Dress Codes, Divided Families & Day-Of Disasters With Lisa P.

What happens when a dream wedding breaks more than just budgets?

In this episode, Lisa Pontius shares how her whirlwind romance turned into a wedding that fractured friendships—literally.

From unexpected parent fallout to the silent war of traditions and finances, Christa and Lisa unpack the hidden landmines of wedding planning that no one warns you about.

Plus, they dive into viral hot takes—from guest dress codes to social media restrictions—and ask: are you really ready to get married, or just pressured to?

Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month! 

Episode Chapter Markers

00:00 Introduction

00:34 Lisa’s Background and Content Focus

01:25 Self-Care and Mental Health Through Fashion

02:48 Crazy Wedding Stories Begin

03:06 Lisa’s Wedding Journey and Family Drama

05:07 Wedding Planning Stress and Family Dynamics

14:21 Wedding Hot Takes and Opinions

25:02 Wedding Story Submissions

28:26 Wedding Mishaps in the Heat

30:26 Rainy Wedding Stories

31:59 Reception Disasters

33:54 The Missing Bride and Groom

38:02 Wedding Planning Realities

42:37 Weekly Confessions

Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments

  • When the In-Laws Stop Speaking – Lisa shares how her and her husband’s parents became friends, then stopped speaking after the wedding drama unfolded.
  • Wedding Planning Pressure Cooker – Money, expectations, and tradition clashed hard during Lisa’s wedding, revealing everyone’s “ugliest selves.”
  • The Myth of the Perfect Day – Lisa reflects on being the bride: “I wish I had been a guest at my own wedding.”
  • Hot Take: Dress Code Boundaries – Lisa and Christa break down why curating your event is not controlling—it’s thoughtful.
  • Unrealistic Wedding Expectations – How Pinterest weddings and movie moments set brides up for anxiety and disappointment.
  • Setting Social Media Limits – Can couples really control what guests post? Lisa shares her surprisingly balanced take.
  • Marriage > Wedding – With 12 years of marriage behind her, Lisa offers clarity on what really matters post-vows.
  • Planning Regrets and Lessons Learned – Why day-of coordinators are non-negotiable, and what every bride should do first.

Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode

  • “My number one tip for brides—get on the same page with your partner first. Block out all the noise.” – Christa Innis
  • “Weddings bring out everyone’s true colors… and not always in a good way.” – Christa Innis
  • “You cannot blame the wedding party for a day you refused to plan.” – Christa Innis
  • “Marriage should enhance your life—not be the only thing holding it together.” – Christa Innis
  • “You don’t have to follow a timeline. Everyone’s journey is different.” – Christa Innis
  • “Everyone is kind of their ugliest selves around wedding planning. It’s a recipe for disaster.” – Lisa P.
  • “I joke that I wish I had been a guest at my wedding—being the bride was not awesome.” – Lisa P.
  • “Weddings are not indicative of marriage. They’re a totally weird, standalone experience.” – Lisa P.
  • “You’re not just curating photos. You’re curating an entire experience.” – Lisa P.
  • “Be careful who your parents become friends with. You might be stuck with them forever.” Lisa P.

About Lisa

Lisa Pontius is a New Yorker-turned-Charleston housewife who brings bold opinions, vintage glam, and real talk to every conversation. A former culinary school grad and kitchen pirate, Lisa traded 12-hour shifts for southern living—and never looked back. She first began sharing her story online during the pandemic and quickly found her voice talking about motherhood, self-worth, toxic relationships, and societal norms—always with a splash of style. Now known for her blend of 1950s glamour and modern edge, Lisa dishes up a mix of fashion, fire, and unfiltered honesty that’s anything but boring.

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Team Dklutr Production

Blog Transcript:

Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Christa Innis: Hi, Lisa. Thank you so much for joining me.

Lisa P: Hi. Thank you for having me.

Christa Innis: Yes, I am so excited to dive into this. like we were just saying before, recording, there’s so much drama when it comes around weddings and events and all that stuff. But before I talk too much, can you just tell everyone a little bit about you and, I don’t know, like maybe what interested you in coming on?

I feel like I’ve seen your content. A lot and I feel like you share a lot of important takes so I’m just interested to hear a little bit more about you and, what kinda I interested you.

Lisa P: Yeah. well, I’m Lisa. My handle is, it’s me, Lisa p across all socials. I share a lot about motherhood and relationships on my page, so, the conversation of weddings absolutely comes up.

The conversation of marriage comes up. So, I was intrigued to kind of come on here and talk about some of the drama that surrounds it. but yeah, my content really focuses on. relationship motherhood centered, but with like a real life spin. I like to kind of get to the why of the way things are, in a cute outfit.

So a little bit

Christa Innis: of everything. Yeah. I just say like, I love your style. I am always like you so put together. And I like thought about that when I was like coming on. I was like, okay, I need to make sure I’m like. dressed well because I know Lisa will be, she has such good style.

Lisa P: Listen, I love an outfit, but I’m just as likely to show up in, like my gym clothes if I haven’t had a chance to get changed.

So I totally get it. I just, this is one of my like self-care pick me up things that kind of got me out of my motherhood blues, and I consistently keep up with it because I know it’s. Like such a mental health thing for me.

Christa Innis: Yes. I am right there with you that I did the same thing. Like especially with working from home, I feel like you don’t see a lot of people all the time or like, I’m just here with my child.

And so sometimes it was just like, I need that feeling of like getting ready. And so like, even when I was home during like COVID, I was like, I need to like make sure I like, do something to make for myself. It’s like an

Lisa P: art. I think I got more into it actually during COVID because I was already a stay at home mom.

But I had that like busy schedule outside of the home, so I’d go from like gym to running errands to being with the kids. So I like wouldn’t have that time. And then once everyone was home, yeah, like fully sweat panted, I was like, oh no, no, no. I gotta get up and put some pants on because Yeah. Otherwise this is gonna be it for the next decade for sure.

Yeah.

Christa Innis: Oh, a hundred percent. I know. I was like, I can’t be someone, I can’t just like sit. In sweats all day Of course, there are days I am in sweats all day. I will not never deny that. I love a good sweatsuit, but If I’m like doing something from home, I’m like, I still need to like do something or else I will just melt into my bed.

Lisa P: For sure. It shifts your energy I think and it like definitely makes me feel more, especially ’cause I’m around little people all day, you know? It makes me feel like a little bit more adult.

Christa Innis: Yes, absolutely. I love that. Okay, so jumping into like crazy stories, people love hearing the crazy wedding stories.

I’m sure we’ve all have witnessed. I know I have some things you have. A situation, I dunno if situation’s the right word, something that happened in your family when it’s relating to weddings and marriage. So I dunno if you wanna talk a little bit more about that.

Parents Became Best Friends… Until the Wedding Planning Began

Lisa P: Sure. so I feel like I have to preface this with me and my husband moved very quickly, like right after we met.

We knew that was at one, like we were ready. I think we like attempted to put a deposit on a wedding venue down before we were even like. Publicly engaged. Wow. So it was very untraditional in that sense. And I think that sort of started off the entire wedding journey with our respective families and kind of threw everyone for a loop from the get go.

 we were just ready to get married as soon as we met. And, yeah, so we actually met because. My parents who were like new transplants to Charleston, which is where I’m still living. they had met his parents and they had become fast friends, so they. Friends first before I had even met my husband, before I had even like, heard of my husband.

Christa Innis: and somehow, like through the process of us getting married, their relationship completely disintegrated. And you hear it all the time with weddings that like friendships will break up.

Mm-hmm.

Lisa P: But like, this was so out of left field because these were like the adults in the room, right. Like these were the parents.

Christa Innis: Yeah, especially too, because like, I dunno, I feel like that’s like a dream for a lot of people. Like they meet and then it’s like, oh my gosh, maybe our kids will get married. You know? Like it just,

Lisa P: well we thought we had it hacked. We thought we were about to hit the grandparent lottery of like, oh, we’ll have kids and they’ll just all watch these kids and just hang out.

Like, this will be great. It did not work out like that.

Christa Innis: Was it the wedding planning? And of course like if, there’s anything like. Too intrusive or you don’t wanna share, like, just stop me. do you think the wedding planning or like the moving fast or anything with that, that had to do with it or just like happened soon?

I think

Lisa P: so. It was 100% the wedding mostly. I mean, I don’t, again, I’m not privy to like what went on behind closed doors in their friendship. There might have been like some underlying stuff, like, who knows, right? that’s their drama. But the wedding. Added so much like pressure onto it and onto me and my husband at the time too.

Wedding planning is extremely stressful. There’s money involved, there’s like traditions involved. There’s a lot of things that like are much more serious than like a social relationship, and sometimes you kind of, what I think happened is like their incompatibilities as. Friends kind of got blown up like blown wider because of the wedding planning and the pressure of that.

Christa Innis: Yeah, I was just talking to someone how like weddings, especially when you bring in two families together, almost brings in this like Unnecessary comparison though, right? Because it’s like if someone’s like, let’s say like family A is like really into planning and like maybe they have a little more finances or something.

The other one not so much. They might feel a little like. Uh, not insecure about it, but they might be like, Ooh, like I’m uncomfortable with this, or I feel like they’re doing so much and I can’t do enough, or, I’m being pushed out. when that might not be actually happening. They might just kind of have those feelings of like.

 what’s going on here?

Lisa P: I think everybody wants it to be like, really, even like really down the line. And like in movies you see it, you know, there’s like the bride side and the groom side, and it’s equal. And I think that’s just not as realistic as like it actually goes down.

 I know in our situation, both of my parents are only children, so there isn’t like a huge extended family on that end. But traditionally the bride pays for the wedding. So like. There was a lot of like, well, this seems like a lot of your people and like, we don’t have a lot of people and we had a very small wedding anyway because that’s just what we wanted.

 but it definitely. Everyone had a lot of feelings about it, about like how many people were coming, how many cousins we could invite, who all was gonna be there, who all was paying for what, and it just, ugh.

Christa Innis: It like there’s so many Yeah. Opinions that come into a wedding that it’s like, it’s so hard. My number one tip for brides like that, like watch and like listen. I’m just like, get on the same page with your partner first. Block out all the noise because it’s so hard. It’s like you get people coming in that you maybe never had an opinion on anything before.

And they come in, they’re like, you need this. And you’re like, wait, do I need, yeah. Where did this come from?

Lisa P: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think weddings are in some way, like. Not indicative at all of marriage. So I think it’s such a weird standalone experience. And again, I’m now looking at it like 12. We just celebrated our 12 year anniversary, so like 12 years later, all the feelings have subsided.

We can laugh at it now, right? we can all laugh at the drama and the craziness and how stressed we were because it wasn’t the end of the world at the end of the day, we got married and we’ve been married and marriage is longer right than,the wedding part, but. I think, you know, the family’s coming together.

This is the first time where people have to like work together, you know, work within each other’s boundaries. Maybe set some boundaries, maybe do things that their mother-in-law doesn’t like. Maybe like these are the first things that you’re like, oh, I’m not gonna be able to make everyone happy and myself happy all at the same day the same way.

Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah, that’s true. It’s like all the personalities coming together and. Certain ones really shining a certain a way me might not have seen before. I’ve definitely seen it in a lot of weddings. I’ve seen it in a lot of just events in general. Just like family events. You see like, oh, that’s how they, they are in this light.

Right? Or this is, that’s how feel about that. Interesting. Yeah. I feel like, you know, it’s just like. Especially like you don’t know what other pressures they’re getting. Like I know like just certain brides, like I’ve known before, they get married and then I know them during their wedding and I know them after their wedding and I’m like, oh, some of them were different people during all of those stages.

And not saying good or bad, I’m just saying like they just had different pressures put on them or different, you know, situations. And it’s just interesting how that comes up.

Lisa P: I mean, I know I felt victim to like the want everything to be perfect, like hyper fixating. I think brides in general do that. I think that’s where the bride Silda comes from.

Yep. Um, because there’s so much pressure to want this day to be this like picture perfect. Oh my God. Once in a million like time moment. And there’s so much pressure on it that I like. Oh my God. I, I joke with people all the time that I wish I had been a guest at my wedding. ’cause my wedding was awesome. Being the bride at my wedding was not awesome.

Christa Innis: Yeah, I, I heard that so many times and I was one of the later ones, like outta my friend group. I was like the la one of the last ones to get married. And I, my husband and I had been in so many weddings, so I’ve seen so many and I heard so many bride say that they were like.

I didn’t get to enjoy it or like there was too much of this going on or I kept getting pulled in different directions and so I was like, okay, I wanna try so hard not for that, to that to happen. Of course it did in to some extent, but yeah, you hear about that so many times. You put all this pressure on this day and half the time the bride and groom don’t get to enjoy it the way they want to.

Lisa P: Yeah. I think there’s just so much anxiety and so much riding on it and like. I feel like that contributed a ton to our parents, like kind of having a friend break up, um, during it for sure. Because everyone is kind of like, and this sounds terrible because it’s like a day of love, but like everyone’s kind of their ugliest selves, um, around like wedding planning.

’cause there’s big money and there’s big expectations and there’s big family. It’s a recipe for disaster. Yeah. Like, it’s just a recipe for like, something to happen. Like there’s gonna be some drama. It could be like with your girlfriends, it could be with like a bridesmaid or a groomsman or like, it doesn’t have to be your immediate family, but like, something’s coming up.

Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah. Oh, that’s for sure. It’s, they say everyone’s like, true colors come out during like intense moments and events like that. Um, so moving past that, so they kind of just like drifted apart and like. Now at family events, they just kinda like drift by. They like still aren’t

They Were Supposed to Be Co-Grandparents

Lisa P: friends. Um, they are co grandparents.

Um, and there are like family events where everybody comes and everyone’s like, fine and peaceful. But like I, I almost like to the point where I almost forget that they used to hang out like independently before us. You know what I mean? Like mm-hmm. They act like Stranger Law grandparents. Um, but yeah, they used to like.

Have beers by the pool and hang out and like that just blows my mind.

Christa Innis: Wow, that’s so interesting. It’s interesting how relationships can just change so quickly like that when you go through an experience, I guess.

Lisa P: Well, and I’m sure they, they all in their own way probably like, ugh, we’re gonna have to see them forever.

Like a divorced couple. Yes.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Like they’re literally going through all those stages. ’cause they’re gonna. Like they, yeah, you can’t just ghost

Lisa P: each

Christa Innis: other and like never

Lisa P: see each other again because it would be easier, like you could totally do that one. One set of these parents doesn’t even live here anymore, so like it would be easy to never even think about each other except for the fact that you share grandchildren now.

So be careful who your friends are. Yeah.

Christa Innis: Oh my gosh, yes. Wow. Yeah, I would say that would be a, I don’t even know if I would call the crazy story. It’s, it’s sad that that happens and it’s like sad that there’s like pressure on weddings and stuff, but, uh, I guess I. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be at the end, but

Lisa P: it, it was meant to be because you guys met through it.

I like to think that they were friends only for long enough to like bring me and my husband together. That’s my like silver lining about it, that they were never really meant to be friends. That that was kind of part of like the plan.

Christa Innis: Yes. I love that. I love that. And you guys knew right off the beginning, right from the bat that it was meant to.

Lisa P: Yeah, we knew. We knew really early and like, I know everybody says that. Some people get that like light bulb moment. Personally, like full disclosure, I didn’t have the light bulb moment. My husband had the light bulb moment. Um, but he, yeah, he turned to his dad after the first weekend we had met and we met at my dad’s.

60th birthday and we met because I flew down to Charleston for my dad’s birthday. And my husband’s parents were guests at like this birthday party, Shindi situation. And they like roped him into coming to kind of like, hang out with me ’cause I would be the only like under 60-year-old person. Um, and that’s how we met.

We were like kind of, they say it was like, it wasn’t a setup, but. It worked.

Christa Innis: Yeah. It like wasn’t a set up, but they were like, he’s got a son. They’ve got a son. I don’t know. You’re home. Yeah. Like, take your son maybe. Yeah. It was all meant to be in, in just a, a different kind of way. Um, all right. I love that.

Thanks. Thanks for sharing that. Um, okay, let’s get into some wedding hot takes. So these are different hot takes that people. Send to me on my stories and we’re just gonna kind of react to them, say what you kind of, what you think about them. Okay. Um, all right. Should couples get to control what guests post on social media about their wedding?

Lisa P: I guess it depends before or after the wedding, but like, I don’t think so.

Christa Innis: I know I’ve never really heard of that before. Lately I’ve been getting a few more like that, that are saying like, I don’t see, I was never like. I

Lisa P: feel like I got maybe too early to like even have that as like a conversation because like, like the hashtag thing hadn’t happened.

So I don’t think you can control everyone around you. No, unfortunately, no. Yeah. I feel

Christa Innis: like when it comes to like, okay, the bride’s getting ready and she hasn’t like come out yet. Yeah. Like don’t post.

Lisa P: Yeah. Don’t

Christa Innis: post a picture

Lisa P: of the bride in her dress before she does her like walk down the aisle. Like, be respectful.

Don’t post any pictures where the bride looks bad. I feel like that’s just not being a, a friend. Right? Like, you know, if you catch her like picking a booger, maybe don’t post that one. Um, but yeah, as far as like what they can share, I, I don’t see a problem with it.

Christa Innis: I feel it’s like the age we live in, it’s like you just know, like being a bride or groom at the wedding.

Like people are gonna take pictures, hopefully not during the ceremony if you have no photos, but you know.

Lisa P: Yeah, you’re not just gonna be able to share your professional photos. People will have like candidates and stuff.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And last times those turn out really good. I mean, I didn’t have photos like during the ceremony, but like I had some random like f friends that took photos, like during our fir first dance that were like so good that like just, they just happened to catch.

And I was like, you don’t. Yeah.

Lisa P: Um, we had a great video. We had a videographer, which I think was like pretty new when we got married. We got married in 2013, so like, okay. It was a while ago. Um, so we had a videographer and we had a photographer and I wanted a lot of those candid, so we did get a good amount of those, which I’m so thankful for because I think those are so fun.

Christa Innis: Yeah, I know. I ended up liking ’cause Yeah, we did the same, we had two photographers and a videographer and I loved the candid photos like so much more than the stage ones. Like the stage ones. I was like, oh no.

Lisa P: That was one of the things I had to fight my family on ’cause I wanted like a very. I guess now you would call it like editorial style.

Mm-hmm. Photography. Um, ’cause I just thought it was so romantic and pretty and like again, this was right like in the middle of Pinterest wedding, so I was like, let me do something a little different. Um, and they were like, no, you have to have the like portraits. We have to do every family member in every iteration stand there, smile, portrait.

And I was like, okay. That one. I was fine.

Christa Innis: You’re like, all right, that’s your thing. Okay. Yeah, I know

Lisa P: I have those though now, but

Mood Boards, Dress Codes & Wedding Boundaries

Christa Innis: I, yeah, it’s like I feel like they’re the ones that like look nice, but like I felt like when I was looking through them, I was like, that just doesn’t look like me. But yeah, you gotta have those, but sometimes you gotta do the old school thing for sure.

Yeah, it’s good. It’s a balance. Um, all. Is it setting boundaries or just controlling to ban certain songs, colors, or styles from your wedding? Because I’ve been hearing this more and more about people like setting a certain, like, no,

Lisa P: actually, I think that’s setting boundaries. In fact, I don’t think it’s controlling.

I think it is like, I think it’s curating. Mm,

Christa Innis: mm-hmm.

Lisa P: You’re curating your event. And I’m a girl who loves a theme. Okay. So like, if someone gave me a color palette and a vibe, I would be fucking psyched. Um, because I’d be like, what we’re doing glam Met Gala, black Tie. Got it. Like, I feel like. I think that is curating not just like the after products, like the photos and stuff, but you’re curating the whole experience.

Mm-hmm. Which makes it a more immersive experience in general, and that kind of elevates everyone’s exper experience.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I was just talking to someone about it and people get so offended by. Being told there’s a theme or like certain things to follow, but as like a planner as like, I don’t know, type A in, in some aspects, I love being told it too.

