such a crazy moment. these are moments that had our jaws dropping.
I honestly had to do some double takes because I wasn’t sure that they actually happened, but they’re insane. we get some crazy stories sent to us and this is just a thank you episode to everyone that submits stories to who listens and shares with their friends because it just means so much to me that I’m able to hang out with you guys and, do what I love here.
Would You Rather Wedding Fails + My Wildest Bridesmaid Moments
So. Thank you guys. Starting off, I know it was a little bit of a ramble, but hey, if you’re used to hearing me talk, I ramble. Sometimes it’s just the way it goes. Starting off, let’s do. Some would you rather. Wedding Chaos edition. I’m talking bridesmaids, brides, all that kind of stuff. so here we go.
Would you rather, and I’m gonna answer just, I dunno, I haven’t read these. We’re gonna see what happens. Would you rather your bridesmaid shows up in a white dress or your maid of honor roasts you in her speech? I’ve talked about this before. I could not have cared less if someone in my wedding or someone at my wedding wore white.
I think white dress would be fine. I mean, if it’s not a wedding dress, I don’t really care. People know who the bride is. Okay. Trip down the aisle in front of everyone or drop the wedding cake right before cutting it. I think I’d rather drop the wedding cake tripping down the aisle. I would be mortified.
A cake. You know, you kind of laugh it off. We got other desserts. It’s fine. Would you rather have a makeup fail in every photo or forget to change out of slippers and walk down the aisle? Forget to change outta slippers, obviously, because that sounds really comfortable. I myself didn’t even wear, no, I wore heels for the ceremony only, and then I put on sneakers.
So that’s how I feel about shoes. I really don’t care. would you rather sit next to your ex at the reception? So I’m guessing it’s not my own wedding. Hopefully that’d be kind of weird. Or let your mother-in-law plan the seating chart. my personal, I would love my mother-in-law to plan the seating chart.
She’s super organized. She’s great at that stuff. so yeah, I would definitely rather my mother-in-law be involved with the wedding and help with that. ‘ cause she was very involved in my wedding. She’s super crafty, super organized. So yeah, I got lucky with that one. Okay. Would you rather go over your budget by $5,000 or have your outdoor ceremony completely rained out?
This is easy for me because it was kind of rained out. at our venue, we had an option to get married inside, which we loved. And there was an outdoor courtyard, so if it happened to be warmer or nice, we could get married outside. But we woke up and it was pretty chilly and I think it ended up raining during the ceremony.
we weren’t really counting on it though, because we got married at the end of March and where I live, it’s, you never know what you’re gonna get. You could be in seventies or you could probably, you could be in like thirties. I always joke about our wedding day. It was like every kind of season. We woke up, it was sunny, it was like maybe forties, then we had some rain, we had some clouds, and we even had some snow.
So we got all of the seasons. okay. Would you rather find out your bridesmaid is proposing to her boyfriend at your wedding or learn someone secretly brought their own cake? Probably bring their own cake. I mean, why not? Who cares if you bring your own cake? I mean, people have dietary restrictions.
Maybe they wanted something that they could enjoy gluten-free or dairy-free. Would you rather lose your dress in transit or your wedding accidentally scheduled on the same day as a major family event? Ooh. See the planner in me is like, well, how would that happen? Because it wouldn’t be that major if like other people are RSS v ping to the wedding that are in my family.
So I would just say the second one, how I mean. I don’t wanna lose my dress in transit, so we’re gonna go with that. It’s funny. So I am in my closet. If you guys don’t know this, I recorded my closet. If you’re watching the video, literally a bridesmaid. I should do a bridesmaid. You guys, I know I can’t, you can’t comment, but I have a bridesmaid robe in here from when I was a bridesmaid.
I should show you guys maybe in a video on social media or something. All the stuff I have from being in weddings. So I talk about it all the time, but I don’t talk about like personal stories a lot. But I have probably three or four, robes in my closet, guys. A DHD oh my gosh. I like, I forgot I was doing hot takes, whatever.
Okay. I have four, five bridesmaid robes. I’ve got two bridal jean jackets. Those were, that’s a story. That’s for my wedding though. I’ve got a bunch of like. Stuff from my bachelorette party when I was engaged and guys, I probably have six bridesmaid dresses. The weddings I were in in the beginning of my bridesmaid career are long gone.
sorry if you guys are listening. they were dresses I would knew I would never wear again. I think that’s probably the first three or four bridesmaid dresses are like, were donated. So. Sorry guys, but I have a bunch of other ones in my closet right now that I’ve been telling myself I’ll wear again, dunno if I will or not.
We’ll see. okay. Sorry guys. Back to where I was. Let me know if you guys think I should do some kind of video on all that stuff. I don’t know. Okay. Would you rather have your officiant call you the wrong name? I read a story about that once or your wedding video go viral for all the wrong reasons. Ooh, those are both like E, those Sting.
I would say officiant. Call you the wrong name. ‘ cause with my name with Krista, I’ve been called the wrong name my whole life. I’ve gotten Crystal. Christina, Chrissy, Christie. I kinda just brush it off. So I think I’d rather do that. I don’t want my wedding video to go viral for the wrong reasons.
‘ cause I’ve seen that. I’ve seen that. And it’s not fun. It’s not fun. Okay. last one. Oh gosh. Would you rather catch your best man doing a drunken strip tease or get a text the morning of the wedding that your DJ quit? DJ quit. I highly recommend DJs obviously, but worst case scenario, if a DJ called, quit or whatever.
Tons. All my friends have great playlists on their phone ready to go. We got Spotify. I know it doesn’t replace the announcement the DJ can do. we loved our dj. He did a great job, but worst case, I do not want my best fan doing a dance on the floor like that. Okay. Let’s get into it. I think another episode, I wanna talk a little bit more about the weddings I’ve been in.
I’ve shared little stories here and there, but it’s funny, I was thinking about reflecting on different weddings I’ve been in and I was like, I don’t really have that many of crazy stories. I do, what I can kind of share right now. The first wedding I was ever in, was my sister’s wedding, and I was the maid of honor.
I was. 19 or 20 years old. So that looked way different from the last wedding I was in. The last wedding I was in, I was 30, how old am I now? 30. I’ll be 35 when this episode comes out, sharing a little detail about myself. Gosh, I’ve been weddings over last, well, the last wedding I was in, I was pregnant, so I was probably like
- when, the last wedding I was in, I was six months pregnant. Completely different scenarios. Right? That was for, a friend of mine, my husband’s cousin actually, and I was a matron of honor in that wedding. Maid of honor. Maid of honor. So, what I can say is with the first Wedding I was ever in.
I didn’t really know what to expect, right? So I’m underage, I can’t like plan a crazy bachelorette, that kind of thing. the bridal shower was at my parents’ house, so we kept it really small. This was kind of before Pinterest and all that stuff. So it was very simple. It was fun because it was family. my sister had a pretty, I would say, small wedding party, right?
My speech, I like took time. I wrote it all out. I made sure it sounded, you know, very like heartfelt. I was also in college, so there was a lot going on, right. I go to get my speech, I wanna say I was second. Yes. So the best man goes before me, had nothing planned. He stood up and just went on a whim and just.
Started talking. I didn’t have a clock in front of me or a phone in front of me. I don’t know how long he talked, but I wanna say he talked for like 10 minutes and no one cut him off. And it was someone that I think in his mind was like, oh, I know all these things. I’m gonna say I got three points.
I’m gonna go with it. And then it just kept going. So meanwhile, I’m sitting there and I’m getting more and more nervous because you know when you’re ready to talk and then they just keep pushing it back. You’re just like, okay, okay, I’m ready. I’m ready. So eventually I stood up to talk and I had a printed piece of paper, and I remember shaking the whole time.
I felt like I was giving like a school speech. I looked out here and there to the audience, but most of the time I was just like staring down. yeah. So then the last one, like I said, I was six months pregnant and. gosh,, it was a really fun wedding, but I wish I would’ve asked for more help because here I am, like on the floor trying to move her dress and like train behind her with my big belly, and I’m on the shorter side.
So when I was pregnant, it was like I had a big belly. Guys, I’m not afraid to say it. It was just really hard to move. So I’m like trying to get down these, in these heels. and it was not easy. Doing all that, but it was fun. it was fun to be in a wedding pregnant, however,
It was interesting going dress shopping. You had to find, I guess, a certain one. Then you try to get it fitted around it. Right. But as my mom says, it’s way better now than when she was pregnant as a bridesmaid. They just didn’t have the flattering styles to fit your pregnant belly, I guess she would say. But there’s like 10 weddings in, no, like eight weddings in between all that. So maybe one episode I’ll kind of share some highlights about each one. They’re all just different. Every bride is so different to what they need, their audience, their family.
The type of wedding I’ve done very DIY weddings. I’ve done something from like. Campsite. Like we literally were at a campsite, not a bridesmaid. I was just there helping, where we picked wild flowers and it was very chill and laid back and we could wear just like sundresses all the way to like a super expensive, fancy wedding in the city.
where we took a bus around the downtown getting photos and that just felt so elegant. and. They all end up beautiful. So I know I’m going on like a little tangent now, but just kinda reflecting back, okay, let’s get into it. Top five moments. I didn’t have anyone vote on these. It just kind of based on like downloads and then me looking at the stories again and being like, oh my gosh.
Top 5 Wedding Chaos Moments
Yeah, that was a insane story. So these are like top five. I wanted to hear from you guys though. Which one yours were like the. Craziest. Okay, so coming in at number five is when Cassie Harrell Wedding Pro cast came on for the social media screaming match here. It’s
When we announced that we were engaged on Facebook, oh gosh, everyone seemed very happy about it.
Then I started to see angry faces and a lot of negative comments. My mother-in-law commented saying, how effing, the actual word, effing dare you announce this without asking my permission first? not on a public facebook post
Cassie Horrell: This is terrible.
Christa Innis: So bad. then it only got worse from there. She proceeded to call me names and tell me that I wasn’t good enough to marry her son.
Oh my gosh. all while she was commenting, my sister-in-law was calling and yelling at him about how they should have had a family meeting about allowing a woman with kids into the family.
Cassie Horrell: What?
Christa Innis: I felt sick and unwanted. That is terrible. Family meeting.
Oh, my gosh.
Eventually we get to planning the wedding and his mom had made it very clear that she did not want any part of helping plan the wedding. We tried to include her many times, but she would just keep saying rude things about how my wedding didn’t need to be the center of every conversation. So my husband is from a really small town and we went there for the Fourth of July.
This was the first time I would be meeting his dad and step mom, his brother and sister. Yes, the same sister that was calling and yelling at him. It was a good time, and they were very interested in all the things that we had planned for the wedding. Okay, so it seems like some family member was like,
Cassie Horrell: this is turning around.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Cassie Horrell: Maybe.
Christa Innis: Maybe. His dad told us that we had an allotted amount of money to use, and that if he needed anything beyond that, his mom would have to help us. his mom would have to help us. the dad’s ex wife. so it was the day we went dress shopping and because we had so many bridesmaids, the place was a full house.
Everyone was having the best time. Then we felt a shift in the energy and my mother in law walked in just the gray clouds.
Cassie Horrell: Here we go.
Christa Innis: She was extremely upset that no one Picked her up to bring her to the bridal shop. She sat down and shouted, Let’s get this thing over with. I don’t want to be here all effing day.
Cassie Horrell: She seems nasty.
Christa Innis: Yeah, why even invite her? Like, I would be like, No, you’re not coming. Cause I wouldn’t even want someone’s opinions like that. My mom looked over at her and asked her to leave then if she didn’t want to be there. Yeah. Then she said, She’s been married before, so I don’t know why she even needs to buy a dress.
Cassie Horrell: That is terrible.
Christa Innis: I hate that. She could have gotten one at Goodwill.
Cassie Horrell: No.
Christa Innis: Okay, that is terrible.
Cassie Horrell: This lady’s a witch.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I ignored the comments and started trying on dresses. There wasn’t a dress I tried on that she didn’t have a rude comment about. I would be telling her to leave at that point. That is, yeah, that’s so like unenjoyable.
I finally found the one and loved it and it made me happy. Later that evening at dinner, she tells my husband. I found the dress that hides my arm flab the best.
Cassie Horrell: No, this is bad. I don’t know who this woman is, but this is bad.
Christa Innis: This is bad. This is like one of the worst stories I’ve read. Oh my gosh. The night of my rehearsal, my mother in law sat there complaining the whole time how she had to sit at the same table as my father in law.
She kept saying he better not talk to me. Then finally my brother in law shows up late and my mother in law demanded that I allow my brother in law’s wife in the wedding as a bridesmaid.
Cassie Horrell: Excuse me?
Christa Innis: At the rehearsal dinner? Okay. She was supposed to be my bridesmaid and then they broke up and I guess they got back together the week of the wedding.
Surprise. Okay. They called me many times that week and never said anything about it so I was a little taken aback by this. My mother in law told me that she was told to bring the dress and that she would make me let her be in the wedding again.
Cassie Horrell: This is the mother in law said that again
Christa Innis: my mother in law told me that she told her to bring the dress with her and that she would make me let her be in the wedding again.
Cassie Horrell: Okay. So force this girl into the wedding.
Christa Innis: Yeah. and make my other bridesmaids sit out. Wait, so that’s even worse.
Like, we’re just going to swap you right in there.
Cassie Horrell: This is terrible.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. I told her I wouldn’t allow my other bridesmaid who paid money for the dress to sit out and they would both have to walk down the aisle together. That didn’t make her happy and she told me to just tell my bridesmaid that we would reimburse her for the dress and she could sit down and enjoy herself.
Cassie Horrell: I again told her absolutely not. She got upset and called me a spoiled witch. I’m a little taken back by this woman.
Christa Innis: Yeah, it’s hard because it’s like I’m not in that position, so it’s always different when you’re in it, but I’m just like, I could not stand to be around someone like that that’s constantly mean like that and just trying to control everything.
Cassie Horrell: Also, I’m a little confused. why isn’t the partner standing up to his mom or like being a little bit more supportive here? Because it wasn’t one instance. This is like 20 instances.
Christa Innis: Yes. Like he needs to be like. guarded security at this point, blocking her, because yeah, that’s too much.
we finally get the rehearsal done and everyone left to go to my brother’s house where we were gonna have pizza. My sister in law made rude comments about how we could only afford pizza and not a real meal.
Cassie Horrell: Oh
Christa Innis: no. Let me tell you, we had pizza at our rehearsal dinner and it was still expensive.
Everyone loves pizza. There’s no problem with pizza. Exactly. No one complained. At least not to our face. My parents shelled out over a thousand dollars for this meal. It’s what we chose as it feeds the most. And it was easy as my husband was having his bachelor party the night before the wedding.
Cassie Horrell: Yikes. Sewing
Christa Innis: scrims, man. Yeah. No, I don’t know if people still did that. Yeah, no, no,
Cassie Horrell: no.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. yeah, so he had his bachelor party. It was a terrible idea, by the way. But that’s a story for another day. So we all had pizza and us girls all left. We told my mother in law three times before we left what time our hair and makeup appointment was the next morning.
And we were almost done when she and my brother in law’s wife showed up to get ready. She said, how dare I get ready before the mother of The groom. What? I cannot believe the audacity here.
Cassie Horrell: Yeah, she’s out of line. Yeah.
Christa Innis: When everyone was ready to go to the ballroom and get ready for pictures, she was mad that we were leaving her.
Well, you should have been there on time.
Cassie Horrell: Yeah.
Christa Innis: We were on a strict time frame. We told her that my sister in law needed to be there by a certain time for pictures. She never got there in time for pictures and it snowballed from there. My mother in law ruined our first look, not surprised, by accidentally getting mud all over the bottom of my dress.
Oh. Accidentally. Yeah, how did that happen? She wouldn’t smile in any pictures. Oh my gosh. so later that night I heard someone say that my mother in law was telling everyone that my wedding was unclassy and tacky. And that clearly we didn’t have any money to buy real things. Why do people feel the need to make comments like that?
Right,
Cassie Horrell: keep it to yourself.
Christa Innis: Yeah, like, come on. Oh, and yes, then the arm flab comet came up again that night. I’d slap her. I’d slap her. Oh my gosh, that is terrible. Like, never comment on someone’s body, but especially not a bride on her wedding day. Exactly. that is not okay. And that night she walked by and pinched my arm and said, You should really work on that.
It’s gross.
Cassie Horrell: No. This could be like a whole series. This is like the series of Unfortunate Mother in Law. I don’t know what this is.
Christa Innis: all right. That was wild. All right. Coming in at number four is Rebecca Rogers and the Surprise Wedding Guest.
On the morning of my wedding, the bridal party was getting ready in the bridal suite the groom was getting ready in the groom suite. One of the groomsmen didn’t follow instructions and showed up two hours late with a different girl than who we RSVPed for. Okay. This, this girl had a very strong Russian accent.
went into the groom suite and started talking to the groom and asking questions. For example, is this a yee-haw wedding and will you be doing square dancing? Okay. Interesting. I mean, I guess like switching, I get it. Like, girl, it doesn’t really matter, but it’s interesting. Oh, wow. Okay. Okay, go ahead. Go ahead.
the boys kicked her out and told her to wait somewhere else, and she came then to the bridal suite. She came in and started acting faint and sat at a table demanding attention from all the bridesmaids. They were taking care of her because they were worried and had a hard time understanding her because of her accent.
When they turned away to finish getting ready for the day, she ate my lunch, the bride’s lunch, the audacity. There was no more food left until after the ceremony, so I went to my wedding hungry see I’m a big, like weddings that I’ve been in and like helped coordinate. I am big into like no one other than the wedding party be in the room.
Like, yeah, why was she in there? Yeah. I feel like it’s probably the groomsmen that wasn’t paying attention. Being like, oh, just go in there. You’re fine. You’re one of the girls. ‘ cause I’ve seen that. Yes. That’s what I can see that,
Rebecca Rogers: yeah. okay. I could give her the benefit of the doubt in the groomsman suite.
I could give her the benefit of the doubt and I’m like, ah. She’s just, you know, I think there are such stereotypical views of Americans in different parts of Europe. Mm-hmm. I can see her like genuinely getting excited. Is this a yha yha wedding? Because like everywhere is Texas.
Yes. People in Europe don’t understand that, they think cowboys, they think McDonald’s. they have very specific ideas of what they think America is. Yeah. And. Sometimes when they’re like, oh my God, am I going to be able to experience this American thing that I only see on tv?
Like, they can get excited it can come off as rude because I feel like, especially in, Eastern Europe, sometimes people are much more blunt than we’re used to here in the us. which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just different. But then the going into like weddings, wherever you go, the bride is the star.
why are you demanding attention as a guest? That should be common sense. Yes. Why are you going and bothering people you’ve never met before? Like if, right. I can even maybe see like a, Hey, we don’t want you to mess up with the setup. Stay in the groom suite. Why are you sending her? I can see why a man, I love men.
Some men are dumb. Not all men. Always a man. Not all men, always a man. Yeah. Why is some man being like, yeah.
This is not babysit your girlfriend time, Tinder, chick of the week. Like Right. You could have been just, she could have even been established as a new serious girlfriend. It’s not everyone else’s job to babysit her. That’s weird. That’s strange.
Christa Innis: Why, did you have to bring someone? Like if she had
nowhere else to go, why did you bring her?
yeah. Especially being a groomsman. I feel like you’ve got your guys there, you got other stuff to do. All right, let’s, right, let’s see what happens next? So she goes to the wedding hungry at that point. Oh, wait, that’s not all. Oh my God. Okay. Sorry. I’m sorry. Oh my gosh. You there was the whole story, girl.
We’ve got lots.
Rebecca Rogers: Okay. Okay. Okay. Continue. Continue. So Molly, okay. Okay.
Christa Innis: At that point, she got kicked out and was told to wait in the ceremony space wedding, and sues with no other problems until the reception. During the reception, the girl tries to enter the bridal suite and the groom suite where the wedding planner catches her and tells her that it’s locked until after the wedding.
No one is allowed in except for the bridal party. Okay, good. I’m glad the wedding party planner is there now. Right? The girl on top of this Exactly. The girl retrieved her groomsmen and they tried picking the lock to the groom suite. What, For what? Why does she need to get in there? Yeah. A friend of the groom went and found the planner to let them know the girl was trying to break in the groom suite because the groomsmen was with her this time.
They unlocked it for them and was told they were changing. So the planner left to take care of the couple. Wait. They told them they had to get in there and go change. I’m so confused. They
told
Rebecca Rogers: the planner, Hey, I’m a groomsman. I need to get into the groomsmen suite.
I have to change my clothes so that Okay. And they unlocked it and left.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. So, oh my gosh. That’s stressful. I’m sweating. It says they did the deed, That’s where I thought this was going and left the place in absolute
Disarray. A huge mess. They then left the wedding early, and we didn’t find out about the mess until after our families went in to clean up the suites and pack everything up. We felt very disrespected by this, so I personally texted the groomsman the next day to ask him why he brought a stranger. First of all, without talking to us about it, that he RSVP’d for was his girlfriend of a year that we knew.
So there we go too. why? He left her to wreck havoc upon the bride and then disrespected the place by basically destroying it. oh, so he brushed off the communication and mentioned that he barely knew her, but that she was a family friend. No apology whatsoever. I was then talking to my bridesmaid about everything that happened with her, and we found out the groomsman parents paid her to be his escort and get him to break up with his girlfriend.
That is not where I thought this was going. Wait, what? His parents paid her to be his escort,
Rebecca Rogers: First of all, if you are a man who is easily swayed to break up with your girlfriend of a year, ‘ cause of a fancy accent and some excitement, throw the whole man away. Throw the whole man away. In my opinion, full stop. Obviously we don’t know like what kind of issues were going on in his relationship. Right, right. We have no idea. Yeah. She could have been a toxic girlfriend. We don’t know. Right. The whole thing just screams gross to me. Why?
Rebecca Rogers: shocked that I’m like, I can’t even find my words.
Christa Innis: I,
Rebecca Rogers: the last sentence, I
Christa Innis: just, the last sentence says, they also paid for her expensive designer clothes for the wedding, then paid them to have an expensive hotel that night. All right, coming in. Number three is Suzanne Lambert and the Lake House Pantry Showdown.
so she called me in the kitchen and she said, aren’t you just so happy I’m going to be your mother in law and not insert difficult family member here. So she’s blocking the name out. I looked her in the eyes and said, I don’t know if this is the person’s real name, so
Barb, I’m okay right now. But if you keep pestering me about things, I’m going to the venue. I’m not going to be okay. I added, this is my boundary. She didn’t seem to the time. But, oh, did she later.
