Toxic Friends, Controlling Moms & Vendor Nightmares: Behind the Wedding Curtain
Ever heard of a maid of honor who made the entire wedding about herself?
This episode features one of the wildest maid of honor stories ever submitted — from crashing bridal appointments to sabotaging the shower and stirring up chaos on the big day. Her behavior had everyone on edge.
We’re also diving into stories about controlling parents putting financial pressure on young couples, vendors who ghost or show up late, and wedding speeches so cringe you’ll feel secondhand embarrassment.
Get ready for jaw-dropping confessions, real talk, and a few laughs to help you survive the wedding madness without losing your mind.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
00:52 Reading Listener Reviews
01:25 Social Media Updates
02:05 Book Announcement and Title Reveal
03:40 Book Writing Process
05:12 Future of Ferris and Sloan Series
06:52 Wedding Dilemmas Introduction
10:43 First Wedding Dilemma: Controlling Mother
16:46 Second Wedding Dilemma: Best Man’s Speech
19:37 Red Flag, Green Flag: Wedding Edition
21:48 Vendor Red Flags in Weddings
23:34 Wild Bridesmaid Story: The Maid of Honor from Hell
33:58 Lessons on Toxic Friendships
36:28 Cringeworthy Wedding Speeches
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Rogue Maid of Honor – From stealing attention at bridal appointments to sabotaging the shower, Megan’s jealousy wreaks havoc on the bride’s big moments.
- Controlling Parents – Navigating financial stress and overbearing advice from family during engagement and wedding planning.
- Vendor Nightmares – Photographers, makeup artists, and florists causing stress with miscommunications or mistakes.
- Wedding Speech Fails – Cringeworthy, inappropriate, and backhanded speeches that leave guests shocked.
- Bachelorette Party Chaos – Territorial bridesmaids, random guests, and drama that escalates tensions.
- Red Flags & Green Flags – Spotting warning signs in friends, family, and vendors to protect your day.
- Friendship Breakups – Weddings bring out everyone’s real personality — red flags just show up in heels.
- Therapy & Support Systems – Leaning on your partner and friends to endure drama while keeping wedding planning joyful.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Some people just can’t let you shine, and it’s okay to snip them out of your life.” — Christa Innis
- “Red flags at weddings are everywhere, from sketchy vendors to toxic bridesmaids.” — Christa Innis
- “Chaos loves company, but misery loves company even more.” — Christa Innis
- “You don’t give a microphone to someone who obviously hates you.” — Christa Innis
- “True colors always come out during big life moments, and that’s a gift in disguise.” — Christa Innis
*This conversation is for entertainment and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please seek a licensed professional for your specific situation.
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hey guys. Welcome back to another episode of, Here Comes The Drama. I’m your host, Christa Innis. It’s your first time listening. Welcome, I’m so excited to have you here. You are in for a drama filled episode, some conversation about boundaries and so much more. There’s always some kind of learning experience, and if you’re not gonna learn anything, at least you can be entertained.
Um, first, first, I wanna read this week’s review. This person says, became obsessed with your skits through Facebook. I’m sure like everyone else, and love the drama, so I’m glad you have a podcast too. Such a great listen. Thank you for your kind review. As always, if you are enjoying the show, love, listening, watching, or wherever you’re listening from, please leave me a review.
It helps so many more people. Be able to find and listen to the podcast and we recently found out we are number eight under Leisure Podcast on Apple. So that was a great thing to learn. Another reminder is that I have changed my social media handle. I’m gonna keep repeating it just because there’s always fakes out there, and then people trying to take my old name.
Um, so my name now on social media is Hey Christa Innis. That’s on Instagram, TikTok, and um, YouTube, um, Hey Christa Innis and then on Facebook, it’s just Christa, because they wanna let me. Say that, take Krista in us. Um, but there is a blue check mark on both Facebook and Instagram, so make sure I have the blue check mark.You can check my Lincoln bio as well, if you’re ever unsure. It’s me. I get people tagging me and sharing, reported or stolen content all the time, and I’m like, that’s not me. I’m sorry. Um, so yeah, just to clear that up.
Drama Ever After: Book Two, Friendship Feuds & Behind-the-Scenes Chaos
Another fun announcement is that we have officially decided on the title for book number two. Um, so it’s been a long time coming. I have had Untitled for the book for a long time, and then I had a few ideas pop in my head. Actually, one idea was like. I was like, this is gonna be the winner, but I want everyone to vote fair and square like they did last time. I love getting input from you guys because you are the buyers.
You guys are the people that have been reading it have been interested in the storyline. So I wanted to hear first and foremost what you guys thought should be the title. So I put out an email, um. Pull, uh, a pull to the email list. And then I did another one on Instagram. And guys, it was so close, it was so hard because the first poll I put out in just the email list, and it was within two tied, the top two tied, and then the third right below it was like 0.5 less.
So I was like, guys not really making it much easier. So then when I did a vote again, 40% picked the top three. Um, so the winner of the book, the next in this Ferris and Sloan series will be called Drama Ever After: A Ferris and Sloan Story, and at first it wasn’t my immediate favorite. Of course I loved it because I was one of the options, but now it’s like really growing on me because it really does fit the storyline. If we are following Ferris and Sloan drama ever after, you gotta have the drama in it because it just kind of fits. So here comes the drama, drama ever after for book number two. Um, and then by the time this episode comes out, I will have submitted it to my developmental editor and then proofreader and final editor as well.
Um, typically I read the book like five or six times all the way through before actually putting it out for purchase because there’s just so many things you can miss. Or I’ll read things and be like, oh, I don’t really like how that sounds. Um, but lemme tell you, this book, book number two has way more detail than was ever in.
The, the skit, um, there’s many new scenes, many, uh, added detail that I didn’t have before and as I’m like reading it through again, ’cause basically what I do is like the skit that I put out there. I like transcribe what I’ve already written and said. And then I add in every detail. I move scenes around. I add a new scenes, I take scenes out because as I go through it again, I’m like, oh, it didn’t really make sense.
Was I really tired when I wrote that part? Or, I didn’t really want that to happen with these characters. I wanted this to happen instead. And lemme tell you guys, this is a little more PG 13. Um, we had a little more, you know, a little more, um. I don’t know, without saying it, there’s a lot more romance, a lot more intimacy, um, between some of the characters.
I don’t wanna spoil anything, but we took it to a whole new level and I am so, so, so excited for you guys to read. If you’ve not gotten your hands on book number one, now is the time. Um, we have, um, uh, what was I gonna say? This is my brain guys. Um, if you have not gotten your book, your, if you have not gotten your hands on book number one, now is the time to catch up before book number two comes out.
I don’t have dates yet. Um, there’s still, you know, some things that I’m kind of waiting for, um, more detail on. So we shall see. We shall see, um, as an indie author, you know, if I’m gonna still publish it myself or if it’s gonna go a different route. We will see, but get your hands on. Here comes the drama Ferris and Sloan story, so you can catch up on all the drama.
Um, a lot of people are asking if I’m going to do season four of here comes the drama, or I should say season four of Ferris and Sloan as a skit because I just did skit number three or season three as a skit, um, earlier this year. And I’ve been commenting back to people and I’ve talked about it a couple times, but I have no plan on doing a skit.
And here’s why. As I’ve written the book, as I just kind of said, I’ve changed things, I’ve added characters, I’ve added scenes, and it just doesn’t perfectly line up with the original story. Of course, like it follows the same storyline, but some things are changed. If I were to just keep going with the skit.
Then I have to make sure it matches just the skit. And if some people didn’t read the book yet, they might miss certain things that happened in the book. So then essentially I’m writing two different versions of the story and so far what my goal is, is to write books. And so I know this is kind of getting into a complicated discussion, but there’s gonna be a lot more coming.
In the form of books, because I love this storyline. I love these characters, but it’s getting a little more complicated to just do acting out, if that all makes sense. I know that was a lot. So as of right now, I do not have plans on doing a season four of Ferris and Sloan just because it’s getting so complicated with the, with matching the storylines between the books and the skit.
Because I can’t, ’cause not everyone’s read the story of the books. And so that’s a lot for my brain to be like, wait, did this happen in the book or the skits? So from now on, it’s what happened in the book. And then, um, I promise there will be, there’ll be more fun things to share, more fun things to come out about um, this storyline. Hopefully that wasn’t too confusing in my head. It all made sense, but sometimes you, I say things out there and it’s just not working.
Okay. Before we get into this week’s wedding dilemmas, I got some good ones guys. Um, I am seeing so many real life bridesmaid drama stories in my feeds that are, people are tagging me in. Um, and the most recent one was a girl talking about, um, ending an 18 year friendship. They’re both bridesmaids for a mutual friend and they’ve been friends since like first grade or something. I’m not gonna, you know, re-talk about what happens in the story. It’s basically like a disagreement comes to a head, right?
And all the people in the comments are like, this is over a gift. You would lose a friendship over a gift. And here’s what I notice in these friendship dilemmas or bridesmaid dilemmas. It’s not coming to a head because of something small. It’s over the years, little things have happened, and then you’re talking about a wedding where everyone’s supposed to support this one person and certain personalities come out. Right? You know, some people are better at planning some people. Maybe aren’t great at commitment to things. Maybe others don’t like social events. So like personalities all come together in one room and if one kind of outshines the other, or, um, they have to like work together on a group project essentially. Right? That’s where the true colors come out and that’s where clashing can happen.
And so I think if there’s a bigger pic picture issue, it’s not necessarily like, oh wow, these girls are so petty because they got in a fight over a gift that they’re giving the bride. It’s that little things I think built up over the years and these high intense, stressful moments just bring out the worst in some people. Um. So, I don’t know, I, you guys can let me know what you think, but I feel like there’s so much more nuance and discussion to be had about it. It’s the same when it comes to like funerals. When, when somebody passes away in a family dynamic, it can bring out a lot of interesting personalities, um, and disagreements. People fight over things, um, because it’s, it’s a high stress moment. So everyone reacts to these moments in different ways. Not saying what’s good or bad, I’m just saying like people just have to come together for this group project they didn’t necessarily want to do. And um, it doesn’t always turn out for the best.
So, yeah, uh, I just, I just keep seeing all these stories about like, friendships ending with, you know, weddings and, um, it’s unfortunate, but sometimes, like I talked about in my video not that long ago, is like, sometimes friendships just have to end there for a reason, a season or a lifetime. So, just remember that.
Okay. I know that was kind of a long tangent. Next week on the podcast, I have a wedding etiquette expert. Um, she’s a New York based and she talks all kinds of etiquette when it comes to events and so much more. But we are gonna talk about wedding etiquette and I cannot wait. So if you have a lot of questions when it comes to what’s right or wrong when it comes to weddings and you know. Sending a gift, asking for gifts like so much more. We are gonna dive into all the top questions, so you wanna tune in next week?
Wedding Dilemmas: Controlling Parents, Reckless Best Men & Tough Choices
All right. We are getting into this week’s wedding dilemmas. Here’s how it works. If you’re a first time listener. People send me their current or past wedding dilemmas that they want me to address. So it’s not necessarily a long story, it’s just something that they’re either dealing with or just they’re still kind of stewing over that happened to them. And we’re gonna kind of talk about maybe what we should do in the future, or just give my my opinion, unprofessional opinion, of course, what I would do in this situation.
So take what makes sense and leave the rest. If you wanna submit one of your own. Please send me a DM on social media. Instagram’s probably the best place, um, otherwise you can email me. hello@christainnis.com with the subject line wedding dilemma or wedding 9 1 1.
Okay. This first one was sent to me recently. Here we go. Drama submission. Okay, “this is currently happening in my life right now after four years of a loving relationship. I just got engaged in Norway. I am 25 and he is 26. It’s a very special place to us because my fiance’s family is there and his cousin even recorded our engagement.” That sounds like a beautiful engagement.
I was completely surprised because I said I wanted to be when? When we decided we were ready to get. Okay. Wait.
“We called our families and friends the next day so we could enjoy our little bubble of engagement bliss. My fiance’s family is so supportive and kind asking about wedding dates and welcom me welcoming me to the family with open arms. My family, on the other hand, is a completely different story. My fiance is currently a banker and work working his way up in the industry of finance and sales while I am in sales.
While I am a sales manager at a local company, my mom doesn’t believe that he makes enough money to support us. Therefore, I should hold off on the wedding to light a fire under him and make him work harder until he makes a lot more. She has always been extremely controlling and narcissistic and ruins every big moment in my life.
She has gone out of her way to scream on the phone, sent a million cruel texts, and even got my dad involved who has always stayed out of it. This has been extremely stressful, but have been encouraged by my fiance and friends to go to therapy to learn ways to endure this before I have to cut her off entirely.
Please add or do whatever you want with this story. I’d love to read comments from people who have gone through the same thing or maybe provide some encouragement while I take steps to enjoy this part of my life in big moments.” Well, first and foremost, congratulations. This is an exciting time and I think you are on the right track of like accepting therapy, accepting that you can’t change this person that’s always tried to control certain parts of your life.
I feel like you know. Exactly the, you know, the supportive people in your life and who to go to for that advice and that your mom is just trying to control, control this. Um, now I feel like this is a very, I shouldn’t say common, but I’m sure a lot of people are gonna be able to relate to you when this is posted.
There’s that, and I don’t know if you know, this could come from your mom being maybe she struggled with paying bills or her parents struggled with paying bills and there’s this like financial burden that to sometimes falls on, you know, the husband or, um, if we struggle, we tend to think like our next generation will struggle.
So it could be her holding onto. That kind of stress that she had growing up or in her life, maybe it was her and your dad struggles. Right. But I think in this new age, it’s like women are working, women are able to make money, and there’s no like amount of money that. Is gonna be like, oh, you got it made.
Like you guys can go ahead and get married now. Like she either is looking for a reason for you guys to not get married, or she has her own,
she has her own things kind of holding her back. No, I don’t like any of that advice. Okay. Okay. Let’s take that all out.
Okay, so first and foremost, I just wanna say congratulations. I mean, this is such an exciting time in your life, and it sounds like you are surrounding yourself with people that are truly supporting you. And it sounds like you know that your relationship with your mom isn’t the greatest, like the controlling part of it, trying to take away from big moments in your life.
So there’s power in that. There’s power in knowing. Where your support lies and where to not go when you need that support. Right. And I think there’s a certain generational thing where they, you know, control is seen as love, right? So, you know, if you call her out on it, she might be like, well, it’s because I love you and I want you to have a good life.
And maybe she has her own, um, you know, resentment from, maybe she struggled paying bills or her husband or her parents struggled with paying bills, and so she doesn’t want that same life for you. However, things are different. It’s not fully relying on him to now support the family. It’s you’d, it sounds like you guys are both working good jobs. You’re both working your way up. I mean, you’re still 25, 26. There’s so much time to grow and learn together. Right. And, um, I know you’re not asking me for financial advice, I’m not giving that, but I’m just reassuring you that you guys, it sounds like you’re on the right path. No one is a millionaire or super successful overnight. You guys are still so young. And also it’s like I, what I’m reading in here too is she just sees his job and is like, he doesn’t make enough money. It’s not like he even know, she even knows the amount of money he makes. Um. So she’s either trying to put her own fears about money and stresses onto you, or she’s just looking for reasons for you guys to not get married, which obviously you’re not gonna not get married.
So I’m curious. I feel like a lot of people probably have dealt with something similar from their parents. You know, putting on some kind of stressor of, or fear of financial situations. Um, but we also live in a way different time than our parents grew up. Um, it’s better in a lot of ways, but it’s harder in a lot of ways.
I mean, it was so much easier for people to buy houses right outta college houses were way more affordable. Um, but also. It’s way more, way more common to have a two income household. So, um, the fact that you guys are both working and both supporting this life together, it’s not like he has to fully support both of you.
It’s way different. And so I think you’re on the right track by knowing who you can lean to for support and just keep going that way. Um. Therapy is so important too. You know, it sounds like you have had to deal with this for a long time, so I just encourage you to, um, be very limited with what you share with her, especially if you are, um, wanting to keep this positive and, you know, feel good vibes going when it comes to planning your own wedding. So, um, lean into that and absolutely. Go to therapy because it’s going to just help you and your partner just feel more, um, more at peace when you have to make, if you have to, or you choose to make this cut from your life. All right. I hope that was, that was good advice. I wasn’t trying to give, you know, financial advice. It was more just like what your, um, it sounds like your current situation is with that.
Okay, this last one here says, “our best man insists he doesn’t need to rehearse his speech. He gets drunk and will tell inappropriate stories from college, and I feel and I have a fear, he’ll mention ex-girlfriends and tell inside jokes that no one else will understand.
Should I or the groom confront him before the wedding or just laugh it off and just accept it?” Well, okay. I’m stressed for you because, um, if I would be feeling like these kind of fears ahead of time, I think I would want my partner to talk to them because that’s their person on their side. I don’t think you personally, as the bride should do anything about it.
I think this would be your fiance to talk to him. Um. If you have more than one gut feeling or maybe talking to your partner if he’s even like, I don’t know if he can give a good speech. I don’t know. He keeps talking about like, all these shots we’re gonna do before, maybe you just don’t have him give a speech.
Um, or have someone ready to like cut the mic and be like, thank you. If he needs like a good talking to of what he cannot talk about, then give that to him. If he doesn’t seem like he’s going to follow those rules. I hate to call them rules ’cause it seems like you’re being like strict or something. But if he seems like he’s not going to follow that, then maybe it’s time just to be like, you know what, um, we actually don’t need you to give a speech.
You need to be very selective with who gives speeches and who you want to have kind words about you. Essentially, anyone that’s in your wedding party should be supporting both you and your partner, right? It’s not like, well, that’s his best friend, so he only has to support him. No, they’re supporting your marriage, right?
And so if he’s nothing nice to say about you, and all he is gonna do is say inappropriate stories and talk about ex-girlfriends and talk about things he shouldn’t be saying in a room full of hundreds, hundred plus people, then maybe this is not his position. So talk amongst each other and then I think your partner should be the one to talk to him.
All right guys. That’s all we have for wedding 9 1 1 Wedding Dilemmas this week. As always, send me some messages on Instagram or you can email me at hello@christainnis.com.
Red Flags & Wedding Chaos: Ghosting Photographers & Exes at the After-Party
All right, before we get to the story, of course we’ve got some red flag, green flag wedding edition, so here we go. “My maid of honor posts a long emotional TikTok about her best friend’s wedding journey, but the video is mostly clips of herself.”
I mean, social media is to showcase you, right? Like your own page. She can also do that as a way of like, I don’t wanna like overshare their wedding day if they wanna share it. So I don’t, I wouldn’t say it’s a red flag. I would just, I wouldn’t say, I don’t know, it’s kinda like in the middle because she might wanna be show like her perspective as a maid of honor.
So I don’t know. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a red flag bride events. That wedding planning is stressful. Maid of honor response. You’re not the only one stressed. This wedding is taking over my life too. Um, that’s kind of a red flag. So communication I think is really important, especially as a maid of honor.
As a maid of honor, you take on a lot of tasks and it’s hard to tell the bride if you are stressed. Um, I remember checking in with my maid of honor all the time being like, Hey, it’s okay. Like I can take this over. You don’t have to do this. Like, let’s have someone else do it. And she was great. She was awesome.
But she also, my friend, she’s like so kind that she would never tell me if like, it was too much. That’s why I was, I would be like, you’re not doing this. Like, let’s have someone else help you. Um. I don’t think this is a red flag per se. I think there’s a better way to say it. Um, I think communication is good, especially if it’s a bride that’s just like not in tune with what’s going on and they’re just consistently throwing stuff at you and like, oh my God, this is so stressful.
And you’re like, whoa, you’re putting a lot on me too. Um, let’s slow down a little bit. Okay. “Bride’s ex is invited. By the groom side, the maid of honor tells him where the after party is because it’s no big deal.” Why is the bride’s ex invited by the groom side, and that’s a red flag all around. And the maid of honor tells him where the after party is.
Yeah, it’s, it’s, we’re not gonna invite exes. Okay. “Photographer ghosts silent a week before the wedding and shows up late the day of, but photos end up being stunning.” That’s a red flag. That is a red flag. So it’s great that it ended up great, right? But we’re not only looking at the end of it, like think of how stressful that is before knowing you don’t hear about hear from your photographer.
So maybe the bride’s thinking about hiring someone last minute because they’re, she’s not hearing about hearing from the photographer the week before. And then a couple weeks ago I talked about, um. The story where the makeup artist came late and then she ended up offering a partial refund even though she did her job.
So fine, get paid for what you did. You are still causing stress and you’re causing a timeline to be pushed back. Photographer. You can’t really make that up. So if you’re late photographer, think of those moments that you missed. Maybe no one else is there taking photos, so I’m gonna say that’s a red flag.
“Florist swaps half the flowers for what they thought would look better in photos without asking.” Red flag. That’s easy. Bride books of specific makeup artists months in advance, the morning of a different artist shows up claiming to be just as good. Red flag, that sounds to me like the makeup artist, um, had a replacement and maybe didn’t communicate that to you.
“Videographer refuses to capture certain trendy TikTok shots because it doesn’t fit their artistic style.” Um, red flag. But typically that’s talked about ahead of time, um, like we a videographer, but. I would not have told them to like switch up their routine because you kind of have to trust their process.
Um, that’s usually in the contract ahead of time. You can also hire content creators for weddings now, and they’re gonna be more in tune with the TikTok shots and, and trending audio as opposed to a videographer. That’s typically not their thing. All right, last one. The cake artist forgot to deliver the top tier because they didn’t realize it was a part of the package.
That’s a red flag. You know, you can make it up for it if they have someone else at the office and you bring it in, but, um, yeah, that’s gonna be a red flag if they forgot a big part of your cake. All right. I need a drink because my, I’ve been doing so many recording, so many recordings that my throat is dry.
Maid of Honor Mayhem: Jealousy, Chaos & Wedding Drama
All right, you guys ready for this week’s blind reaction? Wedding story submission. “I was a bridesmaid for my best friend’s wedding a couple of years ago and had to deal with one of the wildest made of honors I’ve ever encountered.” Woo. Okay, here we go. “My friend Hannah names have been changed, got engaged to another mutual friend, Evan.
We had all worked together at some point, and I actually knew Evan from a previous job. From the moment they met. Met, I knew they’d end up together. After six years of dating, he finally proposed and the wedding planning began. At the time, I was the general manager of a restaurant and event venue, so Hannah asked if I could join her when she toured a few places.
One venue she wanted to see was near my work. About an hour from where we lived, but only 15 minutes away from the maid of honor, Megan, who was one of Hannah’s childhood friends. We decided to meet Megan at Megan’s house and drive together. I arrived a little early and called Megan to let her know I was outside.
No answer. I even knocked, still nothing. Hannah was running behind, so I waited in my car. When she finally arrived, that’s when Megan suddenly came out to greet us, meaning she definitely knew I was there waiting the whole time. Weird. Once we all got in the car, Megan told us she invited a friend, someone the bride didn’t even know to tag along.”
Okay, we’re talking red flags, green flags. That’s a red flag. That’s weird to me. Like the bride invited you as the maid of honor to go do something. You don’t just bring a random friend it. “Hannah and I just went along with it. During the tour, Megan and her friend were giggling, cracking jokes and barely paying attention.
I stayed polite, but when they decided to go out afterward, I headed home. The whole vibe was off. Months later, Hannah scheduled her bridal gown appointment. The maid of honor, the brides mom, another bridesmaid, and I went along. When I got to the bridal shop, Megan was already there, but she completely ignored me.”
What? Like, why? “I decided to wait outside until everyone else arrived.” What does this Megan girl have against Tana? Like that’s weird to me. “Once we were all inside, it was clear Megan was determined to steal the spotlight again. She made rude comments about nearly every dress, laughing at all the styles, and rolling her eyes.”
Who is this person? Why are they friends, and why is she a part of the wedding? I have so many questions. “It wasn’t just me who noticed. Another bridesmaid later said she felt bad for Hannah because Megan’s energy ruined what should have been a special day. Then came the bachelorette party. Megan not only invited a random friend again.” What?
“But they also got into a huge fight on the first night.” The, the random friend did? Okay, “mind you, I was six months pregnant at the time, in the middle of a New Orleans summer just trying to survive the heat. Since I couldn’t drink, I went with the flow and tried to keep things calm, but Megan got super possessive of Hannah constantly reminding everyone that she knew her best and acting territorial, even though half the bridesmaids were Hannah’s cousins.”
That is so weird, especially because she’s not being very nice with Hannah. So does she think being rude is like a way of showing, you know, someone better? “By day three, Hannah’s birthday, things boiled over. Megan followed her into the bathroom during dinner and told her she was a horrible friend, and that everyone secretly hated the trip.“
Who is this girl? Oh my gosh, I feel terrible for Megan or for Hannah. Sorry, not, not, not Megan. Hannah. “When we found Hannah crying, we were furious. None of it was true, and it was obvious Megan was trying to isolate her.” This sounds like an abusive friendship. “We reassured Hannah that she hadn’t done anything wrong, but the rest of us basically ignored Megan after that. I even offered to ride in her car for the drive home so others wouldn’t have to.” That is taking one for the team. Sitting in a car with someone that is like awful. Like that sounds like hell. “The entire trip she complained about feeling unappreciated.” What did she do that she should be appreciated for?
“Fast forward a few months, Megan volunteered to host a bridal shower. The problem she lived outta state and insisted everyone drive to her against our better judgment. We agreed.” Why? If, I mean, it’s so easy when you read these stories and like it’s later on. It’s already happened to this person. We were just like, I’m seeing all these red flags and they’re so bright and they’re waving so quickly that I’m like, why are they already like, like so willing to like do whatever this Megan girl wants? “About a month before the shower, she started messaging everyone, the bridesmaids, the groom, even Hannah’s family asking for money. She wanted bottle service while decorations and expensive extras, she couldn’t afford herself.”
So here’s my thing. If I’m gonna host a party, I know I’m gonna take the brunt of it. If I’m hosting it with people, then sure we can, we can split some where they can take some of it off of me, but you don’t ever offer to host without knowing you’re gonna pay for some of it. And then even so, if you do have help, you should be keeping it, like know what that budget is and keep it smaller.
We, we don’t need bottle service at a shower. That sounds like she’s doing something more for her. “Hannah called me in tears asking for help. I stepped in as co-host and moved the shower to my new workplace, which was much closer for everyone. I told Hannah I’d cover the part of the cost as my wedding gift, but I wasn’t about to hand Megan money to mismanage.
That didn’t sit well with her.” Okay. That didn’t sit well with Megan, “I’m guessing when I showed up with. When I showed up with the centerpieces, pretty mason jars filled with flowers. She swapped them out for fake ones and ruined the look just to annoy me. Then she started gossiping about me to the venue staff. That crossed the line, especially since it was my workplace.”
What about this is so weird. “I blocked her number and decided I was done. Afterward, she told the bride that I’d been sketchy with money and didn’t pay my share. Thankfully, I had all the receipts and Hannah did be, and Hannah didn’t believe a word of it.” Okay. I thought she was saying Hannah, the bride didn’t believe that she didn’t pay or paid. She didn’t. Okay. Yeah. So she believed her because she had all the receipts.
Why would Megan like this girl’s like a serious like. Liar. I don’t even know how to describe this person. I’ve never met someone before in my life. “Hannah had two ceremonies. Her first was a Nigerian wedding. I stayed out of that one since I was eight months pregnant and wanted to avoid drama, everything.”
Okay, so I’ve questions. You stayed out of it to avoid drama because you were pregnant or because you just didn’t wanna be near Megan. I have questions. Okay. “Everything seemed fine until the end when the guests started spraying money at the couple, a cultural tradition, Megan was in charge of collecting the cash and somehow it went missing.
She blamed the MC.” She has been scheming to get money from them since the beginning. Oh my gosh. Also, again, like, again, I’m walking, I’m watching from the outside of course. So I’m, this is not judgment on the bride or like, uh, shaming someone for doing this, but I’m like, why are we allowing this girl, Megan, who’s been so sketchy since the beginning to collect the money? She’s been rude, she’s been making fun of them. She’s been bringing weird friends to every little event, and then getting in fights with Hannah. Like, why are we allowing her to be a part of this?
“The following weekend was the second ceremony in a different state. The night before the wedding, we had the rehearsal dinner and all stayed together in, in an Airbnb.
Megan left early to stay with her boyfriend and didn’t return until 11:00 AM” Wait, we were talking the day before the wedding. The day of the wedding. She didn’t get there until 11:00 AM four hours late for hair and makeup. What? Oh my gosh. Okay. I read that at first that she like stayed up all night and I was like, I would be dead tired. But I think they just like stayed together and then she just like slept in. “Hannah was furious, but decided to not confront her on the big day. The ceremony went beautifully until Megan’s speech again.”
Why are we giving a microphone to someone that obviously hates you? Like literally this, this woman hates you. I would not be giving her a microphone because if she’s gonna say those kinds of things behind your back, she’s gonna say like, with a microphone and attention on her, you know, she’s gonna say whatever she wants, right?
“Before she had pulled me aside to ask if it was okay to joke that people confused us because we look alike. I said, ‘sure’, thinking it was harmless. But her speech started with, ‘hi, I’m Christine. Oh wait, I’m Megan, sorry. I know people mix this up, but the difference is one of us is eight months pregnant. Guess I need to hit the gym.’ Then she launched into a bizarre monologue about how the groom stole Hannah from her.” What? “And threw in a bunch of backhanded comments, compliments. The entire room looked horrified. The bride and groom were so wrapped up in each other. They barely noticed until Megan snapped mid speech and told them to stop talking.”