Like if they’re like, wear a shade of pink. I’m like, let me find my best pink. Um, let me look for it. Yeah,

Lisa P: no, I know at least that, you know, the expectation I, my biggest pet peeve is where it’s like so randomly vague that you’re like, what does this mean? Yeah, like barn cocktail, I’m like. Our boots too much, right?

Like where are we at? Like which level? Give me, give me more references. Gimme a Pinterest board. That would be great. Gimme a reference. Yeah. I have a friend of mine who does this constantly and she’s a, like a photo stylist and like it’s very on brand for her. This is what she does, like her living. But whenever she has an event, she will send out a mood board.

Oh my gosh, I love that. Or like outfits. So she had, um, her, God, was it her 40th? I think it, no, it couldn’t have been her 40th. Anyway, she had a big birthday that just happened and she had it at a magic show and she sent out a mood board and everybody showed up and showed out. And like we were the only group that was dressed up.

Okay. Like circus for performers. But we were all doing it together. Okay. Yeah. And it had colors, it had mood and vibe, and she was like, this is the vibe. And everyone was like. Bet and like someone came as like the rabbit coming out of the hat. It was wild, but it was so much fun. Oh gosh. If you’re not to that, I can understand why that would be intimidating, but you could still just pick colors.

Yes. You know, you could, you could still adhere to it.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I think it’s nice because when there’s those times, certain events, not necessarily a wedding, but we’re like. It looks like everyone’s attending a different event. Like someone’s in a formal dress, someone’s in like leggings and a t-shirt, and it’s like, we’re like, what’s the, I always, I feel like I always try to dress a little nicer than I think ’cause I’m like, I don’t ever look under.

Take it from me. Yes. That was like, I feel like someone told me that years ago and I was like, yeah, I always wanna be a little, little over, because you never really know what to, what

Lisa P: to expect. Yeah. Well, listen, if someone’s gonna talk about you, you would rather them talk about like, wow, she was really overdressed, but that was a great outfit.

Yes. Than like, oh, yikes. You know what I mean? Like you’d always rather be like shining. Yes. Yeah. Like let’s not wear like jeans to a wedding. But I also feel like the dress code thing has gotten very convoluted in between like our parents’ generation and our generation and now like the younger generation getting married.

I feel like people really don’t understand, and I see this on TikTok all the time, and I feel like since you’re in the wedding sphere, you probably see it a lot, but like people don’t understand the difference between cocktail and black tie or black tie and white tie and these sort of like. I feel like giving the vibe and the color and like a theme is like the new way of doing that.

Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I agree. Because I’ve definitely have spent time like googling, like, okay, it says cocktail formal. And I’m like, what does that mean? Is that like a step up from cocktail? And I’m like, what does that mean? Um, so yeah, I, I agree. I feel like that’s their way of like helping them out. Like some people take it as like.

Oh, it’s so, um, you know, Bri the Bridezilla term so entitled, so it’s bridezilla to do this, but I’m like, I feel like from a bride’s perspective, they’re like, no, I’m, I’m trying to help. Like, I’m just like giving you some guidelines so you like, it’s easier. You’re like,

Lisa P: yeah, it’s a formal event, but it’s also like in a meadow with like grass and flowers and like, yeah, you might not wanna come in like a sequined ball gown.

Like, it’s just not gonna fit the vibe. So like, yeah, here’s the thing.

Christa Innis: Yes. We want you to feel comfortable and at home here. That’s why I always think about it. Um, awesome. What was the last one? Should a maid of honor or best man ever bring someone the bride or groom used to date? Oh, I’m gonna say no.

Lisa P: No, that’s not even like a hot take.

That’s like a obvious one. Yeah,

Christa Innis: I would, I would hope not. I’ve been seeing these like crazy stories lately. Um, someone commented on a video saying that. She was at a wedding where the maid of honor gave a speech for her sister. He was her twin sister. Turns out she had dated the groom before and in her speech talked about how she was a better sister and that he should have picked her.

I was like, how is this real? Like I, I don’t

Lisa P: you marry your sister’s ex-boyfriend. That’s what my thought. Like that. Wait, yeah. Like five steps back.

Christa Innis: How? How? Yeah. I was like, ’cause she’s like, he, when he met the twin, he’d left the other one. So I’m like, how intense was like, were they like teenagers and dated or were they like living together?

Yeah. Was

Lisa P: this like 10 years apart? You know what I mean? Like dated the sister in middle school. Right. Maybe if that’s the situation where it was like a, you know, you were eight years old in third grade handing notes back together and you were like, this is my boyfriend. And then like. If your sister started doing him in college, then I could get it.

That’s like the only scenario I could see that being Right. That’s like just really tricky waters. Like I just like not for me, not for me. It’s not for me. Absolutely not. I have two sisters and never has there been a stream crossed ever in any way, nor would there ever. That is just, Nope.

Christa Innis: No thank you. No, I’m the same with friends too.

Like I know people that I’m like, oh, I dated my friend’s ex, whatever. I’m just like, once a friend is like with that person, I’m like, no, I’m good. Thank you.

Lisa P: Agree. The closest I ever did was I dated for like a long time. A guy that my friend had like a hookup once with, and there was a conversation ahead of time.

Like, there’s gotta be a cur, like a courtesy call, right? Being like, Hey, is this weird for you? Is this okay? Are we okay? Yes. Yeah. ’cause that’s just, that’s real code. I mean, you’ve gotta, oh, sure. You, you can’t date someone’s like. No, that’s no. Yeah, don’t

Christa Innis: bring ’em to a wedding. Please. Definitely. Also don’t

Lisa P: bring them to the wedding.

Christa Innis: Yeah, no surprises. Especially. Okay, let’s get into this week’s wedding story submission. So these are a bunch of submissions that are sent to me. I don’t read them ahead of time, and we’ll just react in real time. So feel free to stop me or I’ll pause and here we go. Let’s brace ourselves. Okay. This wedding was just one crazy thing after another.

We all flew across the country from Oregon to Georgia. So, um, though some of us flew into Nashville and drove to save some money so the bride could get married at her parents’ house. The thing is they lived in a pretty normal subdivision and Georgia that they had moved to after she went off to college.

So she had no emotional attachment to it, and very few attendees lived nearby. She had been there for a month preparing for the wedding, but when we arrived the week before, she hadn’t done anything with the fake flowers to make them into bouquets. Hadn’t picked a single song for the dj, not even first dance, so we jumped in to help.

While I was helping her compose the song list, her dad yelled at me for being on his computer, even though his daughter was sitting right there with me. The morning of the wedding, the bride was on the front yard, in the front yard, setting up chairs for the ceremony and starting to yell, I’m claustrophobic if you’re not helping set up chairs, get out of the yard and none of you are helping.

We tried to help, but she really didn’t know what she needed help with and kept redoing everything herself, like moving chairs half an inch to the right. Yikes. Um. When she was finally getting ready to get dressed, her mom was nowhere to be found. After waiting over an hour, we sent the bride’s brother to check the neighbor’s houses, and they found her mom getting her hair and makeup done there.

When she finally came back to the bridal suite, which was actually just the master bedroom, the bride wanted a picture of her mom helping her into her dress. For some reason, instead of stepping into it, they lifted it up over her head and fell straight onto the mother of brides. Freshly applied bright red lipstick.

Oh my God, that, that’s my nightmare. That’s terrible. She said yes. It stained the dress. Oh no. If she’s already like that panicky, that’s razzled

Lisa P: and pissed off. Oh my God.

Christa Innis: Uh, everyone panicked. I ran to the computer. This was 2009, no smartphones yet, so I googled to how to, how to get lipstick out of the wedding dress.

I don’t even remember what the solution was, but we found the instructions and luckily the stain wasn’t too noticeable in photos, so we moved on with the day. The bride had insisted to get these fancy high heels that matched the floral belt on her dress. Most of the bridesmaids didn’t order them in time, but we all had to have heels and colors that coordinated with the floral belt.

I was her roommate, so I made sure to order them early. They were expensive and uncomfortable. You were talking about like the having everyone look the same. Um, and of course we had to walk through a yard in them since the aisle was in the grass,

Lisa P: so that was something that was not thought through. Like, this is already just like bad planning like this, this can all be attributed to a lot of bad planning.

Christa Innis: Yeah. This is just like not thinking of like the logistics behind everything. It’s like, yeah, you want these great shoes, but we’re gonna be walking in muddy grass or you know, through the grass. Yeah. Yeah. Ooh. I’m already like bat in heels, so walking in grass is terrible. Um, okay. We basically, um, aerated that lawn, our aerated the lawn ourselves.

I nearly lost a shoe and another bridesmaid almost fell. They, they scheduled the ceremony for 5:00 PM in direct sunlight. In the middle of July, the bride was sweating so much. One of her brothers, a groomsman, passed a handkerchief to the best man who passed it to the groom and handed it to the bride so she could wipe her face.

Oh, that’s another thing. Weddings, outdoor in the middle of the summer. Like you, it’s so hard to plan for. Like I’ve been to a wedding in the middle of July and same thing, we were like covered in sweat. The sun was literally like in our eyes. I dunno how the writing room felt. Oh my gosh. Well

Lisa P: then your hair.

Yeah, and like the hair, the makeup, the whole thing. Like it’s just

Christa Innis: all that time and money is just,

Lisa P: yeah, I know. We got married at the end of April and in Charleston it’s like hit or miss. We like, luckily had a good day, but we almost got rained out so could go the other way.

Christa Innis: Right. And I feel like that’s, it’s like so hard.

’cause you never know, every month has their kind of battles. Like, same with us. We got married the end of March. And it could be like rain, almost rainy season. We had every kinda weather that day. It was like snow, sun, rain or like whatever. Bring it our way. It’s fine. I think I would take

Lisa P: most things over.

Sweating though. Yeah. Rain. I feel like you could just be like, oh well, like

Christa Innis: there’s been a lot of pretty weddings I’ve seen online with rain and they like have like their umbrellas and it’s all like decked

Lisa P: out still. Do you know that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean? It’s like the second one where she’s like.

The wedding got interrupt, interrupted, but she’s like being rained on. Yes. And I always thought that was so beautiful that you could do this like white gothic wedding almost. If you had like the right vibe, it could definitely work out.

Christa Innis: Yes, and I, and I always look at those brides too, and I’m like. This is a bride that’s there to get married.

She’s like more of like, yes. Like let’s look, make it look a aesthetic and everything. But like, I love when they just show them like running down the aisle or like at the end, like getting rained on. I’m like, I love, that’s, it’s romantic. Yeah, it really is.

Lisa P: It’s, it’s an underrated. We had a, we went to one where it was pouring rain and luckily it, like, it was pouring rain the whole way up until like the, like the, she had to walk down the aisle.

Like we were sitting there. Everyone had like. So, you know, our programs covering our heads, like it was raining and then it stopped. Oh my god, I’m gonna get chills. Um, and this like wasn’t even my wedding. And she, she walks down the aisle, the sun comes out, and a rainbow, a double rainbow comes out at the end of their ceremony.

And I just remember thinking like. That’s amazing. Like Bravo, like I had the best photos. Yeah, the photos were unreal. Like it was so well done. Well done weather. Like it was well done. I love that,

Christa Innis: that

Lisa P: Yeah, that’s the thing too. It does not always happen that way, but I was very happy for her.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like right after our rain, it’s like everything just looks like a little brighter, like Yeah.

That’s amazing. I love that, but the

Lisa P: sweating like a pig. Not so much.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Lisa P: That I, that I’m kind of out on. There’s no aesthetic way to like handle that. There’s no glistening,

Melted Makeup, Broken Microwaves & Bridezilla Chaos

Christa Innis: no, I’m definitely not one to glisten when I’m sweating either. Um, after the ceremony we took a few pictures and they sent us. Up to the reception venue, a community center in their neighborhood, about half a mile away.

The caterers arrived at the same time the bridal party did. It was Mexican food catered by a restaurant, but they microwaved it on site. There weren’t enough outlets in the prep area, so they plugged the microwaves in throughout the room. Naturally, this overwhelmed the circuit. And tripped a breaker. No, someone had to find the breaker box to reset it.

Lisa P: Oh my gosh. This, oh my God. So my background is in catering and the second it was microwaved on scene, I was like, oh, this is gonna be bad. From like a, just from like, it’s gonna be gross kind of way, but also. The breaker box.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Because even that alone, like micro, we microwaving all the food. These like golf, I’m assuming

Lisa P: it’s like a golf club type thing.

Like they have kitchens, commercial kitchens. Usually I’m kind of think or usually skates will come and like see where they’re serving from ahead of time. So like that’s an interesting, or they would bring their own like. Affordable kitchen type deal. So

Christa Innis: yeah, that seems like another interesting thing with like logistics.

Like if you’re gonna get married at a place to not, for them to not tell you, like the people that like own the venue to be like, Hey, so we don’t actually have a kitchen, so you have to do, bring it hot

Lisa P: or I don’t know. Yeah, bring it hot, have some chaing dishes ready to go, like. Do they have like six microwaves, like through the reception area?

That’s what I’m picturing.

Christa Innis: We’re just gonna put on the head table for a minute. We gotta warm up. Yeah, just all of

Lisa P: these microwaves just showing up. I’m just like,

Christa Innis: yeah. Oh, this poor bride. Does it get worse? I know. Um, there’s a few more paragraphs, so I’m gonna get. Um, okay. Even after all the guests had arrived and had been just standing around talking for 30 minutes, there was still no sign of the bride groom or photographer.

There was no music, no announcements, and people were hungry. That’s one of my worst things at a wedding. I feel like food needs to be like on time. Priority. Sure.

Lisa P: Yeah. People are hungry. Can be drunk. So like feed them early. Yeah.

Christa Innis: You need to fill their bellies. Yeah. Like weddings where you’re waiting like an extra long time for food.

Like I feel like that you remember food, you remember things around food. At weddings, I. We, the wedding party and bride’s parents finally decide to let people go through the buffet. No one told us not to. About 70 minutes after we arrived and around 15 minutes after everyone, everyone had eaten the bride and groom finally show up.

So they’re all eating before the bride and groom come. ’cause no one knows where they are.

Lisa P: I get it. Sometimes you do like cocktail hour or you do like, but you gotta feed people or give ’em drinks or something. Long time.

Christa Innis: You have to think about it as like you’re hosting a party and so like your guests need to be taken care of.

Like yeah, you run away sometimes and do photos and stuff, but it sounds, yeah.

Lisa P: Photos after the ceremony are super standard, but like that’s usually when there’s like cocktail hour with some bites and some food.

Christa Innis: It sounds like there was no like wedding planner or coordinator or some, oh, no, there was no plan.

Get this in the. Oh my gosh. So at that point, the DJ announces them. The bride was livid, that people had eaten Without them, not much we could do. At that point, we had gotten them plates and had them sit down so the rest of the schedule could continue. During the cake cu cutting the groom ended up dripping chocolate down the front of the bride’s dress.

This poor, let’s just go to bed at this point. Done? Yep. Oh my God. Why are we having drip dripping chocolate? Like, we gotta think about these

Lisa P: things

Christa Innis: when we pick our desserts.

Lisa P: Dripping chocolate. I’m not sure I understand, unless it’s like a fondue thing, but,

Christa Innis: uh, yeah. Yeah. Maybe it’s like a. Was that chocolate fountain or something?

I don’t know. Oh gosh. The bridesmaids helped her to the bathroom to clean it up, and of course it just smeared. Luckily she was able to laugh this one off. Okay, that’s good. Good. Okay.

Lisa P: That’s

Christa Innis: a win. Yeah. The next day we saw the couple at brunch before they left for their honeymoon. The only thing the bride could say about the wedding was that she still couldn’t believe that we let people eat before they arrived.

She said it on repeat even after we explained the situation and we even had to remind her of the good parts. We actually stayed friends after that until I broke up with a boyfriend who I’m only, who I only dated for about 10 months, and she had only known for about five. He must have said something wild about me because she texted me saying she was worried about me.

I explained why I broke up with him. He was manipulative, verbally, abusive, narcissistic, and basically never heard from her again after that. Whoa. Interesting. Whoa. That’s a

Lisa P: interesting, uh, that was, that was a wild ending to like, this girl stuck it out for this wedding. Like that she was doing her best to make this day happen.

I know. And after all that, to just get a friend broken up with Yeah. What, I mean, the ex-boyfriend must have said something really heinous.

Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.

Lisa P: Like, I feel like you should corroborate that.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I would feel like. Like, if any of my friends, if their boyfriend or partner came to me and said something, I’d be like, yeah, I’m gonna trust my friend over you.

Yeah. I’m gonna

Lisa P: double check on that. I’m

Christa Innis: gonna, we’re

Lisa P: gonna have a

Christa Innis: talk. Yeah. Um, so she just ends with, last I saw she and her husband are still married with kids and seem happy, at least from what I can tell on Facebook. So, um,

They Thought They Could Plan a Wedding…

Lisa P: well, thank goodness they, you know, the, I feel like the, the older generation always says the worse the wedding, the better the marriage.

Or at least that’s, I think what they say like. To make people feel better about things like that. Yeah, yeah. Um, that honestly, I dunno if I, like, I feel like these things didn’t happen to this couple. I feel like this couple like thought they could plan a wedding and did and could not, like, could not plan a wedding and realized way too late.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I find because of the weddings I’ve been a part of, I find there’s a lot of times where people just. Nice as nicely as I can put it. They live in fairytale Land, so they like see a movie and they’re like, oh, that looks beautiful. But they don’t realize there’s all these people, people behind the scenes that make it possible.

So they have all these wishes or like desires for things to happen, and they think it’ll just happen on that day. They don’t realize like, okay, well if you want catering, then you need to have. Someone to set it up or you need a kitchen, or if you want your bridesmaids to wear these dresses, you need like an aisle for them to walk down or you need, you know, like they don’t think of all the things it takes.

Pay attention to detail, which

Lisa P: is why there are wedding planners.

Christa Innis: Yes.

Lisa P: Sometimes people can’t do that and you need someone to help you. And again, like we only had a day of wedding planners, so I did a lot of the planning myself, but I feel like I had. I had a lot of like friend vendors, so like that helped out.

But also just like, I don’t know, have you never thrown a party? Like there’s certain things, you know, alcohol, food, logistics, schedule like I do that when I throw my kids’ birthday party. You know what I mean? It’s the same skill. Yeah, you still gotta feed people, you’ve gotta make sure people can get there.

Um, probably wanna set up ahead of time. These are like pretty standard. Yeah. For hosting anything, not just a wedding. And a wedding is like 10 times more intense.

Christa Innis: Oh yeah. I know. My husband always laughs at me. ’cause like even for our daughter’s party, like birthday parties, which are like two, three hours max.

I like write out a whole timeline. I’m like, okay, food arrives at this time. People arrive at this time. Like I just, I have to visualize. Oh I’m, it’s funny, I’m like type A when it comes to like planning stuff like that, but like I see type A like mom videos and I’m like, I don’t think I’m a type A mom. I think I’m a type A like planner.

I don’t even know if that makes sense. But

Lisa P: I have some of that too. I feel like when it comes down to making sure things like kind of run smoothly, I can be very hands-on. I don’t make a timeline, so like I feel like that’s, that might be my next step over the top might be my next step. Um. Yeah, like I love hosting, I love cooking and like cooking very much is about timing and execution.

So like that sort of skill, like my biggest pet peeve is when I’m like finished cooking and I’ve timed everything and I’ve told people like when food’s gonna be ready? And then they’re like, absent mindedly, like mingling or something. I’m like, no, no, no. The food is hot and ready. Like right now.

Christa Innis: Yeah. This is the now time.

Right now. This is even time

Lisa P: we must sell now.

Christa Innis: Yeah, no, for sure. I feel like those definitely all those things, like I feel like when we said like, have you like hosted or whatever, I think there are a lot of like brides that this is their first time, like really like hosting something. You should not be

Lisa P: doing

Christa Innis: it on your own.

Like Yeah,

Lisa P: if it’s your never hosting anything, you’ve never done like a holiday party or you’ve never hosted your friend’s birthday party. Mm-hmm. Don’t try with the wedding, the wedding’s not the time to like take a stab.