Suzanne Lambert: Okay, Therapy. I love that. Yeah, we love boundaries.
I would love if the fiancé was setting some. and I’m annoyed on her behalf that she’s having to do it all herself. But I’m very proud of her for saying that. That’s not easy to say. Bye bye. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Especially when you’re being cornered because it sounds like she’s alone with this mother. why is no one around?
And that’s what they
Suzanne Lambert: do. I feel like people like this, they want to get you alone at your most vulnerable where you don’t have a chance to really think things through. So that’s impressive thinking on your feet.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. I would be like shaking in my boots. I’d be like, is this actually happening right now?
I’m that person that in a scenario, I’m like, Why is this happening? And a minute later, I’m like, why didn’t I say that? I should have said that. Or as I’m saying it, I’m like, you know what? And boundaries that I’m like, shaking. And I’m like, that’s okay. I’m like,
Suzanne Lambert: Ooh, maybe we shouldn’t have gone that hard.
Maybe we take a deep breath. My yoga instructors, like generator response, you feel powerful choosing. And I’m like, generator response, you feel powerful choosing when I’m like wanting to spout off. So we all have our struggles. Yeah. I probably would have been like, Yeah, I don’t know, crazy family members sounding pretty good right about now, and like, it would have started a whole thing, so.
Christa Innis: Yeah, My fiancé and I discussed how upset we were with the day, okay, so now, now he’s around, and how comfortable she had made things.
he was very supportive and felt the same way two days later, he called her to address it, telling her that her behavior was unfair and made everyone uncomfortable. She exploded saying, is this why I’m going to change her name again? Is this why Kelly doesn’t like me?
And hung up. She then gave us a science by right. Like the, yeah, the girl that wrote the story. Yeah. Okay. huh? what gave it away? Like, are you
Suzanne Lambert: acting? so there’s it’s so funny because like mother in law’s like this. a level of awareness. Like, they get there, right? They get, oh, Kelly doesn’t like me, but they don’t see any of the lead up to anything they could have done.
They look at it as a spontaneous event.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Suzanne Lambert: and all of a sudden she didn’t like me. And it’s like, are you forgetting the a hundred things you did before she reacted the one time
Christa Innis: or the time that they finally like snap back. they’re so mean. I don’t do anything wrong.
And it’s like, that was like the story I read yesterday. I’m like, Oh my god, this victim mentality of like, why would she say that to me? I’m just your mom. I just care so much. It’s like, no, that was not the full story. No,
Suzanne Lambert: because if you cared, you, would be like, oh my god, I hurt your feelings. I’m so sorry about that.
that’s a normal way to do. Can you imagine like if someone called you and was like, Hey, at our engagement party, you made us feel bad and sad and whatever, like you would be horrified because you’re a normal person. Imagine like. that’s why they don’t like me?
Christa Innis: Oh my god. what?
Suzanne Lambert: I don’t understand.
And, like, if she had been like, oh, that’s why she doesn’t like me, that would be like such a different thing. Like, oh, okay. I didn’t realize how annoying I was being noted. You know? Won’t do it again. sometimes you need a little kick in the ass to be oh, I’m like acting a weird way. Yeah. But that’s wild.
And then to hang up, I don’t believe in hanging up the phone, especially on your own son. Right.
Christa Innis: this is a long one. I love this. Sorry, Nellie, but I’m living for this. This is crazy. Okay. She then gave us a silent treatment for three weeks. I bet it was a really nice three weeks.
Suzanne Lambert: That sounds lovely. That sounds like a vacation. Yeah. Silent treatment. That sounds ideal. She should do that more often and with others in her life. I would imagine. That is beautiful.
Christa Innis: Best case scenario. I feel like in these scenarios, just keep it going, please. She even ignored my fiance’s birthday, which is weeks after the incident.
Normally they every other day. So this was very shocking until then we had no issues. And I thought our relationship was fine. Her behavior was hurtful, especially to my fiance. Thankfully his who witnessed everything supported us agreeing that his mom’s actions were out of line.
Suzanne Lambert: We had a wonder if the aunt is on the dad’s side or the mom’s side, cause that also kind of changes things a little bit.
It’s her sister. Hopefully the aunt is going to her being like, You’re being nuts. If it’s the dad’s sister, she’s like, Oh, I’ve seen this from this from the beginning. One of us wanted him to end up with her. Like, we all wanted him to end up with the other girl, you that dynamic is interesting, too.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I know. Like earlier at the party, I think she said the mom’s sister or the on the mom side. That’s
Suzanne Lambert: worse, honestly. your own sister being like, yeah, but again, hope the aunt is going to the mom. Like, if I saw my sister acting that way, or if they saw me acting that way, they would be the first to be like, hey, cut it out.
Christa Innis: Exactly.
Okay. We had a 4th of July weekend planned at his family’s lake house, and she was supposed to join us.
She didn’t show up until the weekend was nearly over. When she arrived, there was no warm embrace, no belated birthday wishes for her son, just coldness. It’s like, why even come? It was incredible. Yeah. Awkward.
Suzanne Lambert: Cause she wants to have her Real Housewives moment. She thinks she’s on Real Housewives of Orange County, with a dramatic show up.
Girl, no one was worried. Yeah. No one was worried. They were like praying you didn’t come. the silent treatment, the weekend without you, where we’re just like, chillin eating hot dogs, waving flags, like, it was all going really, the vibes were high, like, yes.
Christa Innis: yeah, she wanted to come in with the sad music, everyone’s like, oh no, what’s, wrong with Barb over there?
A fur coat.
Suzanne Lambert: Yeah, like, mope dramatically around the house. Puffin and puffin Like, what we would do when we were like, sleeping. Seven and like our parents made chicken for dinner and we didn’t want chicken that’s what she’s she wanted spaghetti She didn’t want chicken. So now she’s making it everyone’s problem.
Yeah.
Christa Innis: Oh my god. So true my fiance I decided we needed to address this. He pulled her aside in the pantry while I stayed around the corner I love, like, the sour cream and onion chips
Suzanne Lambert: listening in,
Christa Innis: you know? That seemed like the best
Suzanne Lambert: spot.
Christa Innis: Funny
Suzanne Lambert: setting conversation. I love that she added that in.
Christa Innis: Yeah, the pantry,
Suzanne Lambert: it really sets the scene. It’s like, this is dire. This is a dire situation.
Christa Innis: That was the quickest spot. He started by saying we wanted to resolve things, but she exploded again. She accused us of keeping the wedding a secret because we wouldn’t share the venue address. A narrative she created.
She claimed I had promised to send it to her and didn’t, saying she didn’t do shit. At that point, I stepped in the conversation and said, Well, it’s my turn to enter now! Okay. And just a little note, guys, that was the one we did the follow-up episode where the original person that sent in that story came on and shared her site even more. So if you’re looking for some more detail on that, check out that episode. And number two was with Saron oba, the Las Vegas letdown.
On wedding day, I went to brunch with girls from both sides of the family. My mother in law ignored me completely. Even when I greeted her, I brushed it off and enjoyed the day. This mother in law hates her. I would be like, you can’t come. This is terrible. Like, why would you want to feel like a stranger or unwanted at your own wedding?
Saron Olkaba: She just has the worst energy. She’s she’s gonna try and ruin your day. I would hire security, give them a picture and That would be it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, because it’s not her right to be at this wedding.
Christa Innis: I’d be like you’re done. Sorry.
I don’t want you there. She’s a guest. She’s a guest. Yeah, you are nothing more than a guest who could easily be scratched right off. at this ceremony, my sisters told me that my fiancé’s family had taken up the front rows on both sides of the pews. My mother in law refused to move, saying her parents can find another place to sit.
No, so now she’s rude to, her family.
Saron Olkaba: this would not be, go well
Christa Innis: for me, or, or, like, cause now you’re gonna be, like you said, you’re gonna be dealing with this mother in law for the rest of your life. if it’s bad now, imagine if they have kids, or if they buy a house, you know, any step in there,
Saron Olkaba: I don’t understand why anyone would sign up to deal with that forever.
Like, You’re asking to be miserable for the rest of your, what man is worth that? What man is worth having to deal with the devil day, no.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I really hope this ends with they cut her off. Like, they’re done with her, I hope. Fingers crossed. cause that’s the only way this is gonna work, I feel like.
okay. So she said she had to move. I had to ask the officiant to step in and remind everyone which side was for the bride’s family and which for the groom’s. This made my mother in law furious. After the ceremony, during photos, the photographer suggested moving one of my fiancé’s siblings to my side to even things out.
My sister in law loudly said, Hell no, I’m not going over there. I ignored it. At the bowling alley reception, my mother in law Who are these animals? Who
Saron Olkaba: are these beasts?
Christa Innis: I don’t know, why do they think they’re so much better than, her and her family? Oh, God. Jesus. I’m speechless. This is probably one of the worst mother in law stories I’ve read.
And I’ve read a lot. At the bowling alley reception, my mother in law refused to sign the guest book, despite me and my husband asking multiple times. When she finally did, she just wrote congratulations with no warmth, and she left without saying goodbye.
Saron Olkaba: Like why? That’s the nicest thing she’s done thus far.
That’s the most pleasant been in this whole story.
Christa Innis: Yeah. The next day, my mom invited us to lunch before she left town. My mother in law didn’t contact us, but took my husband’s brothers to go karting and sightseeing instead. When my husband asked why we weren’t invited, she said, you were busy.
We weren’t. Two days later, I made a Facebook post about the wedding and saw that my mother in law had untagged me from her earlier post. When my husband asked why, she said, it was a post only for you.
Saron Olkaba: Ew. Do you wanna fuck your son? Like, what is going on here? Why? I’m sorry, curse here? Yeah, you’re fine.
I’m a
Christa Innis: little late to ask that question, but. Redo! No. Yeah, it’ll be fine. I don’t know. That is, yeah, why? I don’t get these mother in laws that hate their daughter in laws so much thatthey don’t care what they say, like no one’s good enough for their son.
I don’t, know what it is.
Saron Olkaba: It’s enmeshment. I think that’s the word. no, it’s emotionally incest, even worse. Yes. No, that’s creepy as hell. Right.
Christa Innis: There was this skit, I don’t know if you watch SNL. did you see, oh, who hosted the Timothee Chalamet one? No, I haven’t seen it.
This last weekend? Okay, you have to watch it, but there’s one about that, but it’s like extreme, like the Oedipus Complex. It’s about like Mother’s Day and like the sun being like, hey mom. I don’t know,
Saron Olkaba: I’m horrified that I’m going to be looking this up just immediately after we get off this.
You need to.
Christa Innis: It was cringe, but I was like. It’s like way over the top, but it was like some of these moms, yeah, I could see it. I find
Saron Olkaba: it, once you meet this psycho mother in law, right? and you see that this man sees nothing wrong with their relationship and kind of encourages it and won’t ask her.
How are you still attracted to this man that might want to fuck his mom? Like, how do you not get the ick immediately and run away from, like, self preservation?
Christa Innis: Yeah, cause my thing is, this is not the first time something like this has happened. She had of given signs before they got engaged, or when they first met, I’m thinking, like, first dinner at a parent’s house.
Every girlfriend
Saron Olkaba: had a book before
Christa Innis: him, before her. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, like, what were the signs before? Yeah, because it wasn’t like, oh, they’re engaged now, they’re serious, now my real, like, craziness is gonna come out. Like, I feel like she had to have treated her poorly before this.
Saron Olkaba: Right. And the sister in law is also a as well.
Christa Innis: Yeah, what’s the deal with that? Okay, three days after the wedding, she texted my husband saying she wanted to talk about my behavior at the wedding. What? He told her he wouldn’t have that conversation without me there, and she refused. A few days later, she blocked me on social media and deleted my husband?
So what her behavior was like having boundaries and like, No, expecting her
Saron Olkaba: parents to be able to sit in the front row. Yeah. And not allowing the friend of a co worker of her neighbor’s nephew to come last minute. Those were the things. Right. Those were the things.
Christa Innis: Those are really harsh to have.
I mean, maybe blocking on social media and deleting the husband is like the best thing, because then you guys can’t see her on social media. I wouldn’t have said a thing
Saron Olkaba: about that.
Christa Innis: I would have
Saron Olkaba: said,
Christa Innis: great. I’m like, awesome. Yeah, you saved it. saved me from doing it. When I tried reaching out, she called my husband crying.
Here we go. The victim saying she’d been crying every day because of how I treated her when he defended me like a good, she hung up because she realizes he gone. he’s not backing you up anymore, crazy mom. He is now
Saron Olkaba: someone else’s husband. Not yours.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Not yours. Finally, my husband texted her saying she had two options.
Have a conversation or lose him. She replied, I guess I won’t be seeing you anymore then. I mean, I would say hallelujah.
Saron Olkaba: I would be like, I’m so sorry, babe. Yeah. It’ll be like, we’ll, we’ll get this. It’s just trying to keep my face straight. Okay.
Christa Innis: I know. I feel like the petty in me, I’d text her, I’d be like, well, have a great life. Best of luck. Yeah. Honestly, I’m relieved, you know, and I really hope they don’t contact her.
And I hope it’s just like left that way because like we were saying, this mother in law would make her life a living hell. And number one for the craziest wedding story I ever read on a podcast episode was with Pile Desai wedding brawl disaster.
Fast forward to the wedding and reception. The ceremony went well, but the reception was a complete disaster. Her parents went through the wedding gifts and cards to pay my boyfriend for his DJ services.
Payal Desai: Oh my
Christa Innis: God,
Payal Desai: that’s so
Christa Innis: kki. That’s so, this is why, and I’ve said this before, it’s like when you hire friends, they’re looking for like a little discount? Mm-hmm. Or they just not as, I don’t know, professional.
Payal Desai: I don’t think like friends and business ever mix, No. No, they don’t. That’s a no for me.
Christa Innis: You need extra like contracts in place or to really make sure it’s someone that you want to work with, but most of the time it’s like, yeah, no,
Payal Desai: it just gets mucky.
It gets mucky, and then you’re trying to go through cards to pay. Dj,
Christa Innis: the number of stories that I’ve read about people hiring friends for photographers and vice versa. Mm-hmm. And then they ended up with no photos or they ended up with crappy photos ’cause it was someone just starting out. Like, no, we’re not doing that.
Guys.
Payal Desai: well, and with a friendship or even like with family, like a falling out could occur. And so why would you if it’s a professional and it, you don’t have like a relation to that person. There’s a contract and you abide by that. But a lot of times if you’re working with a friend, like you may forego the contract ’cause it’s like, oh, we don’t have to make it all official.
Like you’ll just do it for me.
Christa Innis: there was a lot of animosity between her family and ours the entire night. If my family was ever on the dance floor, which was most of the night, her family stayed away. What is the deal? Also, I feel like if something like that happened where they kicked out someone for announcing a pregnancy, I would already be like, this is weird.
Like, I don’t know. Especially like it’s his sister being kicked out of the wedding.
Payal Desai: Yeah, when
Christa Innis: you pick up your family and be like, why are you kicking my sister out for announcing a pregnancy?
Payal Desai: do you think that there’s like an obligation to, including like your husband’s female?
Uh, family members in the wedding party. ’cause I don’t think, there is no, like, if you don’t have a closeness with them, like you should not feel obligated. ’cause I feel like when you do, this is the kind of stuff that happens. Whereas if you’re just like, Hey, I’m marrying into your family, you’re marrying and into my family.
Let relationships happen like organically and over time people become close or they don’t, but like, just including them for optics is kind of a problem, I think. Yeah.
Christa Innis: As the night went on, my boyfriend played our family song and everyone was having a great time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone shove my grandfather. Okay, what’s going on here? After that, all hell broke. Loose fights erupted all over the hall, tables broke,
Payal Desai: and there was blood everywhere. What? That’s awful. Wait. That escalated so fast. I’m like, what happened? Like, so I feel like there is like a piece of this story missing where there was some like conflict or tension that is not being shared because there’s no way that.
It went from like kicking somebody out of the wedding and then everyone’s angry at each other. Two sides, of the family are not interacting, engaging. Dancing together, celebrating, and then all of a sudden it’s like a bloodbath. What? Yes. No, I’m like
Christa Innis: picturing it like, Romeo and Juliet right now, or like the two sides are like battling.
Payal Desai: and it started off very innocent. Like, hey, like they, chose the wedding party, we’re all in it, we’re excited, and then boom, like.
Christa Innis: I don’t know what the heck. This is insane. It says the bride’s mom got into my face for no reason. Mind you, I was only 18 at the time. She went to shove me, but I was pulled away.
Why are people just shoving people here? what is happening? Someone threw my mom to the floor and broke my boyfriend’s custom built speakers, like, oh, no. Someone threw your mom to the floor, pushed your grandfather, like this is the most violent story I’ve ever read. Yeah,
Payal Desai: that’s awful though. Like think about that couple,
Christa Innis: they can never get their families together until they have like a full family therapy session or something.
Yeah,
Payal Desai: that’s terrible. And you imagine it probably causes a conflict between them two. Because one thing that I will say is like. When you get married to someone like you come from very different places, right? Like you’re raised by different parents, and so there’s always going to be At least a little bit of conflict, right?
But like you are more willing to forgive and understand your family’s behaviors and they are as well. this is just human nature. And so if there is a big family conflict, like it’s hard to maintain like what you have with your partner, but then also not be a pushover for your own family.
delicate balance, that’s
Christa Innis: all. Oh, for sure. ’cause if he was like, oh, like Uncle Bob, you don’t know his humor. He just, made a little joke, you He’s like, oh, he’s, just so crass, whatever, like, you know. Yeah. It’s like, oh, but Aunt Mary’s the nicest woman ever. Like, you don’t know her stuff.
Right. You know? And like
Payal Desai: you don’t really know these things intimately about your spouse’s family, so you’re not as forgiving. I don’t know. Oh my
Christa Innis: God. That’s crazy. Okay, wait, there’s a little bit more. it says the sheriff’s or state police arrived. It turned out, the bride’s parents had told my cousin his new wife to leave, leave the reception before everything escalated.
Family Feud Over Wedding Invitations and After-Party Drama
So they had no idea what was going on. Okay. So like I said, those are some crazy stories. If you did not hear the full stories of those, go back and check ’em out. We’re gonna put the links to the full episodes in the show notes. You guys can check them all out. But I’m so curious to hear what you guys thought were the craziest episodes.
Tell me on social media, DM me. Post it in my Patreon, whatever suits you best. and as I promised, we are gonna do an exclusive story because I just couldn’t do, I couldn’t fathom the idea of sharing a new episode without a new story in it. I know the whole point of sharing some highlight episodes is so I can like take a week off, but I just felt weird about doing that.
Okay, here we go. This is my soon to be sister-in-law story. She had sent out invitations for her wedding and used the traditional Catholic phrasing for how the bride and groom were listed. It’s hard to explain, but if you know, you know, I think that’s when the parents. Names are introduced on it, if I’m remembering correctly.
like the Mr. And Mrs. Invite, like the wedding of their daughter to so and so. I think that’s what it’s okay. While the groom’s parents were extremely offended by it, they said it made them feel unimportant and caused a huge issue. Then they came after me telling me how my wedding invitations better not be phrased the same way.
Whoa. Okay. So why her sister-in-law? Why would they come after her? Mind you, I had no intention of doing it that way. I had just been confirmed Catholic and everyone else in the family had already been raised in the church. This all happened before her bridal shower, which of course became another issue.
The bride and groom had planned for everyone at the shower to head over to the bride’s parents’ house afterward for a small after party, just a casual thing, maybe 30 plus people. The groom’s mom shut it down immediately. No, we are going to my brother’s house after you two or just the groom need to be there.
What, why are they so upset about it being at the bride’s parents’ house? This is another one where it’s like the parents are competing with each other because of some hidden reason, right? Like there’s a just story I just read where it’s about money. There’s another story where I have read where one felt like the other one had more control, but they won’t just come out and say it.
It’s also hard when it’s not your wedding, right? So. Depending on their relationship with their son, maybe he’s not relaying all information to them, so when they’re feeling left out, I don’t know. It’s hard. I’ve never been in that position, so I don’t know what that could feel like. The groom replied, we live 20 minutes away and they’ve never even invited us over before.
The bride’s parents have been planning this after party for over a month. Okay, so what ended up happening? My fiance, me the groom and his dad all went to the uncle’s house. Meanwhile, the groom’s sister and mom went to the bride’s parents’ party and were confused and upset when the rest weren’t there.
Wait, I’m so confused by this story, so you’re telling me. Last minute just because his parents demanded it. They ended up going to the uncle’s house,
but the groom’s sister and mom went to the bride’s parents’ house. That’s so weird. Why would they do that?
Miscommunication, PTO Battles, and Overstepping Parents
Okay. Sometimes reacting in real time is hard because I’m still piecing like the puzzle pieces together. I’m only like getting part of the story too sometimes. so that’s my first reaction. What the heck is happening here? Okay. Fast forward to now, the groom’s parents are insisting on using their PTO to come visit, even though the couple explained that they had used their PTO for the year.
Between their own wedding, honeymoon, other family weddings, and my wedding. So
they’re talking about events that are coming up still. So the person that wrote this is currently engaged. There’s a bride and groom’s wedding that’s coming up, and the groom’s parents are the ones that are kind of causing an issue in all of this. Don’t like the wedding invitation. Something on there offended them Probably because I think it’s like the bride’s family is introduced, right?
And it’s like the daughter of so and so is getting married too. Right? So they were offended ’cause they’re not like the main name on it. then they’re mad because they want everyone to go to their house after there was a plan for over a month.
But it’s just weird that part of the family decided to go, okay. Still, the groom’s parents were offended saying they felt unimportant and never got to see their son. Keep in mind, they live three hours away. The groom manages a PT clinic. the bride is in law school working at a firm, and their schedules are packed.
That’s hard when you live three hours away. That’s really hard. I don’t know if the parents are working as well or if maybe they’re retired. That’s probably a little bit easier for them to go to them. However, not something you really have to plan for. I know like my parents live just about an hour away from me, so we have to make an effort.