Okay. All right. So based on her speech, she’s jealous that Hannah is getting married. She’s jealous that she now has a groom, a fiance. They’re getting married and they’re happy. Isn’t it wild how some people, it’s the misery loves company, right? They’re, they’re only happy for you when they’re, when you guys are miserable together. If you’re at the same level, if once you’re happy, they’re not gonna be happy anymore and they’re gonna pull you down. I’m not. I have known so many people like that in my own life, and they are vampires, they’re energy vampires, right? They’re soul suckers. You need to cut those people, snip them as quickly as possible because they will never be happy for your achievements. Um, oh, that just like, ‘Ooh, that hit me in the gut.’ People like that. You have to spot you. If you ever have a feeling about somebody, tell them something you’re excited about and see how they react. Tell them something that happened to you that you’re proud for, and see what they do. Will tell you everything you need to know. Even it’s just something small.
If they don’t act like it’s anything to be excited for, if they put you down, if they make fun of you, chances are they will do that For any, anything that, um, is a, you consider an accomplishment or an achievement. Wow. “That was the last anyone heard from her. Neither Hannah nor Megan has reached out since.”
Oh. Wait, I don’t know if she means neither Hannah or Megan reached out to her, Christine or each other. “Honestly, it was one of the most chaotic wedding experiences I’ve ever survived.” Guys. It’s so, again, this is not to shame because I was not in this situation, but with these, when these first. You start noticing these first signs of red flags in a friend, especially in a, in a big event where they should maybe be, you know, they should be celebrating you. Let’s just snip it. It’s okay to communicate and say, Hey, you know what? I don’t think this is the be best position for you. I think we’re so scared of what they will do next. I think we’re so scared of backlash. I think we’re scared of looking like the mean person. I know I’ve been there where you hold onto something because.
You, you don’t wanna look like the mean person. And the truth of the matter is no matter what happens, they’re gonna tell their side. It doesn’t matter if you were the quote unquote good person in the situation, they will tell their side of it. And you know, like she could easily be like, you know, we were best friends.
We hung out all the time. And the second she got engaged, she stopped calling me. And maybe, yeah, to an extent, you know, you now have your partner, you live together, whatever that looks like. Maybe you didn’t call her as much, but she still is important to you. And some people realize, like we go through these life stages where maybe we can’t see each other as much, but you’re still important.
And some people aren’t gonna be able to take that. They’re not gonna be able to take the backseat in your life as much. They want to be, um, upright up there with you. And it’s not saying like, I. Uh, I don’t know. It’s not saying that like she’s a, a bad, okay, this person is a bad person. She probably stole from the wedding. I don’t know. But it’s hard, it’s hard in these moments to react to these stories because it’s so easy for me to say, like, what I would do. Right? But if you have a history with someone and you’ve been friends with them for a long time, it’s, it’s a lot harder to just cut someone out. So I get it. It’s very challenging and I, like I mentioned earlier, I, I talked about friendship breakups and how they can a lot of times be harder than romantic breakups. And so we never be want to be the ones to be like, okay, I’m, I’m done with that person. But when you look back after a friendship breakup years later and you notice all the positives that maybe would not have happened in your life, be if you are still in that friend, if you are still friends with that person, it’s gonna make you feel so much better.
Um, it’s hard. Some people just can’t let you shine. Some people cannot be the supportive friend they want. They wanna be the bottom of the barrel with you. They wanna be, um, they want you to fo you to follow them at all times. And so when you are put in a position where they have to support you, or when you put them in a position where they have to support you, it’s not gonna, it’s not gonna work out well.
But that’s where true colors come out. So we can be grateful for that moment and realize that, um, it needed to happen. Oh gosh, that was a wild story. We haven’t had a maid of honor one like that in a while. That might need to be a skit.
Wedding Speech Fails: Potty Jokes, Politics & Awkward Moments
All right, now we got some confessions. Let’s end with some confessions.
“Brother of the groom made potty jokes and just bashed on him the whole time.” I’m guessing during the speech, very cringey. Yeah, let’s not do that. There should be a list of what to do and what not to do. And it also depends on your relationship with the person, like I’ve talked about before. Like if you’re really close with them and you know, they make, they make jokes, you know, at the wedding, I think it’s fine.
I think it should be funny. My favorite wedding speeches are ones that are funny, but if they’re done in a. Good way. Like if they’re not funny, like if they’re making fun of them or they’re like putting them down or it’s like backhanded compliments, then let me, don’t do that. Um, I remember being at a wedding once and the maid of honor was making, made a comment in her speech about how the bride always wanted to marry for money, and she did.
And like, there was like some laughter and then there was awkward silence. And I just like looked around seeing what everyone else was doing because that’s awkward. And not to say too much, but the groom was not a nice person. He was not great at all in the slightest. Um, that’s a story for another time.
Um, but he’s not a good person. And she was so sweet. But I was just like, ooh. This adds up. This adds up. ’cause she did not marry for a nice, for a nice man. Okay. Um, “my sister turned, turned it into her political views and how the venue was wrong.” Okay. These are all about speeches. That’s no, we’re not gonna put politics and speeches please.
And thank you. My dad. “My dad said she was homeschooled and listed all of my accomplishments.” That’s all. Oh,
that’s like awkward because I think that’s what also, it’s like when people just don’t know what to say, they’re gonna say you accomplishments. ’cause they’re like, oh, I’m just gonna talk, talk all about her and it’s great. You know, you wanna do a little bit of that, but you also wanna tie it all together of like the reasons why people are here celebrating you.
Okay. This one says, “I saw a mother of the bride talk about another daughter’s wedding coming up later in the year.”
So the mom made a speech and just was talking about someone else’s wedding. Okay, that’s weird.Okay. “The best man didn’t plan one and all he said was ‘I dito what the might of honor said, cheers!” Oh no. Unless that was the drunk rooms man, that like. We knew he was going to suck or say something inappropriate and you’re like, okay, good. Thank God he didn’t say anything. That’s terrible. That shows you can’t even make some effort writing like a two minute speech.Like you can’t think of anything nice to say. You just have to copy the maid of honor. Like, no, come on, give a little more effort than that.
All right guys. Well, that’s all I have this week. Thank you so much for listening. If you loved this episode, do me a huge favor and share it with a friend. Take a screenshot, share it to your stories and tag me.Of course, I love seeing it. I love seeing where you’re tuning in from what you’re doing while you’re listening, um, whether it’s on a commute or where you’re working. Or working or just relaxing at night. And don’t forget to share the podcast by leaving a quick review. It’s the best way to get more people to hear about the show.
We do new episodes every single Thursday. Um, and so I can’t wait to share another one with you guys next week. If you have any suggestions, stories, or wedding dilemmas you want me to cover, please submit them at a link in at the link in the show notes, or you can email me hello@christainnis.com. I’m always looking for more crazy stories, and I would love to feature yours in an episode soon.
All right. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you guys next time. Bye now.
Late Vendor, Red Flags & A Family Dressed in all Black
What happens when your in-laws hate you so much they all wear black to your wedding?
This week, I’m diving into a listener story that starts with a secret elopement and ends in family chaos. We’re talking group chat meltdowns, cold shoulders, and a mother-in-law who calls her “the family shame.”
Then we’re spilling tea on a viral makeup artist who showed up late, blamed her calendar, and still thought a partial refund was enough. Spoiler: I have thoughts.
Plus, the latest round of wedding confessions, from best men brawling to guests peeing in driveways. Because no matter how pretty the venue, no wedding is safe from the drama.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
00:57 Viral Wedding Makeup Artist Drama
04:22 Listener Feedback and Podcast Improvements
05:58 Wedding Dilemmas: Proposal Planning
09:59 Wedding Dilemmas: Bridal Room Meltdown
13:17 Red Flags vs. Green Flags: Wedding Edition
17:54 Wedding Story Submission: Elopement Secrets
19:03 Understanding Oversharing and Social Dynamics
19:29 Wedding Traditions and Exclusion
20:08 Group Chat Drama and Misunderstandings
21:26 Family Tensions and Wedding Planning
25:35 Health Scares and Family Reactions
27:13 Wedding Day Disasters
28:56 Post-Wedding Reflections and Separation
30:56 Confessions and Listener Stories
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- The Viral Makeup Artist Fiasco – A vendor misses her call time and chaos unfolds. Christa breaks down what went wrong and whether the bride deserved a full refund.
- When to Ask for a Refund – Contracts, accountability, and why communication can make or break your big day.
- Fan Feedback That Hit Home – Christa reacts to a listener review suggesting new segment cues—and reveals how she’s improving the show.
- Red Flag vs. Green Flag: Wedding Edition – From brides demanding weight loss to car-obsessed grooms, Christa calls out what’s toxic vs. totally fine.
- The In-Law Showdown – One bride’s family nightmare that ended in heartbreak.
- Vendor Etiquette 101 – Why feeding your photographer isn’t just polite—it’s part of the contract.
- Family & Guest Drama Galore – From white jumpsuits to banned phones, Christa dishes on the social politics of weddings.
- Confessions Corner Returns – Real listener confessions: fights, public pee, and champagne theft.
- Christa’s Takeaway – A reminder to protect your peace, laugh through the madness, and maybe rethink that guest list.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “We are not giving nutrition plans or weight loss goals to our friends. That’s not our job, that’s a red flag.” – Christa Innis
- “If your makeup artist is late enough to delay the ceremony, I’d be hoping for a full refund, at least emotionally.” – Christa Innis
- “Let’s normalize letting people go if it’s not vibing. Even bridesmaids, it’s kind of like a job, right?” – Christa Innis
- “You can’t expect guests to lock their phones away in a box; it’s a wedding, not a top-secret mission.” – Christa Innis
- “Apparently, we’re a top leisure podcast even though I’m out here raising your blood pressure every week.” – Christa Innis
*This conversation is for entertainment and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please seek a licensed professional for your specific situation.
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hey guys. Welcome back to another episode of, Here Comes The Drama. I’m your host, Christa Innis. If it’s your first time here, welcome. We are the podcast that dies into the chaos, hilarity, and unforgettable moments when it comes to weddings and events. And today’s episode is packed with just that. I don’t know if it’s just my algorithm lately or if it’s just because of the industry or type of content I share, but I am getting so, so much wedding drama.
In my feed lately. Um, I wanna talk about a couple of things I’ve seen and you guys can comment and see if you’ve talk if you’ve seen it too.
Late Glam, Lost Calm & Refund Rage
So the first one I saw was a viral wedding story where a makeup artist was late. And this kind of blew up like overnight. So she’s filming herself, going to a wedding saying how, um, she just got a call from a frantic bride saying, you’re supposed to be here.
Why aren’t you here? And as she’s driving, she’s saying, I should be finishing her makeup right now and I’m not even there. And as you can guess, most people are in the comments saying, you need to refund her the money. Why aren’t you there? What’s going on? Turns out somehow, something wasn’t synced in her calendar and so nothing notified her of that special day. Um, so it took the bride calling her. Then she came back and said, I gave her a partial refund. I still went there. I did the makeup, helped her out with other tasks that we had in the contract. She doesn’t specifically say what those tasks are, so no one really knows. But people are angry and angry in the comments. They are saying, she should have fully refunded this bride. How dare her? Cause so much stress and anxiety, the mourning of, and also push back a whole timeline. And I completely agree with them.
I, if I had to push it back that much, especially a vendor that’s just there in the morning, um, typically to push back a timeline that much, especially the bride. Not even like just starting an hour late for bridesmaids. You are starting after the bride should be done. And now my own wedding, I wanna say I was the last or second to last to get my makeup done. It’s typically recommended that the bride is one of the last ones, just so her makeup’s the most fresh for walking out for pictures, all that stuff.
So this just, I don’t know how late she was, but this just seems like a rushed job. Now she’s defending herself in the comment saying, it wasn’t rushed. I’ve, I’m used to doing this kind of thing. I’m used to being fast, and that’s all well and good, but for me personally as a bride, if I knew my person was late pushing back the schedule, and now we’re on a stricter timeline because of it, I would be hoping for probably a hundred percent refund. Would I ask for that? Probably not. If she came and did her job, I think I’d be happy and just carry on with the day. Again, not trying to carry that anger or resentment with me and just try to enjoy it the best I can, but I don’t know. I wanna hear from you guys what you think you would do in this situation, what you would expect.
Um, now you guys know I’ve talked about this before. I film like batch film, so this, when this comes out, this episode, it probably happened like two or three weeks ago, so I don’t know if it’s gonna still be a thing, but it’s just interesting to kind of discuss when is it acceptable to get a full refund or ask for a full refund.
And this is something that should be outlined in the contract as well. Um, like for me, when I do day of coordinating, I’m typically there all day. I am mostly there to assist the bride in helping her with running around doing random tasks, making sure we stay on schedule. And I think if I were there and the hairstylist wasn’t there or the makeup artist wasn’t there, I’d be calling them nonstop, saying like, you need to get here now.
I know like the last wedding I was a part of, we were on a pretty strict timeline. Of course, there’s always some wiggle room, but I don’t know. I don’t know. You guys gotta let me know in the comments what you guys would, would do about that.
Okay, before I get too far into this, I’m like, just like chatting. ‘Cause it’s really interesting. Um, here is this week’s review. This is from Reci Baby. It says, ‘here for the tea with all the segments that she started to develop, it would be helpful, I think, if she had some kind of sound effect or music cue so that we knew which segment was which, because I’m getting confused between all the different segments that she presents. I love them all, but it would be helpful to differentiate between them because they’re all kind of feeling the same way.’ Okay. I, actually love this comment because I, I said it in another podcast. Sometimes it’s hard to get direct feedback from you guys. Sometimes I see it here and there, but to have it all in one place, um, this was great feedback.
So I hope we did justice in this episode. We’re always making little changes here and there just to make it easier and more fun to listen to. And yes, I know I’m randomly adding segments just because. I’ll hear of things that I wanna talk about, but I’m like, where would that go? Where would that fit best?
So I hope I’m not confusing you. Um, hopefully this makes more sense or flows better. If not, let me know. But also thank you for the kind review. I’m so glad you’re here for the tea. We’ve always got lots of tea. There’s still plenty more to come, and if you guys love the podcast, please share it with a friend or Lee or review on your own.
It’s very helpful to getting the word out and having more people find it. Which by the way, this is a side note. I just found out we are considered the top eight podcasts under leisure. So love that you guys are just lounging listening to the podcast. You’re able to, uh, enjoy it and get some entertainment out of it.That, that made me happy to hear.
Proposals, Meltdowns & Unsolicited Advice: Christa’s Wedding 911 Segment
Okay, we are gonna go into wedding dilemmas. This is my newest segment. Again, I only do this on solo pods, so when it’s just me, I get so many wedding dilemmas sent to me in my dms. Um, these are just little things. They’re not necessarily long stories. It might just be a little thing someone’s going through right now or something that happened at their wedding and they want some advice.
Um, and I call it unprofessional solicited advice because like I always say, I’m not a professional wedding planner. I just, you know, give my advice on being a part of these weddings for so many times. So you can DM me or you can email me hello@kristaennis.com and I will address them.
Okay. Here’s this first one. It says, “Christa, help. I’m helping plan a proposal, an engagement party for my husband’s cousin. His soon to be fiance’s brother is planning to propose on Saturday. He the cousin, is planning to propose on Friday.” Okay, so brothers, I’m getting ones proposing on Friday and one is on Saturday. Okay. Okay, so I get it.
So you’re helping your husband’s cousin, but then it’d be the brother-in-law is proposing, um, the day after. Wow. Okay. Okay. I’m getting, I’m getting this all lined up. ” The timing of it being so close together wasn’t intentional. I’m gonna change the name really quickly here. Trevor, the cousin called the brother to make sure it was okay because he would change it if he wanted to. The brother said, ‘no, go for it.’ He didn’t care at all and thought it was cool, figured he’d throw it, figured it would throw off his girlfriend even more.” I could see that. Yeah. ’cause there’s other things going on right? “Now, trevor’s soon to be fiance’s, mom and sister are trying to pressure him into moving the date, but he can’t really, because of all their weekend, all their weekends got booked up for the next month and he’s already set out invitations for the engagement party and people are planning stuff.
I told him to just tell the mom that he already talked to the brother and he was fine with it. And he’s already putting plans in motion and doesn’t want to have to move everything when he doesn’t even know when he’ll have a chance to do it again. I also told him to add my number to the bottom to say, to reach out with to me with any questions.
Does this seem fair? The poor guy is so stressed, and it’s not even the wedding day yet.” I’m stressed reading that because I am confused who is who. No. Okay, so it’s two people. Basically in the same family once proposing Friday, one Saturday. It sounds to me like the one on Friday was planned first. Um, and then the Saturday one came along, the brother was like, yeah, that’s totally fine.
You can go ahead and do it. But now family’s coming in giving their 2 cents. Here’s my 2 cents. It’s already planned. The brother said it was fine. He’s the main one doing the proposal the next day. Is it kind of annoying to have it two days in a row? Sure, maybe. But when it comes down to it, the important people that are gonna be there are gonna be there.
And sorry to the fiance’s mom and sister. Like, but it’s already set. Invitations have been set out. People are planning on being there. And I think giving all these unsolicited advice to him to move it is only gonna stress him out even more. So at the end of the day, like, you can only plan so much. If people can make it, they can make it.
If they can’t, they can’t. And I know it’s hard to think that way, but like, especially I feel like the older we get, like I know my husband and I always talk about like how busy our schedules can be sometimes. Like to try to get together with friends these days is so ridiculous and crazy. Like we’re like, ‘okay, let’s plan like three months in advance because it’s like you got, you know, stuff with kids, stuff with family stuff, with work stuff with you know, time off, whatever that looks like. It’s, it’s so hard to get together.’ So if you are lucky enough to find a weekend where you can have something and you get invitations out, just let go and let God’ just see what happens and just trust that it’s gonna work out. Um, so that would be my advice for this first dilemma. I hope that helps, and I hope the engagements go amazing.
Okay. Here we go. Dilemma number two. This is something that had already happened to her, but just see my two sons. Okay. “About 30 minutes before my wedding, I was in the bridal room with my bridesmaids, just hanging out, taking some breaths, et cetera.
My sister-in-law brings my melting down three year old’s niece into my bridal room for a full 10 minutes. My niece is three, so I can’t put much blame on her being a child, but I still hold a grudge against my sister-in-law for thanking the bridal room, there were several other open rooms within the church, was the place for her to bring a screaming child.”
Ooh. Yeah. Okay. Here’s my take on this. Okay. So, yeah, I mean, I agree with you. Um, I don’t know what her intention was bringing her daughter in the room while she was melting down. Especially like for me now as a, as a mother of a toddler. I, would not be bringing into a, into a calm environment. I would not be bringing my toddler into, especially if she was having a, a meltdown or upset about something.
I’m very like, let’s pull ourselves out of a situation. Let me get down on their level and talk to them. And again, this is, this is of course not a parenting thing. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. But what I’m saying is I just personally, I feel like that would overwhelm the three-year-old too, to bring them in a crowded room with a bunch of people.
Um, as the bride, I don’t know if I would say anything, but this, I think is where your, your bridesmaids would come in and I feel like that’s when they should kind of step up and be like, ‘Hey, do you think maybe we could like, step in this room over here? There’s a really awesome room that’s quiet. Um, and it’s really pretty and just kind of like help distract’ instead of feeling like you’re pushing the sister-in-law out, make it seem like a more comfortable and, um, uh.
The ideal choice for them to bring the, the niece to. That way everyone’s kind of happy, right? You’re like, ‘Hey, wait, there’s this really cute room over here. Why don’t you bring over here? I’ll bring some snacks in and it’s gonna be okay.’ That way you’re like more assisting, um, because yeah, like right before walking down the aisle, you wanna kind of calm yourself, center yourself. You don’t want a lot of commotion.
Um, I, myself, like I recently just saw, came across the picture. Right before walking out, I was by myself. Um, I was by myself in the little bridal room. We basically, I dunno how to describe it, there’s like a, a hallway where we had a bridal suite and then the next to it was the bathroom.
That’s where all of us girls got ready, um, at the venue. And so when everyone was lining up, I locked myself in there until everyone was gone. And then my dad came and got me. It was just like really calming for me to be there by myself, take some breaths and really just like center. So I can totally sympathize with this bride to kind of feel like, ugh.
I was like, my, my adrenaline was kind of raised right before all that. Um, so yeah, that’s what I would do in the future, but of course you can’t go back and change it, so, um. It’s best to just kind of, you have to kinda make peace with it eventually. I know it kind of, it sucks that it happened, but focus on the positive and the good moments that you did have during your wedding day.
All right. Again, that’s the wedding 9 1 1. If you guys have any dilemmas or situations you would like me to address on a future episode of the podcast, you can DM me on mostly. Instagram’s the best place to DM me other platforms. It’s really hard to find. Um, or you can email me, hello@christainnis.com. Okay.
Red Flags, Green Flags & Wedding Madness
Next section. A red flag versus green flag a wedding edition. “The bride gives her bridesmaids, strict weight loss goals for the wedding photos.” If you can see my face. No, that’s a complete red flag. We are not giving nutrition plans or weight loss plans to our friends. Anyone we care about, anyone we don’t care about. We’re just not doing that. It’s not our job.
Okay. That’s how I feel about that, which I’ve talked about before. But a hot, hot take for weddings. Let’s get rid of the whole like, um, shedding for the wedding. Like, sure, if you wanna work out for your own wedding, fine, but the wedding industry of losing weight, no, let’s stop.
The couple. Makes guests pay for their own meals at the reception because it’s about being there, not the food. Um, red flag. No, our partner wants to skip.
Your partner wants to skip a honeymoon so you can save money for his, his dream car red flag. Um, I understand maybe skipping a honeymoon ’cause you wanna do a down payment on a house or you want to put it towards something together. But if it’s just to save money for. Something that suits one of the part one of the people in the relationship.
I don’t, I don’t think that’s right. Um, “a bridesmaid drops out two weeks before the wedding, but still plans to attend as a guest.” I think that’s a green flag. I mean, we don’t know the reason for her dropping out, but I would say if she ate, communicated it to you and said, Hey, like. You know, it’s getting too expensive or I don’t really like the dress you picked, or I’m not comfortable in a dress.
Um, I’m not gonna be able to make it in time to all the wedding events to be a bridesmaid, whatever that looks like. If she’s communicating it, I think that’s a green flag. Communication wins. She’s, someone’s come as a guest, so let’s do it. The photographer brings an assistant who turns out to be their boyfriend, and he eats and drinks with guests.
Okay, so. I don’t think this is a red flag, flag or a green flag. A lot of times photographers do bring assistance, but it will be in their contract if they do bring an assistant. However, if they are a staff member, like if they’re a vendor, so a photographer and an assistant, and that’s in your contract, you should be feeding them.
Um, this was a thing I saw and actually I talked to some vendors at a wedding recently, but this is a. Wild thing I saw for how people have been treated at weddings before. Um, you as a vendor for a wedding, if you were there during wedding hours, so if you’re a makeup artist, artist and you leave before the actual ceremony starts, that’s different.
But if you are a photographer, a wedding planner, coordinator, videographer, dj. You should have a place setting at a table and be fed like everybody else and be eating technically with the guests. Drinks, you should not be drinking any alcoholic beverages. Um, of course, like I feel like that should go without saying.
Even one time I was invited to stay as a guest after, and I just didn’t feel right about having wine with dinner. I was just like, I, let’s, I’m not going to, but thank you. Um. So definitely needs to be established in the contract. If, um, they just bring someone randomly, it’s not in their contract, you’d have to decide.
I mean, maybe, maybe they realize last minute, like, oh, they’re not gonna be able to get all the shots without this other person. I’ve been to a lot of weddings where they, they always, where they come with another person. So make sure it’s clear in your contract. Eating with guests, I think is okay. It just depends again, if they’re doing their job as well.
Did you get photos at the end of the day then I think we’re fine. “The groom sister shows up in a white jumpsuit and says, it’s fine, i’m not wearing a veil.” Red flag. I mean, it’s, it’s one of those things again where it depends on your relationship if you know she’s doing it to be, um. Rude or make a scene, then yeah, it’s a red flag.
If you’re like, it’s a black and white party, wear whatever you want, then whatever, the couple bands photos or the couple bands, phones and cameras at the wedding, even during family photos, I wouldn’t say it’s a red flag, but it is a little controlling. You can’t expect everybody to just like keep their phones like locked away in a box.
Okay. “The bride asks everyone to wear neutral colors, so she pops in photos, including the moms.” I think that’s fine. I don’t think it’s red or green, red or green, but, um, color schemes can be hard for people to follow because then they have to go out and buy a specific dress, um, that matches and goes along with it, which is another expense for people, and they might not come because of it.
But yeah, if you are a bride and you’re like, Hey, can everyone wear this color? You have every right to put that out there on your imitation.
Secrets, Shade & the Family in Black
Okay, here we go. Okay. Here is our wedding story submission of the week. My eyes are watering, not because I’m crying, but because the light is so bright and sometimes it just gets so hot in here. Okay, here we go. “In 2017, my husband and I eloped and got married on the beach. It was small and intimate. Just my two adult children and my friend who officiated the ceremony.
Our plan was to keep it secret for two years and then have a big wedding celebration that didn’t last long. Two weeks later, we told my family and then his his on Father’s Day. No one seemed excited except for his dad and brother-in-law. To say they didn’t like me would be an understatement. I’m a loud, outspoken white girl and his family is very Latino. At this time, at the time his brother was getting married in December. This was back in June, and I was just so happy about finally being married. We were both nearly 50 at the weekly Friday night family dinners. I’d share little bits of our wedding plans. One night his older sister told me, ‘this is Christina’s time, not yours. Don’t talk about your wedding.'”
Who’s Christina? I’m so confused. Who’s Christina? Okay. Maybe we’ll find out. “Only recently after being diagnosed with autism and A DHD, did I understand that I was oversharing because I was trying to fit in.” Whoa. I can relate to that. “But I never really did. They didn’t talk about things I was interested in. They were quiet, reserved, and I was loud, Christina, the bride to be.” Okay, here we go. “Was marrying my husband’s youngest brother.” So her soon to be sister-in-law. “My mom completely played. Oh, his mom completely played favorites.
In Mexican tradition, different people sponsor parts of the wedding. One pays for the flowers, another for the cake. Someone else even buys the rings. I didn’t realize these sponsors are considered part of the official wedding party. So when Christina had a wedding party only, bachelorette party and didn’t invite me, even though the sister-in-law from Arizona was there. I was angry. I started to notice how people. I started to notice how often we were being left out, and I got frustrated with my husband for never standing up for me.
It became a constant argument every time it happened. Flash forward to the day before the wedding. I was in a group chat where everyone was talking about going to the nail salon, and once again, I wasn’t included.” But wait, she’s in the group chat. So are they just being like, Hey, are you all gonna be there? And then like, purposely not including her. If I was in a group chat and everyone was talking about going to the nail salon, I would just assume I was invited too. Unless they’re like, you know, uh, talking about it like in past tense, like, oh, ‘can’t wait to, you know. Go get our nails done or are you gonna be at the nail salon tomorrow?’ And then specifically calling out each person and not saying her name. I’m wondering why they just don’t like her so much. ’cause she’s just different or, or what. I can, I can also see, you know, like obviously in a lot of my stories, there’s couples that elope and then they come back and tell the family, right?
And so to me, I obviously, I haven’t finished the story. They seem like they could be pretty hurt that they weren’t included, which at the end of the day the bride and groom, or the, the person that’s said this story and her husband, they’re in their fifties. They are adults. They’ve been adults for a while, so if they wanna run off and get married, that’s their choice. She has adult children. You know, it was something that they wanted to do that was intimate. But if he comes from a large family where they like to celebrate together, that can be seen as like hurtful. So it seems to me like they might be holding this grudge against them because they chose to do this without including them, um, or allowing them to be a part of the day.
“I was hurt and texted the group saying, so, not realizing the bride herself was in the chat. She started the message, started crying and told everyone what I said. Suddenly I was the villain. His mother said, I brought shame to the family.” Wait, so if there, I’m still so confused. They’re all in a group chat talking about this nail salon appointment. What did she, so she’s just saying that she’s hurt, that she wasn’t included, but now she’s mean for saying that? I feel like I’m missing something. “No matter how many times I apologized and explained, I didn’t know the bride was in the chat. No one believed me.” And also, why would it matter that the bride was in the chat? So, like they’re all in a chat chat talking about it. So she just said, Hey guys, I’m, I feel hurt about this, and now they’re mad the bride was in the chat too. I don’t know.
Okay. “My husband and I had a huge fight and I said I wasn’t going to the wedding. Then his sister called me with their mom secretly in the car and started yelling. At that point, I was done. Still, the wedding happened and everything seemed fine on the surface, so I’m guessing she went to the wedding.” It just says, still the wedding happened, so I’m guessing she went. “When it came time to plan our big wedding, we met with the priest and mapped out how our families would be involved. I’m the youngest of six with 18 nieces and nephews. While he is one of five. We wanted to include as many kids as possible. During a family dinner, we began sharing details about the ceremony.
Suddenly, his mother stood up and started yelling in Spanish. I could only pick up a few words, but it was clear that she was furious. I walked out to take the dog for a walk to cool off. My husband followed and told me It’s you and me. That’s all that matters. She was still holding the other wedding against me saying I had disrespected his sister.”