Christa Innis: I know, I think that’s when it gets so stressful. I was the same with you where I, as you were, I had, I pretty much planned it, but like our event, our wedding venue had a day of coordinator and people don’t realize how helpful that is because that person’s gonna like do the behind the scenes, running around, making sure things are where they need to be.

And I’ve done that for a few weddings now and that I love doing it because I’m like. You tell me what to do. You tell me what needs to be done, I’ll make sure it’s done. Don’t get dirty. I will do that

Lisa P: if you want to. And like back to what we were saying before with, I wish I had been a guest at my wedding.

If I had also been like running around coordinating the, the staff and the vendors and the, the drop offs and the pickups, you’re not having any fun like that. You’re not having any good of a time at all because you’re so stressed about the comings and goings and there’s so much that goes into. Getting everybody where they need to be at the right time.

Right. Like and getting everything to execute.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Lisa P: I am like a huge proponent of, even if you don’t do a planner for like the whole wedding prep. The whole wedding planning, definitely a day of like, yeah. But maybe that you’re like engagement gift right? From your parents or your in-laws or something. A day of coordinator.

Christa Innis: Yeah, just someone to like ease a little bit of the stress because you don’t wanna just like randomly like. Task people with it that day. ’cause they’re not gonna be thinking about it. And it’s just, yeah, there’s random things that just pop up. For sure.

Lisa P: They really are.

Christa Innis: All right, well, that was a crazy story.

All right, I always like to end these. I know we’re running short on time, but I always like to end these with weekly confessions, so people send me confessions kinda related to event or weddings, um, on social media. So let’s see here. This first one says, um. I absolutely hate the girl that my sister-in-law loves.

It makes me hate seeing my sister-in-law, too. Oh,

Lisa P: well hopefully that doesn’t last long.

Christa Innis: I don’t know. Yeah, I That’s, that’s tough. ’cause you can only do something much when it’s, when it’s a, a sister-in-law. I’m guessing it’s like a, your. Partner’s sister? I would guess so. You probably can’t.

Lisa P: That’s what I assumed.

I assumed it was like your partner’s, sister’s girlfriend that we were going with. That’s okay.

Christa Innis: That’s what I would get.

Lisa P: Yeah. Yeah. And like you usually button your mouth until you have to not button your mouth on that one.

Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah. Wait till they say something to you and they ask for your opinion, or something happens and you can be like, well, here’s what I think.

Until then, you gotta let it work itself out. Otherwise you’ll be the villain. Oh, absolutely. Yep. Um, this says I had to uninvite half of my friends to make room for my mother-in-law’s tennis buddies. No. What? Whose wedding is it?

Lisa P: Oh my God. I call it they’re gonna stop talking to the mother-in-law like five years down the road.

Yeah. Like altogether. No way. That’s insane.

Christa Innis: That sounds like, and I’m obviously reading between the lines, but that sounds like a mother-in-law that was maybe paying for part of it or something, and she used that as a way to like control the wedding because mm-hmm. I, I see the make room like you had to, like who’s, who said

Lisa P: you had to.

Yeah, that’s definitely, that’s a manipulation like that. Mm. I don’t love that. I don’t either. I feel like is probably gonna go bye-bye for in a, a little while.

Christa Innis: Yeah. We need to, we need to say no. Set some boundaries with that mother-in-law. Um, okay. This last one says, I joked I wanted pockets on my wedding dress for getaway money.

Deep down, I think I knew it was true. Oh. The number of times people have confessed to me like, oh, I’ve had a, I had a feeling, um, before the wedding. I told my dad I didn’t wanna get married before the wedding, and I still did. I’ve gotten so many of those.

Lisa P: I had a

Christa Innis: friend do that to me. Really?

Lisa P: Yes. I knew before they got married that they did like they, that, that, that she did not really want to start all over is like how she kind of put it.

Mm-hmm. Um. I don’t know. I took that to my grave. We don’t really speak anymore, and that is not my business. And they’re still married, so sometimes

If You Have Doubts, Don’t Walk Down the Aisle

Christa Innis: it works out. Oh, see, I was gonna say the opposite, uh, opposite happened to me. I, and I’ve talked about this before, um, but I was in a wedding years ago and every wedding event there was some kind of thing, and it was with him, every kind of thing.

And she, and she like cried in the car after the bachelorette party. She cried in the car. Oh, yeah. After the rehearsal. All these different things. And I was just like. Hey, maybe we like, should we rethink this? Oh, I, we already paid the vendors. I’m like, yeah, but divorce is way more expensive.

Lisa P: Oh God no. Yeah, no.

If there’s like, if there’s a doubt in your mind on the person, I feel like I. You’ve gotta cut and run. Like you, you getting divorced is so much more traumatic. It’s so much more expensive. God forbid you like, have a bunch of kids. Um, no, no. If it’s not right and like, this is why, uh, so on my page I talk a lot about, and I’m very happily married, that like marriage should not be this like.

Default standard that people are trying to hit. Because you know when you get 12 years in a marriage and you’re, you know, most people my age got married somewhere around the same time I did. You see a lot of divorces by now. Okay. We’re starting to have that first round of divorce A is coming through and it’s like, God, what a wait.

Not a lot of waste because like a lot of them have children and that’s like the wonderful thing that came out of it. But you know, you don’t have to get married like. You could end up really miserable like in so many ways. And that’s like, you know, it’s just not something that, if you can, if you can in any way, imagine your life without that person, not without a spouse, but without that specific person.

Don’t do it. Right, a hundred percent. Especially if you’re a woman.

Christa Innis: Oh yeah, totally. And I always have this too, like I’ve been with my husband, I think we’re going on 11 years this year. But we’ve been married three. And so like for us it was like, I totally agree with you what you just said about like, you don’t have to get married, you don’t have to follow a certain timeline.

So many people were constantly like, when are you getting married? When are you getting married? And I was like, we, like, we do things on our own timeline and I just feel like. So many people have this, like their own expectations on everyone else, and especially as women, I feel like we have the expectations of like, okay, I need to do this, then I need to get married.

I need to have a baby. And you feel like you have to follow this timeline.

Lisa P: Yeah. And it feels like a rushed timeline at the, at the moment. Like, and I feel pre to that too. I was like, oh, I wanna have two kids, um, by 30 and like I did, but. You know, now looking back at it, I’m like, you idiot. Like you should have just been like, find the right person and then figure it out.

Like

Christa Innis: Yeah, I know. I remember like, I would like if it were just like my hu like then boyfriend, but husband and I, I just like doing our own thing. Like, we’d be like totally fine and then like someone would like bring up like, oh, are you guys gonna get married? And I would be like, do I wait? Are we doing something wrong?

And like, it almost puts us like, not like guilt, but this feeling of you of like. Wait, are we doing something wrong? Is our relationship, because we’re just dating right now, is that like wrong? And you start getting this like, no, because half

Lisa P: of the men in divorces anyway, so like, you know what I mean? Yeah.

Marriage isn’t the great indicator of like lifelong companionship anymore. Mm-hmm. Um, well, and like

Christa Innis: too our, like our parents’ generation, I feel like they were so committed to like marriage that like they stayed. Are unhappily married for so long without actually like admitting like, I actually hate this.

Oh, they wrong

Lisa P: gold stars for it too. They’re like, we’ve been married 35 years. I hate Jeff, but he lives in the other bedroom, so, you know, but we’ve been married this long. And I’m like, but why? What kind of award are you winning here? Like, I know some people have the whole like, divorce is a sin thing, but like you’re already in hell.

So. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t see the point in that like a relationship should only be there to enhance your already like wonderful life. And if it doesn’t do that, then it’s not worth it. And like kind of feel the same way about kids too. I feel like the relationships that I see with people who don’t have kids by choice, obviously there’s like.

People who have extenuating circumstances where they can’t have children, but people who choose not to have kids, I feel like they have this like gift of time to like really find their perfect partner.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Lisa P: Uh, and they usually choose better.

Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Like.

Lisa P: They get to choose somebody that they truly just genuinely wanna spend all their time with, as opposed to people who do, who do the musical chairs type of marriage, where they’re like, well, it’s been three years since college.

Like, I guess you’re the guy.

Christa Innis: Yes.

Lisa P: Yeah. Yeah. I guess you’re the person I’m with right now. So musical chairs, let’s do it. Like, let’s get married. Timelines are ticking, like I feel like it kind of saddles us down. Um, oh yeah. In a.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, that’s definitely another thing with, as women we’re like told that the biological clock is ticking, you need to have kids hurry up.

My husband and I since like one year, one of dating, when are you guys gonna have kids? And I was like, I’m not even thinking about kids. Or what are you talking about? And, and I like, and I like look back and I’m like, if I had kids when we had started dating, I was like, I would’ve been a completely different.

Ma Um, I would’ve been in completely different like financial point in my life and I just feel like we need to like, and not saying that’s right or wrong, I’m just saying everyone’s timeline is different. ’cause I know people had kids at in their early twenties and they are thriving and they were meant to be moms at that point.

But I just feel like it’s so important to like listen to your own timeline. ’cause I have friends now that are like,

Lisa P: this new generation is doing a lot better than like we were as millennials. Yeah. I feel like the younger girls are like, really? Coming to the table with the head on the shoulders a little bit more without like the fairytale movie, prince Princess aspect that, that we were kind of sold.

Christa Innis: Yes. I love that. Yeah. I’ve noticed like the shift in the movies, especially with my daughter being she’s two and I feel like. The movies have shifted. Obviously there’s still the fairytale, but I’m like, let’s watch Moana because she’s like brave and she, you know, or Meredith, she doesn’t need a man. You know, I try to like show her some different things because of course we still love the classics, but it’s good to kind of open the horizons up a little bit.

Lisa P: Yeah, definitely. I mean, my daughter is, I mean, she still like, very much knows she wants to get married and have kids like I knew from a young age. So I don’t like balk at that. Like I, you know, some people just like really have that desire. Um, but she still is like, well maybe I’ll be president and a dance teacher.

And I’m like, you go, you do both. I love that. Yes, you do both.

Christa Innis: Stop you, girl. I love that. Yeah. Yes. Well, thank you so much for coming on. This was such a good discussion and I feel like it was good to kind of like just kind of talk about like, obviously the pressures on women and Bridezillas and there’s just a lot of cool things we talked about, so thank you for coming.

Yeah, I loved it.

Lisa P: This is such a fun topic. I’m sure you get so entertained hearing all these stories, so that was so fun.

Christa Innis: Yeah, they always, they never cease to, uh, surprise or amaze me. It’s, it’s always something new. I bet. Yeah. Well, for anyone listening, um, where can everyone follow you, find more of your content and anything exciting that you wanna share?

Lisa P: Yeah. Um, you can find me on mostly TikTok and Instagram. My handle is, it’s me, Lisa PI like to say I talk about hard topics in cute outfits. Um, and that covers relationships and marriage and parenting and boundaries and setting boundaries once you have kids, which I feel like once you get past the bride phase, that’s coming next.

Mm-hmm. Um, and you can find me there. Um, and. I would like to say I have something big in the works coming, but I don’t because I homeschool my kids and this is what we’re doing. And that’s big in. That is big in

Christa Innis: in itself like mom and is a full-time job.

Lisa P: Yeah. I wear a lot of hats, that’s for sure.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much. Thank you

Lisa P: very much. Have a good one.


Book Launch Day + A Wedding Party Meltdown You Won’t Believe

What happens when a bride hates planning her own wedding, but demands a Vegas blowout and expects everyone else to make it magical?

In this episode, I share my biggest milestone yet: the official launch of my debut book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story, plus a jaw-dropping listener-submitted story that defines the word “ungrateful.”

I also break down wedding hot takes, the importance of boundaries, and why saying “no” is sometimes the most loving thing you can do—for others and yourself. Oh, and did we mention the bride cried in the club bathroom three separate times?

Listen to me read a new Ferris & Sloan excerpt, tackle controversial wedding traditions, and respond to one of the wildest bridal party betrayals I’ve ever received.

Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month! 

Episode Chapter Markers

00:00 Introduction

00:40 Podcast Review and Pre-Launch Episode

01:47 Book Reading: Ferris and Sloan Story

06:28 Audiobook and Print Book Updates

08:07 Hot Takes and Relationship Advice

12:53 Crazy Wedding Drama Story

Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments

  • The Book Is Officially Out – After months of teasing, I’m announcing my book launch and revealing what inspired me to turn viral confessions into a physical page-turner.
  • The Vegas Bachelorette Breakdown – I relive one of the most unforgettable submissions about a bride who ended up crying in the club, and what it revealed about modern wedding expectations.
  • Why I Wrote This Book – This isn’t just tea. It’s a time capsule of the emotional chaos, family dynamics, and societal pressure that weddings bring out in people.
  • The Confession Selection Process – I explain how I chose which stories made it into the book, and why some were just too wild (or too heartbreaking) to publish.
  • From Podcast to Print – How Here Comes the Drama evolved from mic to manuscript—and how my audience helped shape every chapter.
  • Wedding Culture Needs a Wake-Up Call – I reflect on how the wedding industry has normalized unrealistic standards, and what we can do about it.
  • The Stories That Stayed With Me – I share the one story I almost couldn’t include—and why it haunts me in the best way.
  • Advice for the Brides Who Feel the Pressure – A personal reminder for anyone planning a wedding: you’re allowed to say no.

Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode

  • “You know it’s bad when a bride is crying in the middle of a Vegas club—and everyone acts like that’s normal.”Christa Innis
  • “This book is for anyone who’s ever felt steamrolled by wedding expectations and still wanted to scream into a napkin.”Christa Innis
  • “The stories people submitted? Unhinged. Hilarious. Sometimes horrifying. And all 100% real.”Christa Innis
  • “Wedding culture breaks people down in ways we don’t talk about enough—and that’s why I wrote this.”Christa Innis
  • “Not every story made it into the book, but the ones that did? They stayed with me. Some of them still do.” – Christa Innis

Join the Drama with Christa Innis:

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!

Team Dklutr Production

Blog Transcript:

Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Christa Innis: Hi guys. Welcome back to another exciting episode of Here Comes The Drama. It is officially launch day of my brand new book. Here comes the Drama of Ferris and Sloan story, I’m so excited to share more with you guys and have you officially read the book. starting off, I just wanna say thank you to everyone that has pre-ordered the book already.

If you’ve got an ebook, it will be automatically sent to your device. Um, but today is the official. Sale launch of the printed book, I wanna get to that in a second. First things first, I wanna read a podcast review and just thank you guys for listening. This is from Debbie, 1, 2, 1, 3. It says,

Absolutely love the podcast. I have enjoyed your skits and cannot wait for more Ferris and Sloan. I had to do a Ferris and Sloan review one because this is all about Ferris and Sloan. Now, kind of like the pre-launch episode, we’re gonna do things a little bit differently, but of course I’m going to end on a very juicy, crazy story.

I’ve not read it yet, but it’s one of those long ones with lots of crazy detail. So we will get into that one. But first things first, let’s talk a little bit more about the book. I’m not gonna do a crazy deep dive because we’ve done tons of q and As, but of course I’m always here to answer more questions.

 I’m so excited. I can’t believe this day is finally here. I’m recording this a little bit earlier, so of course it still feels very surreal for me. if you’re watching the video, you’ll see this is my printed proof. I. Of course at the time this comes out, I’ll have my actual copy, but it’s so exciting to see.

We’re still making some changes, to it as I record this, but you guys will have the finalized version. I’m gonna read a small segment in it for you guys today too. I’m gonna leave off. Where I did on that last pre-launch episode. just to give you a little more teaser, most of you guys, if you got part one in your email, you might have already read this part, but I’ll add a little, extra while I read here.

Teaser Reading: Ferris, Sloan, and the Vacation Bombshell

So leaving off in part one, where the mom, Kate and Jenny were off basically, and she’s trying to talk her up to kind of get her back into the room with Ferris and Sloan. She just found out they’re going on vacation, so here we go. Great. Jenny gives her a swift thumbs up and gestures for her mother to follow her back into the living room where the others are.

Jenny 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, the muffled hum of conversation drifts into the dining room.

You need more wine babe. Ferris calls out over his shoulder. His voice casual but affectionate. short, faintly golden hair with brown undertones is slightly tussled. A few strands falling into his face as he reaches for the fridge. Slowness 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 Christmas lights. She’s wearing a soft knit sweater Dress. In deep burgundy, paired with thick socks, comfortable yet casually stylish in a way that always seems natural to her. She looks over at him with a small knowing. Smile, Noah, he.

No, I still have some left. Thanks, Sloan. Smirks and turns. Just as she notices Jenny walking back in. Oh hey, is everything okay? Her eyes flicker between Jenny and Kate searching for any signs of what just happened. She knew Kate was upset about the trip, but sometimes it was easier to pretend she doesn’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 Jenny 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 disd, practically radiating off of 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 outta 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 his dad a beer, 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 nodded towards the window where a thick clumps of snow swirl in the wind before reaching over and gently grabbing 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 towards Kate with the hope that a simple question might smooth over the crack in the room. Ted Schiff, slightly in his chair, has 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 have been the end of it, but then he catches the sudden shift of 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? Okay, so one of the top questions you guys ask me is with the audiobook coming, if I’m going to be the voice of the audio book. I’ve talked about this before, but if you can hear my reading while I read it, that is probably why I’m not doing the audio book.

I feel like I overthink every little thing. So even with like edits and stuff, I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m not like a voice actor. It’s so much easier for me to like talk. About something then read off something and I just put so much pressure on myself. by this time I might have more updates on the audiobook, so if you guys are waiting for that, that will be coming out soon.

I will be sharing updates on the audiobook and email as well. But I hope you guys enjoyed that little segment. like I said, if you already, um, read part one because you downloaded it, you’ve already read that, but it’s kind of fun just to hear it in a voice as well. so like I said, if you already pre-ordered the ebook that has been sent to you already, and then you can order the print books today.

And I just ask if you guys. Wanna share any kind of update. if you enjoy the book, share what you’re doing while you read the book, share, a picture of it on your counter, share a video of you opening it up from the mail, whatever that looks like. I would love to see you guys reading the book, posting about it.

then of course, tag me and I would love to reshare it to my page, just the more people that can see the book it would really help me and help the book. So, very excited for it. And of course, if you love the book, please leave a review. That helps so many more people, um, hear about it as well. I know that was all about Ferris and Sloan.

Crazy Wedding Drama Takes

I’m just so excited for the launch, but, Let’s dive into the crazy drama that is this week. So first things first, I’m going to get into some hot takes that you guys sent me The first one says, people should always know that this spouse comes first. The rest can go to hell.

Okay? So I wouldn’t say that. So, Dramatically, I guess. essentially, I agree. I feel like once you choose a spouse and a partner and you are on the same page, they should be your priority. especially, you know, when it comes to planning a wedding or planning an event or relationship boundaries.

Figure them out with your partner first. Then you can allow in other opinions and other people. Otherwise it gets very misconstrued. It gets overwhelming to listen to all these opinions and it’s like, oh, do I listen to my partner or my mom or whatever? You really need to put your partner before everybody.

this says cost of the ring doesn’t matter. It’s the memories attached to it that make it feel special. I a hundred percent agree. I feel like there used to be, and people will probably say this is still a thing, but it used to be, A certain percentage of your rent or your income and they would tell you like you have to spend that on an engagement ring.

And I say throw that out the door. I don’t think that should be a thing anymore. I think it’s really about what’s important for the partner. I’ve seen people do just a very simple ring. I’ve with no jewels on it. I’ve seen people do just a rubber ring. I’ve seen people do a huge diamond on it.

I’ve seen people do a sapphire or other kind of jewels on it. I think it’s really important to listen to yourself because you’re gonna be the one wearing it, and I think so many times we get caught up in what everyone else says you have to wear or have to spend, and that none of that, no matter what anyone says, none of that dictates or says anything about your relationship.

It doesn’t only you guys know what makes sense. I feel like it’s just so easy to get caught up and that’s, that goes for anything when it comes to wedding planning. So, ultimately, I don’t think it matters. Don’t go broke and don’t, go into debt for a wedding ring, essentially. this person says, do they really need bachelor, bachelorette weekends?