Like we have busy schedules, but you have to make it work. However, we don’t know this relationship. We don’t know if he wants to make it work or, I don’t know. Three hours is a lot. Maybe they can do a zoom call. but the groom’s parents still try to force FaceTime calls at random times that don’t work for them.
Now, week of the wedding, the groom’s parents are insisting the dad give a speech at the reception. Oh, you knowgo. You guys know how I feel about someone insisting a speech. Traditionally, the groom’s family can give a speech at, the rehearsal. I’ve seen that many times. Not always. And then typically it’s like the bride’s dad or family does it at the wedding.
I’m all for throwing traditions out the window. You don’t have to stick to your Traditions. But insisting, I don’t know. It’s hard. ’cause I feel like there’s like a lot of heart. It sounds like there’s a lot of communication error. The groom’s parents miss their son, they wanna see him, they feel.
Being pulled away. However, they’re just going about it the wrong way. and I just never feel like you should insist, like, Hey, he needs to speak. Maybe he’s gonna say something inappropriate. Maybe he doesn’t know his son well enough to speak about him. Maybe he doesn’t know the relationship. Maybe he doesn’t support the bride and groom.
So if you are personally not asked by the bride and groom, don’t say you’re gonna give a speech. I’ve seen it happen so many times where. Someone that wasn’t supposed to give a speech stands up and gives a speech. Someone tells the bride and groom, Hey, I’m giving a speech. And sometimes they work out great, but I feel like a lot of times the bride and groom’s then pushed into a corner.
So they say yes when they don’t really want to. okay. The bride explained that the dad already had a planned speech at the spot, at the rehearsal dinner. So here we go. Since there were already two maid of honor speeches, a best man speech, a short message from the priest and her dad’s speech at the reception.
So kind of like what I was just talking about. So they were like, Hey, you can absolutely speak, but we’ve reserved it for the rehearsal dinner, the groom’s mom responded with. So no one’s going to hear the groom’s dad speech. Mind you, there’ll be almost 70 people at the rehearsal dinner, and they’re mostly from the groom’s side of the guest list anyway, so we’ll see what happens.
And yes, I’ll send another story. If anything wild goes down this weekend. Oh my gosh. I kind of wanna quickly see if this person sent me another story.
Speeches, Hurt Feelings, and the Line Between Tradition and Control
Okay. They haven’t yet, so we’ll have to do a follow up and see what happened. I wanna get my feedback though on this, or my comment on this. If you really care about your son and you’re really excited about giving a speech, it’s gonna be for your son and your future daughter-in-law. It’s not gonna be for everybody else.
And if you’re pushing more like, oh, well, no one’s gonna hear my speech. Your son is gonna hear your speech, the person that it really matters about, and there’s still gonna be 70 people there. I guess not the main setup, but if someone asked me to do a speech at the rehearsal, I would be honored. I’d be like, that means so much to me.
so again, I’m reading this as there’s a lot of hurt going on. There’s a lot of miscommunication. And, they’re not really going about it the right way. It also sounds to me like the bride and groom probably aren’t making it a priority. I mean, they live three hours away. They seem to be kind of living their lives.
and again, I’m only getting this much detail, so I don’t know what went on or if they’ve always just been closer to the brides family. And that’s hard. That’s hard when. One set of parent is closer to the bride and groom, or the couple, because the other one sees them kind of like, dwindling away or they kind of feel like they’re being pushed out.
But, there’s a lot going on here is what I’m saying. Alright, well that’s pretty wild. I am gonna reach out to this person and see if there’s a part to the story. They sent it a month ago, so it happened a month ago.
We’ll see if anything wild happened during the wedding weekend. I would hope the groom’s dad just accepts it and just gives the speech at the, rehearsal dinner. Who knows. I don’t know. I’ve seen it. Like I said, I’ve talked about this before. I’ve seen it before where people push to give a speech, and it doesn’t always go great.
All right guys. Well that’s all I have this week. Thanks for hanging out with me again. This was just a very special episode to kind of reflect on everything so far. It’s been so much fun to create this for you guys and just hang out. The stories I get are wild, and it’s just fun to kind of react with you guys.
if you guys don’t follow me on YouTube, YouTube’s where I put the longer content, I don’t really talk about that a lot on here, but obviously I do the skits, and I do some one-off reading on, TikTok and, Facebook, Instagram, but YouTube every single week I do release a long form video.
and I say long form where it’s, it’s like 10 minutes, but I do read other YouTube or other story submissions there as well. So if you can’t get enough, we got more there and I got more on my Patreon once a month as well. So thanks for hanging out with me and I will see you guys next time. Bye now.
Sister Betrayal, Blood on the Dress & Wedding Regrets with My Best Friend, Ivette Bracken
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
What do you do when the person who’s supposed to love you the most becomes your loudest bully?
In this episode, Ivette and I dive headfirst into the betrayal, the shame, and the silence that followed. We talk about what it means to grow up misunderstood, to be mocked for your mental health, and to finally say, “I’m done.”
If you’ve ever had to protect your peace at the cost of a relationship or felt that sick gut-drop when someone weaponizes your vulnerability this one’s for you. It’s raw. It’s painful. And it might be the most honest we’ve ever gotten.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
14:35 Reflecting on Time and Family
16:31 Parenting and Social Media Concerns
19:01 Wedding Stories and Crazy Moments
27:14 Rapid Fire Wedding Questions
30:38 Dress Fitting Disaster
42:57 Wedding Planning Reflections
47:38 Kids at Weddings: A Hot Take
48:39 Debating Kids at Weddings
50:34 A Wedding Story: Sister’s Joke Gone Wrong
52:10 Mental Health and Family Dynamics
54:34 Standing Up for Yourself
57:02 Boundaries and Respect
01:17:32 Confessions and Reflections
01:19:14 Weekly Confessions
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Blood on the Wedding Dress – Christa shares a surreal moment at her dress fitting involving actual blood and the wild way it was handled.
- Private Tears vs. Public Panic – Ivette chooses where she’d rather break down on wedding day, sparking a convo about emotional safety and stage fright.
- Therapy or Voice Notes? – A lighthearted but revealing take on whether pre-wedding therapy trumps endless best friend venting.
- The Dress Fitting Breakdown – Christa unexpectedly spirals while recalling her fitting fiasco and finally tells the story in full.
- Boundaries, Brides, and Breakdown Moments – The duo unpacks what it really takes to stay sane and self-respecting in the pressure cooker of wedding culture.
- The Speech That Cut Deep – At the rehearsal dinner, her sister mocked her mental health journey in front of everyone—with a cruel “joke” about her depression that left the room stunned.
- Golden Child Gone Rogue – The submitter opens up about growing up in her sister’s shadow—the loud, confident sibling who never took her mental health seriously and finally crossed the line.
- Depression Isn’t a Punchline – Christa and Ivette get real about how damaging it is when mental illness becomes a family joke—and why staying silent is no longer an option.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Weddings don’t change people they reveal them.” — Christa Innis
- “You can be pregnant and emotionally mature.” — Ivette
- “It’s not just hormones if you’re still mad a year later.” — Christa Innis
- “There’s a difference between being uncomfortable and being unkind.” — Ivette
- “The real test of character isn’t the seating chart — it’s how you act when you’re not the center of it.” — Christa Innis
- “Family group chats are where grudges go to thrive.” — Ivette
- “If someone’s always the victim, maybe they’re the common denominator.” — Ivette
- “No one owes you a custom wedding because you’re pregnant.” — Christa Innis
About Ivette:
Ivette is a mommy, a wife, and a psychotherapist in training. She loves girl talk and giving unsolicited advice. She’s all about conversations that matter because she believes people matter. She was also Christa’s Maid of Honor in her wedding.
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
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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 guys. Welcome back to another episode of, Here Comes The Drama. I’m your host, Christa Innis. Normally I record these intros right after I have a guest on the show, but last night I was so exhausted. Today I’m a little more. Well rested, but I still only got like five hours of sleep. I’ve been working on too many crazy projects and I find I’m just like up late sometimes. Um, so I have a special guest today. My best friend Ivette, is back on episode 12. She was on and we shared a really crazy story. We reacted together and we had so much fun coming on. We were. Busy moms, we live states apart. No, it sounds a little more dramatic than it is. We live in different states.
We’re not too far apart, but it’s just hard to get together sometimes. And so it’s been so fun just to like have her on the podcast. ’cause we like catch up, we talk a little wedding drama and then we just, I don’t know, banter back and forth, talk about whatever comes up. Um, so I invited her back on ’cause you guys loved it so much and since the last time of her being on, she graduated from her program and she is now a licensed professional counselor focusing in mental health, working with individuals, families, and. Teens. Um, she’s just an amazing person. Um, she’s someone that I’ve always looked up to just because she works hard. She’s a great mom, a great wife, and she just really focuses on building strong relationships. Um, so she’s someone that I’ve always looked up to. Um. If you guys read my book, you might recognize her name if you haven’t yet, it’s, this doesn’t spoil anything, but there’s a little something with her name in the book.
Um, I. We’ve talked about it before about like how we got connected over the years and um, how we grew closer. And so if you’re looking for more of that backstory, go to episode 12. We kinda talk more about this, today’s episode. We kind of just dive right in. But before we get to that, I wanted to just dive into some, I’m gonna call it nine one one drama before I play the quote unquote interview portion with my friend Ivette. So someone sent me this message about a bridal shower, and I just wanna discuss with you guys and see what your takes are on all this. And I’ve shared some of this on social media, so if you follow me on social media, you’ve probably seen it, but I’ve gotten so many messages about it since. So let’s discuss.
Bridesmaid Budget Breakdown
The first message I got says, who typically pays for a bridal shower? My friend is being asked to pay. Wait for it guys. $1,500 for her friend’s bridal shower. She is a bridesmaid, so of course my jaw dropped because yes, I’ve helped plan many bridal showers. I’ve put some together. I’ve been a host for some, but most of the time when I am a bridesmaid, I maybe help with like. One area of things, right? Like I might bring some food, I might bring desserts, I might help set up, um, run to the store and get some things right. $1,500 is unheard of. That is just insane that someone’s being asked to spend that. She, of course, this is all permission ’cause she gave me permission to share all this.
So I said, what? That’s unheard of. I would say typically it’s the bride’s family. Sometimes groom’s family is a part of it too, depending on how close they are in relationships. I’ve had a plan for some things, but never the whole thing, and I’m talking like under $150 and that was even like pushing it, right? She said, okay. Same. Usually the bridesmaids, run the show, keep things moving. Decorations, but not pay for the entire thing. Thank you. I said, yes, $1,500 is quite insane. Does she have other bridesmaids? And that’s when I asked her if I could share this. We kind of talk about it more. Um, and she said the maid of honor is a sister who is very wealthy.
And I believe there’s another sister that’s a, has a, there’s another sister that is a bridesmaid. So. There’s multiple bridesmaids. I don’t know if they’re all being asked to spend this money, but the family has money. The brides family can afford this, so. My thought and assumption is they want this big elaborate party and then they’re splitting it. So let’s say they’re doing open bar, they’re doing a plate and dinner, they’re doing it at a big venue, maybe a little outta their price range. Because if you are asking your bridesmaids to spend that kind of money, that tells me that maybe the family can’t afford it or they don’t wanna spend the money. And my thing is, if you can’t afford it or don’t want to spend that money. Either don’t have a shower like that or do something smaller, do it at someone’s house. Do it where you just pay like a $200 deposit on the room and then cater food in. Um, like I said, I’ve helped with showers where they are super small at someone’s house and we do very basic easy food, small bites.
Right. And I’ve been to showers that are at big venues that honestly were nicer than my wedding. Um. Granted, I didn’t pay for those ones. I was just a guess at them. But I’ve seen them in ranges. Right? But typically, if you do that, that’s the family paying for it. You should not, as a bridesmaid be paying for it unless you know you want to help and you offer, um, to help in some, some way. $1,500 to me is insane. So when I shared that to the story, a few other people messaged me. And told me some things that happened to them. So I’m gonna read a couple of these mini stories here. Speaking of the bridal shower thing on your story, years ago, my friend’s mom told us we, the bridesmaids, were the ones solely responsible for the shower, and then she sat there smoking cigarettes while we set everything up, telling us we should move certain things to certain places, never lifting a finger to help us.
I ended up getting a Venmo request from the maid of honor when it was all said and done for $300. So of course, that’s way less than 1500, but still the audacity. It should never be a demand that you pay for it. Again, depending on the situation, bridesmaids will help. Like again, like I’ve seen it where bridesmaids are very a part of it. They help plan things, but typically it’s gonna be the family that pays for most of it. Or maybe it’s like, oh, I’ll bring the drinks, I’ll help with the decorations. But to then Venmo request each bride made is a little odd to me. Um. So, okay, this next one says, okay. As a maid of honor, I was once asked to not only throw a bridal shower, but specifically asked for it to be in New York City restaurant with a present, with a preset menu for about 30 people. Okay, so I hear 30 and I’m like, that’s small. Kind of average for bridal shower, right? This would’ve cost me between 10 and 20 K because we’re talking New York City.
I had to set boundaries and say I could not afford it, but would be happy with something much more low key, 10 to 20,000. You could have a small wedding for that cost. That is insane to me. I know, like I don’t live in the city. I don’t live, I’ve never lived downtown in the city, right? So I know New York is very expensive. However, we have to consider people. If you are demanding or wanting something specific for your wedding, then you need to be able to either afford it or know that you have the help. I’ve, a few of the message I sent I received said traditionally bridesmaids did help with some. Showers? I don’t know.
I think it’s a very, like, it depends on like where you live. Because for example, like I know my grandma did my mom’s shower, so, um, I don’t think it’s completely traditional. I think it just depends on your family, where you live, um, and what you’re kind of looking for. Okay. So that was another example. Okay. Here is one more. This one is wild. Okay. Saw your story about bridesmaids paying for a bridal shower. I made of honor. Just paid, oh, I’m sorry. No, this is okay. This is a nicer one I made of honor. Just paid and hosted for two of my friends getting married. I was supposed to be, it was supposed to be her family shower.
Her mom and sister are not in the state where they could financially foot the bill, so I made sure she had the same family shower experience. I took care of it. She didn’t ask her future mother-in-law told the Groomsmen’s family to not show up, and I called a bunch of our friends to come fill the seats last minute so she wouldn’t walk in an empty shower. Literally her mom, sister and grandma, and three friends from work. So much drama with the groom’s family. Second shower. Was put for our friend’s Bible study since originally there was no room for the them at the family shower. It’s not typical, but I would still do it all over again to make sure my friend got the love and support she needed.
Absolutely. I a hundred percent agree with that. If you are. A wedding for someone. Um, hopefully. I mean, hopefully if you’re in a wedding for someone, you really care about them and you, um, want them to have a beautiful day and you wanna show your love and support. Um, we did something similar years ago when I was in a friend’s wedding. Um, I wanna say there were five of, of us bridesmaid, she had two sisters. Um, but. Me and another friend, we pretty much put together the whole thing. It was hosted at my friend’s mom’s house. We planned the whole thing. We put it all together, but again, we fit our budgets. We were like broke. Uh, I mean, what 22?
Shady Showers & Venmo Requests
22, 23 year olds. So we didn’t have much money. We did what we could, you know, and so we stuck within our budget. I remember what we ate. I just remember it being very small at our friend’s mom’s house. So if you know it’s all, again, it’s again what you want to help with and what works, works for you. Okay. I thought I was, I thought I had one more. Spot. Okay, here it is. Okay. I knew I had a wild one. Someone sent me. Okay, here we go. Reading your bridal shower story. I had a similar thing happen. We were told that the bride’s mother was paying for the venue, but wanted the bridesmaids to plan things out. Okay. So that’s pretty typical, I think for most of the showers I’ve been a part of.
That’s how it works. Like bridesmaids are included in some way. But again, depending on the age of the bridesmaid, age of the brides, you’re kind of just more there to like help organize. Right. We met multiple times to plan the decor and activities, all things that we were able to contribute right before the shower.
The maid of honor told us that the mom can no longer pay and we would have to, so I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if the mom. Had agreed originally and then backed out. But I’m also wondering like where, who spent the money originally? Right. So like was her deposit down and then, um, you know, she owed more money the day of, because typically venues you have to put money down ahead of time, pay a certain amount to hold your spot, right. Or if there’s food decor, you’re paying for those things as you go. So I’m kind of wondering if the mom was like, I’ll pay you back, and then all of a sudden she’s like, I’m not paying you back. Um, we said, okay, but we weren’t purchasing alcohol because we didn’t budget for this expense. Again, you don’t need alcohol at a shower.
So like, it’s crazy to me when, because this is not the only time I’ve heard this about budgeting or like making sure there’s alcohol at a shower. It’s, that’s a little excessive if, if you already are struggling and you’re asking your bridesmaids to pay for things, the open bar is not a necessity. Get to the shower Mom. The mom and the maid of honor planned their own decor that didn’t match the rest of what we had planned, even though the maid of honor was part of the process and they didn’t tell us. Didn’t tell us that. They told the venue we would provide the first round of drinks for all the guests until after the fact. We each had to pay over $300. So this is crazy to me that they just went behind their backs and was like, they’re gonna, all these brides over here, yeah, they’re gonna pay for the drinks. No, no, no, no, no. That is insane to me. There is so much more drama to this. It was very drama filled. Um, the maid of honor felt that we should pay for things since the bride was spending a lot on us, wasn’t the case.
The mother of the bride was also trying to send nasty emails to the bridesmaids, but. The bride intercepted after reading the email and told her mom, no, it was so much drama. Okay, well, props to the bride, but also so shady that the mom was doing this behind the bride’s back being like, you guys need to pay for the alcohol, pay for this.
Again, like there’s so much expectation, expectations when it comes to social media. In comparison, people want these elaborate parties, but what kind of friend are you? And again, in this circumstance, the bride didn’t know right. But I’ve heard of many where the bride demands this. Right? What kind of friend are you? If you’re demanding your bride, your bridesmaids, to pay all this money to be in your wedding? That’s like for me, I was so excited just to have my best friend sitting up there with me, get pictures together, get our hair and makeup done together. Again, whatever they wanted. I wanted them to enjoy the day. ’cause it’s like fun to get like pampered and hang out, right? But I would. Die. If I knew that they were get going bankrupt or like spending way too much money, that’s not what I wanted. I think my maid of honor, I think spent like 50 bucks on her, on her dress, and I was like, yes, it’s on clearance. Please buy it now. You I was all about like save money, wear shoes you already have. You don’t have to get your hair and makeup done like. I get we want this like great day. We want things to look nice and everything, but we have to like understand people will be happy to support you and be excited for you, but the respect needs to be mutual.
And we’re talking like all of it. I could go on and on about this forever. We have a full episode. I’m just getting really like pumped up and excited. Um, we recorded it at 8:00 PM last night. Eight 30 ish. We kind of, we do it after the kids go to bed. Um, it’s a great way to catch up, but like I said, my best friend is back. I’m so excited to talk with her. She’s got her own, uh, professional side where she’s given some advice. Um, so without further ado, please enjoy this episode with my best friend, Ivette. Enjoy.
Christa Innis: But yeah, I just feel like we need to just start talking because I would feel like we don’t really need to introduce it because I feel like that’s so informal for us, for me to be like, Hey, y welcome to the class. Tell everyone about yourself.
Ivette : Yeah. It does feel weird for me to be like, Hey, I’m so and so, ’cause I’m, I’m Ivette.
And that’s more than enough.
Christa Innis: Like we’re like, we’re not gonna introduce ourselves and then we’re just doing it. But I just strive to be, I just wanna be more casual on these podcasts. I feel like because of where I came from with doing like, you know, the podcast before, I don’t know if people listening know, like, I used to work for like a mommy brand and so I did a podcast and so it was like very formal ’cause it was for like a brand that like I worked for.
And so I’m so used to like doing that now and I’m like, I just wanna be like, I just wanna hang out with people when they come on, you know? Yeah, yeah. Could have been recording
Ivette : the whole time.
Christa Innis: I know we talked about so many things. We’ll see if they come up again. Uh, I’m sure they will, but I was just like, oh, it’s getting late and we’re chatting.
We should probably just like start. Yeah. Thanks for coming back on. Thanks for having me again. I’m excited. Um, that was on, I don’t even know. What month are we? It’s July now. Yeah. This doesn’t come out until August or September, but,
Ivette : um, yeah, it was last fall I think. Definitely. Right. Last fall. No, this is Jan.
Nevermind. This has only been a year in the
Christa Innis: making. Not even. I, yeah, I think I, I started recording. I started this podcast in January. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I You got me so confused. My, it’s my brain. I know we like my husband and I always say my husband, I, I don’t even talk to you like that. My husband Zach and I, I don’t know who that is.
I know you’re like, no idea what that is. Zach and I are always like, time is so weird. ’cause like, we’ll look at pictures of my daughter. I just, her privacy stuff. Um, and I’m like, she was a full on baby last year. Like now she’s like a kid.
Ivette : Mm-hmm. I know you sent Well Matt, my husband sent the picture of her and I was like, what?
Who is that? She’s
Christa Innis: like a kid. She’s a kid. I know. She’s like full on like thoughts and stuff. It’s so weird how they just grow up so fast.
Ivette : I love that she’s into Spider-Man though. ’cause Priya definitely went through her Spider-Man phase and they were so excited when we went to go see the exhibit.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Ivette : So they loved it.
Christa Innis: Good stuff. I love that. It feels like just yesterday you were pregnant at my wedding with Bria.
Ivette : Yeah. It was cute. We were at the exhibit and she’s like, mom, I was taking a picture. She’s like, mom, I, I can’t do it. And she’s like, trying to figure it out. She’s like, holier
Christa Innis: with those fingers.
Yeah, with her other
Ivette : hand. It’s like, whew. Like, you got it girl. You got it. Gosh. So we’ll have to teach cle. Yes. We’ll have to teach the baby.
Christa Innis: It’s all right. We can edit that out. Edit. Yeah. I’m like weird. Like, it doesn’t even like matter if people know her name. I’m just like, I think what I’m afraid of, and this is me being vulnerable, I never want people to say negative comment about her in any way.
You know what I’m saying? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So like, even like, um, like, I don’t know, I just feel like very like, protective about it. ’cause like I’ve seen people like post about like, oh, these are my kids or something. And someone will be like, that’s a weird name. Or that’s, oh, why would you let your kid wear that or do that?