I am so confused why she thinks she disrespected the sister. Because it was just a group chat that she was in. Then they were talking about going to the nail salon. They kept excluding her from all these events and she just said how she felt. I’ve seen in a lot of stories though, like where as soon as someone stands up for themselves, they’re saying like, ‘Hey, you left me out of this. That scene as attack. Someone that has not been communicated with before or called out on certain behaviors will see those kinds of things as an attack. And it sounds like they’re still holding a grudge against the couple for getting married secretly, and so they’re just holding it on. It’s just kind of growing and growing and growing.
“I decided to speak directly to his parents. I wrote out what I wanted to say in English, had a friend translate it and then read it aloud to her on the phone. Since my husband’s Spanish is terrible, his mom was cold and dismissive. My apologies meant nothing. She even told my husband, none of your other girlfriends were ever a problem.”
Yikes. Oh no. I’m still confused where this problem like started. Like I wanna know what happened before they went off and got married. Was there a relationship with his family? How did they all treat each other then? What happened? It, I, it always amazes me, I dunno if amaz is the right word, but things go bad so quickly. Like a couple of the brides I’ve talked to are like, yeah, we got along great. Like everything was fine. And then we got engaged. I saw a new side of her, or you know, they went wedding dress shopping and she had to have a white dress. You know, like it just changes so quickly. Like this personality or something that they’re like festering or holding onto just comes outta nowhere and they’re like, this is not the person I knew before we got engaged.
Um, I would like to hear, um, from more mother-in-laws. I wanna hear other perspectives. I always hear, and I’m not in, not in this scenario, I’m not calling this right out. ’cause I, I feel so badly for her, but I get, ’cause mother-in-laws will message me and they’ll be like, this is terrible. Like, I, you know, I would never treat my daughter-in-law, son-in-law this way.
Um. But, and then I get on the other end, I get mother-in-laws that’ll say like, you’re only showing terrible mother-in-laws. But most of my stories are from brides. So I just get their perspective. But I would love to hear from mother-in-laws and tell me other perspectives, um, so we can share them. Okay.
“Six months before our wedding, my husband had a health scare. At the same time, his brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer.” Wow. “His brother’s case turned out to be worse than expected, and everyone panicked, assuming my husband had it too. We didn’t have insurance at the time, but we made a plan. I tried to keep things positive, telling his sisters to stop with the doom and gloom and sending them articles about how treatable prostate cancer can be. A month before the wedding, none of his family had RSVP’d. He kept following up with his older brother finally called and said the family didn’t want us to have our church wedding, that they didn’t think I supported my husband.” So they’re just all gonna not go. Oh my gosh. That is honestly shocking because I feel like in a lot of these stories I read, they still end up going, there’s a lot of hurt here.
“For once my husband stood up for me. He told them that he knew I, he told them he knew I had his back and that I did more for him than any of them ever did. Eventually, they RSVP’d, but I was furious. I told my husband that after the wedding we were going to need a serious sit down because enough was enough.”
I don’t know what’s gonna happen, obviously, but that would stress me out. Knowing all these people that hate me and just told my husband they didn’t wanna come and celebrate us because they don’t think I support him, would break my heart. That would like rip me to stress. Um. So it’s like how do you enjoy your wedding day knowing your future husband’s family, or I guess it’s her husband already, husband’s family doesn’t like you.
Like that would just be so uncomfortable. “Then came the wedding day. Every woman in his family showed up wearing black.” Oh. Oh no, that’s intentional. Like I talked about this, not that, like not that long ago, like I’ve worn black to weddings before, but like certain weddings, like if you’re doing it as a guest and it’s like a wedding style dress, it’s fine, but when every woman’s wearing it, that’s a reason. That’s a reason.
“His mother refused to take photos with me at the church, which caused chaos with the photographer. His siblings avoided pictures too. My kids gave speeches with thinly veiled references to people not accepting us as a couple. Ooh. At one point his dad pulled me aside to dance out of his wife’s view later during the family group.” Okay, wait. “His dad pulled me aside to dance out of his wife’s view.” Yeah. Interesting. I’m guessing that’s, they’re still married. It’s the, it’s his mom and dad, so it makes me think that the dad does not support how the wife is treating her. “Later during the family group photos, I jumped in between his parents and smiled for the camera, putting my arms around them both.”
Oh, that’s a ballsy move. I, girl, I love it. I love that. For you. I, that couldn’t be me. That could not be me. Oh, wow. She’s just like, we’re family now. I’m here. “They didn’t stay at the hotel afterward. Didn’t come to the bar that night and skipped breakfast the next morning. It was awful.” I need to know more about this husband and wife here.
“My husband was heartbroken. He came from a big family, yet not one of them celebrated with us. Oh, and before the wedding. When I asked Christina for a list of family addresses, she kept dodging me. When we finally asked his mom who she wanted to invite, she said, no one. So my family ended up being about 75% of the guest list. We separated 18 months after the wedding.” No, I did not see that coming. Okay, so we don’t know if the separation had to do with the wedding, but here are my guesses, just based on reading this. I feel like the pressure of the family got to be too much. We don’t know anything within their relationship, but she talks about them fighting a lot and this taking a toll on them.
And that’s the thing. That’s what they say is like when you marry into a family or you marry someone, you are marrying their family. I mean, obviously it depends on how close they’re with their family, how close the family lives, but. If you’re walking into something like this where they don’t like you right off the bat, they make you the villain.
No matter what you do, it’s gonna be hard and your partner has to, has to actively choose you every day over your family. And if they’re gonna make comments and they’re going to show up to your wedding, all wearing black and make negative, you know, comments about you, they’re better off just not coming.
And he has to be able to decide what’s more important to him. And again, we don’t know why they separated, but I would put big money on. It’s because of the family dynamic. He probably ultimately was like, ‘Hey, this isn’t gonna work. I can’t cut my family out. They don’t like you. We’re fighting all the time. I’m not happy, whatever that is. Um, I’m so sorry. I hope you find happiness’ and um, gosh, that. That’s like a stressful, stressful situation. Um, and I hope you guys are all, are you, you? I hope you guys are both better off now because of it. Um, and that, uh, you can both find, find happiness beyond that.
All right.Well that was, that was a wild story. It kind of reminded me of like Ferris and Sloan, for anyone that’s read it, um, the story that, that’s now my book. I’m not trying to push it on you, but, um, you know, like Kate not immediately not liking his, his girlfriend now fiance, now wife, um, just right off the bat and nothing they can do can, can fix it, but, spoiler alert, Ferris ultimately chooses Sloan because he sees that what his mom is doing is not right. So, I don’t know. I want you guys to weigh in though. Tell me what you guys think about the situation. What, what do you think happened? And, um, yeah, I’m, I’m curious. I’m curious about it.
Confessions, Chaos & Champagne Thieves: The Wildest Wedding Secrets Yet
All right. Last segment is our confessions. I know I don’t always do these, but I like to throw them in here every once in a while. These are confessions people send me on Instagram, so here we go. ” One bridesmaid. I regret asking pushed my maid of honor out from as many pictures as she could.” I’m wondering, do you regret asking this bridesmaid before or after this happened because. If you regretted it from the beginning, then it’s a sign that we should maybe just like dismiss people. Um, yikes. Yeah. I mean, I’ve heard of people like asking someone early on and later on being like, I think I should not have them in the wedding. And you know what? Let’s normalize it. It’s kind of like a job, right?
If you’re their boss and you hired them, if they’re no longer doing the work or just something’s not vi, you can be like, ‘Hey, I don’t think it’s gonna work anymore. Um, you know, maybe you can just come as a guest.’ ‘Cause that sounds like there’s already some issues there.
All right. “My husband had two best men. One punched the other because his girlfriend fell and helped her to stand.” That sounds like some real, um, I’m trying to say this in like a clean way. Small dick energy. Sorry. I’m just gonna say it.
What? Just because you’re the other best man helped your girlfriend because she fell, you’re that insecure that you have to punch him in the face. I would hope that if any of my girlfriends fell near my husband that he would help them up. And I think my friend’s, husbands and boyfriends and partners wouldn’t be mad about that.
This just reads like some really insecure guy. Okay. “Got kicked out and almost punched for refusing to hug someone.” What kinda weddings are we going to guys? No. What is happening here? I’m so sorry. Um, “groom’s aunt hip checked mother of bride’s best friend as the best friend was saying Goodbye.” Wow. These are some violent and touchy people.
“One of my guests peed in the venue driveway at my wedding.” Cool. “Didn’t know a winter wedding was outdoors and wore a cream jacket, looked like I wore white.” That’s hard when it’s like you have to wear a coat outside and you’re not thinking about it. Um, I’ve seen that happen and it’s, it’s innocent. I mean, if you’re wearing a coat and there’s photos outside, what are you supposed to do? I don’t know. It happens.
“Someone opened and drank a gifted bottle of champagne for our, from our gift table. We had an open bar.” That’s just rude. That sounds like someone was already drunk and thought it would be funny.
“Told another guest off for talking on the phone during the best man’s speech.” I mean, good for you. If someone’s calling you during a wedding reception, get out of there. Go outside. Like you don’t need to be sitting there taking a phone call. That’s just phone call. Et etiquette though, I honestly, I, one of my biggest, biggest pet peeves is when I’m at a grocery store or some kind of store checking out and the person next to me is checking out and they’re just blabbing on their phone.
Well, the person, the porch cashier is like, ‘hi, how are you? Thanks for shopping.’ Whatever. And they’re just talking like, ‘yeah, whatever. Bagot.’ I’m like, no, get off your phone. It’s not that hard. Um, but I’m also someone that’s never on my phone. Like, I hate talking on the phone with a, with a passion. Um, if someone’s calling me, I am, I am assuming it’s detrimental. Like someone’s in the hospital, it’s bad. I dunno if that’s, is that a millennial thing? Someone told me.
Okay. Last one. I know I’m having so much fun reading these. “The night before the wedding, these drunk girls woke us up being so loud, so I made of honor yelled at them.” You go, girl, sounds to me like you are in a hotel. These things happen. I just assume when I stay at a hotel, I’m found to get woken up by something, whether it’s a kid running down the hall, drunk, people getting home late. It just, it happens at hotels all the time. I don’t know if it just happens here and there. Sure. But I have been to somewhere. It’s like nonstop running down the hall, banging on doors, like, okay, like let’s calm down a little bit.
All right. Those are some wild confessions, wild story. Thanks for hanging out with me this week. If you love this episode, please do me a huge favor. Share it with a friend. Take a screenshot. Share it on your So socials, whatever it is, tag me. I love seeing it. I love seeing where you’re tuning in from, whether it’s on your commute while you’re working or just relaxing at night because apparently we’re a top leisure podcast.
Um, which is funny because people always comment how like, I help help, I dunno if it’s help’s the right word. I raise your blood pressure while sharing these stories. So I’m really sorry. Maybe I should start doing more like calming stories. Would you guys like that? So more like relaxing and calming, uh, you know.
Romantic comedy stories, we can mix it up and don’t forget to share the podcast by leaving a quick review. It’s the best way to help people discover the show. So if you have some suggestions or stories or a wedding dilemma you want me to cover, please submit them at the link in the show notes. I also have my Google form where you can submit wedding stories.
I have hundreds and hundreds that I’m. Slowly working my way through. Um, they help inspire many of the skits and stories that I share on my podcast and YouTube as well. But again, thanks for listening and I will see you next time. Bye now.
Venmo Requests, Demanding In-Laws & A Bride’s Outrageous Ask
What’s worse: your dad bailing on your wedding and then sending you a Venmo request for the deposit, or your mother-in-law going on vacation with his ex?
Yeah… welcome to this week’s chaos. I’m kicking things off with a brand new game: red flag vs. green flag wedding edition. Spoiler alert, locking up guest phones? HARD no. Then I’m diving headfirst into one of the messiest three-wedding family sagas you’ve ever heard. We’re talking divorces, mistresses, and family photos that should’ve come with a seating chart and a referee.
And of course, I wrap it up with your confessions, the kind that remind us all that where there’s a wedding, there’s always, always drama.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:22 Wedding 911 Situations
03:22 Dress Drama and Advice
05:26 Red Flag vs Green Flag: Wedding Edition
10:49 Wild Wedding Stories
16:57 Dress Shopping Drama
19:11 Mother-in-Law’s Bridal Shower Antics
20:44 Wedding Day Chaos
23:53 Three Weddings, One Family Drama
30:11 Confessions from Instagram
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Red Flag vs. Green Flag – We rapid-fire hot takes on wedding behaviors, from cash bars to late-night Taco Bell.
- The Phone Lock-Up Debate – Why banning phones is fine, but locking them away is a serious overstep.
- Dad’s Venmo Request – A father skips his daughter’s wedding… then asks for the venue money back. Seriously.
- Three Weddings, Endless Chaos – One family, three ceremonies, and a whole lot of awkward divisions.
- Mistress to Missus – The audacity of a dad marrying the woman he cheated with and expecting everyone to play along.
- The Peacekeeper Sister – Navigating sibling loyalties when parents’ drama overshadows the big day.
- Confessions Corner – Listeners spill about future in-laws inviting exes, surprise proposals, and engagement slip-ups.
- Storytelling Skits – Why I am ready to turn messy dad drama into my next viral skit.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Sometimes you don’t need a seating chart—you need a family tree just to keep up.” – Christa Innis
- “It’s not my favorite flag, but it’s not red either. Maybe it’s beige?” – Christa Innis
- “You skipped the wedding and then sent a Venmo request? Sir, be serious.” – Christa Innis
- “Locking up phones at a wedding? No. I need to know if my kid is still alive.” – Christa Innis
- “Whoever invented late-night wedding snacks deserves a Nobel Prize.” – Christa Innis
*This conversation is for entertainment and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please seek a licensed professional for your specific situation.
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi guys. Welcome back to another episode of, Here Comes The Drama. I’m your host Christa, or if you can see me right now, Jules, if you can’t see me, I am wearing the outfit from the I don’t crew. the character Jewels. So that’s the problem sometimes with, between these skits is then I associate these shirts with different characters and.
I like, every time I like pick it up, I’m like, oh, that’s that one character from that skit. That’s how I feel about the Ferris and Sloan shirt. Like I’ve barely worn it outside of that skit now, because I feel like if I wear it somewhere, it feels like I’m, I don’t know, secretly like promoting the book and I’m not trying to, it’s funny how I just connect it anyways.
What a way to start the episode. kind of just jump in right in like that. Welcome back for another episode of some crazy stories that we are gonna get into in just a minute. Try to switch things up because I like to keep things interesting. We’re gonna start off this week with we’re gonna call them wedding 9 1 1 Situations that people have sent me as a new segment.
And, from time to time people send me, on social media some things they’re going through. Maybe they’re in a wedding, maybe it’s a friend situation. And I’m no expert, but I’m just gonna give you my own personal advice, from the hot seat here, I guess. So if you wanna send me any of your own wedding 9 1 1, you can email me at hello@christainnis.com and use the subject line wedding 9 1 1.
So let’s dive into these.
Wedding 911: Honeymoon Bills & Bridesmaid Dress Drama
This first one says, “My bride friend just announced she wants the bridal party to chip in to cover her honeymoon. What? As a gift on top of dresses, travel, and the shower. This feels like too much. I just wanna be supportive, but I also don’t wanna go broke.” Yeah, that’s pretty, it’s pretty normal.
” How do I set a boundary without causing a fallout?” Okay. I feel like we’ve talked about this a lot of times before on the podcast. If a friend is asking you to do too much, like having you pay for the honeymoon is not a normal thing for a bridesmaid. You should not have to pay anything for the wedding.
Yes. You know, if you wanna go to a bachelorette party, sure. Depending on the person. Sometimes the dress you’ll pay for shoes. But those should be communicated ahead of time. The honeymoon you are not even a part of this is the new bride in groom. This is their trip to handle and take care of. If they can’t afford it, they shouldn’t go on one.
Now if they do one of those like honeymoon funds and you wanna chip in on that, sure. If you give ’em a gift of the wedding and they use part of that, sure. But it should not be a standard. It should not be like you have to as a bridesmaid, pay for this if she doesn’t understand and. She tells you like, this is what you have to do.
I’d say, okay, well I’m gonna set this one out and if she says, don’t come to my wedding, then you say, all right, well we had a good run. Again, it’s always easier from the outside, but that is a ridiculous request for someone to have.
Okay. Next. Dress drama. “The bride picked bridesmaid, a bridesmaid dress color that looks terrible on me. It completely washes me out. I asked if I could wear the same dress in a slightly different shade, but she said no, because she wants perfectly matching pictures. Do I just suck it up for one day or is it fair to push back?” Okay. It’s gonna ultimately depend on your relationship and how important this person is to you? Me, personally, I would just suck it up. I’ve worn so many dresses that wash me out. I’m a very pale person. I don’t do spray tan. I don’t do tanning anymore. So I’m pale. I’ve had to wear dresses that were like. Really, really light pink. I’ve had to wear dresses that were like a top and they end up looking, they look fine.
Like once you get your hair and makeup done, it works. It’s fine. I would never tell a bride to pick a different bridesmaid dress. That’s me personally. if you’re not super close, maybe just be like, this isn’t for me. But if you agreed to be in their wedding because you care about them and they care about you. I’d say just suck it up for a day. If you’re gonna match all the other girls, it’s gonna look fine. it’ll be great. I think dress color is one thing where like I’d be like, suck it up. If it’s a style, maybe that makes you uncomfortable, maybe it’s like a backless dress or really low cutting or form fitting, and you’re like, I don’t like that for my body, then that’s something I think I could push back a little more on and be like, “Hey, I’m not comfortable in that
dress.” A color? I don’t know. Tell me what you guys think, but for me, I wouldn’t push back.
Okay. Like I said, we’re gonna start doing these from time to time, so if you have a dilemma or something that you want addressed, email me. hello@kristaennis.com and use the subject line wedding 9 1 1. You can also use my same Google form and just select, there’s a different option there. You can, filter it through. \
I do get dms on social media. It’s just like, it’s so hard because they’re not filtered through. So if I read it and I’m like, it’s a busy day and I don’t forget to unmark it or mark it up, then I lose the story and then it’s gone. I’ll be like, oh my gosh. Someone sent me a really good story and I just completely forget. So if I see one in there, I’ll send you guys the link and I’ll be like, “Hey, this is a great story. Can you just send it to me in the Google form?”
Red Flag or Green Flag? The Wedding Edition
Okay. Next up, this next segment is going to be called. Red flag versus green flag wedding edition. So we’ve been doing the hot takes lately on the rapid fire. So this is like a new kind of style of that.
“Bride asked bridesmaids to dye their hair for the wedding.” That’s a red flag. No, we don’t need to do that. This is quick, quick, quick, quick.
“Mother-in-law insists on wearing white because it’s her son’s day too.” No red flag. “Couple charges? Yes. For drinks at a cash bar?” Well, a cash bar is charge. So are we just saying, is it cash bar, red flag? I wouldn’t say that’s a red flag. It’s not my favorite flag, but I wouldn’t say it’s red. It’s not a green flag though.
Okay. “A groom’s friend proposes during the reception.” Red flag.
“Couple doesn’t allow plus ones unless you’re engaged or married.” I get it, but I’m gonna lean more towards red flag because an engagement or marriage does not determine the relationship. I could hear, I could see maybe like if you’re like long-term relationships, you’ve been together over a year. But you could be together for a week and get engaged. So I just, I’m not someone that’s like, engagement means they’re like solid. I mean, marriage doesn’t always mean that either. So yeah, I would say that’s a red flag.
“Bridesmaid drops out a week before the wedding because of cost that’s a green flag I think. I don’t know if it’s be, should be a green or a red flag. It’s not a red flag because if she cannot afford something, like maybe just too many things are adding up. She felt empowered enough or strong enough to be able to drop out. I think that’s a green flag. Hopefully it doesn’t affect the bride and they’re just, they can move on past it and they’re okay. but. I wouldn’t say that’s a red flag at all. If someone came to me and they’re like, I can’t afford to be in your wedding, I would be like, what can I do to keep you in the wedding? Let’s like nix this. How can I help with this? I just want you to be a part of it. I don’t care about the cost.
“Couple has a phone free ceremony and locks up guest phones.” That’s a red flag. Phone free ceremony. Yes, absolutely. Put the phones away. They have professional photographers. Just don’t have it out. Please, listen. But locking up a guest phone is a red flag because here’s the thing, as a mom, and just in case of emergency, I feel like people should be able to have their phones on them. That just sounds to me like you don’t trust someone that’s coming to your wedding you are like, we’re locking up everybody’s phone. Like, no, let’s not do that.
” Parents of the bride invite extra guests without telling the couple.” Red flag.
” Best man roasts the bride in his speech.” Red flag, unless he’s equally roasting. Yeah, that’s a red flag. And you’re like, good friends.
“Couple serves fast food like Taco Bell or Chick-fil-A as a late night snack.” That’s a green flag. I love when I’m at a wedding and they have a late night snack and it’s like Wendy’s or Pizza or Taco Bell. I went to one one time and it was in this really cool, like old, I don’t even remember what it was, not a museum. I just remember the structure was so cool. Like there was up the stairs and then like the different like rooms or the different, I’m describing this so poorly. It was in Ohio. The different rooms were like had different things in it. So like one room would have a late night snack, one would have dancing, then there was dancing downstairs. It was just like a cool old building. And I remember them mentioning a late night snack and I kept trying to find where it was and I ended up missing it. And I was like, what was the late night snack? And they were like, it was curly fries and like Wendy’s frosties. And I was like, oh, that sounds amazing. Right now I’m all for late snack. Whoever came up with it and started doing that. Thank you. I remember the first wedding I was at that had one. I was like, what? What’s happening right now? What are, why are we getting late night food? Okay. I don’t always finish my dinner. Like, it depends on what’s going on, but like, there’s so much going on that day, so I just get hungry later on. So late night snacks good.
One more thing I forgot to mention earlier. If you guys didn’t know, I now post these all on YouTube and I know like I’m not one to sit and watch a full video on YouTube that’s like, over. 10 minutes. But it’s a great place to go for discussion. So if I ever like, bring something up in the conversation here, or you wanna give some feedback on something, or you have a question about something or you wanna like add more to the discussion, please go to YouTube and comment, because I feel like there’s so many times when I’m listening to podcasts that I’m like, where can I like say my thoughts on the matter? And like talk to other people about it. So please do that. I love seeing the discourse. I pop in the comments all the time to see what’s going on, and I love seeing what you guys have to say.
The Mother-in-Law Who Made the Wedding All About Herself
All right, guys, we’ve got two stories today, so let’s get into them before I able too much, because these are wild. Okay. Story #1.
“My fiance and I had been together for four years when he proposed. Since my dad passed away, he moved in with me less than a year into our relationship. So we were serious about building a life together from the start. My relationship with his mom was okay. At first, we’re just different people. Personality wise, she’s loud and extroverted, and I’m more introverted and struggle with loud environments. About a year before he proposed, she kept making more passive aggressive comments towards me. Ooh, okay. I brought this up to my fiance and when things got worse, he asked her about it. Her only explanation was that I was rude because I looked at my phone while playing a 1980s Trivial Pursuit game. She insisted we play. Wait, what? She got mad ’cause you looked at your phone. She forced me to join so the teams would be even I hadn’t wanted to play. So during the long turns, I scrolled social media and did some online shopping.”
Oh my gosh. So she considers that rude. That’s like a generational thing too, though. Like the judgment for being on the phone. I know it’s hard sometimes, like you pick up your phone, you wanna like scroll social media, different generations see that as rude. I personally don’t like when I’m somewhere with someone and they start picking up their phone. I’m like, excuse me, I’ll, I’ll keep talking when you’re done. Like, it’s kind of awkward, but if there’s a big group of people and you just pick up your phone here and there and look at it. Sure. Again, I’m not criticizing this person. I’m just saying personally, if I was playing and I kept noticing someone look at their phone, I’d be like, am I boring you?
“Most of her comments revolved around me making him do things that we already had mutually agreed on. At first, I just ignored it. When he proposed, we were so excited to start planning because of my dad’s passing, I had some inheritance money. We decided, I used part of it for the wedding, so it’d feel like my dad was helping pay and we cover the rest ourselves. We never asked anyone for money, nor did we share this detail with our families. We toured a local event center. With my mom and his parents. The venue handled tables, chairs, linens, food, and bartending, a perfect low stress package. We signed the contract and put down a deposit.” I love, lemme just say, I love when it like a venue is like, we’re gonna do this, this, this, and this. You don’t have to like go to a hundred different vendors. “ A few weeks later, my fiance came home after visiting his parents. His mom had told him, just so you know, we’re not putting any money down for the wedding, so don’t expect us to.“
Don’t you love that, like aggressive, like coming at you? Like I have seen this happen so many times in these stories, where people just like go after somebody. And it’s wild because it’s like. They’re thinking, they’re expecting them to give them money and it’s like they haven’t said one thing about that.
“He explained that we’re paying for everything ourselves and had never asked them for anything. His dad chimed in saying they just wanted him to be aware. Weird, but we shrugged it off. Okay. I later found a bridal expo and thought it would be a great chance to explore vendors. Since my maid of honor lived outta state, I invited my mom and my two other bridesmaids, my fiance and his mom to help her feel included.” See, this is where I’m always like. I feel bad for these brides ’cause I get it. That’s gotta be really uncomfortable. ’cause you’re like, I want her to feel included. This is a special time. But if she’s already making weird comments to you and about the wedding, I don’t have high hopes for her coming to your dress shopping, that’s all. Okay.
“We drove into cars, my bridesmaids road with my mom. I went with my fiance and his mom.” Wait. Oh, this is a bridal expo. Okay, got it. I was, I don’t know why I was thinking it was like a dress fitting. Okay. ” On the way she started grilling him about who he planned to invite from his side. When he mentioned a cousin he recently connected with, she snapped. You can’t invite him. Take him off the list. I told my fiance he should be able to fight who he wants. But to appease his mom, he agreed to leave the cousin out.” I, they already said straight up, they’re not helping with anything. They’re not paying for anything, so they cannot dictate who you’re inviting to the wedding. And if you are close to someone, you should be able to invite them. Like, that’s ridiculous. Oh my gosh.
“At the expo, she immediately grew, grew annoyed at how slow we were moving through the crowded rows. She kept rushing ahead, arms crossed, waiting against the walls. My fiance went to stand with her so she wouldn’t be alone, which forced my bridesmaid to drag him back whenever I was mid-conversation with vendors.” Yeah, because then she’s making it all about her, so now they’re not even focusing on their wedding and the vendors, she’s just being annoyed. “We found out. We found some promising vendors, silk flowers, rentals, and hair and makeup team. When I mentioned these, she loudly criticized them. ‘I don’t know why people wear makeup anyway, I didn’t at my wedding, and it was such a waste of money to hire someone.'”
This is someone that’s just gonna find something negative about everything. Either she doesn’t support their marriage or their relationship, she’s unhappy with her own wedding, or she’s just unhappy with her life in general. So she’s gonna critique every single thing that she does.
“For context, I have eczema and acne, so I rarely wear more than concealer and foundation for my wedding. I wanted to feel extra special.” As you should, girl. “She also dismissed the silk flowers as cheap. Even after my fiance reminded her, she hadn’t seen the particular booth we liked.” Just making judgements again. “On the way to lunch afterwards, she called his younger brother and bribed him with a free meal to join. The moment he arrived, she focused entirely on him ignoring my bridesmaids and any vendor talk.”
So she’s like just shutting them out. This is such common behavior in these stories. I see. Um, both with shutting out the wedding planning, critiquing anything that they don’t like. It is making the bride feel bad or awkward about ever bringing up the wedding. And then on the other side of things, the sibling picking favorites. I just read another story about this last week where it was sisters and they were picking favorites and then the famous me and Tina skit, and now it’s doing the same thing. Oh, own invite brother to our lunch. And I’m just gonna completely ignore you guys now.
“Months later, I scheduled wedding dress shopping for when my sister would be in town. I texted his mom and my mom the details. His mom replied that she added it to her calendar, so I didn’t send a reminder. The day arrived and after our family vacation.” I know this going and I’m trying not to laugh. “My bridesmaid’s mom and I headed to the boutique soon after my fiance called his dad, told him his mom had skipped it to take his brother’s graduation pictures. My fiance gently scolded me for not reminding her, even though she said she had it on her calendar.”
That hurt. Yeah, she’s an adult. Like it’s also the relationship thing. Like for example, like I told my mom and my mother-in-law like, Hey, this is the date. For dress shopping? Are you guys both free? They both were. They put it on their calendar, but I talked to them multiple times before then, so it would come up. My mother-in-law would call me like we would talk about it. Same with my mom. Like so like it would come up in conversation, but if it’s somebody I don’t talk to a lot, they are adults. If she, if she said, Hey, I put it in my calendar, trust, trust that. If she had a question about it, she can ask. For her to then be like, oh, I’m taking your brother’s graduation photos. Mm, I don’t know. I think it was on purpose. Um.
“We ended up finding the dress at, I dunno why I said it like that, the dress at the first shop, but kept a second appointment just in case. To our shock, his mom showed up at the second boutique, even though she previously said she wasn’t coming.” So she knew .She either knew or the fiance, because I’m wondering if he scolded the bride later or if he like called her and was like, uh, my mom’s not there. You needed to call her, blah, blah, blah, blah. So maybe he gave the address and was like, you need to go. But to me it sounds like the mom just didn’t wanna go to the first appointment. “To our shock… she immediately criticized the gowns as cheap and called my favorite one plain.” Ew. I don’t like that at all. Again, she’s being so rude during this whole like engagement, stop inviting her to things. “My bridal party was furious.” I wonder if anyone like stuck up for, stood up for her and said something. ’cause I feel like my friends would not be able to bite their tongue. Again, I’ve talked about before. I have an amazing mother-in-law. She would never, but I’m just trying to picture like if there was a scenario where one of my, or one of my friend’s mother-in-laws said something, I think we would say something. I don’t think we could just stand there and be like, watch it happen. That would be terrible.