I think it’s a waste of money. Okay. So here’s my thing, when it comes to how you spend your money, everyone views things differently, right? So I might buy this shirt and someone might see that and be like, that’s a waste of money. I might upgrade my car. And someone might think that’s a waste of money.

I might hear someone got new tires and I’m like, that’s a waste of money, So it’s like everyone’s gonna have their own viewpoints when it comes to bachelorette bachelor parties, Do. Some of them go very over the top, of course. But would I wanna be on one of those trips? Absolutely. If I could.

 be a part of it. Yeah, I would wanna go to it. Are they always needed? No. But if that’s something you value and you’re like, you know what, I wanna really fun trip away with my best guy friends or my best girlfriends, whoever. More power to you. Do it.

Go ahead. Now, where I feel like it might be too much is when you pressure bridesmaids and groomsmen to go on a trip they might not be able to afford. That’s where it gets a little murky. I don’t think that should be a thing. There should never be pressure. If you want it, allow people to say no. we all value different things.

For myself and for my closest group of friends, we were all in each other’s weddings. So for us it was like a girl’s trip away. So I would never look at that as a waste of money. ’cause I’m on vacation with some of my very best friends. So to me it was worth it, well worth it. Now, if someone were to invite me where maybe I didn’t really know the group of friends.

I only knew one person or it was to a place I wouldn’t really wanna go. I would just say no. so again, we all have our own kind of preferences with that. okay. This other one says

overly detailed dress codes with color schemes are unnecessary. yes and no. So I was talking to someone on the podcast recently about this, It’s kind of helpful to know sometimes now where they get very specific, like, everyone needs to wear a garden dress wearing only these three colors.

Yeah. Like, we don’t need to go out and spend more money. if I am going to a wedding, I’m usually gonna look in my closet and find something that already worn, but maybe fits the weather or the kind of location we’re going to. so let’s not ask people to spend more money. However, some people find it very useful if you’re giving them kind of.

A very basic. Idea of what to wear. we are all different. We are all different from what we look for. I think it can be helpful ‘ cause I’m that person googling the location. I’m trying to check out the weather, what other people are wearing there and other pictures like I am that person.

I think probably way too much about it. do I buy a new dress for every wedding? Absolutely not. Most of the time I will find a dress I have or borrow one from a friend. But that being said, I love a good detail to help me along the way. Okay, guys, into the story that you guys are all patiently or not so patiently waiting for.

I know it’s the favorite part. This is a long one, so that’s why I wanna get into it. All names have been changed, of course, and different story things have been moved around to, disguise the person. Right? and I forgot to mention this before, but my voice is scratchy. so this is after pre-launch weekend.

I randomly lost my voice. I don’t know if I was talking too much, probably.so it was completely gone for a few days. There. It’s slowly coming back, so I’m definitely gonna nurse it after this.

All right. Here’s this week’s story submission. This story spans the course of a couple years. Here we go, the Bride Pearl, her fiance, Greg, myself, Amy, my fiance, Steven Pearl’s brother Lars and his fiance Sadie, are all the main players in this drama. Okay. I’m already picturing this as a very detailed story, so here we go.

Pearl and Greg were engaged to be married, I was asked to be one of her bridesmaids. Their engagement was especially long because Pearl was working abroad in Japan for two years. Trying to plan anything with her was a nightmare. She didn’t want to be involved in the process at all. Wait, so the bride didn’t want to be involved in the process.

 So at that point, I know I’m jumping the gun, but at that point, why are you doing a big wedding? You don’t need a wedding party. You don’t need to do this big wedding. If you don’t wanna be involved in planning your own wedding, either hire a wedding planner or Don’t do it. You don’t have to do that.

Craziness. she even admitted that she would’ve preferred a simple courthouse wedding, but reluctantly agreed to have a ceremony for Greg’s sake. So her fiance, once Pearl finally returned home, we had about six months until the wedding, so we kicked into planning mode. The only part she really cared about was the bachelorette party.

She Wanted the Vegas Treatment — But We Had to Pay

She’s a big partier. She wanted a big, elaborate weekend in Vegas. Four nights in a hotel, a show every night, a club crawl and a spa day. Okay. So we were kind of just talking about bachelor, bachelorette parties. Right? How they can be over the top. Again, if I was going all my best friends and I wanted to do this, I would go along for it, obviously to support and celebrate my best friend.

But I always find it interesting when they want. The top of the top, all the things like four shows in Vegas, four nights in a hotel, a club crawl, and a spot. Eight. That is expensive. I mean, I haven’t been to Vegas in years, but just quickly add things up. Depending on the weekend, I mean, you’re looking at a few thousand dollars, right?

depending on what everything looks like. Here we go. The issue, the budget, no one she invited had even half the amount of money needed for that kind of trip, and she expected everyone toto cover her costs in full. The maid of honor, Connie did her best to plan something we could all afford, but after weeks of being shut down on every compromise, she passed the baton to another bridesmaid.

So her maid of honor is essentially like, Hey, look, this isn’t gonna work out. Like. No one can afford it. Let’s try this. And she’s like, Nope, you’re not doing a good job. Let’s have another bridesmaid planet. Like what? The final Bachelorette weekend still included a hotel in Vegas, paid for by Pearl’s ant a drag brunch a bar crawl in downtown Vegas.

We did our best with what we had, and it ended up being a fun weekend. Except Pearl Pouted the entire time she cried in the bar bathroom. Not once, not twice, but three times. Now, obviously we don’t know why she’s crying. My guess is it wasn’t to her standard maybe. But here’s the thing. If there’s someone that wants this extra grand thing that no one can afford, she’s never gonna be happy.

You need to find happiness with those around you If I were with my best friends, just having a sleepover at someone’s house, that would be fun to me. I don’t need all these grand things. so this sounds like this person just wanted this huge thing, kept comparing herself. I. On the wedding day, Pearl and Greg were completely standoffish with the bridal party, even though we had bent over backward to accommodate them.

She skipped the original dress rehearsal, then rescheduled for a day when most people weren’t available, only to get mad when half of us couldn’t come. Oh my gosh. Wait, so this is for the dress rehearsal. Wait, so we’re talking about the rehearsal before the wedding. I’m so confused. Okay. On the day of the wedding, we were told for the first time that we’d be decorating the venue.

Blame Party

Oh gosh. With only four hours left before the ceremony and needing to get dressed and take photos. So literally the day after, she’s like, by the way, I need you guys to decorate this whole place for me. here’s the decorations, have fun. And they’re like, wait. We still have to get ready and get all this stuff together.

 this is definitely a type B or C bride as you wanna call it. She didn’t wanna do the planning herself, so she left it up to everybody else, and that’s just not fair. Like I said from the beginning, if you are a bride or groom and you do not wanna plan anything, either get a day of coordinator, wedding planner, or don’t have a big wedding.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not fair to your bridal party or wedding party to do this for you. They’re not the ones getting married. They can be there helping and support you, but do not put this on them. Connie and I ended up doing shots in the bridal suite just to cope with the chaos.

Despite all of that, the ceremony went smoothly and guests seemed to have a great time. But afterward, Pearl and Greg told us that we ruined their wedding. What That sparked a long, drawn out, falling out. So they’re putting all the pressure on their wedding party to make it this amazing wedding when literally it’s their wedding.

You cannot blame the wedding party for doing that. ‘ cause as the bride and groom, it is your day. It’s your job to organize everything or find someone that will organize it, not your wedding party. And if that fails, that’s on you. Two months later, Steven and I got engaged. Most of our friends were thrilled for us except Pearl.

She was visibly jealous and made comments like, why is everyone so excited for them? No one was that excited for us, which wasn’t true. And Why is everyone helping with their wedding when no one helped us? Also not true. So she’s doing that victim mentality. She’s thinking her wedding sucked, so you know what?

Everyone’s out to get me. When in reality they all were helping. But she literally said she didn’t want anything to do with the planning the wedding. So she’s putting it all on her friends for how her wedding day turned out.

 Things escalated when she found out. We had invited Pamela, someone she had unresolved issues with. I. Pamela is a close friend of Steven’s. I had several conversations with Pearl about it and even offered to make some accommodations, like seating them on opposite sides of the room or ensuring that she was surrounded by friends.

I even offered to uninvite them. She refused to tell me what she needed. So ultimately nothing changed. So that’s the thing. It’s like it’s hard when you have two friends that don’t get along. However, you can’t dictate who someone else invites their wedding, so you can choose yourself like, Hey, I’m not gonna go, but you can’t get mad that they’re still friends with someone.

Obviously, there’s always complicated and different reasons for things, but it’s not your place to tell ’em who to invite. One night at a Bar Pearl Completely drunk, cornered me and interrogated me about why Pamela was invited why I hadn’t made her a bridesmaid. Even though I asked Connie, I got away that night, but the next day we had a five hour text conversation.

Five hours. Oh my gosh. I don’t think I’d have a five hour text conversation with anybody. That sounds exhausting. Why? Oh my gosh. I finally set a boundary and said I wouldn’t talk about it anymore. Pearl and Greg pulled their R Rs VP. I thought that would be the end of it. Can you imagine? That is crazy. So they’re just mad about their own wedding day, not being what they wanted.

Uninvited. Excluded. And Still She Made It About Her.

And because they can’t take the responsibility themselves that you know what? They let it slip through their fingers. They’re gonna blame everybody else. Okay, she says Wrong. Over the next four months, Pearl and Greg excluded Steven and me from events, harassed our mutual friends and gave people ultimatums.

If they attended our wedding, they’d no longer be friends. Can you imagine? Oh my gosh. So it’s like just what I said, how you can only control yourself. You can’t control someone else has at their wedding or where other people want to go. So these just sound like very nasty people to me. The group was exhausted by their drama.

Our entire friend group was split. I was convinced Pearl would show up uninvited to my wedding and just cause a scene, but thankfully she didn’t. After our wedding, Lars and Sadie got engaged. Everyone in the group got an invite except Steven and me. Whoa. I expected that. Considering Lars is Pearl’s brother.

Okay. What I didn’t expect. Was for Pearl and Greg to privately message people asking them not to attend Sadie’s wedding because they were uncomfortable. Wait,

 oh my gosh. So they asked people to not attend the wedding. oh my gosh. These people are just miserable. Pearl also made herself the unofficial wedding planner. Wait. Someone that didn’t wanna plan her own wedding was complaining about things and pushing it off on her wedding party. Wants to be the unofficial wedding planner.

Okay. And started making decisions without consulting the couple, for example, she changed the rehearsal dinner from the Mexican restaurant. Lars and City loved to an Italian place just because it offered free wine. No, no, no, no, no, no. The kicker, the reception the next day was also serving Italian food.

 but I’m also wondering how do you let someone just change everything? I’m not saying it’s them like their fault, but like when I was planning different things, no one could just call a restaurant, the restaurant and be like. Okay. Random person I haven’t talked to before, like they’d be like, oh, is this the brighter groom?

No. Okay, then sorry, you can’t change it. Plus the Brighter groom is the one that’s like putting together RSVPs or invites to, the rehearsal dinner or texting people. So that’s very interesting that they just kinda like let her make all these changes. She also planned a huge expensive bachelorette weekend when Sadie had just wanted a nice dinner and a video game night.

While we weren’t invited to the wedding itself, Steven and I were invited to the after party. I chose not to go. I had no doubt Pearl would cause a scene. She says, so maybe take some creative license and show what would’ve happened if I had gone. Thanks again. I left out a bunch of little details, but feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Oh my gosh. It never ceases to amaze me when people just. Can’t take accountability themselves. From the beginning, it sounds like this girl wanted nothing to do with her wedding, and instead of hiring someone to help her, she decided to put it all on her wedding party. Now I’ve seen a lot of weddings and I’ve been a part of a lot of weddings where the wedding party.

Helps put everything together, but that’s been like known from the beginning and it’s a team effort, right? You can’t just be like bride putting your feet up and expecting everyone to do everything around you. You have to be very clear with communication, and it sounds like this girl from the beginning was just unhappy and just wanted to complain about things, so that’s terrible.

Oh my gosh. That was a crazy story. All right guys. Well thanks for hanging out with me today as a reminder. My new book and ignore this, this is my proof right here if you guys are watching the video, but. My new book. Here comes The Drama. A Ferris and Sloan story is out today. if you guys wanna look exactly different places you can find it.

Go to krista ennis.com/book. We’ll also have all the links in the show notes as well, so you can check it out. and of course, don’t forget to tag me at Party Planning by Christa videos, pictures. I wanna see what you’re doing when you read the book. I wanna see you opening up the package. I wanna see you holding the book in front of your face, whatever that looks like.

Tag me and I will be sharing it, um, on my page as well. and of course, leave a review as it helps so many people see the book, hear about the book. and I’m just so excited for you guys to read it. I just, I’m nervous, excited. It’s like putting a baby out into the world.

I’ve worked so hard at it and I’m just so excited for you guys to read it. All right guys. That’s all I have for this week. Um, thanks for tuning in. Bye now.


Money Fights, Fake Promises, and a Forgetful DJ with Cassie Horrell

What do you do when your DJ forgets the first dance and narrates the cake cutting like it’s a football game?

Christa and Cassie are back with some jaw-dropping stories from the wedding trenches! This episode dives into vendor red flags, social media pressure, and one mother-in-law so toxic, the entire wedding had a shocking surprise! From aisle music glitches to guest list drama, it’s a cautionary tale and a comedy of errors.

Plus: how to stand firm when everyone has an opinion, why comparison will kill your joy, and what to do when your wedding no longer feels like your own.

Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month! 

Episode Chapter Markers

00:00 Introduction

01:13 Cassie’s Wedding Workload + Book Update

03:40 DJ Disaster Story #1: The Forgotten First Dance

07:01 Cringe Cake Cutting Narration

08:37 DJ Regret and Trust Issues

10:04 Ghost Music and the Silent Aisle Walk

12:04 Wedding Hot Takes: Cash vs. Gifts

14:37 Guest List Pressure from Parents

16:47 Story Submission: MIL Manipulation and Wedding Fallout

25:59 The Fallout: Family, Boundaries, and Breakdowns

30:05 The Driving Analogy: Staying True to Your Vision

34:14 Comparison Culture and Social Media Pressure

Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments

  • The DJ Debacle – Cassie shares an awkward, cringey moment where a DJ forgot the first dance… then asked the couple for the song in front of their guests.
  • Narrating the Cake Cutting?! – When a DJ goes full sportscaster, it’s not the vibe—Christa and Cassie relive a moment that made the whole room cringe.
  • MIL Drama That Killed the Wedding – A real listener story: secret recordings, family feuds, and a mom who refused to take responsibility.
  • Ghosted by the Music – Another wedding, another music fail—this time with a mysteriously silent aisle walk that left the bride shaken.
  • Hot Takes on Money Gifts – Cassie dishes on how to tastefully ask for cash… and when it crosses the line into tacky.
  • Guest List Politics – From never-met relatives to social media expectations, they unpack why couples feel pressure to include people they barely know.
  • The Comparison Trap – Pinterest weddings vs. reality: why chasing a $300K wedding aesthetic will only break your spirit—and budget.
  • Elopement vs. Expectations – When family opinions derail your plans, Christa and Cassie talk about how to take the wheel back.

Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode

  • “We call them ghosts—because sometimes music just stops.”Cassie Horrell
  • “The DJ had the timeline in front of him and still forgot everything.” – Cassie Horrell
  • “He narrated the cake cutting like it was a sports event—I wanted to disappear.”Cassie Horrell
  • “Some people can’t silently support—they need to insert themselves.”Cassie Horrell
  • “Weddings don’t break families. They reveal the cracks that were already there.”Cassie Horrell
  • “If you’re more excited to post your wedding than live it—that’s the red flag.”Christa Innis
  • “She expected everyone to forget what she did—like it never happened.”Christa Innis
  • “You have to kick people out of the car and drive your own wedding.”Christa Innis
  • “This wasn’t about a honeymoon. It was about control.”Christa Innis
  • “Comparison culture is the silent killer of joyful weddings.”Christa Innis

About Cassie

Cassie Horrell is a seasoned wedding planner and event coordinator known for her ability to handle even the most unpredictable wedding day chaos with humor and grace. With years of experience in the industry, Cassie has seen it all—from heartwarming moments to jaw-dropping disasters—and she’s not afraid to spill the tea. She’s passionate about helping couples navigate the stress of wedding planning, set boundaries with overbearing family members, and create a day that feels authentically theirs. Whether it’s dodging last-minute guest list surprises or dealing with wedding etiquette debates, Cassie brings expertise, real talk, and a whole lot of laughs.

Follow Cassie Horrell

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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

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!

Team Dklutr Production

Blog Transcript:

Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Christa Innis: Hi, Cassie. Welcome back to the show.

Cassie Horrell: Thank you for having me. I’m so excited.

Christa Innis: I felt like such an announcer when I said that. Welcome back to the show. I was just saying before I started recording, so many people, like all the time in the comments are like, we need a Cassie and Christa collab. Like they just loved seeing you on the episode.

And so it’s always fun to connect and I feel like we had a great time hanging out last time.

Cassie Horrell: Yes, we did. And I feel like we have similar audiences, so people are like rooting for us to do a collab and I’m like,

Christa Innis: here we are. Yes, here it is. I know. So I was like, you know what? We gotta have you come back on and like talk some more wedding stuff.

’cause your story last time, still, it was funny, it was one of those where like I always like listen them back through, obviously before they go out and I was still like, cracking up. and I had my husband listen and he was like, dying at the story. He’s like, that’s not where I thought the story was gonna go.

Cassie Horrell: No, it was a, heartwarming but unexpected grandma.

Christa Innis: Yes. Oh my gosh. I love it. yeah, for anyone that has not listened to the other episode with Cassie, please go back and listen to that one. That was episode 10. it’s a good one for sure. So before we get into it, can you just reintroduce yourself or anyone that didn’t hear the last episode or just.

Doesn’t know about you yet. Yeah,

Cassie Horrell: my name’s Cassie. Most of the internet knows me as Wedding Pro casts. I’ve been in the industry for about 12 years now. doing all things wedding. I’ve worked in probably every capacity of a wedding from venue side to planning to luxury catering, so I got to see a lot behind the scenes and helped couples plan an all.

Different cultures and budget levels, which is amazing. currently I’m the director of events at the History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I own a mobile bar, clink 92, that serves weddings in Ohio and Pennsylvania. And then I also do personal planning, where I have clients all over the world.

Planning their weddings and then I assist them virtually as well with, virtual support, one-on-one consultation. So I live, eat, breathe weddings.

Christa Innis: Yeah, you are busy. I’m like tired. Just hearing all of that. Gosh. So, and last time we talked too, you were writing some children’s books too, like what’s the update on that?

Yes. So they have

Cassie Horrell: been written, they have been illustrated and I’m just figuring out how I want to launch them. I mean, you’re in a book launch as well, so the process is fun and you have to navigate like the ups and downs. To me, I just wanna make sure when I bring it forward and I launch it, that it’s exactly what I want, so.

I’ve asked my nieces to illustrate some of the books, so kind of getting those parts in with the other illustrator I work with. It will all come together and I’m hoping June is when these will be out and ready to go. but I’ll definitely share more once I know.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh, awesome. I was just telling my husband about that too.

’cause I was like, that is such a cool, book idea too. ’cause I feel like when we were asking our nieces and nephews to be in the wedding, like there were some stuff out there, but I love the idea of a book and that’s such a cute way, especially encouraging them to read and like, I feel like there’s just, it’s a good memento too.

Cassie Horrell: Yes, and I think it’s the mom in me I have a three-year-old, so he’s always reading books and to me, I’m like, I definitely wanna write a children’s book. It’s always been on my bucket list, so why not combine something I’m passionate with? I.

the children’s book, and it’s special because one of my nieces that’s drawing for the book was my flower girl.

Christa Innis: Oh. So

Cassie Horrell: I’m like, it kind of is like a full circle moment since it’s about asking your flower girl ring barrier, your little people to be in your wedding.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I love that. Oh my gosh. She’s gonna like remember that forever that she was an artist in a book. Like how cool is that? Yeah, I love that. Let’s get into the beginning of crazy stories and hot takes. I know you, we talked about, you shared a really heartwarming and surprising story last time. So what story do you have for us today?