And I’m like. I know I’m sensitive and I’m like, if anyone had say anything about my child, they’d be like, wow. Like, mm-hmm. So I’m like, like props to like all the moms out there that just like,
Ivette : I, I remember like, um, when Paris Hilton had her baby and people were being so mean about her son, and I was like, that is awful.
Mm-hmm. And I feel like it happens all the time.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh, I think it’s terrible. Yeah. And I think one of the things too that you keep seeing is like now with like, I wonder if in your profession too, it’s like, because there’s so much more awareness of like. Um, special needs or autism or, you know, different things.
I feel like people are so quick to like diagnose other people. I’ve seen it online. Like someone will post their child and they’re like, oh, have you got them checked for this, blah, blah, blah. And it’s like, don’t say that out someone else’s child. Like, don’t label ’em. Yeah, don’t label. Like obviously if you see like a spot on their back and you’re like, that might be melanoma.
Yeah. Let’s like, maybe have them look in. I, I’ve heard of that happening where people get like checked then. But like, I don’t know. I guess that’s why I’m the way I am about stuff. I don’t even know what we’re talking about.
Ivette : Um, we’re just talking to just start talking.
Christa Innis: Uh, I was telling Ivette before we started that I was recording with, um, Kate, this girl Katie, that was on my podcast and we were talking, she’s like, just start recording.
Mm-hmm. And I still felt so weird doing it ’cause I was like, I felt like I still need to introduce her. And she’s like, let’s just see what happens. And I was like. Yeah, so we were talking about this and like, I just feel so, like, I feel like outta sorts, like the planner in me is like,
Ivette : oh my gosh,
Christa Innis: but
Ivette : do I have to do this?
I have to do that. Where do we go next?
Christa Innis: Yeah. It’s so weird. Like, I don’t know, it’s weird,
Ivette : but it’s good to be like authentic in it and just go for it.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. That’s true. Mm-hmm. Which I could just like turn off the part of my brain that’s like, it doesn’t matter. Just be you girl. I dunno. Okay, we’re going to, so last week, we, last week, last week on this episode, last time you were here, we did something similar.
We were kind of doing like crazy stories. Mm-hmm. And um, we’re gonna react to one of course, like we always do. But I was thinking too, I’m like, I feel like we could tell so much more. Like, I don’t know, like we have been to, I don’t even know what I’m saying right now. I’m trying. Did you plan for this? No, I have my talking points and that’s it.
Um, my eye is so itchy, it’s like bugging me. Okay. I just went on a walk and so I feel like my allergies are so bad. Oh, no. Yeah. Yeah.
Ivette : I don’t have that problem. I’m sorry. I can’t relate, but my husband has that problem and he’s, I’m always like, are you okay? He’s like, oh, my allergies are so bad. I’m like, I don’t, I don’t get it.
I, I’m fine.
Christa Innis: I know. I usually don’t have ’em. This is the first year.
Ivette : Oh,
Christa Innis: really? Yeah. So they could still be coming. You’re young. Just wait.
Ivette : I used to have ’em when I was like in middle school for like two years and then never again.
Christa Innis: Really? So fingers crossed it stays that way. It’ll stay that way. You’ll get lucky.
Yeah.
Ivette : Um,
Christa Innis: no, I know what I was gonna say, but I was like trying to like protect myself, you know? That’s when I was like, when you start talking with someone, you’re like, okay, wait, should I say that or not? Mm. With Zach. He was on a Patreon episode and we were talking about like groomsmen stories. Mm. Um, after we like finished recording recently, I was like, I was like, Zach, you have crazy groomsmen stories, uh, that like you didn’t talk about.
And then I was like, thinking about when you were on, I’m like, you are my maid of honor. I was like, I wonder if like you have any like crazy stories or
Ivette : about you? No, I can just, like Christa, she comes off really sweet. But she was the biggest bridezilla ever. No, actually, literally quite the opposite. You were like, oh yeah, I don’t care if you wear pink at my bachelorette party.
I was like, or uh, white. You are like, I don’t care if you wear white at my bachelorette party. I’m like, what? No, they cannot wear white. Like, that’s for you.
Christa Innis: I feel like at that point I was just like, everybody’s here. Like why does it matter what people wear? Yeah. Also it’s like so awkward, like, maybe this is me too, but like you are like, you like think of that moment of like, oh, cool, it’s my bachelorette.
It’s like my party. But then like when you’re the one in white and everyone’s wearing black, you’re like, for the attention please. Like, yeah. It’s fun to be like, kind of like notice like, oh, you’re the bride. But then it’s like, also please look at my friends. Like they’re awesome.
Ivette : Yeah. Yeah. For my bachelorette party, we went to, um, a drag show and they, like, they were calling me out because I was a bride, but I, they didn’t quite know who was a bride and they’re all like, it’s this one.
And I was wearing white and I was like, okay, not your typical, like full on, you know?
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Ivette : So fun.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Part of me wishes. Like I had, I think the second day of my bachelorette, I was feeling really tired and I was like, I feel so old right now. I don’t know if I was hungover or what, but I remember we were doing the, like, the pedal bus and I was like, oh yeah.
I was like, girl, wake up. I didn’t know that. Gosh, I thought you were just like
Ivette : having the
Christa Innis: best time ever. I was having the best time ever, but like, it was like one of those where I was like, I feel like I’m in my thirties right now.
Ivette : Yeah. Um, you said like if I had any crazy stories, this is not like I just had a friend over who I grew up with, but she’s currently living in Texas, so she stopped by, uh, the other day and she’s planning, so her sister’s getting married and she’s, she was planning kind of like a surprise bachelorette party kind of thing.
Well, part of it was all planned out. It was just like her cousins and really good friends and like the bridal party, but they were at this beach and then all of a sudden all of these women, so her aunts, her mom, her grandma, they all came in their original wedding dress, like their wedding dresses, like with the big poofy sleeves and everything and the veils.
And they all surprised her. And then they went out to all these bars and all the women were like in their wedding
Christa Innis: gowns. And I’m like, that is so funny. I love that. Did you see that trend a while back? That was like, you go to Goodwill and you buy like an old lady dress? No, but I’ve always wanted to do
Ivette : that.
Yes. Oh my gosh. Why didn’t we do that for this podcast? I don’t
Christa Innis: know. We just like wearing eighties wedding dresses. Oh my gosh. That actually would’ve been really funny. My computer’s making sounds. That would’ve been so funny. It’s funny you say that actually, because right before I was getting ready to come on, I was like, oh, we should have done a theme and like.
Or something, but I was like, you literally see like this far up in my head, so
Ivette : yeah.
Christa Innis: That’s so funny. I know. That would’ve been really funny if we just like, but we know, we like didn’t talk about it. Like we just like came out and like acted like, yeah. Like it was totally normal. Next time I might need some wine if we do that.
Speaking of, I don’t think I’m a wine person anymore. I don’t know. I bought a glass of wine, I bought a glass, I bought a bottle of wine. Yeah. And I, and my husband Zach was somewhere last night, he was at a friend’s house and I like poured a glass and I was like, I texted him, I was like, I’m pouring this out.
This is like this. I just can’t, what
Ivette : kind like is it the sugar free
Christa Innis: wine.
Ivette : Oh, okay. Is it because like, do you drink other stuff or? No,
Christa Innis: I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I had a drink.
Ivette : Wow. I am so. Like, I’m just proud of you guys because Zach doesn’t drink and now you are not drinking. And I’m,
Christa Innis: yeah, it’s not like that.
I’m not, like, if I was at a social event, I would maybe have a drink. I’m trying to think. Have I been anywhere where now? I can’t remember. I feel like there was somewhere I was at recently and I had a drink. Anyways, we’re getting off topic again. I don’t even know if there is a topic. Okay. Um, I feel like I always think of like crazy stories that I wanna tell later.
So if as it comes up, it, maybe it’ll, let’s start with, can I, can I
Ivette : ask you something? Can you hear any noises? No. Okay. ’cause now it’s hear noise. No, like sound can, do we hear voices? Are you hearing voices? Can we hear, um, Matt’s downstairs, um, like cleaning stuff and watching tv, so I just wanna make sure that, oh
Christa Innis: no, I can’t hear.
No. Okay. Cool. You are all good. Okay. Um. So let’s start with some wedding hot takes. Mm-hmm. These are kind of, kind of in your realm of work, kind of for fun. So let’s just see what you think. Okay. Okay. Um,
let see.
Okay. Do you think surviving wedding planning with your partner is a test of a relationship strength? And what is a, I don’t like these. I’m taking this out. I don’t know. Sorry, Zach. I don’t know what he did for these. It’s okay.
That’s not a hot take. Zach. Those are questions.
I don’t know what he just did. That’s weird. Should we just make it up, thrown off? No, we don’t need them.
What was he doing? This is what happens when I don’t look at notes ahead of time. It’s been so busy. Okay. That’s okay.
Wedding Chaos Rapid Fire
Okay. We’re gonna switch things up this week and we are gonna do rapid fire. Mm-hmm. So this is gonna be a this or that. So some wedding chaos addition. So, um, just like for different, like wedding things.
Okay. Would you rather cry in the bridal suite over a seating chart or cry on the dance floor in front of everybody?
Ivette : Cry in private. Is it my wedding? Um, if it’s my wedding, I can cry. I don’t care if it’s not my wedding. I’m not crying and making it about me. This is about them.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I think these are for your wedding.
I don’t know.
Ivette : Hmm. I
Christa Innis: mean, whatever, whatever you’re thinking.
Ivette : Yeah. That, that was my thought.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Answer. Um, would you rather have one therapy session before your wedding planning starts? Or unlimited venting voice notes from your best friend?
Ivette : I would see a schedule, um, a therapy session every week leading up to a marriage, and then after, no, um,
yeah, I have to say therapy. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: Okay. Would you rather have a mother-in-law who overs, shares everything, or one who silently judges everything.
Ivette : Oh, overshare, please. I wanna be comfortable. And
Christa Innis: you want someone that overs, shares
Ivette : like my stuff?
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Ivette : Mm. I don’t care. I’m pretty vulnerable.
Like, give me what, like what would she share? Like let’s say you, um. If I was pregnant and she was like telling people I’d be pissed.
Christa Innis: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Oh yeah, no. Or like maybe you’ve been like, uh, I don’t know. I’m trying to think of something else. Like you’ve been having really bad pain and you’ve been going to see the doctor and she’s like telling everybody at church or something.
Oh, and what was my other option? Or silently judges you. I think everyone judges, right? Yeah.
Ivette : So
Christa Innis: I’m sure everyone like has, I guess that’s fine.
Ivette : Yeah. Yeah. Now that you say it that way, like I’d rather her just be like, Ugh. And she’s not sharing with people, so that’s fine.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Keep it an all to ourselves.
Yeah. Um, would you rather forget your vows or say them perfectly while having a visible panic sweat? Um, no, I wouldn’t,
Ivette : uh,
I would forget my vows. Because I would be able to say great things about my partner either way.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah. There you go. I’ll get you so well spoken. Oh my gosh. Okay. Yeah, I agree with that because I feel like once you start panicking, can you hear? No. Okay. Really? Yeah. It’s loud down there. Is he like having a drum session or,
Ivette : I don’t know if he’s watching a movie or something.
I can’t.
Christa Innis: Okay, good.
Ivette : I just want, don’t.
Christa Innis: No, you’re good. Um. Would you rather lose your cool during a dress fitting or during your rehearsal dinner speech? Wait, I’m laughing because I just realized we never talked about my dress fitting. Should we talk about it?
Ivette : I, I just thought about that. Yes. Tell the story please.
Because I immediately thought about that.
Blood on the Wedding Dress & the Power of Grace
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Okay. So I’ve, I can believe I’ve never like, shared this before. So when was it my first dress fitting? No, I think it was your second. So it was to try it on. So I went into my dress fitting and I think for that one it was no ’cause didn’t they already?
’cause you had already been
Ivette : there before.
Christa Innis: Yeah, this was,
Ivette : yeah. So this is your second time. So I must have gone, did I go by myself? I think No, Jordan. Jordan went with you the first time, didn’t she? And then I went you the, with you the second time.
Christa Innis: Okay. Jordan and my mother-in-law, I think went the first time maybe.
Yeah, I, I’m pretty sure. Yeah. Yeah. And so I go and first you okay me, you and my mom pull up, or no, you are maybe behind us or something. We pull up and I called the woman and she was like, um, I don’t have any appointments today. And I’m like, yeah, you have an appointment. Like, we’re outside. Um, and she’s like, Nope, I’m looking at the books.
I don’t have anything. And I was like, uh. She’s like, can you come back? And I was like, well, my maid of honor and my mom like pulled up or are here from like an hour and they live an hour away. Like, we can’t really just reschedule today. And she’s like, oh, okay, I’ll, I’ll be there in like 30 minutes. Can you just go to the local coffee shop?
Which ended up being really cool. That’s a great experience. It was really great ’cause it was friends theme and we’re big fans of friends around here, so that was really cute. But we go back and she’s like, still not there. And then she like. Quickly comes around the front, front lets us in. No, she doesn’t even let us in.
I think we let ourselves in. She’s in the back, doesn’t even come out to say anything. And you can just like hear her back there and she’s like, yeah, I’ll, I’ll be out in a second. And I was like, okay. It was like another, what, 20 minutes? Yeah.
Ivette : We were waiting for a while. Yeah. And she had, she’s, she was a grandma, right?
Mm-hmm. So she had, was it one grand baby or two? Just the one, I think one was there and she was like, toddler, like she was a toddler. This, this woman is like stressed out, sweating. I can hear like, like in the back, things falling down, being like knocked over. I mean, I feel
Christa Innis: the
Ivette : tense, like tension? Yes. And the kid’s like grandma or I don’t even know what it was.
And here I am like playing, I think, I think the little kid had like Easter eggs, like little eggs with like stuff in it or something. That’s what I remember. Oh wow. I don’t even remember that. I was just like trying to like, yeah, like, I don’t know, make the situation a little bit better and entertain the kid, but yes.
So keep going.
Christa Innis: So then she was like, uh, so what, what was your name? And like, I was like, Christa. And like, she was like flipping through pages back there in this like room in the back. And she’s like, yeah, okay, we’ve got your dress. We’ll we’ll get it on. And she comes rushing out and puts it in the room. And I like go in there by myself.
I like, shut the door or did I go in there by myself? No, I can’t remember. And then I like slowly open it or something. And I was like, Eva, come here. And you’re like, what? And like, so you and my mom came in and I was like, there’s blood all over the dress. Mm-hmm. And like, it wasn’t just like a couple spots, it was like all over, like underneath the layers.
Ivette : Like a trail of like everywhere she was touching, which is the whole. Dress, she was leaving blood everywhere.
Christa Innis: Yes. And I feel like she like overheard me say that and then like kind of came back and she’s like, oh, it’s just a spot. And then just like quickly sprayed and wiped. And I was like, I’m like internally panicking because like I, I’m like in that point of course, like sure most things can come out, but it’s just like a kind of a weird thing to be like there’s someone else’s blood on your dress when you’re like here to try it on.
Yeah. And she was like panic, like I think she was like panicked doing it fast. Like really fast. Mm-hmm. And I was like, okay, you know what? They said something’s gonna happen wrong during your wedding planning. And I said, this is, this is the thing. And I’m just glad it’s my dress and it’s early. And I think like.
I was internally panicking, but I think like at that point you kind of took the lead and you were just like, okay, what’s going on here? Like mm-hmm. And you were like, just, you’re kind, but you were very like, firm with her. Like, okay, what are we doing here? And she’s like, I’m, I don’t know. And then she like held her hands up and her hands had cuts all over them, almost like she was just moving really fast.
Mm-hmm. So I think what happened is she had me down for the wrong date. And then when I called and said I was outside, she panicked and was like, I have to do this right now. Which if she just said, I forgot, I would’ve been like, don’t worry. Yes. If we
Ivette : would’ve known, like it wasn’t just, oh, like I don’t have, uh, anything booked, but like, I’m, it’s actually not done.
You, even after that, you are so understanding. Like, I was shocked. I, I saw, I saw everything happen. Like, okay, late stress is going up. Like she’s. In the bath, you can feel the tension. Your stress level’s going up. Oh my gosh. Your dress, your wedding dress is covered in blood stress is like up at the top.
But then once I like talked to her, you talked to her. I think your mom too maybe. I can’t really remember, but I feel like your stress level was like going down and then I feel like at the end of it, did you hug her or is that my imagination?
Christa Innis: Yeah. So you hugged
Ivette : her?
Christa Innis: I could tell she was so like embarrassed and like I, and not to be like, ’cause I feel like there’s people on the internet that like here, like, oh, you’re an empath, blah, blah, blah.
But like I can sense, and some people out there might agree, they might call me weird, whatever. But when there’s tension or I can tell someone’s like trying to hold in. Like if they’re upset, like I can sense it. I swear to God it’s like a sixth sense. I just felt like I believe that. Yeah. So even when she got like the spots, she like tried, she got most of the spots out.
She was spraying it and then I finally tried it on, right? So I’m staying in the mirror and she’s doing her normal thing. But you can tell like she’s holding back tears. Like I could tell she was like, and this poor woman, like she, you could tell she does not do this normally. She kept saying, I’ve never done this before.
I’ve been in business for this long, I’ve never done this before. I’m so sorry. Kept saying sorry. And like, we’ve all been in like shitty positions where like we either forget something or we mess up something, we’re late to something. We, we’ve all done that. And so like I could tell even when she was like looking at the dress and I was standing on the, on the podium or whatever, whatever you wanna call it, she was like holding back tears.
And I think she felt so embarrassed. And so then when we were booking the next appointment, she was like shaking. I remember seeing her hand shake ’cause she was so embarrassed. And I go, Hey, it’s okay. I was like, it’s fine. Like, we are good. You did a great job. And I was like, can I hug you? And I was like, I remember that.
I’m like, I, she was just like, I don’t even know what she said, but like, I was like teary-eyed because I was just like, I feel,
Ivette : I feel like the tears coming right now because no bride does that. Like, that just like says so much about your character and like, not to like, you know, whatever, kiss your butt.
But no, seriously, like. It’s your wedding dress. Every little girl dreams about getting married and like having the perfect dress and you have a situation and at the end of it, instead of, you know, taking your dress, going somewhere else, you’re being like, I, I better get this for free. Like none of that. It was, Hey, you did a great job.
And I remember you asked her for a hug and she was like, yes. And you, I saw you guys hugging and I remember looking at your mom and we were both like, just so moved by that. And it was just so sweet to see and yeah, such a good story. And when we left, there was still blood on the dress. Like you said that she cleaned it all up.
She didn’t get it all off. Like there was still blood on the dress. Do you remember that? A lot of spots, I think. Yes.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I think ’cause I was just like. Why, and I don’t know where this comes from, but I’m like, why make someone feel worse? Mm-hmm. And she, she probably feels terrible right now that she like messed up or forgot or, you know, she’s so embarrassed because I read these stories with these bridezillas and honestly, most stories that get sent to me aren’t bridezilla stories.
They’re mostly like family related, whatever. Um, but you read them and you’re like, why make someone feel bad for like a mistake or an accident or you know, like, like I’ve worked in the restaurant industry, I know you have two and it’s like you’ve seed stuff like that too. People are terrible to people in the service industry.
People are terrible to anyone that’s just trying to help them out. And I’m like, I would feel awful leaving knowing that she was like crying because of that situation. I want her to be like, no. I’m still your customer. You’re, you’re busy. You do a great job. I obviously came to you because you were recommended by me.
I’m not gonna leave like a bad review or anything. The dress ended up looking gorgeous. Like, I loved that dress. I still love it. Um, but yeah, I feel like that’s like a, I think it’s like, there’s so many heightened emotions around weddings and I feel like it’s so easy to lose your cool. Of course, like you hear about it all the time, but you to remember like the people you’re working with are human too.
Like they’re allowed to make this. Yeah, absolutely.
Ivette : Yeah. I’ll never forget it. Yeah, I knew, I was like, no, she hugged her. I remember she asked for a hug,
Christa Innis: and honestly, that’s kind of, I shouldn’t say out of my character to ask someone for a hug, but like a str like a stranger. I know Something came over me and I was just like, she need, she really needs a hug right now.
And I just felt, ’cause I just, I remember just seeing her handshake as she was like writing the next appointment and I go, Hey, we’re we’re, it’s okay. We’re fine. Yeah, yeah. Wedding day will be great. Like, honestly. And she was like so sweet and she was like, send me pictures of the dress and, you know, all that.
And, um, yeah, I don’t know.
Ivette : I just, she probably went home that day to like tell her family and then she probably said like, how great you were. And like, I can’t believe it. She hugged me at the end, end and I felt so bad. And, you know, thank God she was a good bride, you know, like a sweet person. Um, yeah,
Christa Innis: I don’t know.
Yeah, I, yeah. And then she, she was great. I mean, I, and then I recommended, I feel like there’s a few groomsmen in her wedding that went to her and Bridesmaids. ’cause I was like, go to her. She’s great. She’s local for some of us and yeah, she was awesome. Yeah, she was very like, like you said, she was a grandmother, so she’s very grandmother like, motherly, like very sweet.
Like that. And I was like, I’m not about to make someone feel bad for that. Yeah. It’s crazy. I’ve like really never talked about it just ’cause like. I, I never would want it to get back to her like I was like talking about a mistake.
Ivette : Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: But obviously I’m not gonna like, I’m not gonna say the name or anything, but that.
She was amazing and, you know.
Ivette : Yeah. Yeah.
Christa Innis: I remember that.
Ivette : Mm-hmm.
Weddings, Family, and the Wisdom of Hindsight
Christa Innis: Um, okay. I think there’s like a couple more here. Okay. Would you rather relive wedding planning with your current emotional tools? Or do it all again with zero coping skills? These are so wild.
Ivette : No. Why? Yeah. Do it now. I would do things so differently now.
Christa Innis: What would you do different?
Ivette : Um, I think I, I think I, I would try to set myself up for like successful marriage, but a part of me. I feel like I did like 80% of the things that I wanted, but I feel like I could have fought a little bit harder, like stood my ground on like, the 20% of the things that I really was like, I, I need to make sure I do this.
Like, I wish I would’ve incorporated, um, more like family in, in our ceremony.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Ivette : Uh, or, um, like more, uh, cultural traditions, although I did have those kind of elements, but even more of that and like embraced it and took pride in it. Um, but it’s all like a growth process. Like you’re, you’re growing, right?