“My bridal party was furious Afterwards, she declined our dinner invitation, telling my fiance later she wasn’t invited at all.” Of course, she’s gonna be the victim. “My sister planned my bridal shower and we invited his mom’s friends too. Only one RSVP.” Yes, which upset her. “A week before the shower, my fiance told, his mom told me his mom complained. I had excluded her from planning. I reminded him that my sister was handling everything. When he relayed that to his mom, she suddenly claimed she was too busy to help anyway.”
This is that victim mentality. They’re gonna find something wrong or find like a way to whine or cry about everything. It’s like, and she’s putting her, her son, the fiance in the middle of everything, saying like, oh, they didn’t include me when they actually did. And then when he says that, he’s like, oh, I’m way too busy for that. Come on.
“On the day she and her mother sat in their car until five minutes before the party. During the shower, she kept mostly to herself. Her gift to me was a Yelp printout for a quirky nail boutique specializing in anime designs. Interesting, sweet in theory, but not at all practical since we were leaving for our honeymoon the next day.” This is wild. “Later, she scheduled a nail appointment for just the two of us without asking me. Then backed out saying she’d bring a friend instead.” What? So she gets you a nail gift certificate for your bridal shower? Then she says, here, I booked a nail appointment for us, and now she can’t go. This woman is wild. How do you, I don’t know how people deal with this.
“His parents agreed to pay for the rehearsal dinner, but his mom still complained about the officiant not attending. He was never supposed to for a co per contract.” I don’t think they typically do. “At the restaurant, she boasted about the very expensive cookies she brought on the wedding day things escalated. She barged into the bridal suite demanding the photographer document a gift from the groom, which delayed our timeline.” I am shaking my head if you’re listening. “Later, she wandered around with her own DSLR camera.” No. Why? Why does she think she’s a photographer now? “Taking photos during our first dance and other moments, even though we had professionals hired.” And you don’t wanna do that either because your flash can throw out the other photographer’s flash. You could be in the background, you could be in the way, like leave it to the professionals. “Our photographer cropped her out whenever possible, but the videographer couldn’t avoid her.” Also, doesn’t she wanna like interact with people while she had a camera? “She also camped out at her reception table with plastic water bottles and spent much of the night at the photo booth with her friends rather than celebrating with us. The next day, I logged into Facebook to see that she’d already posted dozens of wedding photos. Most of them were herself. Out of nearly 50 pictures, I appeared in about seven.” I am laughing ’cause this is just so ridiculous. Like you’re telling me she makes this big stink about the whole wedding. Has to make the whole thing about her. Then on the wedding day, instead of actually just enjoying it and being present, she’s carrying around this huge DSLR camera, taking all these photos as if she’s a second hired photographer, and then posting it all to Facebook without the bride. It’s wild. Oh my gosh.
“Looking back, his mom’s need for attention overshadowed so many parts of the process. My fiance often excused it, wanting to keep her happy, but it left me feeling excluded and disrespected at multiple points.” I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. If it comes to the point where your mom is making you choose between the two and you can’t choose your new wife. You’re more concerned about making her happy than you’ve already lost. You’re already not choosing your wife, so why are you marrying her? I, I just, I don’t get that, like she, the mom wants like this battle to happen. She wants to like see that her son is still loyal to her, but at the end of the day, like he chose to marry this new person. That’s terrible.
“The wedding itself was beautiful, but her behavior is something I will never forget.” I’m so sorry to this bride and it sucks when you like. Those are the memories then that you have of your wedding day, and I’m sure it hasn’t gotten better now that they’re married. I’m sure it has not gotten better. This mother-in-law is going to still be doing things to be passive aggressive, to be rude, to put her down. All because the girl was scrolling on her phone during game night. Like there, these needs to be researched in a lab somewhere. I don’t know, like I don’t know where this comes from that they get so up in arms or so offended when their son finds someone to marry. I don’t know where this comes from. We need another therapist to come on here and talk about it.
Three Weddings, One Messy Family Tree
Okay, next one. Oh gosh. Okay. Three weddings, one family drama. This story actually involves three weddings. “I grew up in the same neighborhood as this family and was close friends with the youngest daughter. She and her older sister split their time between their dad and stepmom’s house and their mom’s. The stepmom also had two kids from a previous relationship, so it was a blended household. About a year, about a year and a half ago, the older sister got engaged around the same time it came out that their dad was cheating on the stepmom, which led to a nasty divorce.“ Okay. The stepmom and her kids all cut him off, and so did the older sister.
“The younger sister was the only one still trying to keep some peace, and that’s the one that’s friends with the op.” A lot of characters here. And this is why, sorry, this is a side note, but this is why like when I do skits and people are like, I need the next part, I need the next part. I’m like, I don’t wanna complicate it too much by adding all these other characters. ‘Cause I did that before and people were like, who’s who? Who’s that? And it just gets it. It’s hard in these skits and this is why I need to read this one first. Okay. Um.
“Originally, the dad was invited to the older sister’s wedding, but he threw a fit when he found out the stepmom might be there and demanded to bring his new partner instead.” God, hopefully it wasn’t the one that he cheated with. I mean, it’s awkward either way ’cause it was a nasty divorce. But if he is like, Hey, this is the mistress.
Like what are we doing here? “When the bride told him his new partner wasn’t welcome, he refused to attend.” So you’re choosing this new partner over your daughter’s wedding or stepdaughter’s wedding. “She finally uninvited him altogether at the wedding. Their mom walked down the aisle at the wedding, their mom walked. The bride down the aisle, and both the younger sister and the former stepsister were bridesmaids. Afterward, the dad had the audacity to send the bride a venmo request asking for the, asking for reimbursement for the venue deposit. He contributed she ignored it.” This dad is something else. We need a skit about that because I feel like too many times, like these skits are focused on moms and mothers in-law. I’m sorry guys. I am really sorry for that because I, I don’t mean it to be that way. I just get, most of the stories are about moms and I, I don’t mean for it. So I need a dad story. We need to skit about this because this is a really shitty thing to do. Really shitty thing to do. He ultimately chose his new girlfriend over his wife and kids. I get the divorce was nasty, but you need to put your kids first. He is like, pay me back for the venue. I’m like, not, it’s not her fault. You didn’t show up.
“A month later, the dad married the woman he cheated with. The divorce papers from the second marriage were finalized only 24 hours before his wedding.” So it was the woman he cheated with that he wanted to bring to the wedding. Can you imagine the audacity to not even see how badly you screwed up? You ripped apart your family by cheating on your, on your, your wife, um, of how many years and then wanting to bring her to your daughter’s wedding. Actually, stepdaughter’s wedding. What? This guy’s lost his mind.
The only guests were her. The only guests were two of her kids. The younger daughter wasn’t invited, which upset her, but her dad brushed it off by saying she lived too far away about four hours and he didn’t think she could make it. Okay. Wedding #3.
“Just this past weekend was the younger sister’s wedding. I was in the bridal party along with her fiance’s sister, her biological sister. Two new stepsisters from the dad’s third marriage and a cousin.” Okay. So we’re talking, oh wow. This is like a nice, okay, that like biological sister, the peacekeeper, we’ll call her. I don’t have names for her. So really nice to include her dad’s mistress kids. I mean, I guess this his new wife now, but that’s wild to include them. Okay. “The bride had invited her former stepmom and step siblings, but they weren’t a part of the bridal party.” So she included, and unless I’m understanding incorrectly, she included the new stepsisters from the dad’s third marriage, but not the former. Step siblings who she’s known a lot longer. Okay. I guess it’s all about relationship and you, you choose who you want in your wedding. It’s ultimately up to you, but that’s wild. Uh, okay. Okay. “Her mom and her mom’s partner were also there. Her biological sister serving as maid of honor, still wasn’t speaking to their dad. It was out of question, the most awkward wedding I’ve ever, ever attended. The dad walked the bride down the aisle, but the former stepmom and step-siblings weren’t included in photos and left after cocktail hour. I later heard this was prearranged. The bride wouldn’t be upset.” Oh, that sucks. That’s really sad. “During family photos, the division was almost comical. Bride and groom were in the center mom with her partner and their son, and the older sister with her husband on one side, dad and his new wife and her kids on the other. The older sister was treated as part of mom’s side, and there were no photos of both sisters with their dad. He and the older sister still don’t speak to this day and they didn’t speak the entire day. The dad’s new wife seemed to be scrambling to play catch up socially, meeting extended family for the first time, while also trying to coexist with his ex-wife’s families.”
I wanna hear our story, like I want her to send in what happened here, like if my head, it feels like scrambled eggs right now from all of this, I can only imagine. What actually happened and, and you guys listening like, are, am I too confused? Are you guys confused? There are so many people here. Okay. “She ends with the bride, looked happy at the end of it all, which is the most important thing. But from the outside, the balancing act of divorce, parents, ex stepparents, half siblings and new partners made it painfully awkward to witness.” Uh, I hate that. I hate when you hear about like these messy divorces and the parents then make it more about themselves. It sounds like the, um, ex like stepmother, um, sounded like she was willing to like, make it work, but the dad is just, sounds terrible. Um, I’ve been in multiple weddings where there’s children of divorce and they make it work. They’re still hugging, they’re friends. They get along, they, and it’s not like they’re hanging out outside of it. They just make it work for the sake of their kids in a beautiful day. It’s not that hard to brush it aside for one day. It’s not about you, it’s about the bride and groom. And that’s it. The couple getting married.
All right, guys. Well, those were two completely wild stories. Thanks for listening, and hopefully, I mean, we might need a family tree after this. I don’t know, but this was wild.
Mother-in-Law on Vacation With the Ex?
All right, let’s end this episode with some confessions that you guys sent me over on Instagram again. Every single Friday we ask you guys to send us your confessions. They have to do. All kinds of things. Engagements, dating, uh, relationships, weddings, proposals, honeymoons, you name it. So send them to us. Okay. This first one says.
“My mother-in-law would invite his ex over or go on vacation with her after we got engaged.” Oh, no. This is the one that needs to let go of the past. This, I would, I don’t think I would do well with that. Uh, I don’t think most people would. I need to know now. Where are you guys? Are you guys engaged still? Are you married? Does his ex still come around? What is his relationship with the ex? What is his relationship with his mom? Is, is he like setting up a boundary? Because that’s weird to me that the mother-in-law’s going on vacation with her. That’s, that’s very inappropriate to me. Okay.
Was that intentional or was that like an accident? Because there’s been times where like my husband’s included in a group chat or I am and the other isn’t included, and you talk to them later and they either are like, oh, I didn’t mean to do that.
Or, um, it was for a different reason. Or, I don’t know, like, maybe it’s not that deep, but maybe it is that deep. I don’t know. It is weird to not include the bride in a text about her wedding. That’s like the one where the mother-in-law posted photos. Um, I think it was from their engagement and then, um, purposely like, what was it? She, I think either cropped out the bride. No, she, yeah, she cropped out the bride and then only tagged the son in the photos, so that was intentional.
Okay. This last one says, “I knew he was going to propose, but he still doesn’t know that.” Wait. “I knew he was going to propose, but he still doesn’t know that. Married for four years with two kids.“ Okay. Why was I, okay, tell me why I read that. Like he doesn’t know that I’ve been married for four years with two kids. I’ve been reading too many like crazy confessions that I was literally thought she was like confessing to us a deep, dark secret that she’s been married for four years with two kids. Okay. She knew that he was going to propose, like she, somehow the secret was out. She knew that he was gonna propose and she’s not telling him four years later with two kids, all right, I got you. I got you. That’s not that wild. I think that probably happens a lot. You want them to feel good about their surprise, so you’re not gonna say anything.
Um, like I’ve talked about before, I knew my, I knew like we were gonna get engaged soon. I didn’t know when it was gonna happen, so I was completely surprised when it did happen. Um. But I wasn’t like, whoa, we’ve never talked about marriage before. This is weird. So I knew it was kind of coming. Um, yeah.
Well, thanks guys. Those were some pretty wild stories today. As always, if you want more content or more crazy stories, join my email newsletter we send out. We send out emails every single Thursday and we like to call them stories from the Vault. So you’ll get some other stories that we don’t share anywhere else. ’cause I get so many stories, um, every single week. Like right now there’s probably 400 plus. I don’t even know, I haven’t looked at the full doc in a long time. Um, stories and situations and segments and questions that have been sent to me, um, we’re just working on their way out. So, uh, lots of different. Ways and places that I’m sharing them right now.
So thank you guys for listening. And um, you guys, I think I just had like a complete, like brain burst. I’ve been like, I feel like I’ve been pulled in so many directions. I think we all feel that. I don’t know what it, what’s going on, but there’s just so much going on right now that my brain sometimes is just like, I completely just had a brain pause. I don’t even know what you wanna call it, but thank you guys for hanging out with me.
Um. Okay. Thank you so much for hanging out with me this week. As a reminder, you can order my new book, here comes The Drama, a Ferris and Sloan story on. Amazon, Cobo, Barnes and Noble, Ingram Sparks, and many other places. You can find all the links in the show notes. Um, and don’t forget to tag me on social media. I’d love to hear your reviews, see where you’re reading it, um, and share it with a friend because the more people that read it or see about it, because the more people that read it or hear about it, um, just warms my heart, makes me happy.
All right guys. That’s all I have this week. Thanks for hanging out with me. Don’t forget, you now order my brand new book. I guess it’s not brand new anymore, but you could order my book. Here comes the Drama Affairs and Sloan story. Um, Amazon Cobo, Barnes and Noble, Ingram Spark and many other places. The details are in the show notes. I’m currently working on book number two, so that’s been a lot of fun to work on.
Um. I need to work on focusing a little bit more, but I’m excited because I’m taking the storyline that was on social media and like really deep diving it and adding a lot more that was not there before. So if you guys want first dibs or if you guys want some s some more sneak peeks into the book, make sure you’re on my email list.
All right guys. That’s all I got for you this week and I’ll see you next time. Bye now.
Makeup Artist Drama, Reality TV, and Toxic Bridesmaid Who Ruins the Wedding with Antoinette
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
What kind of bridesmaid shows up in white to your bridal shower… with her mom in a matching “bride” sash?
Christa and Antoinette start off with some fun chatter about Antoinette’s heroic job before jumping into the wild tale of Erica, the bridesmaid who just couldn’t stand not being the center of attention. From sulking on a pontoon boat to hijacking the bridal shower, her jealousy turned every moment into a spectacle.
This episode is full of outrageous behavior, red flags in friendships, and lessons on boundaries, jealousy, and protecting your peace while planning your big day.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:59 Discovering Antoinette on TikTok
02:25 Balancing Nursing and TikTok
03:27 First Viral Content: Love Island
05:03 Reality TV and Pop Culture Commentary
06:14 The Rise of Love Is Blind
10:42 TikTok Drama and Content Creation
25:22 Nursing Career and Personal Insights
28:30 Wedding Stories and Hot Takes
41:55 Unexpected Skit Request
42:22 Reality TV and Bridal Parties
43:00 Wedding Expectations and Realities
45:44 Rapid Fire Wedding Questions
49:52 Wild Wedding Story: Erica’s Drama
01:09:58 Reflecting on Toxic Friendships
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Jealous Bridesmaid – Erica sulks during a boat ride after hearing about her friend’s engagement, igniting a downward spiral of jealousy.
- Disrespectful Comments – The moment Erica’s jealousy flares when she makes a rude comment about the bride’s proposal ring.
- Bridal Shower Drama – Erica shows up in white at the bride’s bridal shower, making the event all about herself.
- Bachelorette Trip Tantrum – Erica and her boyfriend’s constant complaints and early departure from the bachelorette weekend.
- Bridal Shower Exit – Erica leaves the shower early with an excuse, hinting at deeper unresolved issues.
- Blocked & Uninvited – After a final confrontation, Erica blocks the bride and bridesmaids, effectively ending the friendship.
- Red Flags & Final Decisions – The bride reflects on the red flags in Erica’s behavior and why she should have cut ties earlier.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Some friendships are just meant to be a chapter, not the whole book.” – Christa Innis
- “When a bridesmaid makes it all about herself, that’s a red flag bigger than your wedding dress.” – Christa Innis
- “Jealousy isn’t the problem, how you act on it is what matters.” – Christa Innis
- “Your wedding is for celebration, not for managing other people’s insecurities.” – Christa Innis
- “If a friend’s making your big day miserable, it might be time to reconsider the friendship.” – Christa Innis
- “Jealousy is just information. How you handle it is the real test.” – Antoinette
- “If you’re not happy for your friend, maybe it’s time for some self-reflection.” – Antoinette
- “A true friend would never make your moment about their own issues.” – Antoinette
- “There’s no timeline for happiness. Every couple moves at their own pace.” – Antoinette
- “At the end of the day, it’s your wedding. Not a competition.” – Antoinette
*This conversation is for entertainment and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please seek a licensed professional for your specific situation.
About Antoinette:
Meet Antoinette (@msrazzledazzle), your reality TV and pop culture bestie. With over 37K followers and 3.2 million likes on TikTok, she’s built a vibrant community around her sharp takes, playful commentary, and unapologetic love for all things drama. From Love Island to Black Mirror, Antoinette dives into the juiciest corners of reality TV with wit, warmth, and a dash of razzle-dazzle. Whether she’s spilling tea or breaking down the latest season of Summer House, she brings a voice that’s both relatable and razor-sharp.
Follow Antoinette:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi Antoinette. Thank you for coming on.
Antoinette: Hi. Excited to have, thank you for having me. I was gonna say, excited to have you.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: Thank you.
Christa Innis: I have been so, I’ve, I’ve been so guilty of saying stuff like that. Like I remember years ago going to like the movie theater and asking them like, or no, you order like food or something, and they’re like, enjoy your movie.
And you’re like, thanks, you too.
Antoinette: Yeah, right.
It’s just like you’re on autopilot a lot of times. You’re like, oh, you too. Oh, you too.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. It literally happens all the time. I’m just like, yeah. And it’s funny now, like my daughter’s too, but there’s times where I’m like, oh, um. Like, what was, how, I don’t even, I’ll ask a question. She just goes, good. And I’m like, well, that’s like if someone says, how are you? But it’s just like, it’s funny.
Anyways, thank you for coming on. I’m excited to have you here. Um, I know we were talking before that I just, I, I found you on TikTok. I love your content, your banter, if you will. Um, and I think that’s just like perfect for this, um, for this podcast.
Um, so you are a labor and delivery nurse by day and you banter about pop culture at night. I mean, I don’t know if it’s necessarily at night. Tell us a little more about yourself. You, and, um, I’d love to hear more.
Antoinette: I am a day nurse. ’cause you know, there are some people who only do night shifts. I am, I’m a day girly.
Okay. I can’t, I can’t do the night shift stuff. So I am a labor and delivery nurse by day, but we do like 12 hour shifts, so I’m not working every day, but I do. Um, so it’s basically like three to four days a week that I am a labor and delivery nurse. And then basically at night or the days I have off, I do, um.
Or if I have a break or more of my breaks if I try to fit it in there, you know?
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Um, but yeah, that’s, um, then I’ll do my TikTok stuff, which, um, I actually only started a year ago. Um, my fiance was like, I loved watching reality tv, and then I was always searching for other people’s takes and stuff, and then also like calling my friends and being like, oh my God, da da da dah.
And then also telling him like, um, because he also watches with me now, so like, then I’m like, oh my God, blah, blah, blah. And he’s like, well, I mean, you’re always searching for it. You’re always watching people’s takes. Like, why don’t you like, do your own? And I was like, mm-hmm. Okay. Like, yeah, why not? So.
Christa Innis: Yes.
Antoinette: Yeah. And then it, the really fun.
The Reality TV Chaos Behind the Scenes
Christa Innis: What was, what was the first like, show or thing in pop culture that like either really took off or the first like content you made about, do you remember?
Antoinette: So the first content I made about was actually Love Island season six.
Christa Innis: Oh, okay.
Antoinette: Yeah. And uh, it honestly like, really, ’cause I was getting really revved up because I felt like people were like really misunderstanding Serena and being like, oh, she doesn’t like Cordell.
And I was like, I think she does, I think she’s just like really protecting herself. Um, and so then I I, I was like feeling fired up about it and I was like, okay, fine, I’m gonna do it on this one. Um, but I feel like something that, like, I feel the season it wasn’t Love Island that like, I think really spearheaded things.
Like, for me, like, I think I got a lot of exposure during The Love Is Blind DC um,
Christa Innis: Ooh, I’m trying, yeah. I, I watched Love Is Blind. Trying to remember who, who was on that one.
Antoinette: Um, uh, Lier. Uh, we call him. I, um, Tyler, is it Tyler? I feel like I’m not, I only call him Lier, but like, because he lied. Oh my God. He like had those three children and it was like, there was all this drama about like, um, how he had these two children, but he called them sper donors and then his fiance like, believed him and like there was all like, and then his baby mama came out to be like, no.
Like, the first one was a sperm donor situation, but the other two were not. Like, we made those ourselves.
Christa Innis: Wow.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: I must have stopped right before that season ’cause they don’t look familiar to me. I just.
Antoinette: Okay.
Christa Innis: I like religiously watched it in the beginning and then like, I think I watched the first three seasons and then I just like shot. There’s like, oh my God, there’s a new season. Wait, there’s a new season. It was wild.
Antoinette: There’s so many, like it’s so, honestly I feel like there’s like almost three feels like, but I think there’s like two seasons a year. That’s what. I think there’s like two seasons a year, but it feels like there’s three. Like I feel like there’s always one coming out.
Christa Innis: There’s always, yeah. Because I think if you like sleep on it for a little bit, all of a sudden there’s another one.
Antoinette: Yeah. Yeah. Netflix is really on their zoom with it, honestly. Yeah.
Christa Innis: And the first one came out in like 2020. Right. Because I feel like I remember being locked down.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: And I was like, I’m about to binge watch this show. I care what it is. It was that in Tiger King that I was like, what’s going my.
Antoinette: Oh my God. Yes. Oh my God. I forgot about that. That was so good.
Christa Innis: That was wild. My husband and I were just like, what is this?
Antoinette: That was insane. Oh, that was good tea. That was good tv. And we weren’t doing anything like we were locked in.
Christa Innis: We were living for, yeah, we were living for like, like.
Antoinette: You said, like any morsel.
Christa Innis: Yes.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. The, the pods. ’cause they must have started. Because I feel like the pods were because of COVID. I don’t know, maybe it was written before that. I don’t know.
But those, I dunno, man. I feel like it really took off because of like, everyone was at home just watching TV and then they’re like, what’s this show? Okay, I guess we’ll watch it. And then it just blew you up on so.
Antoinette: And then blew up. And then Lauren and Cameron, I mean they’re still like the the, what’s it called?
Christa Innis: Yes. I love them.
Antoinette: You know, they’re just so, and now you know, Lauren’s pregnant, so that’s just so beautiful.
Christa Innis: Honestly, they’re just so that I love them. Yeah, from the beginning. ’cause they were just so like, and I always feel like the first season, they’re the most like real because they’re not in it all for the tv. ‘Cause they don’t know how big the show’s gonna be. They’re like, well let’s try it out. But seasons after, I feel like people just sign up. ’cause they’re like, oh, I’m gonna get social media famous.
Antoinette: A hundred percent. And we’re like really seeing that now, especially like. I, I think it was Love is blind. You really want them to be genuine because like, you’re gonna get married.
Like, you know, and I think some of these other ones, dating ones, it’s like, it doesn’t necessarily fully have to be genuine, but like, I do think a lot of them, like love is love island. I do think people, you know, people wanna be influencers, like, you know, but at the same time they’re pretty young and you’re not thinking of marriage or just thinking of dating.
So they could actually end up liking each other and dating. And it doesn’t have to be like, but like with Love is Blind. I do think people are like, they wanna be influencers, but then it’s like you end up having to think about like, are you willing to get engaged and married to somebody just to be an influencer?
That’s pretty big.
Christa Innis: That’s wild.
Antoinette: Yeah. The concept is wild to me. Like when they were like moving them into these apartments together, I was like, you don’t this, you don’t know this guy. Like
what are you doing? Nothing about them. You don’t just what they told you on the other side. Just like what we found about life.
Like, you know, nothing. Mm-hmm. Like whatever they decide to tell you. And I do think there’s a lot of people who like. In these later seasons into finding out some really messed up stuff. Really? And like, like one of the girls, I think on UK like Sabrina, she was like, he didn’t even have his own place. Like he was living with like roommates and then he like wasn’t even willing to go, like they were living in different parts of the uk.
He wasn’t even willing to go, go see her. But like, he couldn’t even afford to, so she didn’t even know that like, oh wait, like you actually really like aren’t in a place. I mean, it’s one thing if you like start dating someone and you know, they’re like financial status, but like, I really do think they should check.
I was like, are you even in, even in a place to be married, you know, to like, to put somebody first to even financially support yourself. Like in a good well, or like, not, there’s anything wrong with having roommates, but you know what I mean? Like, yeah. Like this guy I think was like 37 and like she, I think he didn’t really give all those details, which I think a lot of people would assume at three seven, like, okay, you might not have everything together, but you probably financially
are.
Christa Innis: A little more.
Antoinette: A little bit more
Christa Innis: established.
Antoinette: Established, yeah. Yeah.
Christa Innis: I think, or at least like con like. Communicate about like, Hey, I had some financial issues, or This is what’s going on here. Because there was that other guy, I don’t know what season this was, maybe two or three, where they got like towards the end and it came out. He had all this debt and there was something like he was lying about, I can’t remember their names, I can’t remember their names, but I know what you’re talking about.
We weren’t like parody a lot.
Antoinette: Social media. I know what you’re talking about. Wait, shoot. Uh, I don’t remember. Yeah, I dunno means there, but yeah, but there’s that too. And it’s like if you get married, your dad, your dad is their dad. Like so that can really mess somebody stuff up.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. That was, oh, there wa one of the first couples, Barnett.
Antoinette: Yeah. Amber and Barnett. Amber, yeah.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. They, that was something like, she was like, Hey, I have a lot of debt, and they like moved in together. He had a, he had a house already, but I think he like sold it to help pay for the debt. I mean, as far as I know, they’re still together, so, I mean.
Antoinette: Yeah. And they have a kid like, and they were like.
Christa Innis: Oh, I didn’t know that.
Antoinette: Yeah. They were child and everything and she, yeah, she, but she was upfront about it. Yeah, they, she, she was upset about it, so like, or married. So it’s one of those things where it’s like, if you know all that stuff and you’re still willing, then that’s, that’s one thing. Like she was upfront about it. He was still willing.
So it’s like, okay, cool. That’s, that’s on you, you know?
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like reality TV is just like wild to me. I feel like Bachelor, I used to watch Bachelor pretty regularly too, and then I kind of just like, then Bachelor in Paradise was like fun ’cause they all come together.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But I’ve kind of slowly stopped watching because I feel like they always just go on to be like, influencers and I’m just like, I don’t know.
I can’t really get into it anymore. It’s just.
Antoinette: Yeah. I honestly have never, I mean, I keep trying for mo mostly for content. Like, every time it comes out I’m like, okay, I’m gonna try and I just can’t get into it. So it’s like, you’ll, you’ll probably see every, you’ll probably see me, make me make one post and then just nothing else because I’m like, I just can’t get into it.
Like, I feel like it’s so overly produced too, and it just feels so fake. Like. You found 20 men or 20 women that are interested in this one person. Mm-hmm. Not saying that they couldn’t all necessarily, but like you didn’t, it’s not like they met this person. They were like, oh, the, you, they, the 20 people met this person, or you had them meet like a hundred people and these are the 20 that were like, oh, I’m actually interested in this person.
Like, you just found 20 people or whatever. Mm-hmm. I was like, it just doesn’t feel organic and then it’s just vying for one person. It just feels weird, honestly. Like.
Christa Innis: Totally.
Antoinette: I love dating shows, but that one, that’s just one I can’t get into.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, and you make it such a good point because, and it, it brings me back, ’cause again, I haven’t watched probably in like five plus seasons.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But it’s like, they’re like, oh, he’s my dream guy, she’s my dream girl. And I’m like, you would’ve said that about any person they brought on as a bachelor master. Right. And be no unbeknownst to you, like last season they were a nobody. You know what I’m saying? Like, they came on as like a random person too. It’s like exactly. I dunno.
Antoinette: I was like, you literally know nothing about these people. Uh, most of ’em don’t even get like, really a lot of screen time. So it’s like you just saw like a couple dates with whoever they were with on last season, and then now you’re like, that’s your dream person. Like. You don’t know anything about them, like Yeah, and I feel like we also saw that with Jen, like obviously like ev, all those men basically didn’t even know it was gonna be Jen.
They thought it was gonna be, what’s her name, that other, that other girl that was like really famous on Joey’s season. They all thought it was gonna be a. Somebody a different bachelorette, and that set her up for complete failure, honestly. Like, and then, ugh, that scammer Devin, like that was whole, I mean, like, I like tried to, but I was like, I mostly was like scrolling, watching things because, because I was like, I keep up with it, but I’m like, I can’t watch a whole episode.
And I, I literally can’t.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I know every once in I went.
Antoinette: You’re like two hours long too. I’m like, ah, Jesus.
Christa Innis: I know it’s, well, there’ll be like three hour season finale and I’m like, who’s got the time?
Antoinette: But why? And most of it’s not even needed. I was like, okay, this really could have been cut down.
Christa Innis: Literally.