Cassie Horrell: I’m going to share a story. I. About one of the most cringe worthy moments I’ve seen at a wedding and it deals with a dj.

Christa Innis: Oh God.

Cassie Horrell: So it’s kind of a long-winded story, but I’ll try to get through it quickly.

Christa Innis: I’m gonna dive right in. So this was probably, I don’t know, three or four years into my career. I’ve always been like an over communicator when it comes to working with vendors, especially when you work on the venue side.

Cassie Horrell: So before the wedding day, I had reached out to this DJ one month out and then seven days out, and the DJ was so communicative, like a surprise. Sometimes vendors are so busy they don’t get back to you, but this vendor was great. No red flags. He’s responding to my emails, he’s asking great questions. So the day of the wedding comes, shows up on time Green flags all over. I’m like, this day’s gonna be great. This dj, I’d never worked with him before. However. He’s been great so far, so I had no worries at all. once he was settled, I go over and I always like to go through one more time the timeline, because sometimes couples and their last week make a slight change that they may not have relayed to me like, oh, we’re actually gonna do the motherson dance before the father-daughter dance, and mm-hmm.

And so they may have told their DJ that, but maybe they didn’t tell me that. So. I go over to the DJ and I’m like, Hey, Mr. Dj, this is my timeline. I just wanna make sure that yours looks exactly the same and there hasn’t been any changes. He’s like, 100% we’re on the same page. I’m like, this is great.

I then go over all the key songs. So I’m going over the Processional music, the Recessional songs, and then their key songs for like first dance, mother, son, father, daughter, and we have everything to say. it’s matching up. He has it on his computer, we’re good to go. Ceremony happens, great.

Cocktail hour happens. Fabulous. And then it’s time for the reception. And my couple had chose to have the wedding party come out as a group and then they were gonna be announced and then move right into their first dance. Mm-hmm. So that transition, you know, not that it’s super quick, but it happens and then moves right into the first dance.

DJ checks in with them. We start the introduction process. Wedding party comes out, they get announced, and they move onto the dance floor for their first dance. So everybody’s like up cheering, looking at them, and they’re walking to the middle of the floor, like ready to transition, and the music fades out and then nothing goes on.

It’s just like dead silent. Oh no. And I’m like across the room. So if the DJ booth is directly across from me and the dance floor is in the center, so I’m like looking at the DJ and I’m like, Hey, or stance, wording it to him and he’s looking at me just staring at me like with his hands. I’m like, what?

And I was like, then first dance. first dance. We’re doing the first dance. and he sees me, so I didn’t wanna cut across straight across the dance floor. So I start like walking around the tables on the backside and I. He goes the opposite direction. Like so now? Yes. Yes. And it’s like now been like 20 seconds, 30 seconds of awkward silence and like people are laughing and the couple’s just kind of standing there instead of me just going over and being like, Hey, we’re doing the first dance.

Like we went over the order. You had this song.

“We’re Doing the First Dance… Right?”

Christa Innis: He walks out onto the dance floor directly to the couple, this is in front of all of their guests. And he goes, it’s first dance. Right? And they both were like, yeah. And then he’s like. What’s the song? And they say the song. I don’t remember what it was, but it was like a Michael Buble song.

Yeah.

Cassie Horrell: And then like goes back nonchalant like nothing happened and goes, okay, everybody we’re gonna move into the first dance and then puts the song on. And I was like that. I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. I’m like, you prepare, you prompt them, you make sure everything’s good. And then for the DJ then to like.

I don’t know what happened. He had like a blip in his brain and just, yeah, forgot what he was doing, but it was so cringe-worthy. And then later in the day when they’re doing the cake cutting, he did one of my least favorite things in the whole entire world when a DJ is like super talkative.

Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.

On the

Cassie Horrell: microphone. And he started narrating the cake cutting. He was like, okay, everybody, they have the cake cutting set. Alright, they’re slicing the cake, now they’re pulling the cake out. Are they gonna slam the cake in each other’s faces? And like everyone was just like, this is terrible. so yeah, it was two cringeworthy moments from the same dj.

Immediately after that wedding, I put him on like the do not book list and I did send him an email being like, Hey, do you wanna talk about what happened? and he literally was just like, yeah, I just like forgot the timeline I don’t know. It was just so cringe-worthy and like, have it, I felt bad for the couple.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Didn’t he have it like right in front of him?

Cassie Horrell: He had it, I saw it on his piece of paper. He had a copy of my paper. We went over it and he still didn’t do it. And I’m like, I felt bad for the couple, just like they were kind of robbed of that. Blissful moment when you like walk in and everybody’s cheering and then you go right into your first dance.

It was interrupted by him shuffling out on the dance floor, asking them, I don’t know. It was so strange. I never worked with that DJ again.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And weird,

Cassie Horrell: you’re outta 10, you

Christa Innis: when you’re trying to like walk over by him, you’re trying to make it like smooth and he’s just like, yep, I’m gonna go the other way.

Cassie Horrell: I was baffled. it was just one of those moments that I’ll remember. For my whole life, like I’m so weary sometimes the DJs because of that one experience, even though I know there’s amazing professional DJs out there, but like every time I get this like sinking feeling like, gosh, I hope they know what they’re doing.

Christa Innis: Probably. ’cause Yeah, you never saw that coming. Like, everything looks no. Well that point. And so then all of a sudden you’re like, are they gonna surprise me with a random,

Cassie Horrell: right. Like, I could understand if there were red flags. Like he wasn’t communicating, he wasn’t answering emails, but like. Nothing.

It was just that moment and I’m like. That was so strange and also just kind of sad.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I’m like,

Cassie Horrell: I wish I could rewind time, but I can’t.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. heard a story not that long ago and I can’t remember if it was the DJ or what, but they forgot to turn the music on while she was walking down the aisle and she said she was already very, like, uncomfortable with all eyes on her.

So imagine just like a silent room then. Wait.

Cassie Horrell: Do you? I could give you a second story on,

Christa Innis: yes.

Cassie Horrell: Yeah, so this story also deals with music not going on the aisle. I will never forget this. This was like pretty recent, not pretty recent, but like I. Within the last five years.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Everybody Clap for Me

Cassie Horrell: We had this happen where we just had, we call them ghosts.

Like sometimes in old buildings, like things happen and you’re just like, what? We had the song playing, like the team was playing the music. I was queuing the couple, I heard the song start. So I said to the bride, okay, go ahead and walk down the aisle. I walked around the backside so that I could like come in the other way to see the ceremony, and by the time I had walked around, the music had stopped.

I was like, where’s the music? So I go over to the dj, I was like, Hey, what’s going on? And he’s like, everything just went black. the system just went down. You couldn’t access, they had provided a Spotify list, you couldn’t access the page. Like what they had provided was just black. And the bride they had, luckily this was like a covid.

Celebration. So they’d been married for two years and they did already have like a wedding. So this was like a wedding with their family and friends. She literally was at the end of the aisle and she’s like, F it, everybody clap for me. And she walked on the aisle and everybody was like cheering for her.

But it was another one of those moments that you’re like, there was no stopping it, like the music was on and then the equipment just like.

Christa Innis: Went off, there’s nothing they could have done. Oh my, no.

Cassie Horrell: And luckily that bride specifically was just the most chill, fun, and like she was laughing and smiling, so it was okay.

But yeah, I would’ve freaked out. I think.

Christa Innis: Yeah. It’s funny, I was talking to someone how, like, I remember my makeup artist saying to me in the morning, my wedding. she’s like, you’re so relaxed for a bride. And I was kinda like, well, at this point, like everyone’s here, whatever happens, happens, you know, it’s no big deal.

Cassie Horrell: But thinking about. Music not starting while walking down the aisle, or like a big moment. I feel like I would be in my head, I think I would on the outside be fine. I wouldn’t do anything like crazy, but I would be like, oh my God. they do everything. Like, I don’t know, and there’s a lot of emotion tied to songs.

So like if you picked a special song. To play and then it’s not playing like that can tweak the way that you’re feeling in that moment. So I totally feel that.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Or playing like a different version of a song. ’cause like we were trying to be so specific with different songs,

We did a rock version of a very like. Classic love song and we did the avenge sevenfold version for like when grandparents were walking down and it just to be like a little different and it was awesome. But I’m like, if it was the different version, like I feel like that would’ve completely like changed how it would’ve been.

but yeah, I, to be specific, oh my gosh. Cringey. Cringey. I know. Let’s go into some wedding hot takes. yes. So this is just getting your opinion on some hot takes people have that they submit to me.Is it okay to ask for money instead of gifts or does it come off as greedy? I.

Cassie Horrell: So I think there is a more tasteful way to ask for a monetary gift.

I think it is definitely tacky if you’re saying like, cash only, we only want cash. I have seen people do that. I have heard stories where you’re like, Ooh, and people are gonna gift kind of whatever they’d like. So. I think there’s a tasteful way to ask it if you are looking for monetary gifts. however, I do kind of agree it is a little greedy and a little tacky to be like forcing that because a gift for a wedding is not mandatory.

And then to like be demanding a certain type of gift, I also think is. It’s not my style, I wouldn’t recommend.

Christa Innis: Yeah, I agree. I feel like, I’ve been to some weddings and actually the ones that I think asked this were like over covid. So they weren’t doing showers or anything and so like instead of that, like they did an announcement and they were like, oh, just send cash if you wanna send a gift.

‘ cause they weren’t doing like any kind of in person thing. So I got that. But. for me, I’m never gonna bring a wrapped gift to a wedding. That’s just not me neither. It’s not my style. No. Even our own wedding, I think only a few people actually did that. But yeah, to me, I would never just be like, only gimme the cash.

Like, yeah. It feels

Cassie Horrell: weird. Well, and I feel like there’s just so many creative ways now, like. If there’s the honeymoon fund, or you could buy somebody an experience or you could build out those experiences for your honeymoon, which literally it does just send you cash, but it will be like, help us pay for a wine dinner.

Help us pay for this excursion. that is a more tasteful way than to just be like, if you wanna give us a gift, give us cash. Like, I get it. People nowadays live together, they already have a lot of the things that you would gift. Mm-hmm. you don’t have to force cash onto people and just let them gift what they feel comfortable with.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And if it doesn’t work out, you can return it and get the cash for it. Great. Put something else out. Don’t make a big Yeah. Stink about it. Yeah. I had some people like comment one time about, I was talking about the honeymoon, how it’s like you can gift for like a honeymoon, you know? Whatever that program is.

And, they were like, I’m not funding someone’s honeymoon. And I was like, well, if you’re giving a gift at a wedding, you don’t know how they’re gonna use that money. Right. Whether they use it from bed sheets or a drink at the bar, you’re not gonna know. So if you just wanna like, give a gift, you have to know that that’s their choice.

How they wanna spend it.

Cassie Horrell: Exactly. Yeah.

Christa Innis: okay. Should couples have to invite all their family members, even the ones they barely talk to?

Cassie Horrell: No. Straight up. No,

Christa Innis: we agree there. Yeah. I feel like that’s such an odd thing, but it happens all the time.

Cassie Horrell: a ton of people feel the pressure from like parents mainly.

I feel like to invite the second invite the third cousin, oh, I went to their daughter’s wedding. So we have to extend an invite and I feel like if it doesn’t fit in the budget or it’s not a priority for those people to be there, there’s no reason you should be inviting them.

Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.

Cassie Horrell: Specifically if you’ve never met them before. Like a lot of people are like, I don’t wanna introduce myself to someone for the very first time on my wedding day. Yeah. why would I waste my time doing that? Not that I don’t wanna meet those people, but I don’t know. The wedding day is about you and your partner and the love together.

So a lot of people want people they know and support them and know them as a couple to celebrate their day with them.

Christa Innis: Yeah, 100%. Yeah. I don’t get the, like I have to invite. My great aunt’s second cousin once removed and you’re like, what’s their name? And you’re like, I why? Yeah, just so they like get dressed up for a few hours and hang out with like someone they barely know.

I don’t know.

Cassie Horrell: Also, weddings are so expensive of like to add five to eight random people that even if they’re related. Onto the guest list could be like thousands of dollars.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Cassie Horrell: Like I don’t know if people think about that. I don’t know.

Christa Innis: Yeah, I don’t think so. Not a fan. Well, I think too, like that generation, like weddings have changed so much since then.

Yes. I remember some people commenting saying like, oh yeah, we just got married in our parents or the church basement and like it was free and we had just had sheet cake. And that’s all well and good. And some people still do that and I think that’s great, but just realize that every wedding is different and their budgets are different and.

Timelines. All that stuff.

Cassie Horrell: Agreed.

Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Okay. Let’s jump into this week’s story submission. So as always, feel free to stop me or I’ll kind of make pause. We can just react to this story. Let’s see what happens. Okay. Me, 24 female and my fiance, 24 male, were set to get married in late summer.

We’ve been engaged for a couple of years in planning our wedding ever since. I’ve always dreamed of eloping in another country, and my parents generously offered to cover the elopement since it would be cheaper than a full wedding here in the us. All right. That’s

Cassie Horrell: nice.

Christa Innis: Very nice. Thank you. We made the decision to go that route and shared it with my fiance’s family.

We told them they could attend if they covered their own travel or we’d live stream the ceremony. His parents immediately pushed back. His mom refused to fly due to fear and not wanting to pay for a plane ticket. His dad didn’t wanna skip a vacation with his parents. Oh. Because spending money on our wedding would cut into his travel funds.

Cassie Horrell: Oh Lord.

Christa Innis: Okay. Well, here we learn about priorities. Like, yep, we got tired of the back and forth and went back to my family. They kindly agreed to help us fund a stateside wedding instead. So they’re Wow. Keeping their plans. And also

Cassie Horrell: these parents, this set of parents seem super friendly and supportive.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And they’re just like, whatever you want. Sure. Got that for you. oh, here we go. On the conviction that my fiance spoke to you soon, that my fiance’s parents would cover the honeymoon. Oh, that’s like unheard of to investigation where we would originally elope. See, that’s where I’m kinda like, oh, now you’re putting expectations on the other parents when, right.

I don’t think it’s a parent’s duty to pay for a honeymoon at all. No. So that’s kind of weird to me. it says his parents agreed.

Cassie Horrell: Wow.

Christa Innis: Okay. Okay. something tells me they’re not gonna actually agree.

Cassie Horrell: I was gonna say, it doesn’t seem right because they didn’t wanna pay to attend the ceremony, but they’ll pay for their honeymoon, which I’m like, it probably would equate to the same.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And then they’re not even going to the honeymoon, so they’re paying for a vacation for someone else. As opposed to if they paid for the elopement, they would be there with them.

Cassie Horrell: Yeah.

Christa Innis: So something’s not

Cassie Horrell: adding up. Something is not right.

Christa Innis: My family put down a deposit on the venue. A year later, I asked my fiance if the honeymoon had been booked.

He said, no. Again, maybe it’s, and you might agree with me, ’cause you’re a planner too. The planner type A me would never put that in the hands of someone else.

Cassie Horrell: I’m no looking at myself. Right. I would do the same thing. I’d be like, I’m booking the place, I’m picking the flights. I’m not leaving it up to someone else.

No,

Christa Innis: no. So many of these, I’m like, oh my gosh, you trusted that person for that long. Oh my gosh. I’d be like. Freaking out. he said no. A month later after that, he told me it was okay. Fast forward to this April, I found out that my fiance had paid for most of the honeymoon himself, at least 80% of it through monthly payments.

Cassie Horrell: Oh, he’s covering for his parents. That’s kind of like, I think it’s sweet on his part, but also like, what the heck with the parents that said they would pay for it.

Christa Innis: Yeah, it’s like this whole thing’s kinda weird to me because it’s like he felt, he couldn’t tell you that he was paying for it until April.

So I don’t know when this started. And then the parents lied about wanting to help cover it. But I also think it’s kind of interesting to have the parents pay the honeymoon. oh, that his parents were upset, they were expected to pay at all. Then why didn’t they communicate that?

Cassie Horrell: They could have just said, no, we’re not doing that, and then they would’ve eloped without them.

Christa Innis: Exactly. So they’re causing all these issues, like they’re changing their elopement to have a stateside wedding. And then they’re like, oh, well you pay for the honeymoon. Yeah, we will jk. We’re not going

Cassie Horrell: psych.

You Need to Keep Paying and Keep Lying to Her

Christa Innis: I pressed my fiance for the truth and he finally called his mom.

She told him word for word, we’re not doing this. You need to keep paying and keep lying to her about it. So they wanted it to look like they were paying for it.

Cassie Horrell: Oh, I do feel bad for the groom in this situation. ’cause I’m like, he’s probably trying to salvage the relationship between his partner and his parents.

But his parents just, they could have just communicated that they were uncomfortable paying and then it would’ve been fine.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

don’t know. I’m like so confused by this too. ’cause I feel like, and we don’t know like their relationship or the relationship between the parents, but like. I’m thinking about my own parents and my own in-laws.

if my parents had to do this, they would never be like, well, only if their parent, his parents do this. Like, they would never say that either.

Cassie Horrell: No.

Christa Innis:  I feel like there’s a weird communication between all parties involved here.

Cassie Horrell: Yes.

Christa Innis: But yeah, I really feel for the fiance, ’cause you can tell he’s kind of put in the middle of the mom being like, just pay for it and lie to her about it.

Like, what

Cassie Horrell: don’t, that’s ludicrous.

“This Isn’t About Us Anymore”

Christa Innis: She says, I was devastated. I told him we should cancel the local wedding and just elope like we originally planned because this clearly wasn’t about us anymore. He told his parents and they freaked out, not because we were canceling, but because my parents would still be there paying their own way, mind you, and they wouldn’t be included now.

Cassie Horrell: Oh, so this was about like a money comparison with the other set of parents?

Mm-hmm. Yeah. It’s like. if they just agreed to the original elopement plan and just paid their way to go, it’d be way less than paying for any of this, and they’d be a part of it. I feel like this facade, whatever the group’s parents have, they used the stateside wedding as an excuse to look like they were participating, but in actuality, they were just kinda like.

Get away Scotch free.

Christa Innis: Yes. And have the sun cover for them to make them look. Mm-hmm. they were paying for it. That is crazy. And I wonder like if they were gonna help with anything else for the stateside wedding, if they’re just gonna be like, oh, the honeymoon, we’re just gonna take care of that and take care of it, quote unquote.

Yeah,

Cassie Horrell: but not really.

Christa Innis: But not really. So then they agreed to cover the wedding. Again, except not the food or the flights, just the hotel. Fine. We said let’s just get through it. About 40 days out, my parents reached out to my fiance, not about money, just logistics and decor to see what his family wanted to contribute to.

Oh, for the actual wedding. Okay. His parents hadn’t participated at all during the two years of planning. Why am I not surprised?

Cassie Horrell: Yeah. Surprise, surprise.

Christa Innis: They seem very like into just like not being a part of things. Even when we invited them to help pick out my dress or with the decor, did not want a part of it.

My fiance sent an upbeat message to his dad asking what they wanted to help with. His dad lost it. Said they weren’t contributing a thing and accused my family of starting a pissing contest.

Cassie Horrell: Oh Lord,

Christa Innis: here we go. They just don’t wanna look like they’re not doing enough. But now it’s a competition. they just would’ve gone with the original plan.

It never would’ve been like this. No. My fiance went to their house to talk in person because half of the remaining payments were due. The next day. While there, his mom screamed at him to get out never come back. He called me angry and heartbroken and said, maybe we should just cancel a wedding.

This is really sad.

Cassie Horrell: I know this is making me sad for the couple.

Christa Innis: Yeah, I just don’t get why the parents wouldn’t just be like, oh, we, don’t have the funds. Or we would just rather not Right. just leave it at that. Unless there’s something that we’re not just playing devil’s advocate, like unless there’s something we’re not hearing.