You get married at some people, 20 some people, thirties, but you’re, you’re gonna be different in your twenties from your thirties. So yeah. Great. Obviously.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I think about that too every once in a while. Like, what would I change? Honestly, I think most everything I, I’m still pretty happy with, but I feel like I was really.
Not con, concerned is the wrong word, but with like the guest lists and stuff, like where I made cuts, I’m proud of. I’m proud of how we were with some of it. ’cause I’m like, oh, if Zach and I had gotten married, like when we first started dating, let’s say 23, 24, it would’ve been a completely different guest list.
I think way bigger. I was gonna say your guest list would’ve been huge. Yeah. I just feel like, ’cause at that point it’s like everyone’s your best friend. I feel like wedding party would’ve been way different. I feel like more of a yes girl. Like, okay, yeah, yeah, let’s do that. We probably would’ve had a, rely more on parents for help or for, you know, different things.
And I just feel like that changes as you get older. If you’re like, you’ve been to more weddings, so you’re like, okay, I like that. I don’t like that. This is my style. That’s not, but there were still outside of that, there were still like people that we invited and then we were like, never talk to them again.
Yeah. And we were like. Just, we invited them ’cause they were like friends of a friend. Mm-hmm. And then I, I was like looking back, so I was like really strict with like, other than our nieces and nephews, I didn’t invite anyone under 21. And I had some like cousins that were like middle teens. Mm-hmm. And I’m like, I wish I would’ve invited them.
I don’t know if a lot of them would’ve come ’cause they, like, they would’ve had a fly and stuff. Yeah. But I’m just like, I kind of wish I invited like all my cousins. Sure.
Ivette : That makes sense to
Christa Innis: me. Again, like yeah. Different, if they lived all here, I then, you know, they would’ve all come, but
Ivette : Yeah. Yeah. I definitely wish I would’ve had more of like my cousins in our wedding party.
’cause we had, you know, I don’t, I didn’t, I have a little brother who’s way younger than me, but all of Matt’s siblings, they were in the wedding party. But I grew up with my cousins who were like my siblings. So I. I had one of my cousins in there, but I wish I would’ve had the other three siblings ’cause they’re like my brothers and sisters.
And that’s something that I’m always like, Ugh. And I asked, I asked actually my cousin last minute, I was like, please. He’s like, okay, what do I need to bring Eva? Like, what do I have, what do I have to wear to match your, your bridal party? And so we made it work, but I wish I would’ve done it like the right way from the beginning so that they felt like special.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. How does it’s like relationships change or like you visualize it a certain way or as you get, or, I feel like we get this idea in our head and then we’re like, why am I making it such a big deal? Like, just come in the wedding or, yeah. It’s like, yeah. No, I totally, I totally agree with that. I think too, like, it’s like, like we had our nieces and nephews in the wedding and I’m like, our one niece that I think at the time was 13.
Mm-hmm. Um, I was like, I wish I would’ve like. Had her like stand the whole time like, you know, with every, with all the bridesmaids and done something special like for her. And then I wish our nephews that weren’t in the wedding were like, had a special role or something. Yeah. So, yeah, I think it’s interesting, but we always think about those things.
Ivette : I think that, I think too, it probably changes out that we’re moms and we’re like family.
Christa Innis: You know what I mean?
Ivette : Yeah. Like family. I dunno.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Maybe that’s it too. I feel like, I don’t know, it’s like I still am very like firm on, ’cause this is one of those most controversial things, and this is a hot take.
Um, it’s a hot, I shouldn’t say a hot take from my end, but like what people, anytime I post a video about kids at weddings mm-hmm. It’s so like controversial. Mm-hmm. There are people that say it’s not a wedding if kids are not invited and there’s people saying, um, don’t invite your kids or don’t. Bring your kids to my wedding because I don’t want them there.
You know? So they’re just like polar opposites. I’m very like, I’ve been to weddings with no kids. They’ve been fun. I’ve been to weddings with tons of kids and they’ve been fun. Sure. Neither of them are going to affect, I feel like how the wedding is. It’s just like if the bride and groom want them there, but I stand is you don’t need your bosses kids there that you’ve never Right.
But if it’s kids that are like in your life and they’re important to you, then yeah, I feel like they should be there. Right. I don’t think it’s like, I feel like it should be a relationship thing. That’s where I’m at. ’cause some people are like, well if their kids are there, then mine should be there. And it’s like, well, do they know your kids?
Have you brought them around? How? Like Right. That kind thing. Just because there are some kids there doesn’t mean that everyone’s kids should be there. Yeah. No, I, I get that. Yeah. That’s my. That’s my 2 cents on that, so.
Ivette : Oh, yeah. I agree a hundred percent.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah. But I like, remember when my sister got married, she didn’t invite any kids, so no one, like under 18, I think.
Mm-hmm. And there were like certain family members that like, called my grandma, not even like my mom, but called like my grandma. And we’re like, why aren’t kids invited? And, and we’re talking like distant family members, like, we’re talking like my mom’s cousin mm-hmm. Talking about their kids who like, we barely saw.
Right. And they were like, well, when are the kids? Are the kids getting invited? And we’re like, when’s the last time they like talked to my sister? You know? So like, things like that were kind of weird, but, um, yeah. I don’t know. It’s interesting how people, yeah, you just gotta respect what the brain groom want, I guess.
When a Joke Isn’t a Joke
Mm-hmm. Okay. Before we get too far into this, let me read, don’t worry, this, this story is not as long as last ones. I know Last time our story was so long, so, so long. Here we go.
Ivette : We almost, it was so long. You’re like, should we stop now and record the other half later?
Christa Innis: No, I was like, do we need a part two?
Because so much happened. That was with that one. Oh gosh. If you guys haven’t listened all last episode with Eva, I don’t even remember what number it was. Mm-hmm. Um, I should look it up. But it was like the craziest story. Did she become like, it was like about a wedding influencer.
Ivette : Mm-hmm. And it was like everything had to be, yeah.
Everything had to be to, she was using everything for her content.
Christa Innis: Yes. Mm-hmm. Yes. That was an insane story. So guys, go back and listen to episode 12. If you haven’t. Um, ’cause it’s wild. Okay. This week’s story, this is about my sister, the bride, and how one joke she made and did with me not showing up to her wedding.
Ooh, ooh, this is getting spicy. Okay. I’ve never heard it from this perspective. It’s always interesting hearing from a different perspective because, um, so many times I post stories and people are like, you know, you’re only getting one side of things. I’m like, yeah, well, it’s usually how stories work, right?
You only get one side. So I just have to take what that, what I can. So it’s interesting to kind of hear from another person. Um, okay. Honestly, I’ve gone back and forth about whether to even share this, but I’ve been sitting heavy on it. And I just need to get it out. I’ve been dealing with depression for years, therapy meds, good days and bad days.
The whole thing my family knows, especially my parents, but I don’t really talk about it too much. It’s just a lot. Anyway, my older sister got married recently. She’s always been the golden child, super loud, super confident, always the fun one at family gatherings. I’ve always been more low key, kind of quiet.
She doesn’t really understand mental health stuff. Never really tried to, but I don’t ex, but I didn’t expect her to be cruel. A few weeks before the wedding, we had the rehearsal dinner at a restaurant. Why is the rehearsals dinner her a few weeks before? That’s interesting to me. Mm-hmm. Or the week of, right?
Yeah. Yeah. Um, just close friends, family and her fiance’s family. She got out to do a test run of her thank you speech, trying to be funny. I don’t know. Then she said this. Huge thanks to my sister for showing up tonight. We were starting to think they’d never crawl out of their sad little dungeon depression Boss level.
Finally defeated. What? No. What? No. That is terrible.
Ivette : Yeah. That’s so many different. That’s so bad. They dungeon depression.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I, so she’s basically calling you out in front of everybody. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And especially the fact that she never even tried to understand your depression or talk to you about it or like be a sister to you.
Yeah. And instead is just trying to embarrass you. Oh my gosh. Okay. Everyone left. Full on left and I just sat there frozen, literally didn’t know what to say. After dinner. I pulled her aside and told her straight up, Hey, that wasn’t okay. That joke hurt. And she goes, oh my God, are you serious right now?
It’s just a joke. Get over it. You act like you’re the only one with problems. I didn’t even reply. I just left. Okay. There’s like a lot, I mean, that’s that typ, I shouldn’t say typical. Typical is like the wrong word to say, but that’s that kind of attitude of like, get over it. Mental health’s not real.
You’re fine. We all have issues. You know, it’s like
Ivette : I
Christa Innis: just
Ivette : feel like all of her sister’s hard work. If you already know, like if you know that, okay, I can’t believe you’re here. I’m shocked that you left your dungeon, whatever. I’m shocked you left your bedroom. What makes you think that saying that is gonna make her come out again like that probably took so much courage and shows, oh, I love you, so I’m coming to support you, my sister.
And that’s how you repay her by making fun of it. So what? So you can get a couple laughs in at your wedding and make you look funny, make you look good on your wedding day and, and now look at that like now your sister’s not there.
Friends and Family Cross the Line
Christa Innis: Yeah. So I know it’s, it’s like they say your, your friends are your, what is that term about like, your friends are sometimes your, like first bullies.
Mm-hmm. So like if her, I mean obviously she’s, I’ve never heard that. I’ve never heard that, but that makes a lot of sense. I see that all the time because I, maybe I made up that. Tell me if I took that from somebody because my, I would always say my friends were my first bullies friends, like that I had in like elementary school, specifically one in high school.
We can get to that because she always pretended to care about me. Like, and then, but she was the first one to put me down in a group. She was the first one to make fun of me, first one to leave me out. First one I remember being at a friend’s house and they were all drinking and I wasn’t, and she like, literally made fun of me and then went back to school and said that I was a, like a narc for not drinking.
Ivette : Yeah, I, as the, as a therapist, like being in that world and having adolescents come to me, I hear that all the time, makes perfect sense. Like, your closest friends are your first bullies or like your friends are your, your bullies. And it’s like, it’s almost more dangerous. Um, ’cause like some, some people don’t recognize it because it’s like, oh, like they’re my friend that they’re obviously not actually bullying me, but No.
Yes, yes, a hundred percent. Um, so yeah. So it sounds like, yeah, the sister’s definitely the bully in the situation and yeah, she has to pay the price.
Christa Innis: No, no, I was just say because yeah, I feel like it, like you said, it is more dangerous because it’s, that’s striving to be liked, especially depending on the age.
Like you’re striving so hard to be liked and you want that relationship, right? And so you see the good times with this person, or they’re including you in things, right? So you’re unable to see like, oh, they’re including me because I’m the butt of the joke, or, you know, right. Is and, and it’s kind, and this is very like, I don’t know what’s the word, but like, it’s like when you’re, like, if you’re in a bad relationship with someone and you can own, you can see the good moments and you’re like, you guy, you like push past the bad moments, like toxic or abusive or something.
You’re like, oh, but he brought me flowers the next day. So it’s like a friend like that, like. Like that friend I had in high school, it was like, she was so, like when I was the only one, oh my gosh, there’s Christa, oh hey girl. Oh, you wanna go shopping tonight? Oh yeah. But then if there was other people around, it was like, I was like pushed aside, I was made fun of, I was talked about behind my back.
Um, and yeah, that’s kind of, I mean, she doesn’t say that she has any kind of relationship with her. Right. So it sounds like they just are completely different personalities. Yeah. Yeah. Um, okay, so she says. I didn’t even reply. I just left a couple days before the wedding. I texted her and said I wouldn’t be coming.
Kept it short. Told her I wasn’t feeling well, and wished her a beautiful day. She called me immediately flipping out. See, it’s like now she wants her there. She wants that body there. Yeah, because it looks bad if she doesn’t have her sister. Like why doesn’t she mm-hmm. Have that person? She said I was being selfish making her wedding about me, and that I ruined everything over.
One little comment. Now my parents are mad too. Apparently I’m the bad guy. The fact that her parents didn’t even back her up or be like, Hey, maybe don’t, don’t say that about your sister.
Ivette : I think it’s, yeah, it’s problematic because the, it sounds like this other sister gets her way quite a bit like. Uh, just by like, she’s like the life of the party kind of thing.
And she probably like, is like not sneaky here and there, but she just like makes light of all the situations to get a laugh. And the parents are probably like, oh, it’s fine. Like, you know, your sister, but that doesn’t make it okay. Like, because you’re used to certain patterns or someone’s behavior does not mean that it is okay.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Ivette : And, um, yeah, I,
Christa Innis: yeah, and I think poor girl. Yeah. I think too, if the sister, the other sister’s the golden child, ’cause she’s like, well liked quote unquote, and like very outgoing. Maybe she’s more friends and gets out and does stuff. They kind of put her on this pedestal, right? So like whatever she does can go, but I’m like, can’t you see your other daughter is like suffering right now?
And like mm-hmm. I
Ivette : don’t
Christa Innis: know. That would be
Ivette : really, and it’s funny that you said like what the sister said was. Oh, I can’t believe, like, did you say she’s making it about herself or something? Like you would think she would apologize?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Ivette : Like, I’m sorry, but there I didn’t hear an apology at all. It was all about like,
Christa Innis: yeah,
Ivette : yeah,
Christa Innis: no.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, because she doesn’t care. I keep replaying it all like maybe did I, maybe, did I overreact? I don’t know. But also I was already struggling, and then to be laughed at like that in front of everyone, it just broke something in me. I couldn’t fake it. I couldn’t go and pretend everything was fine just to protect her perfect day, honestly.
I always talk about protecting your peace and if someone’s gonna bully you and say something like that to you. Yeah. It’s like you have to. I feel like she was doing the opposite, honestly. Mm-hmm. She wasn’t making it about herself. She’s like, I’m gonna excuse myself from this because if I go, I risk the chance of being humiliated again.
Maybe someone comes up to me and says, Hey, that speech was really funny from your sister. Mm-hmm. Or, Hey, how’s that whole you, you know, like there, it gives people permission then to keep going. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I’m proud of her. Good for you for standing your ground lady. Yeah. I, I agree. And it’s like, I feel like it’s, it’s complicated, like all this stuff.
Again, we’re only seeing and hearing one side, so if, if the sister were to write in, I’m sure she would say, right. I did, I did apologize. It was just a joke. Mm-hmm. And anyone that, even if it was just a joke, right, if someone’s calling to you and saying, your joke hurt my feelings and you can’t apologize.
You’re the problem That is a problem. Mm-hmm. Because like even if I were to be like, like make a joke to you right now, and I could tell it hurt your feelings, I’d be like, oh, I’m sorry. Like, I’m sorry I was Yeah. Joking at me in that way. Like, I would never want to hurt someone’s feelings that I care about.
Ivette : Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: You know,
Ivette : my thing is something that I’ve learned to do for, um, just in general, when someone does make a joke that to me is not funny. Instead of like, I don’t know, like fighting them. Like, like instead of, sorry, instead of standing my ground or like defending myself, I’m like, why is it funny? Like, tell me why that’s funny.
And then they’re like, oh, and then they feel stupid because they realize like, oh, I was actually being an asshole, or I was kinda being a bitch about the situation. I’m not supposed to be swearing
Christa Innis: because you don’t want to, or because I don’t want you to. Um, because I, you, you
Ivette : blur, you, um, you. The source.
Yeah. Okay. No, you’re good.
Christa Innis: That’s hilarious. No, um, I’ve actually heard that a lot and I’ve done, I’ve had to do that a couple times. When people say sexist or racist things, I go, I don’t understand. Tell me why. That’s funny.
Ivette : Oh, yeah,
Christa Innis: that’s
Ivette : what, that’s what I mean all the time. I’m like, oh, why is that funny?
Tell it’s funny. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I actually had do that not that long ago. Someone was making a joke and I was like, I don’t understand. And then they like didn’t know what to say because then when they have to break it down, they realize how d offensive, ignorant. Yeah. Whatever. Yeah. And then, and I think people learn like then not to say stuff around me and like, I just don’t put up with it anymore.
Craving Real Connection in a Digital World
Yeah. Good for you. The world’s full of enough hate, like I need to make it clear where I stand and I, yes. Joke like that.
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Ivette : Chris is a girl’s girl, everyone, so always love. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. We don’t, we don’t make sexist or racist jokes around here. Yeah. Is that how the kids do it now? Yeah. Wait, how is it this? No. Oh gosh.
Wait. Oh, this. I can’t even do that. Yeah. If you guys are just listening, we’re trying to do this. Girl. I’m just gonna stick the T Swift part. I know
Ivette : my
Christa Innis: daughter, she does this because T
Ivette : Swift,
Christa Innis: so she, I love
Ivette : it.
Christa Innis: It’s funny, you know, like the thing about ask your kids to hold up a phone. Mm-hmm. Cle, my daughter started playing with, um, like pretending to do phone calls.
She has a fake phone. Yeah. Phone. She goes like this. She goes, and she’ll be like, she’s like, hi, spidey. Hi. It’s me. Bye.
Ivette : I love that.
Christa Innis: I’m like, oh my gosh, what happened? This,
Ivette : I’m still
Christa Innis: like, like the rotary? Yeah. Oh my gosh. My parents had a rotary in their room growing up and I’d be like, oh my gosh. Those
Ivette : things were so
Christa Innis: fun to play with.
I know. They were fun. I kind of wish we still had house phones, to be
Ivette : honest. I keep telling Matt, my husband that yeah, we need, we need a house phone back.
Christa Innis: Yeah, there’s like pros and cons. Like, I like being able to have a phone, like when we go on a walk or like when, when I don’t know. We are driving somewhere.
Right, sure. It’s like safety reasons, but like, yeah. Sometimes it’s just like nice to be like, I feel like, and I’ve, I think I’ve told you this before too, ’cause like you’ve apologized like, oh sorry. And I’m like, Ivette, you never have to apologize. You’re busy. I get it. Like I never want someone to think that like this is a walkie talkie and that like when I text you, you have to respond right away.
Like, I’m not summoning you. But I feel like there’s like this, like power phones have over us where we feel like, ah. Someone texts me like, I need to get back to them. And like, like I know my, my husband, like Zach has that where he’s like, if I don’t text them back, I feel like I’m like letting them down.
I’m like, people will live. Like if it’s not an urgent request, you can give it a day or two. And isn’t that crazy how that seems long for a text?
Ivette : Yeah. Oh yeah. I, yeah, for me it takes me ages, so I’m like, whatever. But yeah. That’s crazy. I mean, I feel like, yeah, I hate my phone. I feel like we just need to like, put our phones away as soon as we get home.
Um, don’t use ’em at the same time. I’m addicted to them, but I, I hate texting because I’m such a, like, I like. Connection with people and texting is so impersonal that I’m like, I don’t like it. Like yeah. I would much rather do this FaceTime you call you, even like hear your voice. I much, I would much rather prefer that I’m like old school when it comes to that.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I agree. Like I feel like I don’t wanna tell big news or hear big, big news via text. Mm-hmm. And so I feel like, especially like with you, I feel like we’ll like catch up sometimes and then I’m like, I’d rather like really catch up like in person and like have our, our deep one-on-ones. ’cause I’m like, I feel like texting.
How’s it going? Is for like acquaintances? Yes. Like, hey, how’s it going? Oh, how, how’s everything? Okay, great.
Ivette : It feels so not real. And I’m like, wait. Yeah. I wanna talk to you. I wanna see you. I miss you. Yeah,
When Protecting Your Peace Makes You the Villain
Christa Innis: yeah, exactly. Let’s go beyond the surface. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. There’s a little bit, little bit more of the story.
Um, okay. It says, now she isn’t talking to me. It’s been a few weeks. No apology, nothing. Just silence. I keep wondering if I should have just sucked it up and gone for the sake of family peace or avoid the drama. But at the same time, I know how low I felt after that dinner. I know how hard I worked to just show up that night, like you were saying, and then to have her turn me into a punchline, like my pain was entertainment and the worst part, now I’m.
I’m the one everyone’s upset with. My parents say I embarrassed the family that I should have put my feelings aside for one day, but no one’s asking how I felt being laughed at in a room full of people. No one’s asking how hard it was to just be there. I don’t know what’s gonna happen with us. Maybe we’ll talk eventually, maybe we won’t.
That makes me really sad. It’s so hard
Ivette : because I see both sides a little bit now because it is your big day. You want your sister, but like, if, if that would’ve been the case, then you would’ve apologized and you would’ve been like, shit. I um, I’m sorry. You would’ve said, I’m sorry. Um. And try to mend the relationship so that your sister could go to the wedding.
But I’m on her side, like, you should not feel bad about this. I’m so proud of you again, for standing your ground. And like you said, like they no longer have any ammo to keep doing this to you because now everyone can recognize like, oh no, she’s serious. Like and good for you. Like, yeah, there’s this thing, the like, the Let Them theory or like the, you know, the book, like let them, yeah.
And it’s a little like, just let them, that’s okay. And they’ll live. You’ll live. And hopefully in the future, if it’s supposed to be fixed, it will be fixed. And I hope that you get your apology, but you know, you might not. But what I hope for most is that you can forgive your sister because, which takes a lot of work, but you don’t need an apology to forgive someone.
But if you don’t forgive someone. It’s gonna be eating at eu, that other person’s gonna be living their life not even thinking about it. Does that make sense?
Christa Innis: Yeah. And that’s why you’re the professional. Yeah. I’m just here to chat. And you like guys, Ivette is, uh, an official, like you
Ivette : are official. I got my certificate in the mail.
I’m like, yay.
Christa Innis: Yes. What’s your like, official like title for everyone that’s listening? Licensed professional counselor. So she can give actual advice. I mean, I’m sure like you, there’s like stipulations that you can’t give. Yes. You’re right. Like this is general. I
Ivette : actually can’t give advice. I’m more like, you go girl, what are we doing?
What are you In general? Yeah. ‘
Christa Innis: cause you’re, they’re not your client. You’re just giving like your professional. Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah. No, I love that. I. Because I can listen to this story, right. And I can be like, I know what I would do in certain situations, right? Well, one, I in the, I wanna be the little sister that would bully.
I would never call someone out like that. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I get what you’re saying too. It’s like I’ve always, I’ve, I’ve been the people pleaser before too, where you just suck it up and you attend. It is more complicated when it’s a sister versus a friend. Like, yeah, 100%. If a friend treated me like that, I’d be like, I don’t think I can go to the wedding.