Antoinette: Like, there’s just like a lot of different montages with like music. It’s just so gimmicky.
Christa Innis: Yeah. It’s literally them picking out rings, walking down the street through tears in their eyes, picking out their dress. And I’m like, Ugh, come on. She’s like, speed it up. Speed it up. Please. We can do this all in 10 minutes.
Let’s just tell us who picked who she picked. Yes, I know. It’s wild. Like I just, yeah. I. Props with anyone that goes on. I just, that’s just not, yeah. Not my cup of tea. That’s why I like Bachelor in Paradise better. So I have a confession. I’ve never watched Love Island. Oh, it’s everywhere. But this last season makes me wanna watch because the, the viral like sounds and stuff.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But maybe I should try it. I’ve had people tell me to watch it.
Antoinette: I think you should. I think I would watch, like, watch season six of the U of USA. Okay. I think season five and season six of USA are really good. Um, the uk I also think season five of UK is really, really, really good. Okay. Um, UK It started in uk so there’s like a lot more seasons.
Um, even Love Island Australia, I can’t remember what season. It wasn’t the latest one I think, or it was the one before last was really, really good. So I do, I really love, love Island. I feel like it’s just. Like, you know, people are on there to be influencers, but it’s also just like a dating show. You know?
Like, I mean, they’re all dating shows, but you know what I mean? But it’s also just like, uh, people being there. They get to meet each other, they get to, and like, there are definitely, you’re gonna, like, a lot of them are good looking. You’re gonna like somebody, you know what I mean? They all, and then there’s just like more like organic drama as well as they don’t allow them to get drunk.
Like the, each day they get like maybe this amount of alcohol. That’s it. Okay. I like that. Um, so it also feels like not, so you’re not as worried about some of the, like, you know what I’m talking about? Like, uh, possible things that can happen if people are like inebriated, like, you know, that they’re making decisions sober.
Um, especially if there’s anything like sexual that goes on, right. Especially because with that, you know, you do end up in there, they do end up sleeping in the same bed as the guy, as a couple that they choose and all that stuff. So, um, and they do seem to have, like, even though I feel like this season in the USA, they did not do very good job of like really doing background checks. There’s a lot of racial stuff coming out. Um.
Christa Innis: I did think that about someone.
Antoinette: Yeah. So they really haven’t like, done good background checks on people, but like in general, I do think they have some pretty cool things in place, like consent wise, like there, there’s just a light that they have in the back of the bed.
Like, so if things start happening, both people have to press it to be like, I consent to what’s happening. And if it’s not pressed, then production gets involved in like no stuff.
Christa Innis: Oh, okay. That’s a good step. Because I remember hearing years ago, like bachelor, something like happened on one of the shows and they like limit them now to certain alcohol too, because people would be like getting inebriated and saying stuff or doing inappropriate things.
Um, that was a bachelor in Paradise thing too. I remember. They were like, oh, we’re only allowed to have like. Two drinks an hour or one drink an hour maybe. Oh, wow. Because yeah, you see, yeah.
Antoinette: With them it’s literally one glass and that’s it.
Christa Innis: Wow.
Antoinette: Like there’s, there’s a whole usually scenes at night where like there, or sometimes at night where you’ll see a scene where they like, are all going up to this table and it’s just like, there’s drinks sitting out already with like a little umbrella.
And that’s, that’s their serving of their alcohol, who they get.
Christa Innis: Okay.
Antoinette: Well that’s, I know. I was like, that’s, I, I just think it’s like, it makes you feel a little bit better, but not that like, there’s not any, some type of like, oh my God, these like crappy men on here, whatever. Right, right. But I was like, well, now you know that this person’s.
Crappy sober. Okay. Like they, they’re just.
Christa Innis: He got no excuse. No, no. I know. It’s crappy.
Antoinette: It’s not a drunk child. This is who this person is. Okay.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think that sounds better too when there’s like multiple, like couple possibilities and not just like one guy and a million girls and vice versa.
Yeah.
Um, and I feel like it also gives like the bachelor, bachelorette or whatever type of show it is when there’s just one guy fending for all these women. It gives them like this like false sense of like, oh, I’m the hottest guy in the room at all times. And it’s like, you’re the only guy, like they would find a rock hot next to you.
Antoinette: You know what I’m saying? Honestly though, like the, the only reason this is working, working is ’cause a, a scarcity mindset that is literally fabricated for this show. Yeah. If you were in any other situation, there would be plenty of other options. Like you are literally the only option that they’ve given.
Yes. So they are, they have to fight for you to stay on the show. Like, remember that? Yes. Like this is like, remember that they’re fighting to stay on the show. Okay.
Christa Innis: Yeah. They’re deprived of any other men, so they’re like, well, this is my dream. Yeah. It’s so, this is my dream man because he’s only man. Oh my God, that’s so funny.
I, yeah, I feel like we would just think too, too logically about that to be on, on a show.
Sisterly Showdown at the Bouquet Toss: Wedding Drama You Won’t Believe!
Okay. So. A little more back about your content. Like what kind of, so I know you’re kind of, you were always talking about your own banter and couldn’t really find anyone that talked about it the way you did. So when did you kind of start seeing it, like take off and do you remember like the first video that really like blew up or, uh, and you said you talked about Love Island, but like, was there one type of content that you’re like, this is it, like people are really connecting or resonating with what I’m saying?
Antoinette: Um, I feel, I mean like Love Island, I started, I feel like I do really feel like it was like love is Blind that like that season that, um, and I think even for me Too, I was around then, like I started like last August. Mm-hmm.
Like around last august for season six and then I. We’re still posting and stuff, but it wasn’t really like, I think last October was when That Love Is Blind came out October, November.
Um, and that’s also when I felt like I was also taking it more like, okay, I’m gonna post every day. I’m gonna like, really, really cover this whole season, you know? ’cause I didn’t even fully cover the whole season of Love Island. Uh, love Island season six. So with the elevens blind season seven, I was like, okay, I’m really gonna, like, I’m gonna post every day.
I’m gonna like, you know, and so I was like also being more intentional about posting. And so I don’t remember what Post was like went, but it, I do remember all of a sudden, like my views started going up. And then also I went from like, I feel like a thousand to like 10,000, like within, within that like between like end of October and November.
Um, and that’s when like, I. Like, like blew, blew up. Like, and I felt like then people were really like also sending me things like, oh, I need to know your take. I need to, and so I got started getting more of that, being like, oh, we haven’t, like, did you see this? Did you see that? Like, and people writing those type of comments, um, or like getting tagged in other people’s videos, like, you know, for certain stuff.
So yeah, I, it was definitely that, that, um, that I felt like I, I started to get a little bit more known and a little bit more, um, like settled in like my like niche or my niche and like my persona, you know?
Christa Innis: Yeah. So do you have any shows that you, like currently watch that you kind of, that you wish more people knew about so you could like commentate on them more? Or are you mainly in the reality like love dating show type?
Antoinette: Um, I mean, I watch a lot of different tv honestly. So like, um, I mean, like, I mostly comment on reality tv. Yeah. Um, and mostly like the, yeah. The loved ones. I try to get into the gaming ones. Like I tried to get into Big, big Brother. Mm-hmm. I just like, it’s, I don’t really understand it, you know, like, and it is also like, there seems to be so much going on, like, so I, I tried this and, and it, it failed.
I don’t know, it didn’t work out for me, but I’m gonna try again. Another, because I really, everyone watches Big Brother. I’m like, I really wanna understand it. Um, okay. But let me answer your question.
Christa Innis: Special Forces.
Antoinette: Special Forces. I haven’t watched that.
Christa Innis: No. I feel like you would like it. It’s like reality, but it’s so like. It’s intense. Like, and there’s reality. Okay, so it’s reality stars put on a competition show, so they’re competing to win special forces. And like they’ve had people like, like Hannah Brown or Nick Vile, or, I’m trying to think of other people. They’re bachelors, but like other, like, there’s, um, celebrities.
Um, so the woman that dated like Travis Kelsey, um, like ca what’s her name? Casey, gosh not, I think of her name. Kayla, Kayla, Nicole. So like, she was on, so like, people like that are big, like celebrities, um, athletes, reality TV stars, and they compete and it’s like really tough competition. They work with actual people from special forces and it’s like intense.
It’s good though ’cause you get the drama, but you also get, like, you see them like. Trying their best to like win at this competition.
Antoinette: Yeah. Ooh, okay. I will have to check that out. I mean, like, I love anything with like drama, honestly. Yeah. I mean, also, like a lot of times on my content, I do like random TikTok drama.
Like, you know, like I, I think there’s also a lot stuff there that like randomly gets flown up for. Like, like I did the Louis Vuitton dress chocolate Louis Vuitton chocolate Yes. Drama. Um, and the girl with the, the dermatology thing that happened, that was like not washing her face, not doing anything. Her
Christa Innis: Yes. Whatever happened with that, was that out?
Antoinette: Um, she got a deal with Sarah V and started washing her face, basically.
Christa Innis: I could not tell if this was like a, um, what’s it called? Where they try to get people mad. What’s it called? Uh.
Antoinette: Rage bait.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I couldn’t tell if it was rage bait.
Antoinette: I couldn’t, I couldn’t either. Part of me feels like it was like, but then they also found like an old post, like a year ago of her having done the same thing, like, but from Reddit. So I don’t know. But Sarah v got involved and like got her to put moisturizer on, and then it started falling off, which I’m like, yeah, because you’re putting, it’s like, not like, uh, like yeah, it’s gonna fall off.
Like, but you have literally not touched your face and you’re building up dirt and old skin cells. Like, I mean, that’s, that’s what’s gonna happen. I mean, I also felt, you know what I mean? So it was like, so like I also do stuff like that where like, so my stuff is like, I have a DD, it’s a little bit a DD too, where I’m like, whatever I’m interested in.
Right. Whatever. I’m interested in that moment. Um, but it is definitely more like reality TV drama and then, um, like TikTok type of drama. Yeah. But I am interested in, like right now I’m watching Huntington Wives on Netflix, and I’m, I was thinking about like. Yes,
Christa Innis: I just heard about this. How is it?
Antoinette: It’s so good. Yeah. It’s so, so, so good. And like sometimes I will, like, I don’t always do, I don’t, for me it’s like not, it’s always, not always for views. So like, maybe I won’t get a lot of views on it. ’cause like, that’s not necessarily my main base. But like, um, like even severance, I did, I did a lot of posts on that because I love that show.
Okay. And I just wanted to talk, talk about it. I was like, somebody will, I was like, I just wanna talk about it.
Christa Innis: So people will come across it.
Antoinette: And yeah, some people will come across it, but like, yeah. So I do watch other things and so I, I guess, yeah, I guess sometimes I do wish that, like, I think it’s hard with the algorithm or from, or whatever, but like I could.
Like, find more people, it would be easier for people to find me that if I’m like doing stuff outside of the, like, reality tv, TikTok, drama, when I, when I am making those con those contents.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. It’s hard to know like what’s gonna like, take off or what people are gonna like, resonate with. Yeah. But that like TikTok drama stuff, man, that like, it goes like fast.
It’s like you gotta like hop on it fast because before you know it, if I don’t, don’t scroll for a couple days. ’cause sometimes like there’s like weeks where I just post and I’m like, I, I don’t have time to scroll or whatever. Yeah. Scroll. I’m like, wait, what’s this drama with so-and-so, what does she do to her?
And I’m like, okay, I have to find out who these people are. It’s wild.
Antoinette: Yes, yes. And some people are really, really on it. And I, and I know for me there’s, at first like I try to like for, you know, I have my. You know, some people it’s a little bit easier to do. I know like there’s some people I follow where it’s like, this is their full-time job.
So like they, they can scroll most of the day. And then like, for me it’s like, it’s not so like, I can’t, so like I, it’s like some stuff, like I’ll have some people write and be like, I want your ticket. I was like, I missed it. Like I missed it. I’m sorry. I was like, I literally do not have time right now.
Like, whatever was my schedule at that time, I’m like, I don’t have time to even comment on this. Like, I’m so sorry. Like, I’m catching babies. Like .
****************************************
Christa Innis: You were out there quite literally saving lives being, I know when you first told me you’re a labor and delivery nurse to her, I was like, how do you do it all?
I was like, you were literally an angel on earth. Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: I’m not sleeping very much.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Like, I, I always knew nurses were amazing people. My grandma was a, was an ER nurse. Oh. And so I’m like, I always like heard about like, you know, working in the ER and everything, but then it’s like once I had my baby and I was like.
These nurses are just incredible. Like, you guys are just like amazing. So how, this is totally side note and everything, but like how did you get into labor and delivery and like, I mean ?
Antoinette: Well, yeah. I mean, so at first, like, my first like nursing job was actually as a transplant nurse. So I worked, um, inpatient for people on, on a unit that just did, um, uh, what was it called?
Kidneys, livers, um, and pancreatic, some lung transplants, things like that. Mm-hmm. Um, but when I was in nursing school and I did my rounds, I like, I was like, when I, we did our labor rounds, I was like, I had like one. One shift where we like actually got to be in like the labor unit. We did a lot on Mother, baby.
Um, and I was like, oh, this is really fun. Like, I thought I would, like really enjoy it, but I was also a little bit scared because, you know, you can, some stats stuff can happen too, like losses and things. And I’m a very empathetic person. Like I’m one of those people, like, I will cry at movies, I’ll cry.
Like thinking about certain things will start to make me cry honestly. Like I, like I fox in the hound. Even just thinking about them talk will make me cry like you did. So I, I like really empathize very well with people. Like, so I, I was a little bit nervous, so like when I went to go get my first nursing job, I was like, I actually did apply for labor, but then I turned it down because I was like, I don’t know if I can handle it if something happened.
Like, but then I kept thinking about it and I kept thinking about it. Um, so then I was like, okay, I just need to do it. So then I stayed in the same hospital, but I just ended up applying and like, but it was basically ’cause I just kept thinking about it and I was like, I’m like just. I’m really interested.
Like, I was like, obviously I should like just do it then. Um, and so then, you know, it has been really good. Obviously when sad things happened, it says still really like, you know, touch me. Um, but I am able to deal with it. Uh, but like, you know, like everybody, there’s, it just is something that happens, but there’s just so many beautiful moments that happen.
There’s so, it’s so many, like being able to be there for women when they’re going through this, um, or be there for mothers, you know, not everyone identifies as women, but like, uh, being there for mothers when they, when they’re going through this, um. It just feels so beautiful and it, I really love being able to support that process, being able to support the baby and like just being there for that whole thing. So.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh, I love that. No, I love hearing like how people got into nursing and stuff and like their department because, um, yeah, like I said, I was just like, I used to work for a mom and baby burn, and so like, I would talk to like, um, nurses and doulas and, and oh, you know, just people in the field and stuff.
So I’m always just so curious about it. I love, I love that, that kind of stuff. Yeah. Just a little, little side note, but yeah, why not?
Antoinette: I love that.
Christa Innis: Okay. Let’s get into the wedding portion of.
Antoinette: Okay. I’m excited. I didn’t know. I love drama. I was let as.
Christa Innis: Yes, we, we live for the drama here. It’s a good, uh, um, mental break from, from the world and all that, but, okay.
So starting off, do you have any like wild wedding stories or wedding stories that come to mind when you, when you first think of weddings?
Antoinette: Okay. Like, it’s not necessarily wild, but I, when it’s about me, then when, and it was something I was like younger, so I don’t even know why I was doing this, but like I, it was during my sister’s. My oldest sister’s wedding, and when it was the throwing the bouquet part, like, you know, we’re all like vying for it. And then it ends up being, I look up and it’s actually me and I’m like pulling, like, pulling, like trying to get this. And I, I think I just locked in. I was like, I don’t even know why. I’m like, I, what, how old was I?
Even like, I feel like I was like 17. Like I was like, I’m next. What was I doing? Like mean? Like, but I was like, I was like, I’m fighting for this. And then I look up and it was actually my other sister, like, so, and everybody else was gone.
Christa Innis: Do you guys actually pull poll at this?
Antoinette: Yes, we were pulling at this. I just feel like we locked in. Like, I don’t even think, I don’t even know what I was thinking, like, but I was like, I’m getting this. I, I got very competitive at the, but we both did apparently. Um, my other sister were sometimes I actually dating somebody, you know, and she was a little bit older so like, you know, like made more sense.
It just made more sense. Um. But it’s so funny to like watch the video ’cause it’s just like everybody else has gone and just watching us like literally pull for this thing and then like we, I look up and I was like, oh. And I let it go. I was like, oh. I was like, so sorry.
Christa Innis: Something just came over me. I’m sorry.
Antoinette: Yeah. I was like, I dunno what’s going on.
Christa Innis: Like, like the sister thing. We’ll just let them
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Figure it out.
Antoinette: Yeah. Gosh.
Christa Innis: I’ve been to weddings where people get pretty like, vicious over like the, the bouquet toss or like push people out the way. And I’m like, yeah guys, so it’s gonna be okay.
Antoinette: It’s, it’s gonna be fine. It’s gonna be fine. I, but sometimes it’s just a competitive nature, you know? That takes over. I, I can’t tell you what I was thinking. I don’t think I was, I think, I think I just had it and I was like, it would.
Christa Innis: You’re like, okay, you can take it.
Antoinette: Yeah. I was like, oh, ooh. My bad dresser.
Christa Innis: It’s so funny ’cause I remember going like to weddings in like my early twenties, so I don’t even know if I was with my now husband yet, but like, I’d be at weddings and like I was in that mind frame where I was like, I don’t wanna get married for a while.
And the bouquet would come and I would just look at it and just step back. Yeah. I’m like, someone else take it. There’s been a few weddings like that where like no one grabs it and I’m like, oh man. We’re all just like.
Antoinette: Yeah. Like everyone’s like, oh, don’t, don’t jinx me. Yeah. Like we’re not
Christa Innis: Times have changed. Yeah, exactly. We’re waiting a little longer these days. No. Um, that’s so funny. Um, oh my gosh. I love that because, uh, it’s one of those things where like people are either like so into like the bouquet toss and garter toss and other people are like, no. Like, I always ask my audience like, what are your unpopular opinions?
And I would say like, I. Most of the time one of those come up as like, don’t do it. Like, people are like, don’t do the garter toss. It’s weird. Don’t do the bouquet toss. It’s starts fights. And I’m just like, it’s interesting how, how the dynamic has kind of changed on those.
Antoinette: Yeah. I do think, like, I think it’s one of those things where I think it can start, right?
But also I think it’s one of those things where like, it’s very easy to like get dangerous really quickly because like, yeah, people are like jumping and like, you know, there could be an elbow. Like, it’s not even like you’re trying to like do, but it’s like, I, I think for my own, I don’t think I probably would do it.
Like, just ’cause I don’t, I don’t know if anyone that’s coming would fight over it, but like, I also just like, don’t want any accident ac you know, any accidents to happen over, like just throwing this thing.
Christa Innis: I know I, I didn’t do them at my wedding and I was just telling someone a while back, but I was like, honestly, like I am not very um. Athletic. Yeah. So I could see myself throwing the bouquet, hitting someone in the face, separation, breaking something. So I’m like, not just not throwing anything.
Antoinette: But it might not even go where everybody is.
Christa Innis: How embarrassing would that be? I throw it. I don’t.
Antoinette: Exactly and I don’t want be embarrassed.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I’m like, let’s just take that away. Um, yeah. I love that.
From TikTok Stunts to Bridal Party Boundaries: Wedding Drama Gets Real
Christa Innis: Okay. Here are some hot takes that people have sent in and we can just kind of share our opinions on them. Okay. Um, this says. If you need a content day during your wedding week, you’re not planning a marriage, you’re planning a pro, you’re producing a mini series.
So they’re saying, like, I, I’ve heard of this more, more and more now with weddings. Like people are so concerned with the overall look that they’ll like, do, like, they’ll plan out content like during their video or during their day. Like they’ll film stuff or do like, tiktoks have a TikTok section. Um, I’ve never been a part of one that does that, but yeah, either this person must have seen it.
Antoinette: So they’re saying if you’re planning con, then you’re, what? What’s that last part they said?
Christa Innis: You’re not thinking about planning a marriage, you’re more about producing, like producing something like a mini series.
Antoinette: Hmm. You know what I can see, I feel like I have two ideas about it. I can see how like, yes, I feel like that could be true for a lot of people where it’s like, if you’re so focused on that and.
Also like doing different con, I mean, I think financially too, like how much money are you putting into this? Are you thinking about your life later? All that stuff. But then I also can think like, hey, but maybe somebody is like a, like they really like tiktoks. They really like, you know what I mean? Like that’s kinda like their thing.
They’re like, they’re always doing like content stuff. So then why wouldn’t they have that to be a part of their wedding too? Because it’s representing them.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Um, and if this is how you envisioned it, I don’t think that’s a big deal. As long as like, as long as it’s not like, oh my God, like this, this, okay, you guys don’t do this TikTok, right.
Blah, blah, blah. Like, right. But if it’s like, if it’s just for fun and you’re like, I want my day to be full of like different times that I can capture the day and I want. Then, I don’t know. Do you boo?
Christa Innis: Yeah. I think if the other parties are okay with it and it’s like your day and you like, tell people we’re gonna do this, it’s fine.
I’ve seen Have you seen, did you see the TikTok drama talking about TikTok drama? There was a photographer that No, she was, this is okay. She was a makeup artist that was hired for a wedding. But, um, and there were other photo, there were photographers there, but she had her own plans for tiktoks to be filmed during the day.
So like, literally they were done with makeup and she is going around doing, having the bridesmaids and bride do tiktoks while they have like another timeline.
Antoinette: Wait, wait, wait. This is the ma and she was like, involved. Yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Christa Innis: And then she caught in her car saying they treated her horribly kicking.
Antoinette: Yeah. Honestly, this is one of, one of my things that also blew up for me. Really? Like in the way, in the really beginning for me. Yes. Um, I know exactly. Oh my God, I remember this just of it. She was unhinged. Yeah, she was unhinged. Like even in the first look, she was like, she was there and in the photos making it all about her.
Yes. And the brides were crying. She’s like, okay guys. Okay. Like, that’s too much crying. I was like, why aren’t you still here? Yeah. She stayed the whole day. She stayed and then yeah, she kept making them do tiktoks. Then when it was time for like the after party for the reception, she was still trying to get tiktoks.
Yes. I, and then they tried to kick her. Yeah. Then they tried to kick her out and then she was like, she left and then she came back. She was like, no, you know what? I’m not gonna let them like bully me. And she went back. I was like, yes. I was like, no. It was crazy. I was like, I don’t understand why you’re not getting it, but you, she was like, oh my God, we were having such a good time.
We were kiking. And I was like, not for you to stay the whole day. No’s not for you to stay the whole day.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I didn’t make any said, oh, the groomsmen? Or, she said someone invited her and they were probably just like being like friendly. Like, oh oh, like in, no.
Antoinette: Yeah. Basically like, the bride, like, I think was like, kept being like, oh, okay.
Oh, okay. Like, and I think she like, just was just very kind, you know, like, and like maybe just didn’t wanna like do any confrontation. But then I, it wasn’t until like the groom later at the reception. Was like, okay. No. ’cause he was tired. Like, ’cause he didn’t actually agree to any of the things that the bride Right.
You know what I mean? Um, had said yes to and then the bride was like, no, no. Like he’s just upset. It’s okay. But then she left and it’s like, why didn’t you take the hint from the groom? Like, she’s like, well you know what, my bride, that’s what she said. She’s like, my bride wants me there. It’s like, no, she doesn’t.
Okay. But also it’s the groom’s wedding too. And he asked you to leave?
Christa Innis: Yeah. And leave how awkward that is. Like she’s probably just like, the bride’s probably just trying to enjoy her day. Doesn’t wanna start. Yes. ’cause in our minds, you know, it’s like, oh, I don’t wanna start drama. But it’s like, no, she’s literally viol, not violating, but like crossing all the boundaries at the wedding.
Antoinette: All the boundaries.
Christa Innis: She’s the makeup artist. She’s hired, she did her job. And I feel like she was even like drinking or something during makeup. Yes. Showing her drinking. Yes. All these things. And then what kills me is then like. She makes this video bashing the bride and groom showing the, like all their video footage before their, like, before they even posted to make herself look like the victim.
And I’m like, no.
Antoinette: Oh my God. I knew it. So left for her. Like no one would have even known about it if she didn’t make that video. Like the bride and groom, because they aren’t even social media people. They would not have even, no one even known about it.
Mm-hmm. She could have just have ruined this wedding and nobody would’ve known.
Yeah. But then she went online. I know she made this whole series blasted them, put their videos, their faces. Oh my God. That was crazy. Even like the bridesmaids were getting in the comments and being like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like this is not okay. And then somebody else, like there was another MUA that had worked with her in the past and she’s like, oh no, she’s unhinged.
She’s unhinged. Like, oh yeah. So much came out about that woman.
Christa Innis: Yeah, that’s, that’s wild when you’re putting your content in front of your client, like Yes. That’s the thing that like, like obviously like I love social media, I love like the connections and stuff, but you have to always put like your job first.
There’s so many people that are like, oh, I wanna create content. And it’s like, well this is not the place or the time. Like as a makeup artist Yeah. Do their before and after and be like, Hey, can I post this? You know? But you have to always check in with your client first. They might not wanna be posted and Yeah, they might not want you hanging out all day and.
Antoinette: Yeah. But she kept being like, well, they agreed to content, but they didn’t agree to like every single content that you like. I think she probably thought you were just doing the look content that a lot of like people do where it’s like, okay, they did the before and then they do the after. I didn’t think, she didn’t think you were gonna be following her around all day trying to get her.
It was like, I can’t remember. I can like hear the song in my head, but I can’t think of. I can’t say it all, but there was like, I can remember the TikTok thing that she was trying to make and she was just trying to go throughout the day. The groom, you were never even a part of the grooms party, but then you involved them. ‘Cause you’re like, well I need the grooms. And I was like, that’s when you know you’ve gone too far. Does it, does the content fit with the service that you’re doing? Right. I think you have to think about that. And does it fit within the timeframe of the service that you’re doing or are you going beyond that?
You know, also, like maybe you, if it’s something where like, I don’t, things are taking long, maybe you won’t get your content. Like, but exactly what you said, like the service should come first. Yeah. And then the content, like I, you know, like, but someone agreeing to make tiktoks with you doesn’t mean they’re agreeing to like literally every single thing that you came up under the sun.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no. 100%. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I can’t believe that. Just like came back like that. That was one of those where like, I think I took a few days off and I came back on and like I got a couple messages. Someone tagged me, they’re like, Christa, can you please make a skit about this? I didn’t. I think I just kind of talked about it.
’cause I was like, it’s so fresh. Like, I don’t know, like this is kind of wild. Like yeah, I watched all the videos and I was like, oh my gosh, this is an unhinged, like seriously insane. Yeah.
Um, okay. This last hot take says reality TV. Weddings have convinced people that bridal parties are unpaid extras. Oh.
Antoinette: Um, interesting reality. Tv. Bachelor parties, they said weddings. Oh, our unpaid extras. Is this more like, I think they were saying that like people are taking advantage of the bridal party basically.
But I feel like people have been doing that for like, even before reality TV stuff.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I don’t actually reality tv.
Antoinette: Yeah. I think it’s just some people do take advantage of the bridal party. Um, I think some people don’t realize that like, yeah, of course, like these people wanna be here for you. Um, but like, it’s not, and, and it’s like, it’s, it’s not like in, you can’t just like ask like endless amount of things. Um, you can’t also just ask people to like put all their money into your wedding or into like the bridesmaids dress or whatever, or, or whatever the makeup that they have to do or, you know, what have you.
Um, also like that whole year is not literally about you to. Everybody else in your life. Yeah. It’s like, it’s about you for you and your spouse, but like everybody else’s life is still going on. I mean, like, I have things to do. We got things to do, but I do know that I feel like there’s a lot of people who are like, you’re not really supporting me right now.
Like, I feel like you’re not doing enough for the way I was like, what are you talking about, dude? Like, I have a life. Like I will help you, but like, I’m not making a full-time job out of helping you for your wedding.
Christa Innis: Right. The world doesn’t stop because you’re getting married. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I’ve seen wild stories where bridesmaids get mad or brides get mad because their bridesmaids are pregnant or their bridesmaids get, uh, also get engaged and it’s like you don’t get claims to the whole there, there.
I mean like I had two, uh, pregnant bridesmaids and I was like, don’t feel like you have to come to anything. Your baby and your health comes first.
Antoinette: Like yeah, I mean life happens. Like, if it’s not, like, let’s say like you had like a destination wedding and one of the people got pregnant, like on like, if, if it’s that time for me, my life for me that I wanna get pregnant, I’m gonna, I’m not gonna like be like, oh no, we gotta hold off a year.
Yeah. ’cause so and so’s, you know, just in case, like, that’s not what’s gonna happen. And I think that’s absolutely crazy when people do that. I think that’s like, literally you need to get your head checked. That’s not cool. Yeah. Like that. Like you’re, you’re way too self-centered. But I think a lot of times it’s like there are probably signs about that person.
Before, yeah. You know, before the wedding there were probably signs about the person that they were pretty selfish. Mm-hmm. Um, and then it just went to like, kind of the nth degree when they felt like they had an excuse to be their most selfish shelf.
Christa Innis: Yes. Like they hear it like, oh, it’s your bride’s day.
Antoinette: So they’re like, yep. The court. Yes, exactly. They’re like, okay, well now I get to be exact you know.