Like if there was a lot of pressure and they just felt like, are they kept, I feel the same

Cassie Horrell: thing. It would’ve been easier for them to just communicate clearly early on. Yeah. And then. The other parents and the couple to then plan accordingly then to say, yeah, we’re gonna participate, and then last minute be like, actually we’re not.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And, and then getting mad and now it’s just awkward. I feel like they’re just making more of like a buffer between everybody. Yeah. it says my parents who had already spent money on the venue were so understanding They offered without being asked to pay for an elopement again, but if they already paid for the venue, so now they’re just going back and forth if they want a venue or elopement.

Cassie Horrell: Right.

You’re No Longer My Son

Christa Innis: Okay. My mom was incredibly kind to, my fiance apologized to him and told him they weren’t mad, just worried about us.

They said they’d support us however they could. My fiance tried to talk to his parents. They refused and said, this isn’t you. This is her. And you need to get over it. This was the last straw and he cut contact.

Cassie Horrell: Yikes.

Christa Innis: I feel like there’s a lot of like hurt on both sides and we’re not, there’s something missing.

Like Yeah, I mean I guess things can explode like out of this, but I don’t know. I feel like there’s some detail about the parents that are like his parents that were like. Why are they so angry?

Cassie Horrell: I feel like their behavior’s probably always been like this and maybe the groom’s used to it and the bride and the other parents are singing it for the first time.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And so

Cassie Horrell: it’s like abrupt to us, but probably not if you actually know them.

Christa Innis: Yeah, no, that’s true. Yeah. ’cause I feel like it comes to especially like planning events or a big thing, like a wedding. Personalities come out. Right. And so like if her family is more like organized with planning or maybe they have a little more finances to be able to help with it, then they might just get very like insecure or feel bad and then it causes this other like, I dunno, deep rooted like anger or, you know, some other emotions to come up.

Yeah. a month has passed since we canceled the wedding. His mom still won’t admit to anything. We have a full recording of her telling him to lie to me. His dad admitted everything but said she’s sad about losing her son. This is so sad.

Cassie Horrell: She caused it though. Like Yeah, I just mean like it’s the mother of the group.

Christa Innis: It’s sad. It’s like a sad story. I feel like, that he is like losing his parents, you know? It’s like to go through that.

Cassie Horrell: I don’t know. Yeah. Especially when you’re wedding planning. there’s already a lot of emotions and it’s stressful. And then to have that happen on top is like the icing on the cake.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And it’s like she can’t just open her eyes up a bit to see like, okay, they caused this if they wanted to actually be there for her son and future wife, they can do that. Like, it’s just some communication. But I feel like some of that, I dunno, some personalities like. Once they feel like they’ve been wronged, they can’t see outside of it.

And then it’s just like, that’s it. I’m like,

Cassie Horrell: narcissist.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I mean, seriously. And then I feel like the husband, you know, it’s like he, probably is in the middle now because he’s like, he’s so mad she doesn’t wanna talk to him. And then, he wants, still wants to talk to his son, but it’s like

That’s a big deal. the dad said, my fiance should just let it go, but this is a pattern. She does something pretends it never happens and expects everyone to go along with it. So there we go. Yeah. So this is probably, you said not the first time they’ve probably done this, their whole relationship, but the wedding was the icing on the cake for her.

I bet. Yep. My fiance finally said, enough is enough. The only time he is heard from her since was when she demanded to come and get a few boxes and threatened to drop off personal documents, including his birth certificate and social security card on our doorstep when we weren’t home.

Cassie Horrell: What, she’s going to the extremes here.

Christa Innis: He’s like, you’re no longer my son. I’m cutting contact completely. Like, what? But people are this crazy. That’s

Cassie Horrell: why like, this story happened to someone and I’m like, I just can’t imagine.

Christa Innis:  and think of it down the line if someone’s like, oh, why don’t, isn’t your son talk to you?

It’s like, oh, he got married. It’s like, what? Yeah. It’s like a exciting and joyous time and you, couldn’t communicate something and so you decided to just be like bitter and cross your arms and be like, well, guess I don’t have a son anymore. Like,

Cassie Horrell: that’s wild.

Christa Innis: What? That is insane. She was gonna drop off his birth certificate.

Three days later, she was on vacation and then called him like nothing had happened. Hey, how’s it going

Cassie Horrell: d Lulu?

Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. How’s wedding planning? How can I help? Like what,

Cassie Horrell: Hmm. Something’s not right there.

Christa Innis: That would drive me insane. I some of these stories. I’m just like, how do people like. Have relationships with someone like that because you probably are constantly thinking you’re going crazy.

You’re like, wait, did I imagine that last, conversation with that person. Like, am I going crazy? says, it’s bizarre. It’s painful. We spent two years planning this wedding only to cancel it six weeks before the date. Six weeks, no, eight. Yikes. So that means they probably paid a majority.

Had all them. Oh yeah. Would they have all the invitations and stuff out by that point?

Cassie Horrell: Yeah, they would’ve sent invitations out. They would’ve had people RSVPing. usually the six week mark is like, RSVPs are due. So like imagine all the people that like were making arrangements to come to the wedding.

I don’t know how big it was gonna be, but like still,

Christa Innis: yeah, they probably

Cassie Horrell: had room blocks. They probably had all their vendors booked. Like, I don’t know. That’s devastating, To have to cancel when it, I understand canceling a wedding, if the two people decide we’re not getting married. Right.

But to cancel a wedding because someone is being overdramatic overbearing and like a narcissist. I think that’s devastating and that’s sad

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Cassie Horrell: That couple had to do that.

Christa Innis: Right. the last part ends with, we’ll be eloping in Italy. Yay. Parents are not invited. So feel like if anything, this is a lesson to those listening that just go with your gut of what you want for your wedding.

Because how much, yes, you probably hear it all the time and have to say to people all the time is like block out all the extra noise. Because I feel like so many times when brides and grooms like everyone else wants, they regret their wedding more because they don’t do what actually is like meaningful to them.

They Finally Kicked Her Out of the Car

Cassie Horrell: I always like to explain it to my couples. like you’re driving a car and you have a destination where you want to go, and when you start letting every other person give their opinions, it’s like you jump into the passenger seat and someone else is driving and they’re doing their own thing. So you might end up like on the opposite side of the country because of what other people want.

So I do think you, you do have to be selfish a little bit when you’re wedding planning because

Christa Innis: it is

Cassie Horrell: your day. You need to like keep your priorities in mind and go with your gut feeling of like what you want in reason, of course,

Christa Innis: right. But

Cassie Horrell: making sure other people don’t sway you so drastically. Like they went from an elopement to a stateside wedding to canceling then back to exactly what they planned,

Christa Innis: but

Cassie Horrell: had to.

Wait so long for that moment.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Cassie Horrell: Because of the mother of the group.

Christa Innis: Yeah. So many hurdles in the meantime. I love that analogy of driving because that’s so true. It’s like if you are constantly and people pull you different directions, you’re gonna make all these pit stops that you didn’t

Need to make in the case of this couple, they just drove all the way around the country.

Cassie Horrell: They got on a plane and flew around.

Christa Innis: Yes. They finally kicked her out of the car. cause it sounds like from the beginning they knew what they wanted to do. So if you are a couple that wants to elope, elope, if you’re a couple that wants a small wedding, have a small wedding.

If you want a big wedding, have a big wedding, just block out the noise and just you and your partner are the main people that matter.

Cassie Horrell: Yeah, and I do think it’s really important, like weddings are, they do include family. There is a lot of family dynamics in play and I think if you are taking into consideration, especially heavy consideration parents wants, then like that conversation needs to happen.

Very early on. Yeah. So that everybody’s on the same page and everybody is aware and this, it kind of seemed like they made a decision with one set of the parents. They informed the other set of the parents and like that’s where it kind of went awry.

Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. And

Cassie Horrell: so maybe if they would’ve had the conversation super early, not that I think it’s okay with the mother of the groom did, but if both sets of parents were in the original conversation, they probably could have saved themselves some drama.

Christa Innis: Yeah. And I feel like there’s some people too, like this mom seems like she might’ve just been the victim no matter what. But yeah, I agree. I feel like there’s some people where you have to like tiptoe in and be like, Hey, make ’em feel like it was their idea or something.

And then other people, it’s like they have to know first. Like, I read one story that was like. Because the bride told her parents first, and I think the bride’s mom was talking to the groom’s mom. She got so offended that they already planned this whole wedding without her. And they’re like, no, they just booked the venue.

That’s it. So like some people feel like something’s been taken from them and it’s like, oh my gosh. Like so a whole wedding to plan.

Cassie Horrell: Yeah. Pump the brakes. Everybody can be included. Yes.

Christa Innis: We’ll be okay. It’s fine. Oh my gosh. The number of times I hear of like, just like the drama at weddings, just like tearing families apart.

Cassie Horrell: But I always like to remind people too, and you might have your own perspective on this, but I feel like if a wedding is what pulled people apart, there was already something like either something stewing or. Some red flags were already kind of showing. I agree.

I feel like if it comes to a head because of the wedding, then there’s some sort of underlying situation that you’ve probably dealt with before

Christa Innis: and it

Cassie Horrell: just was brushed under the rug. It’s just the wedding brings the biggest emotions in so many people, and I don’t know why, but it is sometimes make or break for some relationships.

Christa Innis: And

Cassie Horrell: you just have to like move forward and realize like you’re seeing their true colors for a reason and for the good or the bad.

Christa Innis: Yeah.

Cassie Horrell: Sometimes like it brings people closer. Sometimes it’s the opposite and people are like, I don’t wanna be friends with them anymore. I don’t wanna talk to them again. you see the extreme on both sides during the wedding planning process.

Not always, but sometimes.

Christa Innis: But sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. Don’t be fearful of your listening and you’re like, oh no. Like if there’s already some kind of red flags or people that can’t support, I don’t know how to word it. People that can’t allow others to shine or like can’t like allow

Cassie Horrell: the, they can’t silently support, like they have to have some sort of opinion.

Christa Innis: Yeah, those are the people. It’s hard

Cassie Horrell: for them.

Christa Innis: They’re gonna fault her during that time. Yes. That’s what you hear. Like when the bridesmaid does something or says something in her speech or cause that’s the friend that’s been secretly like little, maybe a little jealous or just can’t have the spotlight on somebody else.

Cassie Horrell: but, and also one uppers, those are the other people that like, have

Christa Innis: a

Cassie Horrell: very difficult time during the wedding planning process because it becomes like a comparing game. Like, oh, my daughter got married or. They got engaged. Oh, you have to get engaged. And it becomes like a competition where I’m like, why does it have to be a competition?

Like you guys could both get married, you could do it at your own pace, you could have different types of weddings. but you do see that a lot as well.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Life is so much better when you’re not comparing yourself to every person for every little thing. ’cause you’ll never win in a conversation with everybody around you.

You’ll just never win. Like, ‘ cause someone’s always gonna have, the better this, the better that. And it’s like. You just have to stick true to you, and that’s when you’ll be happiest.

Cassie Horrell: Yeah. And I mean that is like, I think it’s a blessing and a curse, social media for weddings. Mm-hmm.

Christa Innis: Because

Cassie Horrell: I mean, on TikTok, you’re seeing so much, you’re seeing these beautiful weddings.

Same thing with Pinterest. You know, you see all these things. You’re like, I have to have a wedding like that. When in actuality the weddings that are like highlighted and shown are 300,000 plus dollar weddings. And I’m like, that’s not an average wedding. So just like in general life, it’s the same thing with weddings.

People just like, they want what they see and they just crave that. And then at the end of the day, like their wedding doesn’t look like that or they can’t include A, B, or C and it causes issues. Yeah. Just do what you want within your budget and I think people will have fun.

Christa Innis: Yeah, and I think one thing too with like planning weddings is like.

If you’re more excited about sharing your wedding photos on social media than the actual day, then that’s a sign that we’re doing things for maybe the wrong reason. I don’t know. Maybe that’s a hot take.

Cassie Horrell: You are right. And there is people that do that. Like they spend their all their money so they can have these Instagramable moments or they can create the TikTok.

But I’m like, on my wedding day, all I remember is like having. So much fun with my husband and like our friends and being on the dance floor. Like I don’t ever remember once being like, oh, I have to make sure that like I get this to post. Like, I don’t know. I feel like if that’s how your day is, then like,

Christa Innis: yeah.

I saw, this is years ago, someone I know from like a long time ago. On her wedding day, she posted one picture of herself and said, can’t wait to see my friends.

Cassie Horrell: Oh Lord.

Christa Innis: And I was like, what about your partner? Bad sign. And they got divorced, like,

Cassie Horrell: there we go. Exactly.

Christa Innis: I’m not saying that to judge, but I’m just like, think about like how you view your wedding day and it’s like, what are you most excited for?

Like, yes, of course you wanna see your friends and celebrate. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but aren’t you excited for like. Marrying your person and having your first dance and it was just like, if you’re just more excited about showing off and like posting it to social media and getting the likes, then that’s not exactly the.

I dunno.

Cassie Horrell: Not the vibes.

Christa Innis: Not the vibes. okay. Let’s go into the next segment, which is weekly confessions. These are confessions that people send me on Instagram and we’ll just react to ’em. We don’t get as much detail here, so we kinda have to read between the lines a little bit.

Weekly Confessions

Okay. This first one says, my mother-in-law treats my son differently because he’s an IVF baby. What? What? That’s one terrible two. Like what? His

Cassie Horrell: own mom, you said it said mother-in-law, right? Yeah. My mother-in-law,

Christa Innis: my mother-in-law treats my son differently. Oh,

Cassie Horrell: her a grandson. I thought it was like her husband.

Oh, was not understanding that at first,

Christa Innis: like her treats her son differently.

Cassie Horrell: Yeah, she treats her grandson differently. Her

Christa Innis: grandson, because he’s IVF.

Cassie Horrell: I’m sorry. People are crazy.

Christa Innis: no matter like how you have that baby, it’s your baby. And they should love that baby. Just the same.

Cassie Horrell: Yeah. Even if it was like a foster baby or an adoption baby, like they’re your baby.

They’re part of your family. Like everybody should be the same. Same with step kids. I cannot stand when people treat other children differently. They’re children.

Christa Innis: Yes. I just don’t get that. I’ve heard of this happening before. someone I just talked to said like, I think it was like an in-law I’ll keep it very anonymous, but her in-law,

has a grandson, but it’s a step grandson. So the way they treat that son as opposed to the other one is so different and it’s like, but you’re still grandma to that. Yeah. Need to still be grandma. Like It’s just I don’t get that.

Cassie Horrell: I did a story on one of those and I was like baffled at the things I was reading.

’cause I’m like, they’re just kids. They’re just babies. they’re your family. You gotta love on ’em and that’s it.

Christa Innis: Yeah. They did nothing. Like if you have. Angst towards, you know, a parent or an ex or something. It’s like the kid did nothing to deserve that.

Cassie Horrell: No.

Christa Innis: okay. Next one is, we hired security to keep certain uninvited people away from our wedding.

Have you Okay. Get a lot of weddings.

Cassie Horrell: So where I work, we have security. They don’t do like security, what you would imagine, they’re not like checking a guest list. Yes, I have seen security at a wedding. Not all my weddings have actual security like that, but I think if you have a situation where you are no contact or there is a relationship where you think someone might arise and it’s going to cause issues

Christa Innis: mm-hmm.

Cassie Horrell: Then save yourself the stress of thinking of them arriving and get security. it’s not as common as people think, but it does happen.

Christa Innis: Wow. That’s so interesting. Yeah. I’ve, had a lot of stories submitted to me where I shouldn’t say a lot. Like you said, probably like 10%, 5%.

Yeah. like really a small percentage. but where they’re like, we had to call security or we had to have security on standby because so and so might show up. I think most of the time there’s just there as precaution. I’m sure they don’t have to do anything, but occasionally. I’m sure there’s something.

Cassie Horrell: We had one where we had like pictures. We all had pictures of what the person looked like. A they didn’t show up, but we were prepared. Oh. If they were to show up like we were gonna call the cops. So,

Christa Innis: whoa. You’re like on guard just waiting. Yeah, we were

Cassie Horrell: ready.

Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. this last one says, me and the hubby almost eloped because of not wanting to be on display.

’cause we are shy.

Cassie Horrell: Fair enough. I think for some people, like if you don’t wanna be the center of attention, then a wedding day, like a standard American celebration might not be the right fit for you. And I feel like in that case, an elopement makes complete sense.

Christa Innis: Yeah. That can be very daunting of like all the eyes on you.

If music doesn’t play, that could be very, very double the

Cassie Horrell: stress.

Christa Innis: Yeah. But it sounds like they didn’t got married so. Hey, good for you. Do what makes sense for you. Hopefully it wasn’t through bullying of other people. Well, thank you so much for coming back on. That was so fun chatting and hanging out again.

 for anyone listening, can you tell ’em again where they can find you and then anything exciting that you’re working on?

Cassie Horrell: you can find me at Wedding Pro Cast on all socials, so TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. YouTube, I’m working on a really cool YouTube series, which is Wedding Whisper. There’s been like short clips of it on my TikTok and Instagram.

 but those will be like longer episodes of me interviewing real wedding vendors, particularly in the Pittsburgh area. Just getting like hot takes and their best tips and tricks about. Kind of their category of vendor category at a wedding. So that’s a big project I’ve been working on. I’m on a couple of podcasts coming up, which are all kind of wedding based, which will be fun.

 and I was just on the Tamron Hall Show, which was a really cool experience. So you can see that. I think it’s on Disney Plus or Hulu now, but it Oh,

Christa Innis: awesome. Was

Cassie Horrell: released early April. So yeah. And then my books will be coming out and you can kind of find me online every day.

Christa Innis: Yay. Awesome. Well, sounds good.

Well, thank you again for coming on. That was a lot of fun.

Cassie Horrell: Thank you for having me.


Makeup Mishaps to Wedding Dress Boundaries with Kendra Matthies

Should parents get a say in wedding decisions if they’re footing the bill?

This week on Here Comes the Drama, Christa sits down with bridal makeup artist and TikTok sensation Kendra Matthies to unpack the high-stakes dynamics of wedding planning. With nearly a decade in the bridal industry and over a million TikTok followers, Kendra shares jaw-dropping stories from her experience—like the time a mother of the bride turned a makeup trial into a full-blown meltdown.

Together, they tackle hot takes like whether parents should have control over a wedding when they’re paying, plus tips for setting boundaries while keeping the peace. Kendra also shares insights into bridal trends, must-haves, and what she wishes she did differently on her big day. 

This is an episode you won’t want to miss! Tune in now for the laughs, the lessons, and maybe even a few tears.

Episode Chapter Markers

00:00 Introduction 

02:42 Crazy Wedding Stories

08:23 Wedding Hot Takes

14:40 Navigating Wedding Opinions and Traditions

23:48 Wedding Story Submission

24:04 Dress Shopping Dilemma

26:27 Body Image and Boundaries

40:43 Weekly Confessions Game

Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments

  • Kendra’s journey from casual TikTok creator to bridal makeup artist with over a million followers
  • A jaw-dropping wedding day story involving a difficult mother of the bride
  • The importance of setting boundaries as a wedding vendor and maintaining professionalism
  • Hot takes on plus-ones, engagement parties, and modern bridal trends
  • How to handle unsolicited opinions during wedding planning
  • Kendra’s advice for aspiring makeup artists in the bridal industry
  • Discussion on body image challenges and harmful wedding industry standards
  • A sneak peek at Kendra’s upcoming teaching events at beauty shows

Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode

  • “You can give opinions without being a straight jerk. It should never be at the expense of someone’s self-esteem.” – Kendra Matthies
  • “Too many opinions are always going to ruin something—it’s overwhelming, and no one can absorb all that.” – Kendra Matthies
  • “It’s not the person’s body that’s the issue; it’s the cut or style of the dress.” – Kendra Matthies 
  • “Just because someone is paying for something doesn’t mean it comes with strings attached or control over decisions.” – Kendra Matthies
  • “It’s so easy to fall into the trap of pleasing everybody around you because they keep telling you, ‘You have to do this.” – Christa Innis
  • “There’s no rulebook that everyone has to follow—it’s your wedding, your day, and your choice.” – Christa Innis
  • “Clothes are made to fit you, not the other way around.” – Christa Innis
  • “Sometimes setting boundaries gets you labeled as difficult, but protecting your peace is always worth it.” – Christa Innis

Mentioned in the Episode

  • BOOK: The Missing Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
  • The Premiere Anaheim Show in February, where she’ll teach “Providing the Ultimate Bridal Experience from Request to Review.”
  • The America’s Beauty Show in April, where she’ll focus on “Long-Wearing Radiant Makeup Looks for Special Events.”