I mean, everything’s so complicated. It’s like Right. The whole story. We don’t know the details. Right. We don’t know. We’re not her. And the fact is that she made the best choice for her. And right now it’s gonna be hard looking back and being like, did I overreact? Why do they all act like I’m the villain now?
Because I didn’t show up. But in reality, she, she stuck it to like, I mean, she really held from on her boundaries, which not a lot of people can say. I don’t think I would’ve been that strong. Yeah. Someone did that to me. I’m like, trying to think if, if, if I’m only taking this information right here, I probably still would’ve gone to the wedding.
Yeah.
Ivette : And I would’ve probably gone. That’s the people pleaser coming out. And I am, I am that way too. And it’s funny that I say that ’cause I don’t think, I really don’t, I feel like you say, oh, I used to be such a people pleaser, but I’ve seen you work so hard on your boundaries, like setting boundaries and being like, because I know, I know your boundaries.
So I know like, I don’t wanna say like what I can get away with or what I not, but like I know what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable, like around you. And I respect it even more for that.
Christa Innis: What
Ivette : boundaries do I have that
Christa Innis: you
Ivette : can’t do around me? Um, oh no. Uh, I feel like with, not really with me. I just like.
Respect your privacy, respect that like, you don’t want, you know, you’re protective over your daughter and it makes me respect you more, but also with like, family dynamics or like friend, like, you know what I mean? Like different kind of things. Like you’re firm in that and I’m like, I love you for that. So that’s, yeah.
Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like I, I always try to say like, I’m a recovering people pleaser, like I’m better saying like, no to things or like, I know like right off the bat, like, like if Zach’s like, oh, we were invited to this and this, and I’ll be like, that doesn’t sound like something I’m, that would interest me, or I wanna spend my time doing, like, we were talking today about like, valuable friendships or like where we wanna spend our time.
Right? And, and this is not to sound in a certain way, but like, if it’s, let’s say it’s like an old friend of Zach’s that I never met from years ago. It’s like, let’s catch up and get dinner. I’m like, you go have fun. Like I, you take all night. Do your thing, I’ll stay home. Like that’s just for me, that’s just, I’d rather be home.
But if it’s like, let’s catch up with our good friends and like have a date night. Yeah. I’m in. Yeah. So it’s like really like spending time of like, what’s gonna bring you joy and, ’cause I feel like a lot of times in my twenties, like I would just say yes to things because like someone would invite us and we’d go Yeah.
And I’d be like, I wanted to stay home and I didn’t listen to myself. Yeah. And now I’m just like, no, I wanna do this. Or um, yeah. And I feel like, I feel like it’s just we have to listen to those, those gut feelings ’cause they’re there for a reason.
Ivette : Yeah. No, yeah. That’s good. Yeah.
Christa Innis: I think I say something else.
You were saying something else and I was like, oh yeah, that’s a good point. Um. I think too well, yeah, about like boundaries and stuff. Like, so many times people think like if you have a boundary, you’re like rude. And I think that’s what I told myself this whole life, this whole life, this whole life. When I was younger, like I didn’t know what boundaries were.
Right? And I thought, like if people said no, like you’re rude, like they’re gonna talk bad about you. But in reality, like if you just say things respectfully or like you just carry yourself in a certain way, people then just kind of like learn like, oh, like this is not what, like is okay with this person or just don’t, you know, say this around this person or mm-hmm.
You know, that kind of thing. Like,
Ivette : like back to what I said, I think when you start to implement boundaries in your life, like it, it equals respect because people recognize like, oh, they respect themselves enough to like stand up for themselves, that it makes them. Hopefully respect them, and if not, like, then they’re cut off.
You know what I mean? But essentially, like what it does is it builds respect and I, yeah,
Christa Innis: yeah, yeah. Because yeah, I think I would’ve like in the, like if this happened to me in my twenties or something, like whether it was like my sister or a friend of mine or something, right. I think I would’ve gone, and then I would’ve like let it eat at me and I would’ve just held onto this, like you said, like if you don’t, it would just like affect you.
Like you would just hold onto it. And then like every little thing they would do would probably make me mad or I would just hold onto this grudge and it would probably just be bigger. Um, and yeah. ’cause there were friendships I held onto for a long time that were like, they were awful to me. Awful. And like, I could, I can still think about all the things I did.
And then literally, it was like one day in my like mid twenties, I was just like, I’m not gonna call that person. And then they didn’t call me and it was just kind of just like, yeah, hard time. Um. But yeah. So yeah, I mean, I’m, after her kind of describing how she all felt after it. I don’t blame her one bitch.
She knew what, what she needed to do to protect her peace in that moment, and I would never, I won’t ex, if I were her, I won’t expect apology. An apology. Mm-hmm. It doesn’t sound like the sisters want to apologize if she can’t see why you’re hurt now. Unless she grows a lot over the next, you know, year or so.
I don’t know. Maybe
Ivette : it’ll happen, you know, that there’s gonna be some kind of conversation in the future about this, your sisters, you know, like,
Christa Innis: yeah.
Ivette : Yeah. It’s not
Christa Innis: happen. It’s complicated.
Ivette : Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: All right. That was a crazy story, and that was sad. Sometimes they end and they’re sad, and I’m just like, like, you know, I, I make these like skits online and they’re so like, drama filled and they’re entertainment, but like, deep down, a lot of these stories, there’s so much like heartbreak and hurt.
Like I make them in an entertaining way that’s like goofy characters. Right, right. But there’s so much heartbreak and hurt in a, all of these stories that it’s just like to go through this. Like, I don’t know how some of these people go through these things and just like, move on. Like how family members are terrible to them and they have to like show a brave face.
Like, I, I don’t know. I don’t know how they do it because it’s, I feel very lucky that I’ve never had to deal with something like super intense, like these stories.
Ivette : Yeah. Yeah. Same. I, I don’t think I’ve had anything too crazy like that either. Like I can, I can sit here and like look at my life and complain about this, this, and that, but in reality, no.
Like. My parents, my extended family, my immediate family, my husband, my in-laws, like they’re actually really good to me. Like really lucky.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That’s awesome. All right, let’s end on some weekly confessions here. I’ve been on a high note. Yeah. I mean, we’ll say these confessions go, but we can, I know you’re fine.
Okay. Um, my husband’s mom walked around, I’m guessing at their wedding, telling everyone she wasn’t taking pictures with me. I
Why? What bit, why deliberately do that though? You just want someone to ask questions. Like, why, why don’t you like her?
Ivette : Like. Yes. She’s evil. She’s the, what is it? Momzilla? Yeah. Yeah. Mm.
Christa Innis: Funny.
Ivette : Monster. Monster in-law. Monster. That’s what it, that’s what it is.
Christa Innis: Why do, why are they like that? Um, this one says, I wish I’d had the guts to tell my bestie not to bring his attention.
Seeking girlfriend. Oof. Ugh. That’s complicated. That’s complicated. Complicated. We’ll leave it at that. Yeah. I just read a story. I think it’s coming out in a well, by the time your episode comes out, it’ll already be out, but it’s a similar story. Well, I mean, this one’s really short, but where it’s like a guy, girl best friend.
They like say best friends for years through marriage and like kids. Mm-hmm. Well, her on her side, marriage and kids. And then when he goes to get married, it’s like a girl that like hates her and it’s like this weird relationship. And so like, I feel like that’s like complicated and it’s like, hmm. Okay.
Last confession. My flower girl was absolutely out of control at my wedding. Her parents did nothing. Watch your kids. Ugh.
Ivette : I get that. Like a kid’s gonna be a kid. Sure, but you gotta watch your kids. Like a kid’s gonna be a kid, but the parent has to be a parent. Like you wanted a kid, you gotta parent the kid.
So I, yeah,
Christa Innis: fair enough. That’s one of the biggest things I see is like the kids aren’t the problem. It’s when the parents don’t watch the kids at the wedding. That’s the problem. I mean, but that’s like all circumstances, right? It’s like. I could go to a restaurant with my child and she could pick up like a box of creams and just throw it all over.
And I just look at them. I’m like, whatever. She’s a kid. Or I’m like, no, we’re gonna get on the floor. We’re gonna pick ’em up. Right, right. And so it’s like showing her, um, like, ’cause I was, I, I was just telling my husband, like, we were at the library and like there was, um, and again, like, I don’t want this to come off like I’m judging because we’ve all been in situations where like, we’ve left a place and we’re just like, wait, did I, did I pick up whatever?
But like, we were at the library and this little boy’s just throwing stuff, like literally throwing like, there’s like a crate of toys. He’s in there throwing it. The mom’s like kind of around, kind of on her phone. Phone, yeah. Walking around. She, and then she finally sees him and, and I’m there with like my friend and our, our kids and we’re like reading a book to them.
And he’s throwing stuff. It’s like hitting the girls and I’m like just kind of grabbing it. I’m like, oh, ha ha. Like trying to make light of it. She walks over, finally sees him and she’s like, oh, you made a mess over here. So I’m thinking she’s gonna sit there and be like, this is how we clean up. All of a sudden they’re just gone and the other, no, they’re on the other side of the library, so they’re still there.
Ivette : Like, Hey, you got this, or
Christa Innis: Thank you. Literally it was like, you’re fine. And then like a minute later, then he’s like pulling books off the shelves and he was like old enough to know better. Like it wasn’t like a one or 2-year-old. Yeah, like, and so it was one of those things where I’m just like, kids are gonna be kids.
Absolutely. Like I would never fault a kid for like throwing stuff or like pulling books off, but it’s like, take that risk step. So that is like kind of the risk you have with having a flower girl, but also like the parents are there. Yeah. Step in a little bit. Yeah.
Ivette : And like moving, like moving forward your next wedding.
No, but like, just a tip for other people is like having guidelines for the parents. Like, Hey, you know, she’s a little young. Could, could you, like, if you see her maybe like doing this or that, could you kind of like redirect her and help her out? That would be like a good conversation to have.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah.
Definitely. All right. Well that is all we have for this week. Um, what exciting things do you, do you want to share? What’s, what’s going on? I’m going to Norway. I’m so excited for you.
Ivette : You knew that. Yeah. If you didn’t know that, I did know that. That’d be really bad. Yeah. And my best friend, um, is one of my best friends is selling her house.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Ivette : She lives in Wisconsin and she’s moving to Huntley. You.
I was like, you’re like, who the hell are you talking about?
Christa Innis: I was like, Tamika’s moving. She lives in Wisconsin. Um, I’m taking all that out, by the way. Okay. Don’t ever talk about where I live. Oh,
Ivette : okay. You’re okay. No, you’re fine. Don’t ever talk about where I live.
Christa Innis: No, I’m saying I don’t talk about where
Ivette : I live.
I’m kidding.
Christa Innis: There you go. That’s really funny though. Um, all right. Thank you so much for coming on. It’s always so funny. You know, it’s fun. Like, this was like three months last time you Oh, you came on last fall. Remember? Yes. Before you even
Ivette : had a podcast.
Christa Innis: Yeah, we
Ivette : got this last year.
Christa Innis: We like did it in the future.
Um, all right, well, I guess this is it. Thanks for having me. How do we say goodbye? Uh, I’ll see you soon in person. Can’t wait. Oh, yeah. I’ll see you next weekend. Okay. All right. Bye. Love you. Bye. Love you. Bye bye.
Relationship Red Flags, Family Dynamics, and a Shocking ICU Revelation with Kate Gray, LMFT
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
“You’re just the mother of his child.”
That one sentence cut deeper than any legal document could fix. When a tragic motorcycle accident left her partner in a coma, our storyteller learned the hard way what “not being married” really meant. What followed? A secret wedding, a livid mother-in-law, and a decades-long family rift and guest Kate Gray dissect this jaw-dropping submission with raw empathy, real questions, and a heavy dose of “WHAT just happened?” They unpack what happens when legal ties or the lack of them collide with family loyalty and personal boundaries.
Also in this episode: ruined wedding invites, Karen-level MIL energy, and the emotional weight of doing what’s best for your own future even if it means letting go of your past. If you’ve ever doubted whether the legal stuff really matters, this story will have you rethinking everything.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:11 Discussing Complicated Family Dynamics
01:51 Guest’s Professional Background
02:32 Marriage and Family Therapy Insights
08:00 Wedding Planning Stress and Family Dynamics
17:11 Rapid Fire: Red Flags or Normal Stress?
36:45 Navigating Family Boundaries
37:36 Story Submission: A Life-Changing Accident
40:42 The Aftermath and Family Dynamics
49:59 Reflections on Marriage and Family
54:58 Confessions and Regrets
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Life-Changing Crash – A traumatic brain injury left her partner in a coma… and her completely powerless.
- Locked Out of the ICU – Despite living together and raising a child, she was denied access to his medical care by his own mother.
- Secret Wedding Surprise – They threw a barbecue that turned into a surprise wedding… and the MIL didn’t know until the cake rolled out.
- Family Fallout – What followed was over a decade of strained family dynamics, emotional boundaries, and financial detangling.
- Power of Legal Ties – Kate and Christa explore how love, legality, and next-of-kin status affect real lives in unexpected emergencies.
- Enmeshment & Control – What happens when parents can’t emotionally separate from their adult children?
- Boundaries vs Protection – Should you tell your partner everything—even when it might hurt them?
- MIL Chaos Strikes Again – Christa shares the viral story of a MIL destroying wedding invites out of spite.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “The wedding is kind of the test… the precursor to the marriage.” – Christa Innis
- “You’re starting your own family—and you have to get in the habit of making decisions for that family.” – Christa Innis
- “This is your moment. You can be a little selfish.” – Christa Innis
- “You never think about what happens in a tragedy… until you’re in one.” – Christa Innis
- “Do what you want. Everyone else will get over it.” – Christa Innis
- “Marriage means someone else is making huge decisions about your health—this stuff matters.” – Kate Gray
- “You can have boundaries as adults. You don’t have to be terrorized in your own home.” – Kate Gray
- “It’s wild how many of these stories come down to family systems and emotional enmeshment.” – Kate Gray
- “People are shocked to find out these things have names—and that they’re not alone.” – Kate Gray
- “When it comes to relationships, there isn’t always one truth—but there is one choice: yours.” – Kate Gray
About Kate:
Kate Gray, better known online as Codependency Kate, is a couples therapist, married mom, and refreshingly real voice on all things relationships. With a deep understanding of family systems, emotional boundaries, and the unspoken chaos behind “normal” wedding and marriage dynamics, Kate offers the kind of education you wish someone had given you sooner. Her mission? To help you stop blaming yourself and start understanding the why behind your relationship struggles. Kate doesn’t just talk theory, she gets into the messy, emotional, behind-the-scenes stuff that can make or break partnerships, especially when family dynamics, trauma, or toxic in-laws get involved. Her content bridges the gap between formal therapy and real-life application, empowering listeners with language, tools, and clarity to protect what matters most.
Follow Kate Gray:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
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- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
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 Kate. Thank you for being here. Hi, nice to see you. I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Yes, I’m so excited. Like I was saying before we started recording, you came up on my feed strolling and you were talking about difficult relationships with mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws. And you talk about so many complicated relationships in marriage and family.
And so that’s why I thought you are perfect to come on because we see a lot of these issues, I should say, I dunno if that’s the right term, but come up in these stories that we read. And so I thought from a professional standpoint and we can kind of, you know, chat about other stuff as well. But um, before I get too into my fangirling and being really excited about your work, can you just tell us a little bit more about yourself and what you do?
Kate Gray: Yes, so I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist, and I also make content under the handle codependency, Kate. Um, I’m so passionate about education. Like you said, there’s, these are huge issues and people don’t really talk about them except venting to their friends. You know, people don’t really understand the background behind things.
Family Drama Starts with “I Do”
And when I was in school to be a therapist, I was learning all this stuff. I was like, oh my gosh, everyone needs to know this. Why am I. Learning this now, this is so important. And so that’s when I started posting on social media, was in grad school to purely educate. And it’s just kind of turned into a thing, especially around, um, estrangement specifically, um, just because there’s so many, there’s so much stuff happening between marriages and in-laws.
It’s so complicated and complex and no one knows what to do. And so I just try to zoom out and educate people on family systems theory and dynamics so that they can be more informed, take this information to their friends and family, to their own relationships. Obviously parallel to a, um, you know, going to a therapist themselves.
But, uh, yeah, so that’s what I just try to do with the platform that I have.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I think that’s so good because like I was saying, in so many of these stories, it’s like. Something might happen completely outta left field. Like the husband could have a great relationship with his mom, great relationship with his fiance, and the second, you know, they get engaged or get married, there’s a flip.
Yes. Um, and so I think a lot of times people don’t know to prepare for that or like how to prepare for that. So is this something that you see a lot in your work where there it’s just kind of like, um, or you’ve studied a lot in your work where it’s like there’s a, there’s a switch because it’s a dyna, like a power shift and it’s like, oh, he has a new family.
Like where does that come from? Sometimes,
Kate Gray: yeah, it’s tough. It’s, you know, every situation is different, but it’s also not, you know, there’s definitely themes at play. Um, you know. What I have seen in my work with clients. So, ’cause it’s different, my work with clients and then a lot of stories I hear online, you know, there’s very different audiences here, but I’ve definitely seen this a lot.
I think what happens is, yes, there is a different, a totally different dynamic at play. I think what happens is an outsider coming in, it kind of reveals existing dysfunction or existing, um, power imbalances. Just very complex, complex, nuanced things that have existed for a long time. It’s all people in this dynamic know, like say the, a new husband and his mom, they’ve been in this dynamic, you know, his whole life.
He, it’s all he’s known, but then his wife comes into the picture and it kind of challenges that relationship and it shouldn’t, in healthy families, it doesn’t. It’s a, you know, a new daughter-in-law, for example, is a welcome addition. There’s the things are already set up to be successful, but in it’s, again, in these dysfunctional dynamics when things go awry, when a new person’s introduced.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I find, and not to like, I don’t know, if not oversimplify as a thing, but not, or not to group some, I should say. Right. I find a lot of times in the stories, I feel like the husband or the partner, the male partner I should say, in heterosexual relationships. Yeah. Seems to be very, um, I don’t wanna say docile, but he seems to be like passive.
Yeah. Like more passive. Like, we don’t hear a lot of him in the story. It’s more of like, he’s go with the flow. And so like, I think it’s. He grows up, he’s good with the flow, he pleases, you know, he is good to his parents. And then if there’s someone in comes in and she’s maybe a little more strong headed or she’s not afraid to like stand up for herself, I find that’s when there’s usually like a.
Some that’s, there’s buffer contention. Yeah. Yeah.
Kate Gray: Uhhuh, are you saying, um, between her and his family or, yes.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Or like, yeah, if like, the mom’s kinda used to, you know, the son being very like, go with the flow and, um, I just find a kind common theme, like when I have people on here and we react to these stories, they’re like, where’s the partner?
Where’s the fiance? You know, you hear like, this bride rides in and she’s like, this happened, or like, the mother-in-law cornered me or she yelled at me and they’re like, where’s the fiance?
Kate Gray: And it’s kind of no position. And that is the question that is the question I asked too. Because he’s not necessarily in the middle, but he is the link between her and his family.
She, you know, I did a video where I drew this kind of in a, not a di, like a, it’s called a genogram, where you just kind of draw it and she, there’s the parents up top, the son below them, and then she’s to the side of him. You know, like she’s not another child of his parents and they’re not totally separate and she, you know, so roles are very important.
The concept of roles. And that is the question is what is the fiance doing here? What is this dynamic? There’s a lot of reasons, you know, if you go a little deeper, there’s a lot of reasons why he’s that way, and that’s kind of the dynamic shift that has to happen. He has to step into a, a different role and that I, I guess, you know, a lot of men I think don’t talk about that.
General. Mm-hmm. So they just kind of are overwhelmed by these, these women, these strong-willed women. And, um, women can get a really bad rap when the real core issue is a more passive fiance in that role.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely makes sense. So one of the biggest things we were talking about in wedding stories is like the overbearing mother-in-law, or, you know, and, and it’s funny ’cause a number of times I’ll say like, it’s a mother-in-law, people immediately are like, well the bride’s mom is, you know, can be this way too.
And I’m like, well, mother-in-law could be either the groom or the bride’s mom. It’s just Oh yeah. Whoever’s perspective uhhuh. But so many times people hear mother-in-law and they just assume, oh, it’s the groom’s mom. Um, but I always like to like reiterate that. Yeah. So why do you think things like a planning a wedding, I’m sure it’s like high stress levels, but
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Bring out this controlling or kind of boundary pushing behavior on, on the mother’s part or parents’ part.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Well I think what I have seen recently is there is there are very big generational differences in the concepts of weddings. Um, I think in the past, mothers in-law and, you know, grandmothers have planned the whole thing or, or they’ve waited their whole lives to do this for their child.
And the daughter, for example, hasn’t been very involved. Everything’s just been picked for her and it’s just done for her. Mm-hmm. Whereas now I think brides wanna be the bride. They wanna make those decisions and for her parents to, um, not just be more in the passenger seat or the backseat and her not be in the passenger seat or backseat.
So I think that’s one part of it. Um. And I think another part of it is that people have this idea of wedding planning being an amazing thing, and it’s so much fun and it brings everyone together. It brings out the best in everyone, and that it’s just not, it’s just not the case. It’s not the case. It’s kind of one of the first big family events that happens after, you know, high school graduation, college, you know, graduation or big family events.
So it can just bring out everybody’s stress responses. And people I don’t think are prepared for that. There’s a lot of management. There’s also. It’s a new stage for the fiances to come together on. That should be the point is to, this is kind of their first endeavor together where they’re managing all these things because the, the development stage that they are in as a couple from the family life cycle point of view is leaving and cleaving from their families of origin to come together.
So it’s this like detachment phase and I think that’s just really scary and unknown. There’s, there’s loss in it for parents. Mm-hmm. And so it’s just a whole thing that people don’t, aren’t
Christa Innis: prepared
Kate Gray: for.
Christa Innis: Right. And it’s so complicated. I’m sure you see it in your work all the time. ’cause it’s like definitely there’s nothing that’s black and white because Right.
I have heard stories where. Like the mother-in-law has cried over an engagement, but yes, maybe the partner really, really was terrible to their son or daughter. And so it’s just that that’s their reaction. So I wanna make people know too, like, it’s not, it’s not always the parent that they, they can see things too.
Like, okay, yeah, this person’s terrible to my son or daughter. And they’re scared.