Christa Innis: Here’s my notebook. Yes. Oh my God, that’s so true. Because yeah, you hear it time and time again. It’s like, oh, it’s a bride’s day. It’s your moment. So then they’re like, oh, I’ve, I’ve been waiting for this.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: But it’s not, that’s the funny part. It’s your day. It’s your day. Not your year. Not your year, your day.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And we gotta have, we gotta have, respect people’s life and their boundaries too.
Antoinette: Yes. A hundred percent.
Wedding Drama Rapid Fire: From Jealous Bridesmaids to Reality TV Proposals!
Christa Innis: Okay. Before we get to this week’s wild wedding story that we’ll react to, um, we’ll do a little quick rapid fire.
How does that sound? Okay. In addition, okay. Would you rather deal with a jealous bridesmaid or an attention hogging groomsman?
Think hard, long, and hard about this one.
Antoinette: Yeah. Um, I guess an attention hogging groom has been, I guess, a little bit. ’cause I feel like I, for me personally, I feel like I would be a lot easier to talk to that person and be like, tone it down. Yeah. Like I, ’cause I would not have a problem be like, I love you so much, but you gotta tone it down. You’re doing too much.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Versus somebody who is jealous. I don’t know if I would know that they’re being jealous or if they’re like, you know, kind of being stink face or whatever. Or like, or like eat subconsciously or consciously sabotaging things. So I feel like I wouldn’t want that type of negativity.
Christa Innis: Yep.
Antoinette: On my day.
Christa Innis: That’s a great point. Yeah. Um, would you rather your wedding TikTok flop? So like if something bad happened at your wedding or, or your honeymoon get leaked?
Antoinette: Uh oh. Would I rather have a, so I either the TikTok I have be like a flop, like someone said, let, like my wedding was a flop.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like if you had like a wedding TikTok, um, like maybe you like, posted about your wedding as a TikTok and it didn’t do well, is how I’m reading it.
Yeah.
Um, or your honeymoon, like videos from your honeymoon or photos from your honeymoon get leaked. I don’t know. Like Oh, like your,
Antoinette: I I was, I know. I was like, right. I was like, what? I was like, what type of leak? I was like, what we, I was like, I was like, what are we talking about? I’m nervous I didn’t write these.
Um, I guess like, I wouldn’t mind having a TikTok flop. I probably would think it was funny.
Christa Innis: Yeah, it’s ’cause it’d be more for me anyways if I.
Antoinette: Yeah. Just in case. There could be lots of different meanings for the leak. I’d rather have nothing leaked, just to be clear. Yeah. Just to, just to like, just in case nothing leaked.
Christa Innis: I know, I feel like the word leaked just sounds like celebrity leak. Like Yeah. Oh, there, this got leach. Um, okay. Would you rather have your wedding go viral for the wrong reasons? Or have no one shared at all?
Antoinette: No one shared at all.
Christa Innis: Yeah, same. Would you rather find out your fiance applied to a reality dating show after your engagement or that your proposal was filmed for a pilot episode you didn’t know? These are wild.
Antoinette: What the, is this, I guess, um, the film for, for, for a pilot? I didn’t know because like what the actual f*ck if you just, sorry. With the actual flip, if you just, I didn’t know if you could curse something. I was like, it’s all good. Okay. If you just, like, you got engaged to me and then you just applied to a dating show?
Christa Innis: Dude, there’s been people on Bachelor that has come out, like they have like girlfriends at home. This happens and you, the thing is why I’m sure, well, cheaters, I feel like, just don’t think about this, but they’re like, yeah, you don’t think it’s ever gonna come out. Exactly. You don’t thinking at home, like clicking and being like recognize.
Antoinette: Thank you. The internet with the, like, have you not? Are you new?
Are you new to the world now? Like the internet is like, especially with TikTok, things like information moves by fast. People are detectives. Okay. If you’re on there, they’re gonna find you and everything about you. So. Like, people always think like, oh, I can just hide it. No, you can’t. No. It’s no one else has been able to.
Christa Innis: Someone’s always watching, especially nowadays. Oh my gosh, Coldplay concert.
Antoinette: Yes, exactly. Exactly.
Christa Innis: Someone’s always watching. Yes.
Antoinette: And the funny, if they had just not ducked, if they had just not ducked, that wouldn’t have been a thing.
Christa Innis: Yes. Seriously. No one would’ve even thought twice about it. But the funny thing is, someone, do you see the behind the scenes, someone was behind them and realized later, like they had videos of them like kissing before that happened. Oh, they were like literally behind the couple.
Antoinette: Yeah. I didn’t see that. Ah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. So I’m like, oh my God. But like literally, they would’ve just been like, oh, it’s a cute couple. Yeah. Never would’ve thought anything about if they weren’t like, whoa. Yeah, exactly. And yeah, it wouldn’t, the smelling front. Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: No. Right. Yeah. It wouldn’t have been a thing.
Christa Innis: All right, last one. Would you rather have your wedding edited by Netflix or produced by Bravo?
Antoinette: Ooh. Edited by Netflix or produced by Bravo, um, I guess edited by Netflix, produced by Bravo. Ooh. I don’t know, dude, that, that’s kind of like, I, I like Netflix shows, so let’s just say edit it by Netflix.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I like it.
A Tale of Jealousy, Selfishness, and Boundaries!
All right, let’s get into this week’s wedding story submission. Are we, we still okay on time? I know we’re, yeah.
Antoinette: Yeah. No, I’m good. I love bantering.
Christa Innis: I feel like we’re doing a.
Antoinette: Yeah, no, I’m having fun. No, we’re good.
Christa Innis: Okay, cool.
Antoinette: Okay. I’m off today, so we’re.
Christa Innis: We got time. Alright, cool. Yeah.
Um, okay. So as always, I have not read this, this will be a blind reaction. Let’s just see how we go. Feel free to stop me if you want. Um, otherwise we’ll, just as you know,
Antoinette: I might have questions. I’ll let you know.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, all names have been changed, so here we go.
This story starts about two and a half years ago. Around six months before I got engaged. I was on a pontoon boat with my friends, their boyfriends, and my now fiance Ryan. One of my friends, Brooke, asked Ryan if he had any plans to propose in the future.
At that point, we’d been together for a little over a year, so it was still fairly early. But we had already talked about marriage, so it wasn’t a totally random question. Ryan told Brooke and my other friend Erica, that he actually planned on proposing in August, which was about two months from when they were having this conversation. I was on the other side of the pontoon boat and had no idea this was even happening. Next thing I know, I look over and see Erica sulking in the corner of the boat, glued to her phone and refusing to talk to anyone. We were only about an hour into a six hour rental, so things weren’t off to a great start.
I asked Brooke if she knew why Erica was upset, and she told me that when the topic of proposals came up, Erica made a comment to her boyfriend who was also on the boat, and they’d been together for three years at the time. Um. Asking when he was going to propose and he replied with something dismissive like, don’t hold your breath. Ooh. Which upset her. Yeah. Like then starts the comparison, right? Yeah. Uh, for the rest of the rental, Erica sulked and barely spoke.
After we got off the boat, she immediately returned to her hotel. Instead of joining the group for dinner the next day, she texted me asking why I didn’t make more of an effort to comfort her. I explained that it wasn’t fair for her to exec expect me to come spend my entire birthday consoling her over something I had no control over.
Okay. Fast forward six months, Ryan and I get engaged on a beach. Brooke was there because she helped Ryan plan and execute the proposal. Afterward, Ryan and I FaceTimed friends in film me to share the news. When I FaceTimed Erica to show her the ring, oh gosh. The first thing she said to me was, Ew. He let you have red nails for your proposal. Jealousy. Not a pretty.
Antoinette: What the, oh my God. That’s not a friend.
Christa Innis: This is kind of ironic. ’cause yesterday I did like a, like a different kind of video and I was like, pretending to be, I said, your best friend of me just found out you’re engaged.
Antoinette: Oh, I think I saw that. I saw that.
Christa Innis: I said something like that. I’m like, oh, I didn’t know you liked that. Kind of, you know? Yes. That’s literally like that kind of comment, like why would you say that to someone?
Antoinette: That is so rude. Like, and I feel like jealousy is a normal emotion. I do like, I don’t like, people are like, oh, we, I was like, I don’t think you should like down people for having feelings of jealousy. It just is like information for you. Like it’s not necessarily that you dislike the person or whatever. It’s like there’s something going on with you that you are that. You’re looking for. Do you what I mean? And that that person has, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s not something you can have. It’s just like, it’s some, it’s information. That’s how I think of it more. It’s information. And if you don’t actually take in that information, then I think jealousy can get out of hand. Obviously this person, jealousy got out of hand. Yes. ’cause for her to be outwardly so rude and dismissive to her friend during such a, a beautiful moment. And the fact that she also thinks of you, thinks of you so much that she calls you during that beautiful moment. And that’s the first thing you say is like, what the flip? Yeah. Like you need to get, you need to internally look.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Like you’re, yeah, you’re letting that jealousy like take over you when it’s like, yeah. You could have like feelings of being like, oh, I wish that was me first, or that yeah. Kind of sucks, but I wouldn’t be really happy for my friend because she’s my friend.
Antoinette: Yeah, a hundred percent.
Christa Innis: Um, it says I was in such a good mood that I brushed it off. Okay, good. At least Elisa didn’t ruin the moment.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, she gave me a half-hearted congratulations. And we moved on later. Our families had planned a small celebration at our house. Erica and her boyfriend came out but barely said anything to me and left about an hour later.
I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, assuming she might be having an off day, despite everything. I still asked her to be one of my bridesmaids. There we go. That gut feeling like she’s already showing signs. Um, when I started organizing hangout so the bridesmaid could get to know each other, Erica always made excuses not to come.
Her reasons ranged from anticipating she’d be too tired or needing to attend a half birthday party for a six month old. What’s a half birthday? Oh, a six month old, like half birthday. I get it. Um, to simply not liking who does.
Antoinette: Six and a six and a half?
Christa Innis: No, I was like, wait, what? Um, to simply not liking the location.
Weird. Not going to your friend to hang out ’cause you don’t like the location.
Okay. While planning the bachelorette trip, I mentioned feeling sad that one of my bridesmaids Tessa wouldn’t be able to make it because she lives in Arizona. Erica responded, I’m so jealous of Tessa living in another state gets her out of so many of these events.
Okay. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Antoinette: Okay. Yeah.
Christa Innis: I wanna be here.
Antoinette: Okay. Yeah. Honestly, I I, if it was me, I’d be like, girl girly. What’s going on?
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like what is happening here? Like you’ve been saying, I’ve been letting it go, but you’ve been saying way too many things. We need to talk.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like, ’cause that’s just rude. Like, that’s just rude. You don’t have to come, like, don’t do me any flipping favors. Okay. Okay. Like, don’t do me any, this what.
Christa Innis: You’re gonna ruin it being there. I’d rather.
Antoinette: Yeah. You are ruining it. Like you’re ruining everything. You’re making me feel bad. Like you’re, you’re putting in digs, like trying to make me feel bad about myself.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. That’s, oh gosh. She’s like putting all the signs out there.
Antoinette: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, okay. She says I wish I had a solid excuse not to come to the bachelorette trip, so that that was her end. That’s it. Yeah. That’s your excuse. Like don’t come friend.
Antoinette: You don’t need, I’d be like, you don’t even need one. You’re uninvited. Yeah. It’s done. Done.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: That is, I would literally be like, don’t you? I would literally say that most likely I’d be like, you don’t even need one you’re uninvited.
Christa Innis: If someone’s gonna be that mopey and like.
Antoinette: Oh yeah, I wish I had a solid excuse. And you’re saying that to me.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Yeah. No.
Christa Innis: There you go. Bye.
Antoinette: Yeah. Yeah. That, that’s your excuse right? There you have it.
Christa Innis: Um, okay. She goes frustrated. I said, if you don’t wanna come, then you should stay home. Okay, good. She replied that would, that she would def look bad if she didn’t go.
Antoinette: So you look bad by not by saying this, you already, what do you mean You obviously don’t care about looking bad? ‘Cause you look bad right now.
Christa Innis: Yeah. How can you really care about looking bad if you say that? So it’s like, it’s more about everybody else, what everyone else thinks versus your best friend or one.
Antoinette: Yeah. You don’t care about me or what I think because you’re saying all this to my face. Yeah, to my face. Like, you’re being rude and mean to my face.
So it’s not, it’s not about me. It’s like, okay, what other people would it look bad for then?
Christa Innis: Yeah, exactly. Oh my gosh.
Um, while shopping for bridesmaid dresses, Erica told me she struggles when people get married before her. Really? Did they? Right. Not also, why are we telling her this at bridesmaid dress shopping again, like a wedding event for her. Don’t go if you’re gonna make it about you.
Antoinette: Like honestly, at this point, this is where the introspection we need to come in. And it’d be like, I’m in a weird place. I can literally, I don’t know why, but I can literally not be happy for you right now. Mm-hmm. I want to be, I know I should be, but I’m in a bad place.
Yeah. Like, honestly, I should just be like. I can’t do this and cut it out, like mm-hmm. But not, I feel like a lot, not a lot of people are like self-aware like that, where it’s like, I’m just not able to do this.
Christa Innis: Yeah. If it’s gonna bother you that much and every little thing you’re gonna bring up how you’re not married yet, or you’re not engaged yet, that’s a problem.
Antoinette: Yeah. You’re gonna be rude to your, to your friend. It’s, this is supposedly your friend.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like, you’re gonna be rude to them, put them down, make them feel bad about all the events that are happening around this wedding. Like, then just, then just see yourself out, like, you know what I mean? Like, be a friend and don’t go.
Right. Like that would be the way you’re being a friend. If like I’m, if I’m, I’m literally not able to control myself at this point because I’m so jealous that I need to not be involved.
Christa Innis: Yeah. 100%.
Um, she goes, especially when they haven’t been with their partners as long as she has.
Antoinette: Oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: Doesn’t matter.
Antoinette: Erica. Get over it.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Okay. Dump your partner and get a new one. Then. I don’t know, like, if, if the issue is that, then maybe you should like not be with your partner. If they, obviously, obviously I don’t think she should be with her partner. If her partner said something along the lines of like, oh, what’s it called?
Christa Innis: Don’t hold your breath.
Antoinette: Don’t hold your breath. You shouldn’t be with that. You shouldn’t be with that person.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like you’re more mad at him, I think. Yeah. You’re not mad at your friend and you’re letting him dictate how you feel about your friend, which you should be happy for her. I think you need to turn the anger maybe to him.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: You guys are on different timelines.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, but also like why even if you’re on different timelines, why would that be your answer to somebody asking about when we’re getting married? Yeah. Don’t hold your breath. Your breath. You obviously don’t like me. If that’s, if that’s like, if that’s your answer, that’s rude.
Yeah. It’s one thing to be like, I’m not ready. Gonna be like, don’t hold your breath. Okay. You, you don’t like me. Then like, you always like, you don’t care about me or my feelings, like.
Yeah. The fact that he was so quick to be like, don’t hold your breath. Not like, don’t worry, we’re gonna get married. I’ve got something planned. Or just like, I need another year. You know, whatever.
Antoinette: Or can we talk about it later? Like, can we talk like not on this boat when Yeah. Not on this boat. You, you might not be happy with my answer. Let’s talk about it in private.
Christa Innis: Might ruin your whole day.
Antoinette: Yeah, exactly right. Ruins everybody’s day and year, apparently.
Christa Innis: Yes. Oh my gosh.
Um, she said she felt she should be getting married before me. Oh, now it’s clear before me. Because of the length of her own relationship. Length does not dictate any of that. It does not ever. It really doesn’t ever. Oh my gosh. It really doesn’t.
I wanted to suggest that she stepped down as a bridesmaid, but I avoided the confrontation because I knew it would end our friendship.
Antoinette: Well, maybe, but this is not ending your friend. This should have ended your friendship.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: This should have ended your friendship. I think this girl’s being way too much of a pushover because like, this should have ended your friendship. Why are you worried about ending? Like how is this not ending it?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Like all the signs are there from the outside. I’m like, these signs are so big and red that I’m like you. Yeah. As red. Those nails that you got proposed.
Antoinette: Yeah, exactly.
Christa Innis: They are, they’re they’re like flashing at me.
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Um, for the bachelorette trip, a joint bachelor and bachelorette weekend. Erica texted me the week before saying her boyfriend couldn’t take time off work. So they probably would, would come late.
Okay. Despite multiple brides, I thought she was gonna say, so they probably wouldn’t come. And I was gonna be like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Despite multiple bridesmaids offering to drive her so she could come on time, she refused. That’s another, that’s weird. If it’s one of my best friends, I’d be like, sorry, you have to work a boyfriend.
I’m going without you like, yeah. What, what, I’m sorry. I’m not wasting, wasting my time. Um, she and her boyfriend finally arrived Friday night just as we were heading to karaoke the karaoke bar. At the bar they stood apart from everyone else repeatedly asked when we were leaving and complained about how much they disliked it.
Antoinette: Why did you come? They both did?
Christa Innis: Apparently. Like what?
Antoinette: What was the point of coming then? Like, you just, like, you just like ob you want to ruin people’s time.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. You’re just miserable, unhappy people.
Antoinette: Yeah. Like, you are, you’re being miserable and you’re trying to make everyone else miserable. Like, and I have like, I’m one of those people where like, I’m like, I feel like I give so much grace where I’m like, you know, if somebody’s like in a bad place, you know, or like, and you know what?
Maybe you are miserable. Okay. But like, are you spreading your misery? That’s what I’m really asking. Like, I mean like, are you spreading your misery? And that’s what’s happening here. And I feel like that’s so like, get it together. Get it together. There’s really no reason for you to go to event and just ruin somebody else’s time. Go home. Yeah, go home.
Christa Innis: Because, yeah, no one feels bad for you. Like, don’t go there to like ruin their day. Like they’re enjoying their time. So just like.
Antoinette: Yeah. This would also be a festivity and you would literally be like, Ugh. Can we go home? Yeah, go. No, yeah, you can. Yeah, please. You literally can, you drove here by yourself because you didn’t come with us. ‘Cause you’re waiting for your boyfriend so you can, you literally can’t go.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Literally. Please. Do you already want the excuse to not come?
Antoinette: This is not an escape room. You can escape. Okay. Yeah.
Christa Innis: You’re way out. Oh my gosh. This is wild.
Um, the next morning Erica claimed she had a panic attack and decided to leave saying she wasn’t having fun. Okay.
Antoinette: Yeah. Neither were we. We could tell.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: You could tell. It’s not a surprise.
Christa Innis: You made it very clear. Yeah.
Antoinette: Like it’s not a surprise, girly.
Christa Innis: A month after the trip, Erica got engaged. Hmm. Okay.
Antoinette: Good for maybe, I hope, you know what? I hope her attitude changes now. I hope she’s very happy now.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Now she’s gonna be, wait, I didn’t read the rest, but I’m just gonna guess it’s gonna be all about her and her wedding now and then maybe they kept married first.
Antoinette: Oh my God. I bet she’s gonna be like, oh, you know what? If this was my wedding, I wouldn’t have done that. Yes. A lot of that, like, oh, you know what? I would’ve never picked that color. Oh, you know what? I kind of feel like that’s a little techy, but like, you know, like, it’s good for you. Oh my God. I hate Erica. What? Yes. God. Erica, you’re the worse.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Um, a month after the trip, so Erica got engaged and started texting me questions about wedding planning. Oh, she’s so excited now.
Antoinette: Oh, look at her.
Christa Innis: Things most bridesmaids would already know, like what wedding website I use and where my venue was. On the day of my bridal shower, Erica showed up with her mom both wearing white. Because she’s engaged, so it’s now her wedding here.
Antoinette: I literally can’t, Erica is not the worse. Erica is the worst. She can’t help herself.
Christa Innis: Her mom like matching, matching outfits, like wearing a sash bride and mother with bride.
Antoinette: Oh my God. Did you? She’s like, well, I’m, I’m also, I’m also engaged.
Christa Innis: We’re all engaged together.
Antoinette: Yeah. Oh my God.
Christa Innis: Um, she asked the other bridesmaids how long the shower would last complained about having to stay for the opening of gifts and spent most of the time talking about her own wedding plans.
Antoinette: Oh, you called it, you called it.
Christa Innis: I feel like I’ve just like seen so many stories like this where I’m just like that type of person that’s so upset and jealous and has to be rude.
The second then they get engaged. It’s me, me, me, me, me. Oh, you had your, yes, that’s it. But it’s like she doesn’t have her time yet. She’s still like.
Antoinette: She never had her time. You were rude the whole time. Like you’ve been, and then after now you’re still being rude. See? Are you just a rude person? Like that. Just who? Yeah. I was like, were there signs? You know what, I’m sorry. I feel like I was like, were there signs already that Erica was not a good friend before all of this?
Christa Innis: Yeah. I wanna hear about. Yeah. You know, some pre-engagement stories about Erica. Tell me the truth.
Antoinette: Yeah. I was like, let’s get the truth. Have you, as his friend, needed to be gone for a long time? Probably.
Christa Innis: My, my guess is, yeah. Yeah. Like, and this just brought it all out even more.
Um, when I walked over to her table, her mom interrupted me to show Erica something so cute for her wedding. About 45 minutes into the shower, Erica’s mom came up to me and said Erica wasn’t feeling well.
I know I have to say that in that voice. Yeah. No, I love it. Come say goodbye. Oh. At your shower. You need to go outside and say goodbye to Erica.
Antoinette: No, Erica can come inside. Yeah. Or, or tell her I say bye.
Christa Innis: Yeah. She can just do the old Irish goodbye. See ya. Bye.
Um, I went outside and Erica apologized, later texted me that she’s always getting sick at events related to me.
Antoinette: Oh my God.
Christa Innis: You said it weird. There must be some jealousy in the air.
Antoinette: Yeah. Right, right. I right.
Christa Innis: Stick with jealousy.
Antoinette: You’re literally getting sick by your own jealousy. Your own jealousy is making you sick.
Christa Innis: Eating you up inside.
Antoinette: Alive. Like, like your body knows terrible therapy. Immediately, please. Like, yeah.
Christa Innis: Can you seek some inner peace?
Antoinette: Yes.
Christa Innis: Um, all right. The next day, my sister texted Erica and asked if she’d be getting sick on the wedding day too, and whether she saw,
Antoinette: I love the sister.
Christa Innis: The sister is awesome.
Antoinette: The sister was like, I’m done with this.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like, I’ll be her backbone for a little bit. I got, yeah. Whether she felt capable of handling the pressure.
Erica got defensive and sent me a long series of messages about feeling disrespected before I could respond she blocked me.
Antoinette: The audacity!
Christa Innis: And all the other bridesmaids on social media. ’cause she was called out for her bs.
Antoinette: She felt disrespected? She, Erica felt disrespect? Wow. Wow.
Christa Innis: That is wild.
Antoinette: She did them a favor though. Yeah. Like somebody needed to like, thank you for excusing yourself out then.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Antoinette: And she, she literally went through, just blocked everybody. Okay. Nobody wanted you ready.
Christa Innis: That’s someone that like expects you just to like, go to their beck and call at all times. No one says no to me. And so I think because the sister came in and was like, yo, you’re not being a good person. Are you gonna be there or not? Tell me now because
Antoinette: Yeah, exactly.
Christa Innis: Not dealing with this.
Antoinette: I’m glad the sister said something. ’cause it was like someone had to be like, is this, we’ve already seen the pattern for a year. Are you gonna do this on the actual important day?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Antoinette: If so, like, and I love that. Are you gonna be able to handle it? ’cause Yeah. Are, can you handle it? You’ve proven not to be able to. So yeah. Can you get yourself together before then? Mm-hmm. And she pretty much, she answered, no, she’s not. I mean by all of her actions were a No. That was the answer.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Antoinette: She blocked everybody off.
Christa Innis: That is wild.
Antoinette: Oh so childish.
Christa Innis: I kind of like. Very loosely relate to this.
Like years ago I had a very like shady kind of friend. The end of, yeah, shady is probably the wrong word, just a friend where like I was always like people pleasing, bending back my backward, bending over backwards for. And many times, like last minute cancellations, like if she was gonna help me with something, like feeling sick, that kind of stuff.
And my sister texted her one day when she was supposed to come to something and canceled like the morning of, or just stopped. She like stopped responding to me and my sister was like, Hey, like. Christa’s always bending over backwards for you, blah, blah, blah. And it was like the same thing. She was rude back to my sister and then texted me like a whole thing. And I was just like, I’m done. Like I’m done. Sorry.
Antoinette: Yeah. Yeah. Like you can’t take accountability. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, all right. Last paragraph here says, looking back, I should have never asked her to be a bridesmaid. She has always been selfish and viewed our friendship as a competition. There you go. Mm.
I was trying to hold on to a one-sided friendship, but in the end she took the first opportunity to bow out.
Antoinette: Wow.
Christa Innis: They hung on by a thread there for a while.
Antoinette: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, and everyone, but I mean, that’s what we’re wondering. We’re wondering, like, it seems like Erica probably has always been a problem, and, but she just confirmed that.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Antoinette: Like, and that happens. I mean, I’ve been, I’ve been in, in a friendship like that too, where like, it was definitely one sided.
I was definitely like doing everything. And they definitely were like selfish, but like, there were just, there’s always something, there’s like something, I don’t know what it is, but you were like, attached to that person. I felt attached to them. Um, and sometimes it can be hard to like let people go, even if they’re like, you know, they’re like not really bringing anything.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. A hundred percent.
Antoinette: Um, yeah. Yeah. So.
Christa Innis: And I feel like too, it’s like, you know, you, you think of like good times with that person. Yeah. And you’re like, oh, they’re good to me during that. Or like, this was a good time. I don’t wanna just like be the mean person and say like, I’m done with you, but also like, you, you matter too.
And it’s like, yeah. And their friendships just have a timeline and they’re just. Done at a certain point. And that’s.
Antoinette: Yeah. And this was the one, I mean, I secretly wish for this girl that like it had been earlier, so her whole, all the events weren’t like so tainted with Erica’s drama, you know? But at least her wedding wasn’t tainted with it.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. She was long out by that point.
Antoinette: Yeah, right.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Well that was a wild story.
Well, thank you so much for coming on and yeah, entering with me and reacting to this wild story. I had so much fun hanging out with you. I feel like we could talk for hours just because I do too, so much to chat about.
Um, can you again, just tell everyone where they can follow you and find your content and then anything fun you’re working on?
Antoinette: Yeah. Um, you can find me on TikTok at Miss Razzle Dazzle. I’ve been trying to change it, but it won’t change on TikTok, so Miss Razzle dazzle, and then on Instagram at bits of banter with Antoinette and then YouTube at bits of banter.
Christa Innis: I love it.
Antoinette: Um, and I am now my next thing is Perfect Match and Love is Blind uk so I’ll be reacting to those two shows.
Christa Innis: Okay. I gotta watch at least one of those. Yes, yes. I Dating Show World. Yes. Awesome. Well thank you so much.
Antoinette: Thank you.
A Shocking Bridezilla, Wedding Rules Gone Wild & a Book #2 Sneak Peek
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
What happens when a bride bans her bridesmaids from getting engaged or pregnant for two years? Welcome to today’s Bridezilla saga.
Christa reacts to a viral Reddit wedding horror story filled with outrageous demands: daily group chats, pricey dress fittings years in advance, and rules like “don’t look hotter than the bride.”
Then the chaos shifts to family feuds, shower invites without wedding invites, parents footing the bill, and a brother who plays the victim at every turn. Two weddings, endless drama, and a crash course in setting boundaries.
PLUS—Christa reads a juicy snippet from book two of her Here Comes the Drama series!
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:34 Podcast Review and Listener Engagement
02:33 Book Two Teaser: Sneak Peek
11:25 Rapid Fire: Wedding Drama Debates
16:10 Reacting to Crazy Stories
21:05 Bridesmaid Dress Drama
22:40 Overwhelming Group Chats
24:24 Bride’s Unrealistic Demands
26:38 Toxic Friendship Unveiled
33:09 Family Wedding Drama
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- The No-Life Rule – Bride tells bridesmaids they can’t get engaged or pregnant for two years before her wedding.
- The Price of Friendship – Bridesmaids expected to cover all her meals, drinks, Ubers, and bachelorette trip costs.
- Dress Code Chaos – Costly bridesmaid dresses ordered a year early, plus mandatory “mock try-on” videos.
- Group Chat Prison – Multiple platforms, constant tagging, and shaming if bridesmaids didn’t reply instantly.
- Body Shaming Bombshell – Bride tells a postpartum bridesmaid to “lose the baby weight” for the wedding.
- Copycat Behavior – Bride mimics her friend’s pets, car, hobbies, and even pregnancy timing.
- Family Feud Fallout – Brother refuses to invite his own siblings to his daughter’s wedding, after demanding generous shower gifts.
- Empty Pews, Full Drama – The wedding day ends with two-thirds of the bride’s side of the church empty.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Imagine telling your friends: congrats, you’re engaged… oh wait, not for two years, because I said so.” – Christa Innis
- “Nothing says ‘friendship’ like a daily group chat you can’t escape from.” – Christa Innis
- “The only rule at my wedding would be: don’t be a jerk. Apparently, that one didn’t make her list.” – Christa Innis
- “You don’t need a crystal ball to see this marriage starting off with control issues.” – Christa Innis
- “Your bridesmaids are not your unpaid employees, babe.” – Christa Innis
- “If the dress costs more than the friendship, we have a problem.” – Christa Innis
- “Why are parents always expected to pay, but never allowed to have an opinion?” – Christa Innis
- “A shower without a wedding invite is basically a gift grab with cupcakes.” – Christa Innis
- “Some people want a wedding, others want a stage. Guess which one this is.” – Christa Innis
- “Boundaries aren’t mean. They’re survival.” – Christa Innis
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story on Amazon
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi guys. Welcome back to another episode of Here Comes The Drama. I’m your host, Christa Innis, and I am so excited to dive into another episode with some crazy stories that were sent to me. stories from the vault as we’ll call them. As always, if I have not said it on here in a while, if you want more stories from the vault, you can always join my email newsletter and every single week I send out emails on a Thursday.