About Kendra

Kendra Matthies is a licensed Esthetician and professional Makeup Artist with over six years of experience in the beauty industry. Trained at the Multimedia Makeup Academy in Troy, MI, Kendra has built a thriving bridal makeup business in Michigan, where she specializes in making her clients feel confident and radiant on their big day. 

Her passion for her work shines through every time she hands a mirror to a bride or groom, witnessing their joy as they see themselves transformed.

Beyond her artistry, Kendra is committed to giving back to her community and supporting organizations like The SafeCenter shelter in Owosso, MI. 

Fun fact: Kendra also has a creative side! She loves to sing, was part of an acapella group in high school, and has amassed an incredible 1.1M followers on TikTok, where she shares beauty tips, stories, and more. Whether in her studio or online, Kendra’s mission is to inspire confidence and positivity.

Follow Kendra Matthies:

Join the Drama with Christa Innis:

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Submit your story today: Story Submission Form

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Team Dklutr Production

Blog Transcript:

Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Christa Innis: Hi Kendra, thank you so much for joining me today.

Kendra Matthies: Hi, thank you so much for inviting me. I’m so  excited to be here. 

Christa Innis:Yeah. I’m so excited. I know, like you are one of the names I constantly were seeing about, like, you guys should collaborate. I want to see her on your podcast. And so I’m so excited to have you on and just chat with you because you know, the ins and outs of weddings and you’ve had a lot of experience with people.

So I feel like our content is very similar. Yes. So for anyone that doesn’t know you, can you just tell us a little bit about you and what you do?

From Makeup Brushes to TikTok Fame: Kendra Matthies’ Journey

Kendra Matthies: Yeah, so my name is Kendra Matthews. I am a bridal makeup artist, special events makeup artist, and an esthetician. I have been in the Bridal makeup industry for nine years now.

So for a long time, I also started content creating on TikTok just for funsies, literally not knowing that any of this would ever happen or could be a possibility because I was definitely that kid, like trying to start a YouTube channel when I was like 12 years old and failing miserably. All of those have been privatized now.

So don’t go searching. I started content creating a little over four years ago, and now I have a little over a million followers on TikTok, which is so crazy. Yay, I love that.

Christa Innis: I think it just shows, like, kind of learning your audience and then what you enjoy making, because I think the YouTube thing is so funny because I remember too like making videos when I was like 12 like in my room or something being like well I mean, I don’t even know if there was youtube then I don’t know probably not but you know, you’re just making videos and trying to like talk like you’re on a show and it’s just like finding your thing.

Kendra Matthies: Because the way I would even do that without recording myself, I’ve literally been doing my makeup just being like, alright guys, now we’re going to take this perfume and we’re going to do a couple sprigs. And my mom’s like, who are you talking to? Yes. And I’m like, look mom, they got me somewhere talking to myself in a room.

Yeah, well, we probably grew up seeing like Home Shopping Network or something crazy like that on TV. Yeah, it’s just like, we just, yeah, we didn’t know what was coming yet. Yeah. So kind of jumping into crazy stories and hot takes. 

Christa Innis:  What’s like, The craziest or most like unforgettable thing you’ve seen or witnessed when it comes to wedding prep or, being at a wedding as either a guest or worker.

Setting Boundaries in the Wedding Industry

Kendra Matthies: Yeah. So obviously I’ve had a few things happen to cut to my 200 video playlist of crazy story times and stuff.I would say the craziest thing that I ever did. had happened directly to me was, I had one time where there was a mother of the bride and she really was very particular about her look that she wanted and I tried to advise like, Hey, given the, like wedding colors and stuff like that, I maybe wouldn’t suggest like this bright purple eyeliner.

I don’t think it’s going to look amazing. She wanted that with a heavy smokey eye. It was really intense. and given she was 80 something years old, I was trying to just advise that that might not be the best, but at the end of the day, it’s What she wants to look like, so I’m gonna do it. So, I do it, and she ends up, like, completely freaking out on me, and telling me, like, she’s never looked worse, there’s no way I’m a professional, there’s no way that I should be doing any makeup services on anybody, ever, because Clearly, I don’t know what I’m doing, because when she met a smokey eye, apparently she just met, like, a little bit of brown in the crease.

Like, she didn’t mean, like, a full smoky eye. So she goes to the bathroom, and she washes it all off, and I offer to do it again, because I care. That’s one thing about me, is I am a people pleaser, and a lot of people will comment on my videos and be like, I can’t believe, like, after somebody was so rude to you, you still continue to be nice, because I don’t know, to me, there are a lot of emotions that are happening on a wedding day, and I try to be really, like, sympathetic of people’s situations, and it could just be my idea of something was different than theirs, and let me try to fix that.

It happens. So anyway, she goes to the bathroom, she comes back, I offer to fix it, and she’s pretty much just like, No, you’ve done enough, I’m gonna do it myself, and like kind of, not shoves, but just like, forcefully pushes me out of the way with her elbow to get around me, cause I was kind of next to a vanity area, so she wanted access to the vanity so she could do it herself.

So she sits down, grabs her eyeliner, pencil or whatever, and starts going to town, And stabs herself in the eye. And of course that’s my fault. So she is livid. She is freaking out. Basically. Like I ruined her daughter’s big day. She can’t believe I would do something like this to her. and she’s just so upset and the bride is mortified.

She’s like, no, this is not Kendra’s fault. Like, it’s totally okay. Like. We will get it fixed. Everything will be fine. It’s not Kendra’s fault that you went and took off your makeup and then poked yourself in the eye. And it was just this huge blowout. Everybody’s trying to calm her down and she’s just not having it.

And finally she ends up just leaving and doing her makeup, like, Her house, which was up the street. She was like, I’m just going to go home and do it myself. And she ends up coming back when I like leaving. And I mean, she looked fine. Like she did a good job. And so I apologized again, as I was leaving, just saying, I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to do what you were looking for today.

And she just cursed me out. It was just like, just get out of my face. Okay, have a great day. And she’s like, yeah, no, thanks to you. Okay. And again, my car and immediately cried and called my mom because what do you do when you’re 23 years old and having some lady scream at you because she poked herself in the eye.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh, that’s terrible. It’s like, I get what you’re saying too. It’s like, I get those comments too in skits where people are like, That person was way too nice. But it’s also like when you’re being a professional too, you don’t want to just go off on that person and you know, cause you’re like, you’re still trying to be kind about it and you don’t want to make the day worse. It’s so hard in those situations.

Kendra Matthies: It’s really hard because you have to, it’s a really big balancing act that I think that people don’t realize, like wedding vendors, not just makeup artists, but wedding vendors have where you do have to have some sort of like, Boundary that you’re setting where it’s like, Hey, I’m here, but I’m here doing a job.

I’m not here. Like I’m your buddy, like hanging out, doing whatever you could talk to me any sort of way, which we shouldn’t be talking to our friends rudely like that anyways. But, especially to me, there is that client professional line that needs to be kept while still having fun. But I feel like.

There is this hard balance of trying to keep that while also providing good service and trying to de-escalate situations without somehow bringing the focus all on yourself as a vendor. Like, it’s really about just keeping the vibes light and trying to just Move everything over and it is really hard.

And it’s like I said, not just even makeup artists. I’ve seen like DJs have to like to call everybody down because they accidentally played the wrong version of a song or something like it’s hard and mistakes happen, even if it’s not always the professional’s mistake and trying to just keep the vibes fun and keep the day going is hard as a vendor.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Especially when you say like, my emotions are high and it just keeps going, it could just keep getting worse. So like, I think you did what you had to do at that point. Just be like, girl, you do your thing because yeah, if you don’t, it’s just going to, that there’s no fixing someone like that.

Someone like that’s just going to, okay. So the next part I want to talk about is wedding hot takes. So I’ve been asking people on Instagram to share different unpopular opinions or, they’re kind of, you know, I don’t know. I guess hot takes. We would call it. Yeah. So here are some things that people shared.

Okay. This person said, plus ones. Why do you have a bunch of people you don’t know at your wedding? My wedding isn’t a free date. So what’s your take on this and what side do you tend to fall on?

Who Should Attend Your Wedding

Kendra Matthies: I think that really comes to me, I have to take into perspective the type of wedding that it is and the type of bride or person that’s getting married to it.

Is because for me, I actually had a really small wedding. I had a very, very small wedding myself. We only had like 50 people there. So when it comes to, like, limited space and,limited. Food and things like that, like, there’s only so many plates of food. Do I really want my random cousin to bring some person that they’ve been dating for a week?

Maybe not. Just because it is so limited and I would rather it be like, closer friends and family. But that’s just me. I think that it really depends on the person that is getting married to say like, Hey, I’m having this shoot. There’s already gonna be 300 people there. Bring your neighbor. What does it matter?

So I think it just depends on who it is and their comfort level with that.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree. Cause, we had like 140 or something, and for the most part everyone had a significant other that was being invited, but if it was someone, yeah, like, just like, bring a random plus one, or like a cousin that’s like 15 years old, I’m like, you don’t really need to fly and bring your girlfriend. You’re gonna be coming with your parents and siblings.

Kendra Matthies: Yeah, I think it’s definitely like a case by case basis, but I can see where it would be irritating for some people where it’s like, you are putting so much money into weddings and for somebody to be there that doesn’t, one, probably even want to be there because I know that there’s times where people are plus ones to weddings and they’re like, I don’t know.

My boyfriend made me come and I guess I’m here. I don’t know. It’s like, do you want that energy at your wedding? Do you care if that’s energy at your wedding? Or is it just, yeah. I’m just so happy I’m getting married that I don’t care who’s there. So that’s where I’m like, I think it kind of depends.

But I can see kind of both sides where it would be irritating to some, but other people would just be like, no, I don’t care.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Okay, this next one, engagement parties seem unnecessary when you have a bridal shower as well.

Kendra Matthies: So I did not do an engagement party myself, personally. I think that was my perspective too, being that I was having a smaller wedding that I was like, if I do an engagement party and then I do a bridal shower, like, I kind of just did like a repeat party.

I think that comes down to Again, and I don’t mean to be a broken record, just kind of the type of person that’s getting married, like, is it very traditional in their culture to do engagement parties where that’s like, super important to them? Or is it just like, hey, I have been saving for this my entire life.

I want to do all the things. I want to do an engagement party. I want to do the bridal shower. I want to do the bachelorette. Like, I want to do everything. I think that it does kind of just come down to the type of person that’s getting married and what their expectations of their wedding is, but I think that it is to me.

If it’s not something that you’ve always dreamed of doing, or if it’s not something that you’ve always, like, planned on budget wise. It’s not necessary, I would say. I wouldn’t say that it’s something that, Oh great, I have to do this engagement party now, and now I’m cutting into my funds that I could be using to maybe get my favorite photographer for the wedding or something.

Like, I think that budget comes in mind with those things, and I don’t know. I just, I don’t think that it’s fully necessary unless it’s something that you’ve always planned on or that maybe somebody is going to throw it to you. Yeah. I don’t know.

Christa Innis: Yeah, I totally agree with that. i think it’s too, it’s like, it does seem like one event after another, especially if your actual proposal was kind of an event or like a surprise little thing.

Yeah. Then why spend more money for a party?

Kendra Matthies: Yeah, I can see that too. Yeah, I think that for sure if there was a proposal where it was like a big celebration, like, yeah, isn’t that like your engagement party? But yeah, I can see where different cultures would maybe do different things or just, you know, My family has always done it this way. So that’s how we do this type of thing. 

Christa Innis: Yeah, there’s a couple of stories that people have submitted to me where the mother in law really wants an engagement party and she wants to host it. And the bride’s like, not about that extra attention. So that’s where I’m like, you got to stick to what? Yeah, I think that.

When Too Many Opinions Overwhelm the Bride

Kendra Matthies: Yeah, if it’s not something you want to do, like, don’t do it. Like, I personally didn’t want to do a bachelorette party because I can’t drink alcohol, I’m allergic to, like, everything. I can’t, like, do a lot of standing on my feet because I’m, like, disabled. if you don’t know, I have POTS, I have hip replacement, like, I can’t just, like, be running around doing everything all the time.

So, to me, it wasn’t worth it. I had people offer to throw it for me, but I’m just like, What are we gonna do? it’s not something I want to do, and I’m grateful that nobody, like, pushed back on that, and was like, no, you have to do it, because I can’t imagine being in that situation where it’s like, and I hear it from my brides all the time, like, oh, yeah, so and so’s throwing my bridal shower, and like, I really wanted it to be very simple, very low key, and there’s an ice sculpture that you’re gonna pour your drink into.

I think that that’s where it gets hard when you are getting married because a lot of people feel very entitled to your wedding, especially the people close to you, and it is hard to say no respectfully, but I think it’s okay to say no, and there might be pushback for that, and there might be like a little bit of discourse that happens because of that.

But at the end of the day, it’s like, do you want to look back and be like, yeah, I don’t know what that bridal shower was. Like, I wasn’t even having fun or I didn’t, I don’t know what was going on there. I didn’t really even want to do that. I think it’s important to set those boundaries and be like, no, this is what I want.

And let life run its course, I guess.

Christa Innis: Yeah, no, totally. I think it’s so easy to fall into the trap of pleasing everybody around you because they keep telling you, like, you have to do this. Because then I’ve noticed too, it’s like, even if in your own mind, your husband or your wife, you guys talk together and you’re like, this is what we want, this is what we don’t want.

But then when people start coming in, they’re like, no, you need this. Then you’re like, wait, do I? Am I gonna regret it? And then you start questioning your own decisions.

Kendra Matthies: I think that what happens a lot with weddings is, kind of like what I was just saying, like, it’s so A lot of people feel entitled to it.

One, because usually they’re very excited for you. I mean, the people that are trying to give you the most opinions and things like that, they’re usually like your close friends or family. However, it does get to the point where it’s like there’s too many opinions. And, too many opinions are always going to ruin something.

That’s why, on a side note, but kind of as an example, when I’m doing bridal trials, when the bride comes in, gets their makeup done, and we do the trial preview, whatever, I’ve changed up the name of it, it’s called a preview now, but when we do that, I typically only ask that they bring maybe one or two people, because I’ve had in the past where they brought like their entire bridal party, okay, well, Susan has never worn makeup.

She doesn’t like what makeup looks like on anybody, so obviously she’s gonna think that you look like a clown if you have, like, a tinted moisturizer on. So, I think that too many opinions can really overwhelm people. So, I think it’s important when you, like, hear some of those opinions, if it’s not coming from somebody that you already feel like, yes, this person gets it.

This person, like, sees the vision. They know what I want. Just in one ear, out the other. You can’t let it fully absorb into you, because it gets really overwhelming. Because a lot of it, unfortunately, does fall, usually, onto the bride, or, feel like it’s really easy to have all of those opinions and duties and, like, What color linens am I gonna do?

Like, everything in your brain all at once. Plus, a lot of people forget, like, yes, you’re planning this massive event, but most of the time, you’re still working, you’re still living your day to day life, so to have, like, I’m gonna go to work as a nurse, Work this crazy shift, but I’m also thinking like, oh my word, like, I have to do this cake testing and I have to do this and I have to do that and it can just get really overwhelming.

So add people’s opinions into that that are conflicting and crazy. It’s going to drive you mad. And that’s where I think a lot of the time bridezilla’s happen because it’s just too many opinions, too many things happening in somebody’s head. And nobody can absorb all that. Nobody can hold all of that.

So I think that, like I was saying, if it’s not coming from somebody that you respect their opinion, want their opinion at all, just in one ear and out the other is the best advice I can give. Mile a nod.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Like thank you for your opinion. I will consider and then move on with it. Yeah.

Exciting. If you feed into it, you’re just going to keep getting more opinions and they’re going to be like, Oh, I’ve got some say here and right. And who wants that? Not me. Yeah. Okay. So what are your, so these are kind of like hot take questions. If you are planning a wedding today, what’s one modern trend that you would absolutely include and what’s, or what’s one that you would absolutely not include?

The Freedom to Celebrate Your Day, Your Way

Kendra Matthies: I definitely would include either the first look or the first touch. I really regret not doing that, just because I really love that first touch thing that’s become a lot more popular. I feel like first looks can be kind of hard because if it is super, like, important to your culture not to see each other.

Then obviously, like, that’s not gonna work. But the first touch, I think, is so cute. And the amount of times I’ve been asked, like, Hey, can I book you for an extra hour to just, like, stay until the first touch is done because I’m gonna be a wreck. And then I’m, like, sitting in the back bawling my eyes out about this bride that I’ve only known for, like, six months because that’s the cutest thing I’ve literally ever seen in my entire life.

I wish I would have done that because that is such, just, like, a cute little intimate moment that, I really wish I would have done something that I probably wouldn’t do. I mean, I was pretty untraditional with my wedding. I had, like, a friend marry us. I got married in, like, this loft studio thing.

I didn’t have a DJ. I didn’t have a phone. Bridesmaids, that’s a hot take. I didn’t have bridesmaids. Mostly for the fact that like, real, real talk, I don’t have a, I didn’t at the time, have a lot of close friends. And I was like, I don’t know, who am I gonna make my bridesmaid? My mom? Like, yeah, but also like, That’s sad, and my husband at the time, he didn’t, well, he is still my husband, but my husband at the time of the wedding didn’t have very many close friends either, so it was like, do we have his dad?

Which, it would have been sweet, but I don’t know, I just, that’s something I didn’t want to do, so I would say maybe that would be something that’s untraditional that I would keep, because my drama level, zero. My stress over the day with, like, getting other people ready and all of that. So, I would say if you’re somebody that is like me that maybe doesn’t have a lot of close friends or family that you’re like, Oh my gosh, I could not imagine my wedding without them.

I think that it’s not a bad thing to have it just be you and your partner up there. I think that’s actually really sweet. Rather than trying to put people into your wedding that maybe even a year later, you don’t even talk to them anymore. So I think being mindful of if you’re going to have people who those people are, but also true to yourself that if you’re like, I know that I don’t have anybody close and there’s nobody that I really want up there, don’t force it.

Because I just think that’s not. needed. So yeah, yeah. I think that’s the answer. Yeah. No, that’s a good one.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I’ve been to weddings before where they didn’t have a wedding party. And I think it’s knowing yourself and knowing what you want for your day. And I, there’s so many where I read a story where, they each just wanted one person and the man, I think it was, no, the sister, the twin sister was trying to force her way.

Yeah. Into being a bridesmaid because it was her brother getting married and they were like, oh, we’re just gonna have one each She’s like, well, I’m the best man I should be on his side and it was this whole thing and it’s and you hear about parents pressuring their other Sibyl or other kids to be in the wedding Yes, like just because your siblings does not mean they have to be in the wedding it’s even just

Kendra Matthies: because they’re close siblings like my brother and I are like best friends, but When I made that decision that I just didn’t really want anyone up there, it’s not that I excluded him from the day.

He had other things that he was doing throughout the day and he was honestly the reason that that wedding went as well as it did because he helped, like I said, I didn’t have a DJ. I had a playlist that I made. He turned on the music, turned it off at the same or at the correct times. He helped Flip the room because the loft that we had, it was like set up for the wedding.

And then my husband, his name is Dallas, so that I could just say Dallas. Dallas and I started to go take photos. And during that time, my brother flipped the room to have it be like the reception and all of that. And I think that I valued that a lot more than I would have of him just Standing up there and then having to come with us everywhere and yes, he’s like in photos and stuff, but I mean, the way we did it, I was able to have him in all the photos that I wanted him in anyway.

We still got our like individuals and our couple with him. Like, I think I valued that more. So I think that just because, you know, Even if you’re not close to your siblings, but especially if you are close to your siblings, if you’re still like, I really would just like it to be just us, that’s not bad.

And there are other ways to have them be involved in the day where it’s still special.