Kate Gray: Yeah. And they’re
Christa Innis: scared. Yeah, absolutely. So, um, it’s definitely nuance. There’s so many different, um mm-hmm. Different aspects of that, but for couples that are maybe going through a difficult relationship with, you know, in-laws as they kind of move forward in the next stage, what, how did you recommend they set clear boundaries?
Um, you know, whether it’s before the wedding or kind of moving into their new life together so that there’s not like a total like blow up.
Kate Gray: It’s really tough, I think. The stuff is so hard for people to do on their own. They, I would really, I mean, I think therapists could have a whole like sector and there might even be one of like engagement counseling or like wedding planning counseling because it’s so stressful.
There’s so much to manage and it’s really easy for people’s stress responses and kind of lack of emotion regulation and, and all that stuff to come out. Mm-hmm. And there’s so much pressure and expectations and personalities to manage that. I think first of all, meeting, like having a therapist, having a third party that is separate from the family.
Like not necessarily a wedding planner ’cause they’re not qualified to be doing this stuff. But like, um, just I think being on the same page is the most important thing in this process, I think. ’cause from my experience too, people that have been married 10 years have trauma from their engagement and from their weddings with their in-laws, with their families.
Just with one partner. Not stepping up. Not stepping in, or one person doing too much. There’s, you know, it can be, it can magnify existing dynamic issues. And so getting married and, and having a wedding is not just about the wedding, it’s about starting a healthy dynamic. And, and kind of fixing things.
Maybe that, or just getting ahead of things that you don’t foresee, or just having someone guide you, I think is, takes a lot of pressure off figuring all of that out yourself, so, right.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Because I think a lot of couples see it as like, oh, it’s this big party, it’s gonna be easy. They don’t think about finances like putting together this big party where it’s like, yes, it’s not unlimited money, first of all.
Yeah. It’s like your first time maybe like putting money together for something big or uhhuh having people that are very opinionated from different sides coming together and, and that can be a stressor and mm-hmm. Yeah. Hearing a lot of these stories, I’m like, I feel so grateful that our families just got along well and like, I get along with my mother-in-law.
Great. And so it’s just, it’s, it’s difficult when, um. These relationships kind of come together and it’s like, okay, how do we make, you can’t make everybody happy, but how do we do the best at keeping, keeping as much peace as we can.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, yeah. And from, and from your, your perspective too, it’s like how much is keeping the peace too much like right.
Like when is it like, when are you bending over backwards
Kate Gray: too much? Exactly. Like when is it no longer about you? Mm-hmm. And I think that is what can be really sad in these situations is like. You know, if a bride, for example, is used to keeping the peace, but then for her wedding, she actually has all these ideas that she’s wanted and she’s used to caving.
And unfortunately, this is the one situation where like she’s shaking things up and it causes problems. You know, all her worst fears can come true in these situations. Um, so I am of the advocate of a wedding planner, a therapist, a you know, your bridesmaids, your groomsmen, everyone like supporting you, um, enlisting all the emotional support you can.
’cause it is just a, it’s really tough. It can, I won’t say like make or break something, but I think it’s just important to start off, you know, on a good foot with your in-laws and with your own family. ’cause it, you know. It can just set the tone for things. Yeah. Or it can be something to come back from.
And that’s just, that just sucks. That sucks. Oh, for sure.
Christa Innis: Yeah. If you have a bad wedding experience, it can carry with you forever. Mm-hmm. I mean, some of these stories that, that were sent to me happened 20, 30, some 40, 50 years ago.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: On things. They’ll send me messages and be like, this happened. It was like, I don’t know, whatever.
It was like a cake was changed last minute and it was something that they couldn’t eat or, you know, whatever it was. Or flowers were changed or she was told she looked fat in her dress. You know, like there’s been so many crazy things that were sent to me and they’re like, I still remember it and I remember how I felt and, um.
Someone like, you know, if someone put them down. And so I feel like if you start on the, having that middle ground, like what you’re talking about, um, and it’s funny that you bring up wedding planner ’cause I had a wedding planner on once and she’s like, I feel like half the time I’m a therapist.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Literally. She, she should go to school. No, actually that is, she’s a buffer. I mean, they are a buffer between, you know, and I, I think they’re really valuable ’cause they have to advocate, you know, their, their job is what the bride and groom want. And so I think they can be really healthy. A really healthy addition to the planning crew.
Um, yeah. Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh.
Red Flag or Just Wedding Stress?
Christa Innis: Okay. So I thought we would kind of switch things up a little bit. Yeah. Put together some rapid fire if you’re okay with this. Yeah. And it’s either a red, the options are red flag or normal stress. And if you wanna add a little bit to it, feel free. Okay. Um. Because I know, I don’t, I don’t wanna like put you in a corner or make you say something that you don’t wanna say either.
So, um, they’re just different like scenarios. And then just say if it’s a red flag or normal stress around what, okay. Okay. Okay. One partner says, let’s just do what my mom wants. It’s easier that way. Red flag. Red flag. Uh, the couple hasn’t had a single conversation about how they’ll split finances after the wedding.
Kate Gray: Ooh. Major red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That’s tough. Yeah. I feel like that comes up a lot with stories too, where it’s like, this is the first big event and then sometimes they just, like, they expect their parents to pay for everything and then they go to the next stage and it’s like, but then I didn’t realize like.
This happened, or we can’t afford this, or they’ve never discussed it before.
Kate Gray: No, it’s tough because you’re, you’re expected, you’re, you have these huge decisions that like only 10 year married couples are like, have the foundation to make, and you’re making them immediately upon this huge commitment. So yeah.
That’s just tough. And so those conversations in general are so important. Yeah. Yes.
Christa Innis: Uh, okay. The bride’s mom says this wedding is as much mine as it is yours.
Kate Gray: Oh. I mean, I think that’s normal. I think that’s like, that comes up so much probably. Um, but yeah. Or for the bride, that’s, that’s sad. That’s a
Christa Innis: red flag.
Yeah. Um, one partner wants kids some someday the other doesn’t, but they say they’ll figure it out later.
Kate Gray: That’s a major red flag. That’s not, yeah.
Christa Innis: I see that happen so many times. Really, I’ve seen it. I, not a ton in stories, but I’ve just seen it like, um, stories like people posted like that, like either eventually one like changes their mind and then they, one wants kids when they both didn’t want kids before.
And I’m sure that just like sometimes happens, but I feel like that’s, like, that was like one of the biggest things my husband and I talked about before, getting married to make sure, yeah, of course,
Kate Gray: age. Well that’s a compatibility issue. Like that’s a fixed thing that, um, isn’t, you know, that’s not a dynamic issue, that’s a fixed thing and it can be just a symptom of something deeper.
But how, you know, the question is like, how do you resolve things that y’all are fixed on that are opposite? You know, like even religion, faith can be part of that too. Like that you’re fixed on these things.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. And
Kate Gray: you just think you’re gonna deal with it or it’s gonna get better. And that’s just, that’s, that’s definitely something to handle on the front end.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Um, the groom refuses to go to premarital counseling, counseling and says it’s a waste of time.
Kate Gray: Um, that’s tough. I mean, I, me, I’m like, red flag, red flag, red flag. But I, I think that’s probably very normal. I don’t know. Yeah. I think not going, not being open to counseling is a very much a red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I mean, I feel like if they’re having, and you might know this better from your, your profession than Yeah. Me just, no, it’s okay. But if they’re having the kind of issues where counseling would come up before and then they, he brings it, she brings it up and he’s like, no, to jump in knowing they might need some kind of.
Kate Gray: Yeah,
Christa Innis: exactly.
Kate Gray: I mean, it’s like if y’all can talk about anything and you resolve problems, then like saying no to counseling is like, okay. I mean, ’cause we don’t need it to solve problems, but if it’s just like, no, because I don’t wanna talk about anything and I don’t want outside guidance, that’s, that’s the red flag of it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The couple always avoids hard conversations by joking or changing the subject.
Kate Gray: Um, see, these are tough because that seems so, I’ve just, that’s so normal. I think for early on in relationships, people don’t really know how to deal with stuff. So I think that’s normal. I think that that is definitely gonna come out in their marriage, that’s gonna be magnified by it.
But um, yeah, that’s not an, an unfixable issue that I would say that’s very normal, but it’s definitely not good. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like you can. Only joke so long before, like, something’s gonna be hard, like curious. And you have, well,
Kate Gray: there, there’s something called, um, I mean, just to be all nerdy real quick, there’s something called pseudo hostility, like fake hostility.
It’s like, that’s what you’re talking about, like the joking.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Kate Gray: And it is an indicator of like suppressed emotion and an inability to really resolve conflict and be vulnerable. Okay. So it’s like a really unhealthy dynamic and or like, um, behavior in general and it’s found in families. That’s where the term came from.
But, so it can be, it’s joking about real problems as an indicator of that, but again, it’s, it’s something that’s very fixable with a therapist or with just, you know, this podcast.
Christa Innis: So yeah, just chatting about it. Yeah, because I feel like I’ve known people before that are just very, like, that’s like their personality is like the comic relief.
So it’s like even when things are like serious, they like wanna throw a little like. Comic in there.
Kate Gray: Yeah. And that’s how comedians are born. Yeah. I
Christa Innis: I feel like that’s a lot of, like, when you hear like deeper stories about comedians, it’s like a lot of times they just have to laugh to get through things,
Kate Gray: literally.
Yeah. And that’s, I mean, it’s not an unhealthy thing when you can do that. But if you only can do that and you can’t be vulnerable and you can’t talk about your feelings and you can’t receive criticism, for example, then that’s when it becomes an issue. And that’s when that term applies. It’s not just about joking and being funny, um, or even lightening the mood sometimes.
But if you can only do that when it’s tense, you know, you think about. People that like bust out laughing at like funerals and stuff. Like, it’s like there’s response. Yeah. It’s like, um, is that how, you know? It’s just those things just invite curiosity. It’s not to like pathologize people or to say, you know, if you do this, there’s something wrong with you.
It’s just an indicator of like, something to be curious about if you’re having issues in relationships or, or if, if this is a, a pattern for you.
Christa Innis: Interesting. Wow. I’m, I’m learning so much. Oh, okay. Um, a partner deletes texts from a parent they know that the other wouldn’t approve of, oh
Kate Gray: man, this is, these are so hard.
’cause they seem very normal. ’cause it sounds the person would be trying to protect their partner. I think people do this with good intention, but at the same time, I think that’s not a good habit to get into. In a marriage. So that’s a red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. ’cause for someone like that, like if someone’s deleting texts, that means in some way they’re, and you can’t control the other, what the parent does, but in some way they’re allowing them to talk negatively about their partner.
Right. Right. Or they’re not setting us clear boundary of like, Hey, if you talked that way, we’re, we’re done. Yeah. Or we’re gonna limit.
Kate Gray: Yeah. No, a hundred percent. That’s right. But I also, on the other side of the spectrum, I have, in my experience with people, there’s been way too much transparency and this, their partner is like scarred for life by what the parents said.
Yeah. So there is like. Transparency isn’t necessarily, you know, there it, there’s nuance here. It just depends on what they’re saying, you know, like mm-hmm. Um, but yeah, I think the general, like the habit of deleting texts is sketchy and is definitely a red flag. Mm-hmm. In a relationship in general.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
That’s interesting. Yeah. You say that because Yeah, I know. I’m thinking about that now because, um, there was a story that a girl sent me, and this was not about a mean text necessarily, and actually podcast and she talked about it, but Oh, mother-in-law, um, yeah, she was anonymous. She turned the camera off.
Uh, so we reacted to her story and then she was like, maybe we’ll have a part two because I’m going dress shopping with her. And so I had her come on and kind of share what happened, but basically she was demanding to know the location of their wedding venue, and this was like. Far from where they lived.
They haven’t actually seen it personally yet. She’s like, well, I just wanna drive by and go see it. And they’re like, it’s a private property, you can’t. And she’s like, we sent you the location so you can kinda see pictures. And she goes, well, I delete texts. And she like went to this whole thing about how like, I delete texts, just tell me the address so I can show up and go.
And she kept pushing, pushing. It was like a long, crazy story, but she ended up like cornering her in the kitchen and was like, yeah, it was like this crazy thing. It’s still ongoing, like they haven’t gotten married yet, but, um,
Kate Gray: oh my goodness.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so the delete texted made me think of that conversation because um, she just said like.
She would, the mother would delete texts in her phones and then claim not to have it anymore. Claim to not know that because the text was gone.
Kate Gray: That’s weird. Never heard of anything like that.
Christa Innis: I know. I was like, does she, does she work for the
Kate Gray: FBI? Why? Yeah. Seriously. Is she a CIA agent?
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. So that was, wow.
Kate Gray: Interesting.
Christa Innis: Yeah. But that was one where, on her episode where she came on, she talked about they, she went through a lot of therapy herself. So like they did a good job of like keeping up with boundaries. Yeah. And it was where her husband just had a hard time of like standing up to his mom because I bet.
And so used to like running the household and now this new strong female voice comes in and she’s like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I’ve never been told no before, so, yeah.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Right. Which is, that’s a red flag. I’ll say that. Like, moms not being used to their adult children telling them no about things. That’s a red flag for Yeah.
Like when you’re, if you’re a fiance, you’re looking at your partner and their parent, and that’s the dynamic you see. It’s like that’s, those are, those are scary waters to enter into. Like you, that’s a scary situation. And I think their partners feel that, you know, they like get that sense. And I think that that brings out their own stress responses too.
Mm-hmm. Um, because there’s a powerlessness that children feel even when they’re adults with parents. Parents. And so that can just make them really scared and they, however they normally respond when they’re scared. So maybe they over control or they. You know, overcompensate in some ways. So it can just be tough.
Yeah.
Christa Innis: Interesting. Wow. Okay. Um, this one says, the bride says she doesn’t want the groom sister in the wedding and won’t explain why
Kate Gray: the bride says she doesn’t want the groom sister in the wedding. Oh. And she won’t explain why. Yeah. That’s part of it. That’s the part of it. That’s the red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. They won’t explain why.
’cause I feel like you don’t need to have your sibling or your partner’s siblings in the wedding. I feel like that’s a totally, there should be no pressure to have anybody in the wedding, but
Kate Gray: yeah.
Christa Innis: Why won’t you explain why?
Kate Gray: Yeah, why don’t you explain why, or like, why can’t they just be, I love the idea if that’s the case.
Like if, say you’re the bride and you don’t want your groom’s sister being a bridesmaid, but can she be a groomsman? I don’t know. Do you have this, the ultimate set? You know, can’t, is there some gray area here? Right. Like if
Christa Innis: he, I know. That’s what I think is interesting too, is like, I, I mean, I had my.
Husband’s sister and sister-in-law on his side. Um, sister-in-law on his side. I dunno if I said that right. But I mean, it’s our sister-in-law, but in the wedding, ’cause I’m like close with them. Yeah. But like, we have my brother ’cause like they’re not super close or anything. Okay. But I’ve seen it always and that, that’s like a weird thing.
But like, I, I don’t know. It’s interesting.
Kate Gray: Well, I think this can be an issue. So say the groom’s sister is rude to the bride or like they don’t get along or, or whatever. And so the bride’s just like, yeah. I mean, you’re not gonna be in our wedding party. Mm-hmm. Um. But I think that could also be like an, is a situation where fiance, they can come together where it’s like, Hey, I’m uncomfortable with her in my, on my side of things, you know, going on my bachelorette or like, and standing up there, that feels inauthentic to me.
But if you, you know, she’s your sister, you kind of get the say in what you want her to be in our wedding and we can talk about it. And so do you want her to stand up with you in a black dress? You know, like is there something, if your parents are gonna be really upset and embarrassed by that, like is there something we can do to get everyone a win-win scenario?
Um, yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Because what’s weird to me too is that she would have to explain to the groom almost like in my. My thought is if the bride and sister didn’t get along, the groom would already know that or know that there was some kind of weird tension. So like, let’s figure it out together. But if like, let’s say she secretly like hated the sister and was like, yeah, jealous of something, you know, whatever.
Then like that’s already, that’s a red flag because it’s like you’re not openly communicating with your groom. Like, oh, the sister did this to me. That’s
Kate Gray: the issue is like the not openly communicating.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Okay. This one’s, there’s two more. One person does all the wedding planning because the other partner says they don’t care.
Kate Gray: Is that the most normal thing I’ve ever heard about this? Probably. I mean, but it’s a red flag. Like. I don’t know, what do they not care about? Is that part of the dynamic? Do they not care in general? Are they like, I never care about what we eat, and so the other person’s always responsible for figuring out what they eat.
Like is this the dynamic or is this just like, oh, I don’t like, you know, oh I don’t know, some, like, I don’t wanna do girly stuff, or some stupid stuff like that. What’s the deal about it?
Christa Innis: Yeah, because I feel like there’s a big difference between like, oh honey, you’re so good at this stuff, so I don’t care.
Like, do you like the pink or the green butter? You know, or it’s like, I don’t care.
Kate Gray: You know? Like the, yeah,
Christa Innis: how are they communicating it because exactly how
Kate Gray: are they communicating it? And you know, I think that that’s not. Yeah. I think again, it’s a, all these things seem like places, things to explore. Like is this just this situation or is this in general?
Or does this bother me? Does it bother me that they don’t care? Or am I happy they don’t care because I wanted to do it on my own anyway. You know, like Right. What I, how do you actually feel about it?
Christa Innis: Right. No, that’s a, that’s a great point. It’s so, these are so nuanced. Yeah. Because I’ve seen relationships before where the bride is like such a big planner and so she was like, I got this.
We’re good. Yeah. And he kind of just was there if she needed him, but that’s it. He was like, I don’t care. Pick, I will walk in for a wedding. You want, but then I’ve seen others where like the bride was stressed beyond belief and he went a finger and you’re like, that’s where I’m like, it’s your wedding too.
Right. Um, but I think a lot of times there’s those couples where they just assume like, oh, it’s the woman’s job to do all of it. Yes. Um. But
Kate Gray: I don’t know. And that’s again, like not a a bad, these things aren’t like inherently bad, but it’s like, how do you feel about them? Do you want them more involved? Is are there things you can do together?
Are there things that they really do care about or do they just not know? I think a lot of the time people don’t know what they don’t know. Yeah. And so you think you’re not gonna care about something, but you really end up caring about the food, or you really end up caring, like caring about the transportation from the venue to the reception.
You know, like, yeah. Is, is there an open mind there? For things to be, you know, to evolve as you learn more. Because I mean, when I planned my wedding, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what I, you know, how do you, how are you supposed to know when you’ve never done it before?
Christa Innis: Exactly.
Kate Gray: Yeah. So
Christa Innis: it’s a lot.
And I think people don’t realize, like, especially their first time going through everything and seeing like what they have to do, they’re just like, what?
Kate Gray: Yeah, there’s so many decisions.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so all the comparison with social media and all stuff, it’s like you have to really shut out the noise of like, okay, do I want, uh, a golden arch because they have it on Pinterest, or do I want one because it would look cool for us, like, you know.
Exactly.
Kate Gray: Yeah, for sure.
Christa Innis: Okay, last one. A parent constantly criticizes their part child’s partner, but the partner just keeps the peace to avoid conflict.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Major red flag. First of all, why is a parent criticizing? I think that’s, so, I, I think things can be so backwards. Like parents should be there to be so supportive ’cause they know they’ve been through it and they know how stressful it is.
Mm-hmm. So it’s just crazy to me in general when parents are adding, they add stress even though they know they’ve been through it themselves. Um, so I think that’s the red flag is like parents criticizing in general. That’s definitely something to have a boundary around. Um, what was the rest of the question?
And the, uh, the partner just keeps the peace to avoid conflict. Yeah. And that’s another thing. Do they always do that? Do they do that with you? Do they do that at work? Do they do that with their friends? Are they always avoiding conflict? Because the thing about that is that it comes out sideways. It it does eventually, you know, people aren’t just like doormats, you’re human beings and emotions, you know, it’s gonna come out.
So, but it, but, or is this a situational thing where it’s just like, you know, let’s just get through this wedding. Like, I don’t even care. Let’s just get through this wedding. Right. That’s one thing. So, and it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s, you know, things are not irreparable. If you just, if the wedding is just, if you decide it’s not the time to deal with all these dynamics, then just make it easy for yourself.
You know? Like if you need to avoid it, do it, whatever. But as long as like you, um, yeah, I think just doing what you need to do at the time
Christa Innis: Yeah. Is
Kate Gray: how you leave these situations. Like not traumatized.
Christa Innis: Right. When they’re
Kate Gray: tough.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I don’t know how I would react to something like that, but yeah, if it’s something like you live across the country and you’re only gonna see ’em for this one day and you talk to them, okay, whatever, just like, we’re like, whatever.
But if you see them a lot and they’re constantly putting your partner down, like, let’s, boundaries.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Boundaries. Because that’s, you know, if a parent’s criticizing their partner, that can really make the kid feel undermined. Like, Hey, you don’t trust my decisions. Like, I, I wanna hear your feedback, but I’m, all I’m hearing about them is this, and that’s making me not trust your opinion because they’re both good and bad.
Like, they definitely have stuff, but it, it’s, it feels reflective of me and what you think about me and my decision. So yeah, that can be something important to communicate. But again, if this isn’t the time, then don’t like just deal with it later.
You’re Just the Mother of His Child
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. All right. Now let’s get to everyone’s favorite part of these episodes, and that’s this week’s story submission.
So here we go. Okay. It’s Blind React. I’ve not read it, so, okay. What we got. Okay. You know how people say you don’t need a piece of paper to prove your love? That was us until life taught us otherwise. We met in the mid nineties, in our early twenties and clicked instantly. Within a few months, we were living together.
The next year we experienced a miscarriage, and not long after I was pregnant again, our Rainbow baby was born the following spring. By the end of that year, we bought a house together, and still we had no plans to marry. We were anti traditional and didn’t think a certificate mattered. Then everything changed.
In the summer of 2000, my partner was riding his motorcycle and hit a full. Hit at full speed while making a, and was, I’m sorry, and was hit at full speed while making a legal turn. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in co a coma for three weeks. Oh my gosh. His helmet saved his life, but it was a long road ahead because we weren’t legally married.
His mother stepped in and told the doctors she was next of kin. This is, oh my gosh. Wow. Oh my God, this is so bad. This is terrible. Oh, she explicitly told them not to speak to me. How do you, that stuff, this is like something that’s so complicated that I never would’ve even thought about.