We share more stories that people send to me. I give you links of all the latest, Stories and skits that I’ve sent out, and then also our latest YouTube video just to make sure it’s all in one place. And you never miss a crazy story because we’ve got lots of them. I’m gonna do things a little bit different today.
I always like to mix it up so it seems a little unique and fun. Although the stories are always unique and fun, so. More can you ask for, so today I’m gonna do a little book two teaser or sneak peek. we’re gonna have a little this or that, a rapid fire. And then I’ve got not one, but two wild stories that, someone has sent over to me.So we’re gonna react to those together.
Sneak Peeks, Reviews, and Wild Wedding Drama
Starting off, I just wanna read a review of the podcast. so this one says, Christa has always made her guests seem like friends of hers. It’s nice to listen to such fun topics, even if sometimes crazy, most of the time crazy. I hope she’ll have on Suzanne Lambert soon.
I had Suzanne Lambert on and I adore her. I think she’s fantastic. She was cracking me up before and after recording and of course during recording, but she was, I wanna say episode seven. I don’t even know. I’ll find out and we’ll, we’ll link in the show notes, but, she was wonderful. thank you for that kind review.
Of course, as always, if you guys love the podcast, please leave me a review. it just helps more people find it and, I will of course share them as well. It just really helps. Like I said, people really understand the podcast and be able to find it when they’re looking for something fun to listen to. So that’s always a fun to read.
Book Two Sneak Peek: Romance, Secrets, and Wedding Fallout
Okay. Like I said. We’re gonna jump into book two Teaser. if this is your first time hearing that I’m gonna work on, or I am working on book number two of the, here comes the drama series. Well, surprise. I’m working on book number two. The title is TBD, I’m working on a few different options right now, and, if you are on my newsletter, email, newsletter list, very soon you’ll be able to vote on which one you like the best.
So make sure you get on that so you can be on the insider, scoop there and see what we’re working with. But book two has been challenging, fun, but also exciting. I would like to say I’m getting a little more creative with, Character development and what can happen. I’m not sticking as closely to the storyline and the skits that you guys saw previously.
Of course it does loosely follow it. but there was a lot, like, I was trying to explain this to someone. It’s like, think of the skit as the rough, rough draft, right? Like I put those together, but sometimes things just come out on a whim and later I’m like, oh, I wish it happened like this instead. So when I sit down to write, I’m able to actually like analyze like, oh, this makes sense, or should I take this scene out?
Should I add this scene in? So we’re getting a little, little, I dunno if raunchy is the right word, but we’re getting a little more in depth in some relationships. We’re adding a little more detail, and I’m changing the course of some things that happen. So it’s been a lot of fun. I do wanna say though, if you’ve not read the first book, and you plan to, you might not wanna listen to this, it’s not gonna reveal too much, but if you watch the skits, it might have some, some revealed in it.
so I’m gonna leave that up to you. It could spoil some small things, but nothing crazy. So here’s a little, teaser from the first part. Again, this is before anything’s been edited, sent to my editor. This is super, super rough, but I wanted to share it with you guys as a little insider bonus. So here we go.
Chapter one, the late afternoon sun spills across the private deck, casting a golden haze over the edge of the infinity pool. Slowly leaves back in her lounge chair, her legs stretched out, sunglasses slipping slightly down her nose. Suddenly Ferris emerges from the villa with sunglasses perched on his head, wearing black swim trunks and holding two glasses of champagne.
My beautiful wife. The champagne you ordered, Ferris says, with a wink leaning forward to hand, one to Sloan. She laughs and sits up reaching for the glass. I could get used to this. The sun, the fresh air, no drama. She gestures up to the sky as if to thank the sun directly. Ferris gently settles into the lounge chair besides her and takes a deep breath, soaking it all in.
She turns to face him and lifts her glass to clink his to married life. I’m so ready for this next chapter. She leans in to give him an a quick peck on the cheek to married life. Ferris echoes smirking at her before taking a long sip. He lets out an audible satisfied. Ah, before adding, tell you what, if I could just sit at a resort like this with you by my side and a drink in my hand for the rest of my life.
I think I could die. Happy slow now reclining again, mumbles you Sure? We didn’t actually die from the wedding stress and this is heaven. She laughs. Ferris chuckles. Come to think of it, the end was kind of a blur, an out of body experience. He thinks back to the moment he could. He made a clear divide between his new wife and his mother.
Proud of the way he stood his ground. Hoping Sloan never second guesses where she stands again. He glances over at her admiring how she glows so naturally in the sunlight. He can hardly keep his hands off of her. Setting down his champagne glass. He moves to sit on her chair, gently cups her face and leans in for a soft kiss.
She lifts her head to meet him, kissing him back. Her hands, exploring his warm body. He slides fully onto the lounge chair silently praying it’s strong enough to hold them both. His fingers trail from her collarbone down to the curbs of her body. Then there’s a knock at the door. They pause looking at each other, then toward the villa without saying a word.
They silently agree to ignore it and return to where they left off. Ferris reaches for the string on Sloan Swim top. Another knock louder this time, he sits up annoyed. Next time I’m putting the do not disturb sign on her door. He walks to the door and pierce through the peephole. A bellhop stands there holding something.
Ferris opens the door, the bellhop smiles holding out a card for the newlyweds. A little spa treatment. Ferris hesitates before taking the card. Oh, thank you. Who’s it from? The call was anonymous, the bellhop says his smile a little too practiced. they just wanted to send you a little treat before you head home.
Ferris furrows, his brows. Thanks. He repeats watching. As the bellhop walks away, he stands there for a beat, peering around the front of the village, nothing. Eventually he shakes it off and heads back inside, shutting the door behind him. Who is that Sloan ass when he returns to the deck? Ferris opens the envelope and scans the card.
Here’s to making sure you relax on your honeymoon. Something tells me you’re going to need it. His stomach tightens. The words could be innocent or something else entirely. He slides the card into his pocket and forces a smile, just a little spa surprise. He says, let’s not waste it. She snatches the card from his hands, her fingers brushing
His in a lingering touch. She opens it reading the message quickly before setting it down on the table. Her gaze meets his and something unspoken passes between them without a word. She wraps her arms around his waist, pulling him closer as she leans down to kiss. The kiss deepens slow in searching and he lifts her effortlessly feeling her legs wrap around him as she clings to him guiding him towards the bedroom.
Their bodies move together. The space between them vanishing as they cross into the next room where the world outside seems miles and miles away. Chapter two, I’m only gonna do a few more paragraphs of this one, cause I don’t wanna give too much. Okay. Back in Milwaukee, tensions are running high after the humiliation of having wine spilled on her at the wedding.
Kate had stormed out of the venue hoping Ted, her husband would follow her in support, but instead he remained inside happily celebrating the couple, mingling with his friends and family as if nothing had happened. She waited a whole hour sitting alone in her car before realizing that no one was coming after her this time.
How could her family be so cruel, so unforgiving after everything she had done for them. She couldn’t believe that they were all inside the venue dancing and enjoying themselves while she sat outside alone. Finally, she decided to go back inside. Maybe that way someone would feel guilty and see how horribly her family had treated her.
She slowly walked back into the venue head slumped down, dragged her feet. She walked in and it was like no one even noticed she was missing. She spotted Ferris and Sloan across the room lost in the moment as they sh start shared a slow dance. He dipped her gracefully and the crowd formed a wide circle around them offering silent shears.
As Sloane made her way up to Ferris, he grazed her jaw and leaned in for a kiss. Off to the side. Kate noticed Jenny standing proudly with her drink in her hand, but it was the right, it was the sight of Cal. His arm draped more than friendly around her shoulder that caught her off guard. Kate stood frozen, staring in disgust, uncertain of what to do next.
She began to walk forward. Her steps slow and deliberate. Just then a tap on her shoulder. Kate quickly turned around to see the wedding planner, Yvette, and a man she didn’t recognize dressed in a suit. Kate, I’m sorry, but we’re gonna have to ask you to leave Yvette politely said, trying not to cause a scene.
Okay. I’m gonna stop there because as you guys can hear, I am not a trained speaker. I am not. A voice actor. So many people like still are like, oh, I wish you would read the next book. I like the audio book, but I wish it was your voice ’cause they’re just used to me in the skit. But that should show you guys like, it is so hard.
I don’t know, like, I dunno if I just overthink, but it’s hard to like enunciate things the right way or pronounce things the right way, especially when you’re just reading it for someone, knowing it’s being recorded. So I know I messed up a little bit while reading that, but, It was also good for me because like I said, I’m a little behind on this one and, I need to send it to an editor soon. I’m on currently on chapter 36 or seven. This one’s gonna be a lot longer. There’s a lot more detail, like I said. so I’m looking at maybe closer to a 300 page book. We’ll see. I don’t know how many chapters yet. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed that little sneak peek.
I do tend to send little sneak peeks, in the newsletter here and there just of random paragraphs. Sometimes I’ll post ’em on social media as well. But, I’m just, really excited to get it out to you guys. I know some, many of you guys read through the first one so quickly, so hopefully I can get this out to you guy pretty soon.
Wedding Drama Showdowns: This or That?
Okay, next up we are gonna do the this or that. Pick aside wedding drama debates. As I read these off, I want you guys to also like say out loud what you would rather do. I think it’s always interesting to hear differences of opinion. Okay. Rapid fire. Your DJ cancels last minute, or your photographer ghost you the day of.
yeah, we’re gonna go with DJ canceling last minute. I know I’ve done similar ones before, so hopefully I’m not repeating them. some of these, I know that one sounds kind of familiar, but you know what I feel like with DJs, again, DJs are great, but we all have Spotify on our phone. Most of us do. So photographer.
Nothing can replace a professional photographer. iPhones are great. Photos are getting better on phones, but I would rather have someone be able to focus on taking photos and not think about it. mother-in-law wears white, or Best Man gives an inappropriate speech. At my own wedding, I would say.mean, how inappropriate are we talking?
I don’t know. Like I’d probably say mother-in-law wears white. I mean for me, that doesn’t really bother me If I would look at some of these other stories. They already have some issues then. Yeah. That’s, a problem. Venue runs out of food or open bar closes two hours early. If I have to pick, it’s gonna be open bar closes two hours early because you do not want the venue to run out of food if you’re not feeding all your guests that is a problem. And I’ve heard horror stories of venues running out of food. I dunno how that happens. that’s bad to leave a wedding hungry. Dealing with a crying baby during your vows or a drunk uncle during your first dance. I think a drunk uncle during your first dance. I think that’s probably way more common.
And at that point, hopefully the music is loud enough and there’s a big enough circle where you don’t really notice it unless he is like so drunk. He’s like walking onto the dance floor and like bothering you guys. But either way, I think, the vows are definitely a more intimate moment where you probably don’t want the distractions.
Okay. a bridesmaid, drops out the night before, or a groomsman shows up late and tipsy, eh, I’d say groomsman shows up late and tipsy. A bridesmaid dropping out the night before we. Unless there was like an emergency that would be kind of crappy, that wouldn’t feel too good if the groomsmen’s a little tipsy when he shows up, whatever.
I mean, we had some drunk grooms men, they handled it fine. Okay. Rain on your outdoor ceremony or blistering heat with no ac. Rain on your outdoor ceremony. I think it could actually be really pretty. there’s something about when there’s overcast, like if we’re talking a little rain, it’s overcast.
The photos actually look really pretty and you’ve got your girls there. You’ve got, maybe your hairstylist has already left, but if you’ve got your girls, just a little hairspray, whatever. I think it’s fine. Okay. Discover a guest live streamed your ceremony without permission or see your wedding. Hashtag hijacked by strangers.
I did not have a wedding hashtag. I don’t even know if that’s a thing anymore. I’m sorry. If people are still doing that, they might be, I think that’s one of those trends that are kind of dying out, so. If someone wants to use it, that’s fine. I remember when we first got engaged, I don’t even know.
I remember kind of thinking about hashtags ’cause my last name’s in it. So I feel like you can do a lot with that. But then I was like, I don’t know if people do this anymore. caterer forgets the cake or florist delivers the wrong color scheme.
I am not, I know I said rapid fire and I’m explaining all my answers. If there’s no other dessert, you can’t forget the cake. If there’s no other dessert, Floris delivers the wrong color scheme. I’m gonna go with that because I mean, if they’re still pretty. I’m not someone that is a big, like flower person.
I had fake flowers at my wedding. I was not about to spend $5,000 on flowers. that’s just me. so yeah, if they came and they were like slightly the wrong color, I don’t know. I don’t think there’s a color I would hate or anything. Seating chart disaster exes were seated together or your boss was seated at the kids’ table.
That’s pretty funny.
I would say. Ex is seated together because in my, like in my writing era right now, and I’m like, Ooh, that sounds like a good story. Like I’m like, Ooh, two exes are seated at a table together and then maybe they hit it off. yeah, that’s just where my mind’s going. Kids table is kind of just humorous for me, honestly.
Okay, last one. Have to wear the world’s itst wedding shoes or smile through an off key karaoke performance dedicated to you. Oh, I don’t want a dedicated karaoke performance. I just don’t want that at all. But itchy wedding shoes, I don’t think I’ve ever had itchy shoes. those both sound really terrible.Okay, you guys need to tell me. What would you guys pick? I think I would go with, if we’re talking like a one minute karaoke performance, let’s just go with that. I’m not wearing itchy shoes.
The Ultimate Bridezilla: Rules, Group Chats, and Friendship Fallout
Okay, let’s get to the moment you guys are all waiting for. Let’s react to these crazy stories. like I said, we’ve got two, so let’s see what we got.
Okay.This story actually went viral a few years ago on Reddit when another bridesmaid posted it on an, am I the asshole Red? She told her side, which I’ll share with her permission, but I never got to share mine.
It’s definitely a brides list story. Okay. So when I first glanced at this, I thought she was saying this was a popular Reddit, story, which it kind of is, but she was also a bridesmaid at this wedding, so she’s kind of telling her own perspective of it, of a Bridezilla story. Okay. This is wild, and I bet you guys are gonna love this because.
We don’t get a ton of Bridezilla stories. Most of the stories that are sent to me are from brides themselves. So we get every other perspective. And people are all the time, like, well, brides aren’t perfect either. There’s Bridezillas. Yes. We all know there’s tons of Bridezillas. Hence why the name started.
Right. so I’m excited for this I’m wearing my white today. Okay, here we go. The bride started off by telling us that if we got engaged or pregnant before her wedding, we were out. Ah. I would just jump ship right then. No, that’s not a friend. You can’t get engaged or pregnant when she’s enga.
When she’s And the wedding. Wait, the wedding was more than two years away. So she expects in that two years for you to pause your own life, bow down to her and do whatever she wants in those two years, no, I’m out. Like we’re not even talking like a quick engagement. We’re talking two years away. You can’t get engaged and you can’t get pregnant.
No, I’m not pausing. I’ve always said this. I would not pause my own life or relationship for somebody else. Like I had a lot of friends that, like when other friends were getting married and stuff, they’re like, oh, okay, well I’m gonna wait to try to have kids till after because I don’t wanna be pregnant at their wedding.
And for me, I was like, your timing is your timing. Like if that’s, if you would rather like be able to party at a wedding, that’s fine. But for me, I was like, I wanna do it when I’m ready. And sure enough, like. I was a pregnant maid of honor at one of my friend’s weddings, and it was really fun.
It was fine, like my feet hurt a lot more. My body was a lot more sore by the end of the night, but I was not about to pause because another friend was getting married. Okay. She told us that we were expected to pay for everything except the wedding itself. I understand when someone doesn’t have a lot of money, but I’m talking about her meals on the bachelorette trip.
We also pay for the trip itself. All of her drinks were in clubs with entry fees. She also expected us to cover, and even her Ubers, I get helping with the party, but every single meal, drink and ride, she didn’t even want to split it. She just didn’t want to pay.
Okay. So here’s the thing with bachelorette parties, and I think communication is really important. Most every bachelorette party I’ve been on and I’ve been on a lot, I’ve never took the time to sit down and count them, but I would say I’ve been to at least nine or 10. Yeah, because I’ve been to Bachelorettes for every wedding I’ve been in and then my own, and I’m sure I’ve been to some. I wasn’t in, we’ve always just split the bride’s cost amongst everybody. And, but that’s always been kind of communicated. Like I said, with all our friend group, we kind of just know that’s what is expected. but when you kind of come in with that entitled behavior, that’s where there’s a problem. cause many of the brides still would buy like rounds of drinks or they would just like. Bring gift bags for everybody. You know, there’s different ways of like giving back to your bridesmaids. this doesn’t sit well with me because she’s coming in very rude and entitled. this is does not sound like a wedding I would be a part of. okay.
She had a long list of rules for how we were supposed to look at both the bachelorette party and the wedding. For the wedding. She picked out our dresses, which were pricey, and we had to get her approval on our hair, nails, and shoes. Oh, wow. when the dresses came in. More than a year in advance.
Why are we getting dresses a year in advance? Like most people like get engaged a year before their wedding. Right. You don’t need your dress that much in advance. Plus your body can change so much through different things, right? Unless this bride’s like you can’t gain weight, you can’t lose weight, you need to stay the way you are. Like, this would not surprise me from this kind of bride. some of mine didn’t get theirs until like maybe two months before the wedding. ‘Cause you have to think about it. Like you get sized for it, you buy it, it gets to you. ‘ cause we did all ours online. Then you have to get it like altered, right? So if you’re, shorten it, you fix up anyway. And I mean, most of the weddings I was in, like, we were just if you wanna get your hair done, I’m thinking. I’ve had some that were more specific, they’d be like, oh, I want updo for everybody. I’m personally not a fan of an updo. Everyone’s different. And then for nails, everyone was just like, do what you want with your nails. Some had like preferences for shoes, they’d be like, oh, we want gold shoes. We want just wear tan shoes. Just wear black shoes. But I don’t think I’ve had any that were like, you have to wear these shoes. One wedding, I was in one of the first weddings I was in I think the problem is, I don’t if problem’s the right word. We were just so young. So we all went to get bridesmaid dresses together and we were literally just walking around the store and like, how, when do you think about this? What do you think about this? And then we all picked the same like silver shoes and they were the most painful shoes. so we all just matched, but I think that’s kind of, we’re kind of veering away from that outlook now.
Okay. so when the dresses came in more than a year in advance, she demanded that we all do a mock try on video on our own time and send it to her right away.
This is when people are more. Care more about the overall look and like how everything’s like perfect than the actual like marriage or like wedding.
At one point I temporarily withdrew because she was too much. I wasn’t the only one, but I was one of the few who ended up going back. Ooh. I wonder why. Within days of her engagement, she started creating group chats, multiple ones, some with just bridesmaids, some with bridesmaids and groomsmen, and on different platforms like Facebook and Snapchat.
Yeah, I’m already overwhelmed. That’s too much for me.
She expected us to check them constantly.
Okay. Full disclosure, when I’m in a bridesmaid group chat, I silence it. you need, boundaries. I love a group chat as much as the next person, and I’ll be in there when I can be. But if I’m in a group chat with, let’s say, 10 other girls, you’ll never have time for anything else. If all you’re doing is reading this thing, I turn off alerts and I check it when I can. And that’s how it should be for everybody. Or if it’s too much for you, just get out of it and find out the most important things. the wedding was years away. When she wasn’t sending us long essays of rules, she was asking our opinions on wedding details. Then getting mad when we didn’t answer, why are we in this wedding? Why are these people in this wedding? This girl sounds terrible to be around. It was like she expected us to plan it out for her. She was making demands daily, but while she worked from home, most of us didn’t. I didn’t have the time to constantly check chats for her new rules. She thrived on attention. So getting married was basically her dream come true, though not for the usual reasons.
The. I’m not surprised someone like this caring more about control and having all eyes on her is not gonna be as excited about the marriage or what’s coming next. They’re more excited about the overall appeal, having a reason to post photos on social media, having people come at, oh, you look so beautiful. Oh your the most beautiful bride. They are not thinking about like, oh, I’m getting married. Oh, I’m signing a contract essentially to live and be married with this person for my life. Hopefully. this is wild. Okay. Eventually she demanded that we all meet for a dress fitting fine, but the wedding was still over a year away. She told us we had to order the dresses by August, 2020, even though the wedding wasn’t until September, 2022. What, what kind of dress are you ordering? even like custom made bride, like bride dresses. Why can I not think of a word? a bridal gown. I ordered mine 10 months before. My wedding was not custom.
It was not custom. We’re talking like a $1,200 dress. Not custom, but I’m thinking like a year is probably fine for that kind of stuff. Like, I don’t know. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this sounds wild to me. Like I said, bridesmaids I think ordered their dresses like six months before the wedding. if we did not order by then or we couldn’t attend the fitting, which she gave us a little notice for, we were out.
I need to know how many other bridesmaids there were and who all dropped out because there’s like at least three points already that I would’ve been out of this wedding. By this point, I had started ignoring the chats. I figured she’d text if it was important. She never did. She only used Snapchat. Who uses Snapchat?
if you’re only listening, I just made a face. I don’t use Snapchat. And to me, the last time I used it was like college maybe. Right? Post college to me. it was only for like instant things you want people to see. Not like, for a constant, like things disappeared, don’t they? Oh gosh.
she could see if we read the messages. If someone didn’t reply, she would literally tag the person until they replied almost as if to shame them. Oh my God, this is wild. Like also as someone like now, like it’s probably more since I’ve become a mom, but like I’ll read text messages sometimes and I’m like, oh, okay, I can’t reply right now.
And I try to remember later. Half the time. I remember later, half the time, I’ll remember like three days later I’ll be like, oh crap, I need to reply to that person. But like sometimes people just read it and they forget. Or if they don’t have anything to say, and that’s okay. Our phones like in social media and like the technology now makes it feel like if someone texts us or calls us or emails us, we have to reply right away.
And so we just always feel like go, go, go, go, go. I have to reply. And it’s like no boundaries, like people do not deserve access to us 24 7. We deserve to shut off from the world as much as we want to. that’s just too much. I get it.
It was her wedding and she was excited, but the demands were reasonable. When I skipped the fitting, she shamed me in the group chat and got others to do the same. Got others to do the same. Who is shaming her then? What the heck? This is so weird. Who? Who would stay friends with someone like this?
That moment caused my many bridesmaids to drop out. She got replacements, but most of ’em eventually dropped out too. Replacements. Gosh, the viral Reddit story came from another bridesmaid’s perspective. In short, the bride who was a photographer made backhanded comments about her body after she had a baby, basically telling her to lose the weight.
I knew it. I knew this kind of person with shame, someone for a weight gain. Telling her to lose the weight for the wedding, which your body, anyone knows anyone that’s had had a child or just as you get older, it’s so much harder to lose weight. And it’s not even that, it’s your body just changes, your body handles food, exercise, um.
Sitting down, you know, just your body changes. So even if you don’t gain weight, sometimes you go up in sizes or sometimes you gain weight and you go down and like you’re, it’s just everybody is different. Like how in the year of 2025 do we still have to explain that everybody’s different, but metabolism’s different, how we absorb food is different.
Like I’m no health expert. I can just see like we can, we need to accept people. Like that’s wild. I would never make comments about a friend’s weight and say, you need to lose your baby weight. What the heck? This wasn’t out of character. The bride often made comments like that and later tried to act innocent.
She thrived on putting others down to make herself feel better. Even before the wedding, I had my own horror stories. She copied everything I did. At first, I thought it was cute, like a best friend thing, until I realized it wasn’t I got a pet. Then she got one only take of it up later. She later copied my car, my purchases, my style, and even my hobbies, worst of all.
But when I became pregnant at 20 unexpectedly and in a difficult situation, she spent my entire pregnancy reminding me how glad she was that she wasn’t pregnant. Why? Why are you still friends with this girl? She does not like you. She does not like anybody. She sounds like someone that’s very unhappy, so she has to constantly put people down around her and someone that’s gonna make fun of you or put you down when you’re pregnant or your body changes, or when you’re going through a sad moment in your life, she’s not gonna be there for you.
Oh my gosh, this is wild. Um, she spent my entire pregnancy. Oh yeah. Okay. So later, after visiting me at 37 weeks, she suddenly started saying she wished she was pregnant too. And within a month she was trying. Soon after she ended up pregnant as well. So these girls are really young. I’m trying to wait. Is this all before the wedding?
I’m so confused. Okay. It says, before the wedding, this all happened. So she was pregnant at 20 before the wedding, so I don’t know how many years later this was it. And so the bride and herself have children. Okay. Fast forward, she eventually apologized and I was back in the wedding. Things went smoothly though she still micromanaged for the bachelorette party.
She wanted us to buy three new approved outfits for going out. No, like I’ve talked about before, I’ve been to many bachelorette parties where there’s like themes and I love it. I love a good theme. Sometimes they’re hard to find, but we go to thrift store. Sometimes we buy stuff on Amazon. You know, whatever.
You can find like. No one would be like, you have to buy a new outfit, or we switched outfits. Like no one would be like, you have to go buy a new outfit, and I, I need to approve it. Like, no. Um, and she kept reminding us to not look hotter than the bride. I work out regularly and was the slimmest in the group.
So she often made outfit suggestions that she knew wouldn’t flatter me. She wanted all the attention. During nights out, if men came up to talk to me or the other bridesmaids, she would immediately jump in, announce that she was the bride, and start bragging. Oh my gosh. The wedding itself. I’m just, you know what the most shocking thing about all this is, is that she still has bridesmaids and friends at the end of this, because this is just so wild to me.
Like I’ve never personally been in a situation like this where a bride was like terrible. So. You can never say how you would truly, truly, you would never know how you would truly, truly act unless you were in that position. But on the outside, there’s like eight different moments now where I’d be like, yeah, I’m gone.
Yeah, I’m gone. Yeah. I’m not in this like that is wild. To me, that is the most shocking part of this whole thing, is that she still had friends stick by her side and stand up by her side during the ceremony. Um, it says afterwards she was angry that we didn’t talk to her enough or try harder to see her.
Later she announced another pregnancy, even though doctors had warned her, she was high risk. Thankfully, she and the baby were fine, but the due date was the same as my birthday. She repeated the date to me without even realizing it, and when I said I was honored, she was triggered and actually. Arranged to be induced early.
This girl will never be happy. Our friendship officially ended when she shamed us all for forgetting her wedding anniversary. Okay? Like you can know your friend’s wedding anniversaries, but like there are so many, like, as we get older, there’s so many things to remember, right? It’s like birthdays, anniversaries, kids’ birthdays, uh, you know, whatever.
Your own personal life things, right? Your own, your own family, husbands birthday, your own anniversary, your own kids work, work stuff. I mean, there’s so many things I would never expect any of my friends to wish me a happy anniversary. Like I’m more shocked when people say happy anniversary. I’m like, oh, I guess it is my anniversary.
What do you know? That is wild. Our, uh, she says, I know this is long and all over the place, but there’s just so much to unpack. I. Girl, I feel for you and I, and I can’t, I’m not, I hope this doesn’t come off that I’m like shaming her for staying friends with so long, her, so long. Because it’s hard when you are really invested in a friendship or you’ve known someone a really long time and maybe she flipped or maybe you’re just used to being that.
Yes, yes girl, that friend that’s always there, right? I know I have before where you’re just like, yeah, I’m there for you. I got this for you. I got this. And then finally, years later, or as you get older, you can look in the mirror and be like, why did I do that? This girl never did anything for me. Or all she did was talk bad about me.
Why was I still willing to do all these things? So I’m just responding to this as who I am right now. But if this happened, you know, when they were in their early twenties, if this happened when I was in my early twenties. Maybe some of the stuff I’d be like, okay, it’s fine. She’s my friend. It’s okay. But this girl is a straight up bully.
And I’m glad as the years went on, more and more brides were like, or bridesmaids in her wedding, were like, okay, this is not normal behavior. I am not gonna be friends with this person. Wow. Well thank you for sharing that. I, I think we need to find the actual like Reddit story now and read the other bridesmaids perspective and, um.
Family Feud at the Altar: When Weddings Expose True Colors
If there’s more as you’re unpacking this, feel free, feel free to send more. All right, guys, I got one more story. Um, as I first, when I first started reading the beginning of story number one, um, I thought it was a Reddit story, so I was like, okay, well we need to have a submission too. So we’re gonna have two submissions today.
All right, here we go.
Okay. We had a pretty dramatic situation at a family wedding that might make for an interesting story. My youngest brother is very narcissistic and controlling. He always thinks he’s the center of attention at every family gathering. He makes everyone miserable and demands that we constantly consider how things are impacting him.
When my oldest niece got married, she did not include either my daughter or her other cousin, my brother’s daughter, as attendance. Both girls were pretty disappointed. Later, when his youngest daughter was chosen as a flower girl, my brother and his wife insisted they couldn’t possibly pay for a dress or anything related to it.
My parents ended up footing the bill for her entire outfit. Okay. I’m trying to get like the family tree in my head. So her, her youngest brother’s narcissistic, her oldest niece got married. Did not include her daughter or her brother’s daughter. Then his youngest daughter was chosen as a flower girl. Got it.