Christa Innis: Yeah, absolutely. There’s no rulebook that everyone has to follow. Yeah. So it makes it unique and

Kendra Matthies: I think that that’s the thing that is or not hard, but I think that that’s the thing that gets Overwhelming for a lot of people that are getting married.

It’s like, well, I have to do it this way because it’s always been done that way, or I have to do it this way because, so and so did their wedding that way. Like, no, it’s your day. You could literally get married on top of a mountain with a random person marrying you guys. Like, it doesn’t have to be anything crazy.

You can do whatever you want and, you know, Yeah,

Christa Innis: no, totally, totally agree. I feel like a broken record. Sometimes when I say it on, in my content, because so many times you have so many opinions, like, even when I’m trying to share like a point, when I share a skit, people be like, well, if the mom’s paying, then she should be able to control everything.

And I’m like, no, that’s not how it works. I’m trying to like, show it doesn’t

Kendra Matthies: like matter. It doesn’t matter because your, gift of paying shouldn’t come with like, Requirements and things like that like that’s not really the point my parents helped out with our wedding But they also let me have that freedom like they were they helped pay for the food Okay, I have a gajillion and a half food allergies.

So they weren’t like, oh, well, yeah, you’re gonna have We ended up having this place called Tata’s Grill, which is, like Middle Eastern food, because I could have a lot of that food, because a lot of it doesn’t have gluten milk and corn in it, slay. But They weren’t like, ooh, nobody’s gonna like that, or ooh, the traditional is like chicken and potatoes and da da da da da.

They were like, okay, yeah, if that’s what you want, if that’s what’s safe for you, then perfect. Like, there’s no kickback there. And that’s how I feel like a lot of things should be. And I just find it odd when, yeah, GIFs come with those. Strings and those like requirements like you have to do it this way because I’m paying for it.

No, that’s not a gift. That’s holding something over my head and that’s not That’s toxic.

Breaking Free from Wedding Weight Stereotypes

Christa Innis: Yeah okay, so let’s jump into This week’s wedding story submission. So I kind of broke it up so we can kind of like Stop me at any time too. And we can kind of just react to it as we go. I have not read it.

So we’ll react, as I read it. Okay. Okay. My fiance has a kind of a tricky relationship with her mother who lives halfway across the country. We love her very much, but she can be extremely intense. And when my fiance was young, her mom inadvertently contributed to a lot of body image issues, lots of clothes shopping ended up in arguments and tears.

When we got engaged. The future mother in law was extremely excited and happy for us, and she wanted to be involved as much as possible. But it was kind of hard with her being so far away. She had a lot of crazy ideas, including catering our entire 125 person wedding with just herself and her sister out of an Airbnb.

It took months of telling her and reminding her how impractical that was and how it didn’t fit our vision before she gave it up. My future mother in law wanted to come visit to help my fiance pick out a dress, but my fiance really felt really uncomfortable with that because she knew her mom was going to be way too intense about it.

And she wouldn’t be able to relax and enjoy herself enough to fall in love with a dress. So we made a plan. We are both women and we were both wearing dresses at our wedding. Before she came to visit, we went dress shopping with just our friends and told our future mother in law that we were dress shopping for me.

But in reality, the appointment was for her. Oh gosh, I feel like I can see where this is going.

Kendra Matthies: I think so too. I’m

Christa Innis: like,

Kendra Matthies: Ooh,

Christa Innis: I don’t know. It’s kind of like, we’re just talking about like, Holding the strings over somebody’s head. I need to be involved in this. Oh, geez. Okay. She found a beautiful dress that she loves and looks amazing on her.

And we called my future mother-in -law and told her that, unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything that I liked, but by coincidence, my fiancé just happened to find the perfect dress. And we were so sad that she couldn’t be there for it, but it was just so perfect and meant to be.

 but we could change the appointment we made for my fiancé to go dress shopping during her visit to pick out a dress for me instead, which was really the plan all along. She was a little disappointed, but she was glad that my fiancé found the perfect dress and excited to help me find mine. This way she still gets to be involved and we get some bonding time together.

 but my fiancé will either confront her mother about her behavior or have to suck it up to go through a really stressful dress shopping experience and be much less likely to criticize her. At least I hope so. She’s visiting this week and we are going shopping on Monday.

Also, I may already have a dress picked out anyway. I went with my mom and my sisters who are pretty chill and supportive. I found a dress I really like. Okay, That was no drama.

Kendra Matthies: I think that it wasn’t not no drama, I think that it does lead an interesting conversation to

boundaries and Kind of doing the non traditional. Thanks. Like, yeah, I think that when I went bridal dress shopping myself when I did not go to a normal dress shop, I went to this place called timeless bridal boutique and it’s this lady’s house that you go and her boutiques in the basement, but all of the dresses are brand new.

They’re all under 1000. Like, it’s really cool. But she has like a, you can only bring so many people. And for me, I grew up, I could actually relate a lot to this story. So I think it’s actually a good one that you pick. I can relate a lot to some people in my life contributing to bad body image because of shopping and because of things like that.

To the point where it’s like, I hate going clothes shopping. It can be really hard. So. I think that it does kind of open that conversation as to just because somebody wants to be really involved and does, that’s, I think I’m reading this right. It would be her mother, the one that provided the bad body image and stuff, right?

So just because that’s your mom and that’s what’s normal and you maybe would want them there to an extent because it’s your mom. If you know that in the end that’s just going to cause you, like, hurt, I think that it is okay to not have that person there. I kind of question how this is going to end. I don’t know if there’s an update to this one or not, but I’m kind of interested to see how this is ending because I can see this kind of going a couple of different ways where maybe, they go to do the One that’s the fiancé, and the mother in law comes and is helping shop for the dress and starts to be extremely harsh to the fiancé about their body and maybe, yes, you spared the daughter of this person, the direct the Attacks and whatnot that might be happening, but now you’re the one absorbing it.

And is that fair? So I’m interested to know if it ended that way, but I could also see where down the road, potentially, this mother in law might be like. Well, I didn’t even get to go to my daughter’s wedding dress thing and was very resentful because of that. I’m sad that the fiance couldn’t have that conversation with their mom and that it did have to kind of be like a secret

Christa Innis: thing.

Kendra Matthies: But I can see why she did that. I can see why you didn’t want to even bring up that conversation . I’m sorry, but I can’t have you there, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but it is sad that it had to be that way. I feel bad for that bribe that it couldn’t just be a, a, I am bringing these people and you’re not one of them type of thing.

Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like, now it’s like, That mother is going, I don’t know, like you’re kind of opening yourself up now to that mother critiquing. Hopefully maybe she wouldn’t have the same reaction to her daughter’s fiance. I would hope not. Yeah.

Kendra Matthies: Yeah. I would hope not unless it’s just going to be, well, I didn’t get to have this experience with my daughter, so I’m going to be extra critical of you.

I don’t know. Yeah. I would hope not though. i am happy though that she said that when it was said like, hey, we just happened to come across this dress and it was just so perfect that she didn’t have an immediate, like, negative reaction. Like, it just said that she was pretty much just bummed, but she was glad that she found something.

So that’s good and gives me a little bit of hope that maybe she wouldn’t be so negative at the fiancé’s dress trial, but I don’t know. Yeah. I don’t know. That’s a tough one. Yeah. But unfortunately, one that we see a lot. I mean, look at, like, Those wedding dress shows like all over the place that you’ll see where people are like, it’s almost like the point of the show is look at how these people are being so mean to this bride.

That’s trying on dresses. And they’ll be like, Oh my gosh, your hips can’t pull off that dress. And it’s like, dude, she’s like a normal person. What do you mean? Like, I don’t know. I don’t get it.

Christa Innis: I know. I actually just saw one recently from say yes to the dress and Okay, I guess I should back up a little bit, but like, it makes me wonder if like, The mom had always been like this, kind of like in this story where she’s like, she knew the mom was kind of controlling and had some comments when the daughter was growing up.

So she was good about protecting her peace and protecting her boundaries and saying no, in a very, smart way, you know, not like upfront, but,In this scenario, this girl had her mother there and she loved these different dresses and every single dress, the mom had a critique.

Like, even if she was like, Oh, this is the perfect dress. I feel like myself. And she’s like, no, you don’t look good. And then she would just like, say these things. And this is like on broadcasted on TV and she ended up and they showed it too. She ended up in the dressing room crying because of the dress that she was like, Oh, this is it.

This is it. The mom was like, no, look how it is, I don’t remember what it was. It was like hugging your side or some kind of critique. And then she just, and I feel like it taints the dress because then you’re thinking about the dress instead of being like, Oh, I feel so beautiful in this dress. You’re like, Oh, is hugging my back weird? Or does it look too

Kendra Matthies: flashy? I think when you’re going dress shopping, you are somebody who may be invited to go dress shopping with somebody. First of all, that’s a huge honor, because clearly they value your opinion enough that they want you to be there. But there are ways to give your opinion on things that aren’t just being a straight jerk.

Like, you can give opinions on things that are like, I think it’s almost like the everyday thing, where if it’s not something you can fix, In like five minutes. If it’s not something that, oh, it just needs to be hemmed, or it needs to be taken in here, or maybe it needs, like, a little extra coverage in the cup or something.

If it’s not something that could be easily fixed and it’s something to do with that person’s body, we don’t need to talk about it. We don’t need to, oh, that’s not flattering on you. Oh, that’s not da da da da da. Because it really should never be about the person’s body. It should be about the piece of clothing and it should be about, like,

Christa Innis: Mm hmm.

Kendra Matthies: I don’t know. For me, your girl’s got hips for days. I’ve got, I’ve got a large hip. So when I tried on a more fitted style, it wasn’t that I was the issue. It’s not that my body needs to lose, however much weight to fit this dress better. It’s that the cut of the dress is not wide enough for me.

And that’s how my family that was with me worded it. They just said that just the cut of this isn’t wide enough for you. And that’s not your fault. It’s just the style of dress. So I think that when people are going to these dress appointments and stuff like that, you have to be mindful of the fact that like, yes, you can give your opinion to an extent, but it can’t ever be at the expense of somebody’s like, Self.

It can’t be at the expense of like, Oh my gosh, your cleavage is just pouring out of the top, and it’s just so bad, and da da da da da. Is it really that? Or are the cups maybe too small? Maybe just the cut of the dress is very low, and that’s the issue. It’s not the person. It’s not their fault; that’s how the garment looks on them.

So I think that people need to be really mindful when they go on these shopping experiences for that, because yeah, then it gets the person thinking like, Wow. I can never wear this style of dress or wow. I can never look good in a dress or why am I even trying on so many because everything I’m wearing out there is just getting something negative and it’s about me, not the garment.

Christa Innis: Yeah. It’s like the quote, clothes are made to fit you, not the other way around, because people think like, I did lose five pounds to fit in this dress. It’s like, no, just buy a dress that fits you. Fits your body. Exactly.

Kendra Matthies: And it’s really sad because also in the bridal industry with dresses, a lot of the times, the sizing of the dresses are way different than street sizes.

So that really starts to make people think like, oh my word, like I’m already wearing, like I’m normally a size eight, but I’m wearing like a size 16 in a dress. Like this is insane. And da da da da da. And. I think that’s where it’s also like, clearly size does not matter in this industry, because things are always going to be different.

But it’s also like, I don’t know, a brand of jeans can have like a size eight, but you try on every size eight and they’re all going to be a little bit different because of the material or the cut of the fabric. Like it’s just, I don’t know. Yeah. You can’t take into effect your body versus the cut of the dress or the style of the dress.

Christa Innis: Yeah. As you were talking, as you were talking, I was thinking too of like my wedding hot take and I don’t even know if it’s a hot take, but this is something I’m so sick of hearing because I heard it a lot when I was engaged and I wonder if you did too, but, let’s say like after I was engaged, I’d be like at like either like some kind of event or party, not like big, just like with friends or family or something.

And I would. Eat, put food on my plate and someone would make a comment about what I was eating because they’re like, Oh, are you shedding for the wedding? Or, Oh, we’re trying to get fit into that wedding dress. And I heard this so many times that I was like, should I be losing weight? Like, and you just start questioning yourself.

Kendra Matthies: Like, I never was like that it’s a really harmful thing that is very, very prevalent in this industry for sure, because I’ll hear it when I’m just, doing a bridal trial, and I’ll be like, Oh, hey, by the way, when you guys are heading out, there’s a nice little, like, cafe up the street that if you guys want to go get sandwiches or something, and maybe the person that’s with them is like, Oh, no, we are just trying to keep it light, or there’s a chocolate shop a couple doors down from me, and I’m like, they have some really awesome chocolate, like, make a treat of today, like, get yourself a little chocolate or something, and they’re like, Oh, no, she really shouldn’t, and it’s like, Why, why that is so prevalent. I don’t understand. And it’s a really strong issue with some of my plus-size brides that I have. 

Like, the stories that they’ve told me when they’ve gone wedding dress shopping of the heinous things that people have said—either the family members that are with them or even the dress shops.

Some of the things that they have been told are just awful and seamstresses say just the worst things and I just clearly think the person they’re marrying loves them for who they are as a person and probably for how they look in this moment. Why is there this big culture? The standard is if you have to lose so much weight or lose this much before the wedding that you can fit into a dress or buy a dress size that’s two times smaller than what you should be wearing so that you can have a goal.

Like, why isn’t the goal just to be who you are? Why does it have to be that I have to change myself to get married? Why, why am I not good enough as I am? And I just, I’ve never understood that. I think that it makes sense to, if you’ve already bought a dress, it fits you, and it’s the size that it is, like, yeah, just keep doing what you’re doing, maybe don’t, like, completely go off the deep end, I guess I should say, and just, like, expect that, oh, I’ve put on a little bit of weight, it’s gonna fix, or it’s gonna fit exactly the same, but even then, like, dresses can be let out, like, things can I don’t know.

I just don’t understand why it is such a common thing to, oh, you have to lose weight.I just don’t, I don’t get that. I hate that. I hate

Christa Innis: How is it so tied to weddings? It’s like, open page, like, try to lose weight. It’s so common. Yeah.

Kendra Matthies: It’s, like, truly the standard, which I, don’t understand, because one, as somebody who has struggled in the past with, like, an eating disorder, like, let’s say somebody else has, they finally get stable, they’re in a loving relationship, they’re wanting to get married, and they found the dress that’s perfect for them, and now they’re just trying to celebrate with their family at, their bridal shower or something, and let them eat the second slice of cake!

Don’t comment on that. It doesn’t matter because all that’s going to do is throw them right back into that situation that they were in before where they are constantly thinking of it. And again, like I was saying before, if you’re working full time, having all of these random opinions in your head, having all these responsibilities, and then additionally thinking about your appearance 24 7, It’s going to drive you crazy and that’s how you end up with bridezilla’s and that’s why I think that with this career there comes a lot of having to be sympathetic towards people and be understanding that yes emotions are high because think about what this person’s been thinking about they’ve been thinking about how the linens have to be perfect and how the flowers need to be the right type of flower and how their dress needs to fit them perfectly because Aunt Susan said if I gain five pounds, I’m going to be an ugly bride.

Like, you, it’s a lot to put on somebody and that’s where I think that having that understanding and kindness towards somebody on their wedding day is super important, even if They are high strung or they’re very just like, ooh, you have to be understanding and that’s why a lot of the times in my stories you’ll see it’s usually not the bride that I’m talking about in the weddings because a lot of the times if they do something to me at a wedding or if it’s like really like, unless they are like that the entire day and they’re basically telling me to like, get lost by the end of it, where I’m like, whoa, that was a lot.

Nine times out of ten, if something happened in a moment of just like, ah, within like an hour they’re coming up to me apologizing, like, it’s just a lot to put on somebody and it can be just very overwhelming.

Christa Innis: Yeah, no, definitely. I know. I see comments sometimes on my skits that are like, you should talk about bridezilla as you talk about mothers all the time.

And I’m like, if you’re getting mad, maybe look in the mirror for a second. And I was like, I do talk about others or have skits around other people. But a lot of the stories are sent to me by brides from their own experiences. And so I just want to showcase that experience. And of course ,there are bridezillas, but you’re absolutely right saying, I think a lot of times it’s them knowing to set their boundaries and just in general, if women, a lot of times say no or have a boundary, they are.

Called certain words, and so I think in general, it’s just knowing like, okay, I’m going to protect my space here. This is what I want, and you know, I want to move on from that. Totally agree. And I know we’re getting towards the end of our time, so I don’t want to, I want to respect your time here. We got one last thing.

Wedding Confessions Tea Party

It’s our weekly confessions game and how this works is I’m going to read confessions that people sent me on Instagram. Oh, gosh. And just rate them from, one is mild tea and ten is Absolute chaos. If you have anything to add, feel free to ask. Okay. This first one. My husband’s cousin drank their mini bottle of champagne, which was the favor, then stole more off my family’s tables.

Kendra Matthies: I think that’s like two. That’s a little annoying, that’s a little like, what the heck, but definitely not like the craziest things. I mean, when people are drunk, they do silly things.

Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. My sister-in-law told me if I ever had a wedding, she wouldn’t come. She lives an hour and a half away.

Kendra Matthies: I’d give that like an eight. That’s a lot. Like, that’s a lot. Like, I think that you are really just saying, like, you are not worth an hour of my time. You are not worth an hour and a half of my driving time, and you are my sister. Like, wow, that’s

Christa Innis: sad. And it’s not even saying, like, she’s already engaged and has a date set and was like, oh, I can’t make it.

She’s like,if you ever have one,

Kendra Matthies: I’m

Christa Innis: Not gonna squeeze it into my busy life. Um, okay, last one. SiSister-in-law nailed the cake. Mother-in-law got a last-minute cake that looked and tasted like crap, and then she dropped it.

Kendra Matthies: I would have to say that’s at least a nine. At least a nine. Because nothing’s worse than when you feel like you have everything under control, everything’s like that somebody bails on something, and then, It’s just like this huge rush of trying to get it fixed, and then for it to end up bad, and then dropped, like, that’s awful, that sucks.

That’s awful. Just one thing after another, just at that point. For real. Yeah. I’d just be like, you know what, everybody gets a cupcake or a crumble cookie, like, that’s all we get. Yeah. We gotta deal with it. Aw. Yeah. That’s sad.

Christa Innis: Oh, my gosh. All right. Well, thank you so much for coming on. It was great. It was so nice

Kendra Matthies: to virtually meet you.

Yes, I

Christa Innis: love it.

Kendra Matthies: Yes,

Christa Innis: I know. I feel like we have such similar audiences and content. And so yeah, it was a perfect lab. Yes, it was destiny

Kendra Matthies: We needed to meet.

Christa Innis: I’m so excited. So can you tell everyone where they can find you, follow you and any other projects you’re working on?

Kendra Matthies: So you can find me on, tick tock at Kendra underscore Matthews.

And then it’s Kendra Matthews on Instagram, on YouTube, and on Facebook. I am working on just a lot of education this year. I’m going to be teaching a lot at beauty shows. So, the most prevalent one will be in February. I will be at the premier Anaheim show teaching, Kind of a good class in regards to what we were talking about where it’s Providing the ultimate bridal experience from request to review.

And it’s kind of going behind the scenes of how to streamline your booking processes and things like that, but also how to provide that great day of service. And also kind of handling different situations that might come up, just ways to kind of, Boost yourself as a makeup artist. I would say, especially in the bridal industry.

So that’s coming up here in February. And then in April, I will be at America’s beauty show teaching a long-wearing radiant makeup look for special events.

Christa Innis: Oh, cool. And I know everyone can’t see you, but I have to say, I love your lip color. What

Kendra Matthies: Is it? Thank you. I need a new red. So, just so happens to be right next to me because I definitely touched it up before I got on here, this is the Jane Iredale color lipstick in the shade scarlet, which looks,

Christa Innis: I was just thinking I’m like, cause I know we’re recording this before Christmas.

It’s going to come out after, but I was like, I need a red for Christmas. So maybe I’ll look, Oh,

Kendra Matthies: I love these. They’re like a one-swipe. Amazing lipstick. Yeah. They’re great.

Christa Innis: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you so much. Awesome.


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