Kate Gray: Wow. Like, yeah, we just
Christa Innis: automatically assume your partner for that long.
Having kids together, like. That’s your person you like
Kate Gray: earned your right? Like in Yeah. In all in their eyes too. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Uh, she said I understood she was heartbroken, but I had been his partner for years. We shared a home, we were raising a toddler, and yet I was completely shut out. Wow. Oh my gosh. She even looked me dead in the eye and said, “You’re just the mother of his child.”
Oh. This is probably one of the tragic stories I’ve read on here. Um, that sentence has never left me. Yeah. A single piece of paper would’ve spared me so much pain. Mm. Thankfully we had an incredible nurse who saw what was really going on. I showed proof that we lived together and she let me sneak our son into the ICU to see his dad.
Mm. So the, the grandma was even keeping the, the son away sounds like,
Kate Gray: oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: Within four days, he woke up. I truly believe that visit made a difference. The bond between them has only grown, grown stronger since. Eventually he came home and made an incredible recovery. About 95% of who he was before the accident.
I didn’t tell him what happened while he was in the hospital. I just wanted him to heal. Oh. So this is interesting ’cause it kind of relates to what we were talking about, about like protecting your partner. Mm-hmm. But this is like the opposite way. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So she’s almost protecting him from his own mother.
What’s her take on that? Like, ’cause I am, I’m also wondering how involved this grandma is in their life. Yeah.
Kate Gray: For
Christa Innis: and be like, no, he’s my next. I’m the next of kin.
Kate Gray: Yeah, exactly. My, I have a lot of questions. I’m like, I. If they didn’t get married, then there wasn’t a family, you know, then there wasn’t a wedding and there wasn’t this family event.
This like, I don’t know how much that matters, but like basically she wasn’t necessarily included in their formal relationship.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Kate Gray: And may, I’m wondering what their relationship was like before, you know? Mm-hmm. How involved she was, how not involved, what her relationship was like with her son. But yeah, so that’s what I have just context.
I want context to that. But you wanna really, you wanna demonize the mother-in-law in these situations, you know, like it’s easy to say, oh my gosh, what a terrible person. How could she do this and disrespect me like this?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: Um, yeah. And I wonder, again, that’s like zooming out. Is this a pattern where she like the.
The partner doesn’t share things with him to protect him. And is this just another thing, part of that, when this is something that he definitely needs to know?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: You know, they definitely need to figure out together.
Christa Innis: Yeah, because I feel like that would be my thought. Like I understand her concern with being like, you know what, let’s just focus on him healing.
But yeah, then I would also be like, what if something happens? Like where,
Kate Gray: yeah,
Christa Innis: he has a stroke. I don’t know. Just you think like something happens where like another life altering event. Of course you would hope like nothing happens after that, but like things happen and you know, then you’d be like, okay, how can I protect myself now I wanna talk to him because.
I wanna make sure we’re like on the same page moving forward or something.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Wait, did she say like, did she say that she didn’t tell him any of this? Is that what she said?
Christa Innis: So there’s still a little bit more, but she said so far, um, I didn’t tell him what happened while he was in the hospital. I just wanted him to heal.
Um mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Wait. And then right after it says, so I didn’t read this yet, but once, but once he was well enough to return to work, we started making secret wedding plans. Oh. Oh, okay. Okay. Let’s, okay, let’s see where this goes. Okay. It says, we hosted a backyard barbecue that December. A few close friends and family knew it was more than just a cookout, but most didn’t.
Okay. So they did a surprise, oh my gosh. Wedding. Most didn’t including his mother.
Kate Gray: Wait, I, oh wait, his, so his mom didn’t know. Didn’t know that it was a secret wedding.
Christa Innis: Okay. I have so many thoughts now because I’m like, okay, was their relationship with the mom always bad or if the mom always made it clear that she did not like her, because now it’s like, I’m not gonna tell you what happened.
So you talk to your mom, we’re gonna have this wedding.
Kate Gray: Oh my gosh. I didn’t even think like retaliation basically, which like,
Christa Innis: obviously they’re gonna get married anyway, so I don’t want ’em to think I’m thinking that, but I’m just like, oh. She’s like, you did that to me while my husband watch
Kate Gray: this.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Watch this. I’ll prove you. How much like he’s my partner.
Kate Gray: Well, or I mean, or, or she just learned from that. Like, this woman is not safe for us to tell anything to, and we need her in a group of people so she’s not acting crazy that when it’s our moment. That’s such a good, that’s who. Because I, um, man, that is, that is, you can’t make that this up.
Like you cannot make this up. It’s wild. This is a wow
Christa Innis: story. Yeah. I’m like picturing it now. And that was such a good point about like being aware of like, okay, how could she act out if it was just us?
Kate Gray: Right.
Christa Innis: This way she’s gonna maybe, hopefully be on her best behavior. ’cause certain people like that aren’t gonna put on a show.
I mean, they might, some people might.
Kate Gray: Right. But if they did, there’s witnesses now.
Christa Innis: Yes,
Kate Gray: man. Like, we’re
Christa Innis: not the crazy ones. It’s not us. Yeah, exactly. Like now you see Yeah. Yeah. This is what we’re dealing with. Oh my gosh. Wow. Uh, she had no, oh, here we go. Okay. She had no idea it was a wedding until the cake came out.
She was livid. Oh my gosh. Oh. A year or so later, we paid off all of her debts and helped her move out. That’s a wait. Move out. Wait. Was the mom living with them? Did I miss something? Oh,
Kate Gray: because that would be crazy if the mom was living with them and she didn’t know they were getting married.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And like how long was, if the mom was living with them, how long was she living with them for that she then blocked out.
I’m so confused. Oh my gosh. Well, because it says best decision we ever made because they paid off her debts and helped her move out, so she was living with them.
Kate Gray: Oh wait. Helped her move out, wait. Paid off her debts and helped her move out. Yeah. Moved out of where? That’s the question.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. It says our relationship with her stayed strained for over a decade.
She passed away in 2014, and since then life has been calm, happy, and drama free. Now we’re planning our 25th wedding anniversary, and this time it won’t be a surprise to anyone. Oh my God. Oh my gosh. That is
Kate Gray: a wild story. Wow. I’m feeling a lot of things about that. Yes. Well, wait, so backing up, when he got in that tragic accident, that was like, what?
Probably five years into their relationship? Is that like a general timeline? Probably. So
Christa Innis: they met mid nineties in the summer of 2000. Yeah. Yeah. So probably like five or so years. Okay. They had a toddler together, living together. Mm. Yeah, where was the mom and all this? Like did she live with
Kate Gray: Yeah, did she live with them?
Yeah. I, so my, so from a family systems point of view, remember that’s my context. ’cause like, I wanna be per, I wanna respond personally to this, but like, ’cause this is crazy, but not in a clinical way. You’re not crazy in a clinical way. Yes. But it’s still just like, what is this guy, you know, you said this at the beginning, like when people are like, oh, where’s the fiance?
People submit stories and they’re like, wait, where? Where’s the fiance? Where’s the husband? Where’s the partner?
Christa Innis: Yeah. And
Kate Gray: that’s what I’m wondering is like, what has he just been passive in this situation and mm-hmm. I don’t know. I think it’s so easy to be, you know, with these mother-in-laws that do these things, to be really scared of them.
And I mean. And let them dominate. You know, I think there gets to a point where it’s like you, you can have boundaries as adults. Like you can, you know, you don’t have to have her in your, your house. If she’s terrorizing you and you’re scared of her and you’re laughing at her behind her back, you know, like, so I don’t know, but.
That sounds,
Christa Innis: that’s what I’m confused about. Crazy. Like he had a good relationship with his mom, so he was like, oh, she’s fine, she’s harmless. But then maybe, right. It wasn’t until he was in the ICU that she became really terrible and was like, like actually a threat to their relationship.
Kate Gray: Yeah, yeah.
Christa Innis: Because you know, you hear like funerals and weddings and, you know, all those big life events bring out the worst in people. Right? Right. And so like, I mean, there’s so many cr I mean, I’m sure there could be a podcast about funeral things that happen with families, like being torn apart and money is, you know, there, there, you always hear about stuff like that.
And so that’s what makes me think of like, maybe the mom was playing nice and then she was like in tragedy brought up. Right. I don’t know.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Well, oh man, that’s so hard. That is so hard. I mean real life. And that’s why marriage relationships are so important to get right. Because life is crazy and there are huge things that happen like that, that alter things and alter relationships.
And so having a balance and having communication and resolving conflicts so that it all doesn’t come out in this one crisis, you know?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Is
Kate Gray: so important because crises happen.
Christa Innis: Yeah. But yeah, and it’s um, I love that she shared this story ’cause it’s such a unique perspective and I feel like open people’s eyes up too because it’s kind of like a different perspective of the stories we usually get.
’cause you know, it’s usually like the wedding drama and the planning and stuff. So this was a very like, alternative kind of story. And I think it’s really interesting ’cause you never think like. In like a, in a tragic moment, like, what’s gonna happen? Or, you know, right. How would we handle that? Married or not?
How would we handle that situation? ’cause that’s gonna put, that can put stress on family. How is family gonna come in at that point? Um,
Do It Your Way
Kate Gray: well, yeah, and I think it depends. When I got married, I remember like a month after we got married and we’re home from and everything and it’s like really hitting you this commitment and this legal change.
And I was changing my name and I remember being like, I’m changing my social security card. Like, if I am in an accent, you, you are gonna be like, you know, who’s young at my age who doesn’t have experience with hospitals, you know, my mom’s a, a nurse and, um. I just remember like that, the gravity of that hitting me, you know, you just grow up like it, it’s just so much transition internally and in life.
And you’re like, oh my gosh. Like if I am in a car accident, you are gonna be making these decisions. Like this is crazy. Yeah. So I think there, you know, um, I, but I agree like with like what you’re saying just about how the, the legal thing like this, it matters. This marriage is, is this person is making these huge decisions and when health is on the line, I think that’s a time where like hard lines need, hard boundaries need to be there, like mm-hmm.
Or else there’s this situation right where the mom and the partner, like the wife or the, the partner Yeah. Are not, there’s no clear lines there. ’cause legally did the mom have the right, or I don’t even know what the laws are.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I don’t know. And I don’t know what state there, ’cause I’m sure it differs state to state too.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But it sounds like she probably had the legality because she was the mom, but I don’t know. ’cause it’s like if he’s over 18, doesn’t that kind of go away? I don’t know how that works. Yeah. Um, but I actually heard a crazy story. I don’t even know how long ago it was now. Um, and I’ll change up the story slightly to protect who they are, but, um, this couple was married for a long time.
They were going through a divorce and while they were going through a divorce, the man had a traumatic, like, I think I wanna say brain cancer, brain tumor. Mm-hmm. And it turns out that certain tumors can make you act different ways or like do different things. Mm. While that was happening, he had an affair with her sister.
It was, I know. It was crazy. And so while he was in the hospital, the sister and I, again, I don’t know the legalities or how this worked. Yeah. Uhhuh, um, I. This was like through a grapevine,
Kate Gray: Uhhuh,
Christa Innis: um, through, through the sister. The sister was not allowing the ex-wife to Oh, father of children. Father of the children, what?
25 years? Yeah.
Kate Gray: Oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: And I was just like, this was a long grapevine, but it was just like, what? Like how, like I, again, I don’t know, like the legalities of that because they were divorced, but he wasn’t with this new person legally. But I don’t know if she was just there when the injury happened or they like, did the surgery or what.
Oh my gosh. But the, like, those kind of things are just like, you don’t, you don’t think about that when you’re like, you know, I don’t know. Getting married or like all that stuff.
Kate Gray: No, no, you don’t. You definitely don’t. I’m watching, it’s funny we’re talking about this too. ’cause I’m rewatching, um, Grey’s Anatomy, so I’m like seeing all this stuff in episodes and um, but yeah, it really does make you think of the legalities.
’cause I think that is what they determine what they make those decisions based on. Right. Like the doctors have to know Yeah. Who’s next of kin and who’s formally next of kin.
Christa Innis: Right. Yeah. Because I know there’s been really sad stories where, um, a gay couple or something have been partners for a long time, but they, because they weren’t legally married, they refused to let a longtime partner of someone in the hospital room So crazy.
And I hope that’s changed in most cases, but I’m sure there’s gotta be some kind of like paperwork or something, I don’t know. Mm-hmm. How that works. Mm-hmm. But maybe next I need to have some like.
Kate Gray: Lawyer on it should have someone on here. Yeah. Yeah. Talking about that. Is there a lawyer listening?
Um, okay. I know we’re about at the end of our time, so I always like to end this with confessions, weekly confessions that people send me. So here’s a couple that people sent in. It says, biggest regret was having a wedding instead of eloping like I wanted to. Mm. And I was told I would regret it later.
Kate Gray: That is so sad.
I hate when people, or it’s just sad when people project their own experiences and you don’t realize it’s them projecting and not everyone’s truth and not like a universal truth, you know?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: Oh, that’s tough. See, that’s why like, you have to make these times, you have to do what you wanna do, I think.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Kate Gray: Because they’re so big.
Christa Innis: Totally. And I feel like when you tend to listen to everyone around you, but yourself, you’re gonna end up regretting it a hundred percent. Whether it want a big wedding and you went small or you went small and you want, you know, or I just said the same thing twice. Yeah. You know what I mean?
Um, or you, you don’t elope, but you really wanted to elope because you’re ultimately trying to please everyone else and you’re looking back. Exactly. Feel like, what was that for?
Kate Gray: Yeah. And it’s like if you do what you wanna do and it didn’t turn out the way you wanted to, you can learn. It’s not a, it’s not, I don’t think is as bad as if you listen to someone else over yourself.
’cause I think when you get married, like when you go into that stage of life. And you start your own family, whether you have kids or not. Like you’re starting your own family, that you have to get in the habit of making decisions for your family and for yourself and putting yourself first in that way.
That’s what’s best for your family. Mm-hmm. Is choosing yourself every day over everybody else. You know, obviously considering other people, but no one knows your family, no one knows you better than you know you.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: Even if you haven’t been some through something that other people have been through.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. You know, the way you just said it, I’m like, you know, the wedding is kind of like the test, like, kinda like the precursor into the marriage. ’cause everyone’s so focused on the wedding. Right. But it’s really the marriage, like that counts and I, I don’t know. Yeah. I can kind of say that to like, you know, your clients before, but I just feel like so many people focus on this like, you know, big day, right?
Yeah. The flashing lights and all that, but. It really is kinda like the precursor of like, how are we gonna handle stress? How are we gonna budget for this big event? Yes. How are all these strong personalities gonna come together and how will we deal with it? Because in our, you know, marriage, there’s gonna be trials and tribulations, there’s gonna be hard times, there’s gonna be great times.
Um, and so I feel like that’s kinda like a precursor of like, are we gonna listen to everyone else before us? Yes. Like, how are we gonna Well,
Kate Gray: yeah, and like I said, like I really do, when I’m thinking about it like this, I’m like, there. People don’t, I don’t know you. It’s crazy that this amount of pressure and this complex of a thing happens at the very beginning of a relationship because in life you’re never dealing with this type of thing again.
You know, unless you have children and there’s like, you live on a compound with your family. Like there, you know, there’s not this level of pressure, of personalities of, of involvement in your life and in your life decisions as there is when you’re married. So I wanna like, I feel like that would’ve been so helpful for me to understand of just like, this is kind of a one time thing.
You know, this. And like maybe if you, if you can get pregnant, if you wanna get pregnant, whatever the birth of your first child, like, I feel like those are kinda the two main first things. And then after that, people leave you alone in a way. And so just to know like if you’re feeling a lot of pressure, you can like chill because there’s nothing like this, I think other than funerals, you know?
Yes. Other, other things like that. But even, even then, you’re not the center of it a lot of times. So
Christa Innis: yeah. This is your, your time for it to be about you. You can be a little selfish. Um, yeah. And yeah. Kind of block out the extra it,
Kate Gray: It will be over, you know? Yes. But I agree with what you’re saying. Like it totally is a precursor for things and magnifies your dynamic.
Christa Innis: Yes. Yeah. A lot of, lot of personalities and thoughts and opinions coming in on this, on this one day. That’s Yeah. That can, uh, can make or break sometimes.
Kate Gray: Yeah. But do what you want.
Christa Innis: Yes. Do what you want.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, this says, um, mother-in-law shared a video of Karen’s ruining weddings as a joke and warned me wait and said it was a warning from her wor from her words.
I don’t know how that. Mother-in-law shared a video of Karen’s ruining weddings as a joke and a warning from her words. Yeah. So she said it as like a warning. What? So basically saying, if you don’t do what I say, I can ruin your wedding. Oh gosh. That is so mean. Did you see there was this thing that went viral.
Someone just tagged me in on TikTok. This girl shared a picture or like a video of all her invitations in a bucket of dirty water and said, thanks to my mother-in-law, oh wait, no, I didn’t see that they were already, or they were, the water was dirty because it was all the ink. She already had pre-addressed all these invitations in envelopes, and the mother-in-law threw them in water because they weren’t what she wanted, or she didn’t want the wedding to happen.
It was like going viral on TikTok. And people were like, can you make a story about this? And I was like, let me gather some thoughts.
Kate Gray: That’s terrible. Oh my gosh, that is so awful.
Christa Innis: Do you, that is so awful. Is that someone that just can’t deal with their emotions or can’t communicate, or has or hasn’t been told? No, maybe.
Kate Gray: Yeah. So the like term is enmeshment. They’re enmeshed, which means they’re fused, like, so, um, when it comes to relationships, there’s only one truth. Like there’s right or wrong, and both people have to see it that way. Mm. Whereas, so they need to learn what’s called differentiation. Like, hey, my kid is their own person.
They’re making their own choices and their own life. And it doesn’t have to be the same as what I would do.
Christa Innis: Mm.
Kate Gray: Or I don’t have to approve. They have full autonomy and agency to do what they need to do. Mm-hmm. And so there’s definitely a component of not being able to regulate emotionally. There’s the component of, of being, um, not really having boundaries.
You know, there’s, there’s a lot. I mean, not, again, not to pathologize people and ’cause I don’t know all the context behind these things, but definitely parents that get upset at their children’s decisions, there is a level of enmeshment between them.
Christa Innis: Interesting. Wow. I don’t know how some of these people get through.
Like, I know position, I just can’t. Imagine being treated that way.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, awesome. Okay, well that’s all I have for, oh my gosh, thank you so much for coming on. It was so great chatting with you and hearing a different perspective on some of these things that we see.
Kate Gray: Thank you for having me. This was really fun and different.
Like it’s not, I normally just, I talk about this stuff on such, in such a serious way, you know, and so this was really light and fun. I really enjoyed it. Oh, good. Thank you again. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Well, can you tell everyone again where they can follow you, find your content, and then what kind of things you’re working on and what kind of things you share?
Kate Gray: Yeah. So, um, you can find me on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube under the handle codependency. Kate, KATE. Um, what am I working on? I don’t know. I’m just like having fun posting and, um, just still learning about my community and what the needs are and just doing fun things like this. I did start a podcast, it’s called The Gray Area.
Christa Innis: Oh, fun. Where?
Kate Gray: Yeah, where like, so I post a lot of educational stuff and my podcast is um, where I just elaborate. It’s just like long form. I literally just started it and I am doing it just by myself and I, I’ve been like, I didn’t realize I could yap the way I do. I’ve literally like for 45 minutes to an hour can just like talk about something.
I had no idea. I’ve always been curious, like I wonder if I could just go. Like how long I would talk. Yeah. And anyway, so, um, that’s on my profile. You’re sign up now? I’m literally, yeah. Um, so that’s what I’m doing. Yeah. Now.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Well, very cool. I feel like a lot of times our, our content can like cross over, like you can be like the more, more serious
Kate Gray: Yes.
Christa Innis: Um, and educational for Yes. I like education. Yeah. Yeah. Because I feel like a lot of people have que, you know, they hear these stories and they have questions about it, or, um, brides will reach out and be like, this is what I’m currently dealing with and I, I can’t deal with it from, or I can give advice from a professional standpoint.
I just can say like, this is what I’ve seen in these stories. Yes. Yeah. So,
Kate Gray: um, well, and that’s valid too, your experience with these stories. So. Not to like think that, um, you have to have formal training to be able to answer. But yeah, I’m always happy to provide the educational component because there people, from what I’ve learned, like are shocked to find out these things have names and there’s, these are issues, you know, I’ll post a video about this and people are like, oh my gosh, this is my exact situation.
And there’s, you know, 10,000 other people that feel the same way. And it’s just so family systems is super fun to educate people about and it can be very validating for people struggling in these situations.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about social media is that we’re able to connect on those things like, yeah.
Like I saw someone say once like, oh, my algorithm algorithm’s spot on. ’cause it’ll be like a video about like someone with like a D, H, D and anxiety and you’re like, oh my gosh, wait, I have those things. Wait, I do those things. Or it just allows you to connect and see that you’re not alone in something or someone totally in the situation.
And,
Kate Gray: um, it’s so valid. It can be such a relief and so validating for people that don’t have access to therapy or like support, extra support like that. I literally got a message from someone yesterday from like Gambia Africa. Wow. And they’re like, yeah, we don’t have access to therapy here, so I really appreciate your content.
I’m like, oh my God, this is so cool.
Christa Innis: I didn’t know. Yeah. Yeah. And I think too, there’s such a. I think, I think our world’s getting more accepting of therapy and like talking about it being like, Hey, yes, I see I go to therapy and I, but like that wasn’t always the case. Right. And I’m sure you saw too, it was more of like a hush hush thing like, oh, I go to therapy.
Mm-hmm. Like mm-hmm. You are worried about what people are gonna think about you. Mm-hmm. And so I think for those that are still kind of like scared of therapy or like they don’t know if they wanna do it, social media’s a great way of kind of start like opening that door being like, it really is, wait, this is really, this is helpful.
Oh, this is cool. Yeah. Wait, I can talk to someone and like, like get empowered or learn
Kate Gray: about myself or, yeah. That’s great. Like be listened to and just even explore my own thoughts. Like I, I just think that therapy all it is, is just creating space for you to kind of come out and learn about yourself, like you said.
So
Christa Innis: yeah,
Kate Gray: it’s great. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Love that. Awesome. Well thank you again for coming on. I had a great time chatting with you. Me too. Thanks again.
Kate Gray: Thanks.