It’s hard when just one kid is invited to a wedding. That’s what’s kind of weird. Um. That’s, and it’s hard for kids to understand like, oh, we want you as a flower girl. You’re invited, but no one else’s. It happens though, fortunately. Okay, fast forward to my daughter’s wedding three years later. She felt terrible for her cousin who had been left out before, so she made her one of the bridesmaids.
Once again, my brother complained that he couldn’t pay for anything, so my husband and I covered the cost of her bridesmaid dress a tie for him. Outfits for both his wife and other daughter since they were guest book at attendants. Wow. You paid for the whole wedding to get dressed for your wedding. Okay.
The whole family, I feel like I said, the whole wedding, whole family, they took it full advantage of the food, enjoyed the entertainment, but didn’t lift a finger to help with set up our cleanup. Yeah. A couple years later, his oldest daughter, the one who had been a bridesmaid, was now getting married. Okay.
Okay. I’m getting this now. Okay? Mm-hmm. A couple of years later, his oldest daughter, the one who was a bridesmaid, was now getting married. There was a lot of talk about what kind of wedding they were planning. Keep in mind. This brother has never hosted us, never paid for a meal, and always brings the cheapest things possible to family gatherings.
But now he was going to host a full buffet dinner and margarita bar for this wedding, and naturally we were all excited. The invitations went out and only my parents were invited. None of the other immediate family received an invitation, including my daughter who had been a bridesmaid for her cousin.
Wait, so that’s weird. So he didn’t invite his own siblings to the, to the wedding, and she didn’t invite her cousins to the wedding. Okay. I asked when we could. Expect our invitations and was told we had to make selections because there were just too many friends we wanted to invite. There’s not room for you guys at the church, so you’re not a priority.
I added that. This of course, was after I had been invited repeatedly to multiple wedding showers. Multiple. How many wedding showers are there? Hosted by different family members and reminded about the importance of being generous with my gift giving. Okay. There’s a lot to unpack there. First of all, if you are getting invited to a shower, you should also be getting an invite to the wedding.
I personally think it’s very rude to invite someone to the shower that you do not plan inviting to the wedding. A couple of exceptions would be. If, um, let’s say it’s a really, really small wedding, like destination or you’re, you eloped, or, um, a micro wedding. So pretty much no one’s getting invited. Then you do like a work shower, like your work team, you know, throws, throws a surprise then sure, that’s fine.
But other than that, for the most part, if you are having a shower, everyone should be invited. I. If you’re not inviting everybody, don’t have a shower. That simple. Um, second part of that is who is this family member that’s reminding you about the importance of generous gift giving? That is wild. That is wild.
Needless to say, we were very hurt. The one time my brother was going to pay for dinner, we weren’t even invited, but oh well, we decided to make other plans for that weekend. When the wedding weekend arrived, it became clear that most of her so-called work friends weren’t even going to show up on her side of the church.
There were only about six family members in attendance. The night before the wedding, my brother called me demanding to know why I wasn’t coming. What as though he hadn’t told me I wasn’t invited, I calmly explained that we knew we weren’t invited and had made other plans. He became irate, accusing me of being mean to his daughter, saying I didn’t care that she wouldn’t have enough people on our side and insisting it would look bad that her own family wasn’t there.
So this is someone that wants you there. When they need you and when they don’t, they don’t want to even think of you or see you. And because he realized that friends weren’t coming, friends that he thought he could count on weren’t coming, they’re like, oh look, that’s when we rely on family, our generous gift givers.
That is wild. She says, we still didn’t go. And sure enough, her side of the church was two thirds empty. That’s when people lean more into the looks of it all again. Again, you know, they’re like, oh, we have to say no to family ’cause they have to forgive us. Right? That’s the thing you hear too, is like, blood is thicker than water.
That all those phrases, they’re like, oh, the family has to forgive us, so we’re gonna put them on the bottom of the totem pole. But it’s very clear here that they probably should have just invited family, but. That is wild. Family dynamics are crazy around these kind of events. So true colors came out and now you know not to bend over backwards for someone like that or help out someone like that because it sounds like he was just trying to use you.
All right guys. Well, that is all I have for this week. That is a pretty wild couple of stories there. Hope you guys enjoyed the Bridezilla story. I know many of you guys have asked for one. as always, you can submit. Stories to me, big or small, I get full on novel sent to me. I get tiny little,
Stories about things that happen, and then people also send me questions about advice. So if you guys ever have any of those, you can DM me on social media. You can submit it at the link, in the show notes as well. All right, guys, well, thank you so much for joining me. don’t forget that my brand new book, I don’t know how long I can call it brand new for, but I’m excited.
here comes the drama of Ferris and Stone Story is out now. We also have the audio book out now, which I’m so excited about. I know I’m not the voice actor, but she is amazing. Her name’s Shiloh James, and she just did a, such a great job. and don’t forget to tag me on social media at Party Planning by Christa for a chance to be featured on my page.
I love seeing your guys’ dms, reposts and videos, all about the book. It’s been so much fun to read. and of course, leave a review. It just helps more people see it, and I love seeing them. all right guys. Thanks for hanging out with me and I’ll see you next time. Bye now.
Education Hot Seats, Reality Checks & a Red Flag Romance — with Colleen Borgert
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Weddings can bring out the best and the worst in families but what happens when the drama takes center stage?
In this episode, Christa and Colleen Borgert dive deep into a story about a whirlwind engagement, a strained family dynamic, and a wedding that almost didn’t happen. Did the bride make the right choice when she called off the marriage after just one month?
Tune in as Christa and Colleen share candid thoughts on red flags, family loyalty, and how important it is to trust your instincts when the pressure’s on. A powerful reminder that it’s never too late to walk away from a bad relationship.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
07:22 Teaching Background and Career Path
12:14 Wedding Would You Rather Questions
18:41 Meeting Her Husband at a Wedding
24:36 Discussing Wedding Food and First Dances
30:12 No Ring No Bring Wedding Policy
36:20 Wedding Story Submission
42:26 Red Flags in the Relationship
48:42 The Divorce and Moving Forward
54:39 Wedding Confessions
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Engagement Red Flags – The couple’s whirlwind engagement raised questions about moving too fast and overlooking key signs.
- Family Drama Unfolds – The bride’s experience with her fiancé’s family dynamics and how it impacted her big day.
- The Sister’s Role – Colleen shares her thoughts on the fiancé’s younger sister and the implications of her behavior.
- Unspoken Expectations – How family members’ expectations can shape wedding plans, and the consequences of unmet expectations.
- The Pushback on No Kids Policy – Colleen’s wedding no-kids policy and the pushback it created from family members.
- Taking Control of Your Wedding – The importance of setting boundaries with family members and ensuring the wedding day feels right for the couple.
- Dealing with Toxic Family Members – The challenges of navigating toxic family relationships and prioritizing your own happiness.
- A Bold Divorce Decision – The courage it took for the bride to end the marriage and choose a life that was healthier for her.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Sometimes the most dramatic moments are the ones that push us into the right decision.” – Christa Innis
- “There’s no rule that says you have to settle for a big wedding if it doesn’t feel right for you.”– Christa Innis
- “When we look back at those relationships, we realize: we were just rushing for the sake of rushing.”– Christa Innis
- “If something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut, even if everyone else says you should push through.”– Christa Innis
- “Wedding day stress isn’t just about the day it’s about what it reveals about the people around you.”– Christa Innis
- It’s not about the number of guests, it’s about the intimacy and connection you want to share.” – Colleen Borgert
- “Some family dynamics are just too toxic to navigate around. You’ve got to know when to step away.” – Colleen Borgert
- “At that moment, I realized that the wedding I envisioned wasn’t the one that was actually happening.” – Colleen Borgert
- “It’s hard to face red flags when you’re too caught up in the idea of what should be.” – Colleen Borgert
- “A good family should never make you feel like you’re walking on eggshells, it should always feel like a safe place.” – Colleen Borgert
About Colleen:
Colleen Borgert is a Catholic ESL Director, wife, and mom with 15 years of experience in education. She is passionate about advocating for all students and dedicated to unlearning and growing into the best version of herself. Colleen’s journey into TikTok began as a way to raise awareness for a comfort closet in her school, providing essential items like toothbrushes, socks, and deodorant for at-risk students. Her efforts gained traction, and after the election, her content evolved to reflect the changing landscape of education. Now, Colleen shares insights on shifting educational laws and provides parents with important updates on what’s happening in their local schools.
Follow Colleen Borgert:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi guys. Welcome back to another episode of, here Comes The Drama. It’s so funny, I put together these intros week after week and you know, I thought it would seem more and more natural, but like sometimes when I read off things, it just feels like I. Uh, not very natural to me. But anyways, thanks for being here, guys.
I’m excited to share another exciting episode. We are joined by Colleen Bogart this week. She’s also known as Leanie Borg on TikTok. She is a Midwest mom educator and all around advocate for her students who need it most. Colleen is known for her heart humor and the way she shows up unapologetically herself.
But don’t let the smile fool you. She’s not afraid to speak up. Stand strong and keep it real both in and out of the classroom. In this episode, we play around of would you rather dive into some wedding hot takes, of course. And then finally, we react to a wedding story submission with an ending you will not see coming.
And I just wanna say, I had so much fun hanging out with Colleen. She’s so real. She was so much fun, and I’m excited for you guys to hang out with us. So without further ado, here’s our episode. Enjoy.
Hi, Colleen. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much. I’m so excited. I’m so excited to have you here. I mean, I think I was telling you before we started recording, like I came across your stuff on, on TikTok and ology. Probably like, I don’t even know, time is, time is funny, but it was probably like over a year ago.
I just love the stuff you put out. So thank you for taking the time and being here today.
Colleen Borgert: Thank you. Yeah. Um, I’ve been on TikTok a little over three years now and have been following you and all of your wedding shenanigans that you put out there and amongst everything that’s happening, like you’re really good comedic relief for me, so I appreciate that.
Christa Innis: Oh, good. Oh, that’s, I love, I love hearing that. It’s kind of goofy just how the internet, I was just telling someone it feels like, it’s like talent show on like. Phone, you know, like you’re scrolling. And I just kind of like pic feel, feel like it’s like talent showing when you’re like in elementary school and everyone’s like, Hey, check out what I got.
And then it’s like the next person, they’re like, Hey, check out what I have to say. And it’s just like this funny world we live in
Colleen Borgert: it, it really is. You know, like I can envision myself doing like little somersaults on, on the stage in middle school being like, TA Yes. And now here we are.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. So true.
And just like the world, I mean, you cover a lot of it too. I feel like the world and everything that’s going on, it’s just like, there’s so many, there’s a lot of negative things going on in the world. Scary things. Mm-hmm. And so I just, I feel like maybe it’s my way of detaching. I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s, yeah.
But, um, but you know, and
Colleen Borgert: thing, things are really heavy right now and, and they’re really heavy for people of all ages, especially in education and that detachment piece, like that’s needed. So we can get up every day with a full bucket. And get to work and keep changing lives. So your detachment is my, is my healing.
So I appreciate you so much.
Teacher Turned Advocate
Christa Innis: Well, thank you. I know. I appreciate what you do too. Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself, what you do, and kind of how that pivoted into what you share on social media?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. So, um, this is gonna be my 15th year in education and I’ve kind of always had more of a social work type background.
And that’s originally what I got into TikTok for. Um, I was raising awareness to help build a comfort closet for, um, kiddos in my school that were from at-risk backgrounds. So, um, I would put out items that we needed, like toothbrush, socks, toothpaste, deodorant, um, just to get eyeballs on that Amazon wishlist link, and then it kind of blew up from there.
And then. After the election when everything kind of in my world pivoted and changed a little bit, so did my content. Um, because everything in the education world is shifting and changing and I wanted to let parents know, Hey, this is happening in your neck of the woods, so come on up to the front and hear about it.
So now I share more, um, educational laws that are changing, things that are adapting within the educational world.
Christa Innis: I love that. I feel like it’s so important because I, I’ve seen especially in your own content too, people will sign off on things or they’re like, agree with something until they really get to the nitty gritty and they’re like, wait, what’s happening?
Wait, department of Education’s going away. You know, and they’re like picking up these things. They’re like, wait, what does that actually mean? And they need people that are in it that know the ins and outs to explain it.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. And, and it’s easy for every single person to kind of wear a school hat in the sense because they were a student at one point in their lives, but the lens that they see things through is that student lens and maybe not what’s behind the curtain.
So hopefully I can just pull that curtain back for people and let them see the nitty gritty of what things actually mean.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so like what. Kind of going back, what inspired you to initially become an educator? You said you started with social. Did you start with social work and you were kind of in that field and then you kind of moved into be teaching?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah, so, um, I kind of was always in the school social work realm. And then just recently, a few years ago, I kind of navigated more into the classroom and now I work at a Catholic school. So I’m a Catholic, um, English, a second language director. And um, what I do is I ensure kiddos that do not have English as a first language, have equitable education.
Um, now more than ever. That’s extremely important. Um, I think that I feel. So I shouldn’t say think. Mm-hmm. I feel so passionate about this because I also grew up in an extremely, like poor environment, poor households. So I know what it took to like claw my way to get here. And I know that if it’s possible for me, it’s possible for other kids if I can just be that adult that I needed when I was younger.
So that’s definitely what fuels me every day that I get up and I go to school.
Christa Innis: I love that I’ve, I’ve heard that quote before about like, you like need to almost think about who you needed as a child because that’s gonna, that should be kind of like who we are as adults, because that’s gonna kind of put us back in that mind frame of like, okay, I really need an adult to hear me.
I really needed an adult to support me or understand me. Um,
Colleen Borgert: to make you feel seen and valid.
Christa Innis: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like that’s. I feel like that’s such a pivotal thing to remember because we get kind of lost in the day to day. And then especially as educators, you want someone to really care. Like, you know, my, my daughter’s too young for school yet, but when she’s in school, I’m like, you want a teacher like that that’s gonna really think like, okay, they’re gonna hear everything I say or they’re gonna see me as a person, like even if I’m quiet or, you know, those kind of things.
Colleen Borgert: Absolutely. And see the parent too, because the parent is an important part of all that.
Teacher Balancing Truth & Boundaries
Christa Innis: Yeah. Mm-hmm. So do you think, so I know you’ve kind of posted before about like, like your content changing, especially after the election, but I think even before the election you were kind of, you know, talking a little bit more about what could happen, these kind of things.
So with working at a Catholic school, is it hard to kind of. Do you have to stay in line with certain things or say certain things? I don’t wanna like get you in trouble either, so I wanna make sure you’re saying things that are okay. Mm-hmm. You know, like, are there guidelines like you, can you say certain things online or where does that fall in line with your teaching?
Colleen Borgert: Well, I think in general that is kind of just a teacher box that everyone has to stay in. Um, when it comes to my Catholic faith and, and where I align, at first I was really nervous to kind of like go out in those waters and let people know like, Hey, I’m a, I’m not a public school teacher. I’m a Catholic school teacher.
But once I showed people that. I am here for all kids regardless of religion, race, background, culture. People started to see my authentic, you know, views that I wanted to present and the information that I was giving people and it was well received. There are definite lanes that you have to stay in, um, as a teacher.
And then I think my lane is just a tad bit smaller being a Catholic school teacher, but the things that I am bringing are fact-based. Educational laws to people. So I’m really proud of that. And I think as long as I stay in my lane, you know, I’m good. And I’ve had a lot of wonderful support from my school community.
Um, they have backed me up 110%. Um, they believe that every child has the right to a free and equitable education as I do regardless of race and religion. So it’s been really good. Um, but at the end of the day, I’m an adult and I have to be able to control what I say to stay in that lane.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, absolutely.
No, I love it. I love that they’re, they’re behind you. ’cause I mean, just in general with like content creators, like just different jobs, I’ve heard different stories where they’re like, you can’t say this, you can’t post this, you can’t do this. Um, so it’s really good to hear that there’s like supportive, um, uh, schools and communities out there.
Colleen Borgert: Oh wait, I totally butchered
A Diagnosis That Changed Everything
Christa Innis: that question, but chair, like a pivotal moment in your life that kind of shaped how you approach teaching.
Colleen Borgert: Um, I think one thing that changed my view on how I view all kids in the classroom is my son was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome when he was in kindergarten and. As a parent, just hearing that diagnosis, not knowing what that looks like, um, in our, in our lives, let alone in the classroom, surrounded by, by kids he does not know.
It, it really made me like peel back my eyelids and open my eyeballs to every single kid has something different that’s going on inside of them. Mm-hmm. Every single kid that is in front of me is going to feel one way or another on a certain day. And my son deserved to have a teacher that was like, okay, you are different and you’re unique and that’s wonderful.
And how are we going to ensure that you get the exact same care and attention as every single other kiddo. Mm-hmm. In here. And I think as we’re looking at things today that are happening, happening politically. We have to remember that we are all just one diagnosis away from having a unique child. We, you know, we are, we’re one car accident away from having a child that might need to be in a wheelchair that is going to need different accommodations and is going to need a teacher that is, is loving and caring and will do absolutely everything for your kid.
Like they would for Susie Hugh, who is always there 20 minutes early, raising our hand star reader. Mm-hmm. Like every single child is different. And I want my kid to have a teacher that loves on him. Like I love on every single baby that I see every single day of the school year. Mm-hmm. So, like his diagnosis, it, it was rough for us.
It was scary. We didn’t know what that would look like. So that, that was, that was hard.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I think that that’s, yeah. Such an important thing because like you said, anything can change in a minute. I think. A lot of times people just like look at like, what’s gonna affect me and me only? Mm-hmm. And if you look outside and say like, well, how is this affecting other people?
Or how is it affecting that family? Or how is it affecting this family that leads to more compassion and empathy and understanding. I think that’s really what the world lacks. Because, because, um, not to like generalize, but I just feel like those are the things I’ve observed is like there’s a certain group of people that let’s look at like, well, it doesn’t bother me, so I’m fine.
Right. It’s like what anything can change, anything could happen. Like you said, like mm-hmm. Um, emergencies happen all the time or you know, I don’t know. Things, things just can change quickly. Um, that’s, yeah. That’s such a good thing to think about. Um, okay.
I wanna switch into the wedding, wedding kind of topic.
And as I was kind saying to you before we started recording is like I’m adding, I’m kinda shifting these podcast episodes a little bit different to like more conversations in the beginning, but I still haven’t kind of figured it out a transition. Sometimes it just happens naturally and other times I’m like, all right, so onto the wedding stuff.
So sorry if it seems kind of abrupt. We’re working on it. No first timer here. I think it seems fabulous. Okay. I was just like talk my way through stuff. ’cause I’m like, or like, what is it called? Not talk my way through it. I don’t know, I just like when I dunno what I’m doing, I just keep talking and figuring it out.
Girl. Same. And you’re a hand talker. So, oh my gosh. The number of people, when I first started making content that would like, like hate comments about like me using my hands, I was like,
Colleen Borgert: I dunno, I don’t know. Yeah. It just happens. I get the same. And then my next video I come out 10 times harder just like.
Christa Innis: You thought it was bad before, just wait. I know, right? It’s like, I will make sure I do it now. Well, yeah. And so one comment I got last night was, um, like I, because you know, I do like the skits and stuff, but every once in a while I come on and I’ll like explain something or I’ll give like a little background.
Someone basically was like, no one likes when you do that. Like, don’t come on and explain things. We’re here for the skits and the skits only. Don’t talk and waste our time.
Colleen Borgert: People are so rude keyboard warriors nowadays. Like, it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s, I know, it’s crazy. I just have to
Christa Innis: laugh at the ridiculous ones.
Weddings Would-You-Rather
Okay, so starting off, let’s do a little, um, wedding. Would you rather Ooh. Completely Just random. So, okay. Um, it’s a lit, some of them might be a little tied to being a teacher, but then we’re gonna do like other ones. So here we go. Okay. Would you rather have to teach a class of 30 kids in full bridesmaid attire or chaperone recess in high heels the day after a wedding?
Colleen Borgert: Oh my goodness gracious. Well, with the amount of dancing that I do and the way that I get into shout and put my hands up in the air, yeah, I’m definitely gonna go with the 30 kids in the classroom like, yeah. A bridesmaids dress. I love a good dress up any day of the week.
Christa Innis: Yes, I know. It’s a fun, fun excuse to have like a princess day or something.
Colleen Borgert: Right. Like since Wynn is dressing up bad at school, so I, I totally will take that. But my 41-year-old body nowadays after wedding dancing, I can’t like, oh my gosh. Beautiful day recovery and yeah.
Christa Innis: No
Colleen Borgert: fun.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I know. It’s funny how that like just changes all of a sudden, like I’d be like, when people have like the full wedding weekend, I’m like, I need like one big day and then I need like a couple days of recovery.
Thank you. Yes.
Colleen Borgert: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Mm. Yeah. After, after a good wedding, you know?
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Okay. Uh, would you rather give a wedding toast with no preparation or do the Chacha slide solo in front of the whole reception?
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh. Chacha real smooth now. Mm. Um, I would much rather. I think just give a wedding toast.
Like, it, it, I’m a group dancer, but solo dancing, like my, my, my face drops. Like my, my face gets serious. It’s, it’s not very cool to look at. I don’t think anyone would want that, but hand me a mic and I, you know, cheers the bride and groom. That’s something I can get behind. Get behind. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. All right.
Um, would you rather attend a wedding where the ceremony lasts three hours? Or one where the DJ only plays kids? Bop.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, okay. Um, that’s a tough one. Oh man. This is, this is almost like, would you rather go to a three hour PD or do a kids bop after school hour? Oh my gosh. I, I, I think I know, I think I’m gonna still go with the three hour ceremony.
Christa Innis: Oh, I
Colleen Borgert: know. At least. At least it’s quiet.
At
Christa Innis: least it’s quiet. Oh my gosh. I think I would go kids b really? Every once in a while. I don’t know if it’s ’cause of my, my daughter’s too. And so every once in a while, like I get really into those kids bumps. I mean, we, I mean they, they are catchy. They’re, they’re catchy. Luckily she’s really into Wicked now.
So we listen to the Wicked soundtrack, but play, I love it. But, uh, I love a good, you know, Disney, so I don’t know about Kids. Bop we’ll see how that would go. But I
Colleen Borgert: think it’s because when I imagine kids bop, like I imagine like kindergartners. All up on me, you know, like jamming with me with their hands going down, you know, like yeah.
That’s just the vision that I have from the experiences. So yours and mine, maybe a little different.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Different vibe. Yeah. Um, would you rather sit at the all singles table with ex students? Oh, ex students’ parents, or be seated next to the couple’s ex.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh. I, I actually would take the parent table for sure.
Yeah. Without a doubt. I have been really blessed with wonderful parents and that’s, you know, I did eight years in public school and I’m still connected to so many of my public school parents that I love and adore. And the last like five years in the Catholic school system, like I just, I’ve been really lucky, so.
Oh good. I bet that table’s really fun. Signed up. Yeah.
Christa Innis: And like all those parents, like letting loose. I bet it would be like a great table,
Colleen Borgert: right?
Christa Innis: Yes. Love that. A
Colleen Borgert: for everybody. Yes.
Bridesmaid Dress Drama
Christa Innis: Okay. Would you rather wear a neon bridesmaid dress that clashes with your skin tone or have the name, or have your name spelled wrong on every wedding program?
Colleen Borgert: Oh my goodness. So I am the worst speller in the world. I can totally see me misspelling something in my own wedding. I, I probably did to be honest. Um. I also wore the wrong colored bridesmaid’s dress in my cousin’s wedding two years ago. So I’ve done that as well. Um, but I’m still gonna have to go with if that bride wants me to wear, you know, the worst color in the world.
But she is like, this is my vision. I’ve I’ve got you.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Colleen Borgert: I’m, I’m ride or die for the bride. So you,
Christa Innis: you strike me as someone that would be like a really great bridesmaid. Like, you’re like hands on. You’re like, what do you need? I got you. Like, I just get that vibe from you.
Colleen Borgert: Well, until, until literally you see that I bought, I bought the wrong color, which is before we’re walking down the aisle.
So there when you’re
Christa Innis: walking down the aisle,
Colleen Borgert: oh my gosh. We walked into like the get ready room where all the dresses are hanging up. Yeah. And the maid of honor comes up to me and she’s like, oh, Pauline. Have you seen your dress? And I’m like, yeah, it’s hanging up. It’s so cute. She’s like, it’s the wrong color.
So everyone had gotten like a, a, a shade of sage. Okay. And mine was just a different shade of sage green. And
Christa Innis: you could tell So it from different like places or like, she told you like, oh, get it sage. And just sent like a picture of what she liked and then everyone just went and got thrown or, so I
Colleen Borgert: confirmed via text and I’ve always got receipts.
I pulled that out and before I bought it I was like, this is the color correct. And she said, correct. But the bride, my cousin, she was so relaxed. She’s like, I don’t care. You know, ’cause I’m crying at this point. Aw. She’s like, I don’t care. You’re walking down the aisle. You know, I’m like, I’ll stand in the back.
I don’t have to be in the wedding. Like, oh,
Christa Innis: was it that different?
Colleen Borgert: Um, it was like one shade lighter. You, you could,
Christa Innis: you could tell,
Colleen Borgert: you could tell I ruined the wedding pictures for sure. Oh. But you know, this is the family. She was a great, I mean, she’s just a great person, so I got really lucky. Um, but yeah, if the bride needs me, whatever the bride needs me to do, I’m gonna do it.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. I, you know, I feel like, especially now too, it’s like I’ve seen it more weddings where the bridesmaid dresses don’t exactly match. I know. I actually love that. Yeah, I know. I feel like it’s like adding a little more uniqueness. I think, like at my wedding it was like, um, from, from Birdie Gray, which is like, you can order them all online, they’re under a hundred dollars and you just, you can pick like a color scheme.
So like, mine was like mov, but there’s like three shades of mov and people are like, what color? I’m like, I don’t care. Any of the, any of them. Any of them,
Colleen Borgert: they’re gonna look so pretty.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I just feel like. It, I feel like gone are the days where people wear the exact same dress. Right. Maybe every, I’m sure it happens here and there, but
Colleen Borgert: Yeah.
And in my wedding, um, I just did black satin. All the girls just had to do a black satin and it needed to be like t length and didn’t care other than that, so yeah, it was really unique. Like I just, I, I love the non-uniform look. Yeah. And that’s probably the Catholic school teacher in me coming out being like, eh, we don’t need a uniform up in here.
We’re
Wedding Party Love Story
Christa Innis: done with the uniforms, please. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. Let’s move into some wedding hot takes and stories. You said you have a story of how you met your husband at a wedding, so let’s get into that.
Colleen Borgert: Okay, so I met Mr. Borger. Uh, we were both in the same wedding party for my cousin almost 16 years ago.
And, um, he kind of clocked me right away and was like, that’s the girl I wanna marry. So we got to the reception, danced a little bit. Um, there was definite connection early on. We both went our own ways. Um, the next week he called my cousin, old school, got my number, called me on the telephone. I heard this man’s voice who does that anymore?
So un heard of these days. I know. And he asked me out on a date and we have been together ever since. But yeah, he went up to my cousin who was the bride, and said, I just want you to know I’m gonna marry that girl. And
Christa Innis: oh my gosh, that’s like a romantic story.
Colleen Borgert: I know I love, love.
Christa Innis: Oh my God. So how is he connected to the wedding?
Like was he like a groomsmen or He was the fiance’s or fiance, I guess your cousin’s husband.
Colleen Borgert: Yes, friend. He was, um, a longtime childhood friend of the groom. Okay. So now they get to be at family functions together and we’re like pretty our kids together. So it’s. It’s wonderful.
Christa Innis: I love that when like, they’re already kind of like connected, so there’s like no extra introduction.
It’s like he’s already kind of, you got an in, he’s got an in. Mm-hmm. Um, and then for you, it was a family wedding, so your family was probably already there. And so like did he like meet your parents then at the wedding and everything?
Colleen Borgert: Um, I don’t know if he necessarily like, met them, met them at the wedding.
Yeah. But he was invested in the fun that my family can have for sure. We are in good time, so I love that. Yeah, he, he was there for it.
Christa Innis: Oh, that’s awesome. I love that story. ’cause like, usually when I ask people like crazy stories, they’re like, I mean, I, I kind of put people, I try to not put people on the spot, but, um, I.
I love that it was like a positive good story. Yes. Because I always tell people, I’m like, people just remember these crazy moments. That’s why I share them. But like for the most part, like there are so many great wedding stories and like fun moments and just like, just like wild moments about, you know, yes.
Things hanging out. Um. Awesome. I love that.
The Great Wedding Dinner Debate
Okay, let’s get into some wedding hot takes. Okay. These are people send me on Instagram. We’ll just kind of react together and see uh, what our thoughts are. Okay. This one says buffets over plated dinners faster, more variety and fewer awkward chicken and steak texts.
I dunno what the text means, but,
oh, I just copied something. Yeah. Fewer awkward chicken and steak dinners.
Colleen Borgert: So are, are you asking which one do I prefer?
Christa Innis: It’s just a hot take that someone sent, so, yeah, I mean, you can say what you think about it. Um,
Colleen Borgert: so there, there was one summer, um, like my husband and I had been married for maybe like two years, and we legit had 10 weddings from like May until September.
Like mm-hmm. He’s five years older than me, so my friends were in like prime time wedding season. Mm-hmm. And it was almost every single wedding had the same chicken with that white gravy. I think it might. Oh yeah. Like on top with the mashed potatoes and everybody thinks that they’re doing something special when they’re not, you know, like it’s just boring.
But one of our friends catered in Qdoba at their wedding. And I have never forgotten it. Like, I have never forgotten the Qdoba wedding. And I hope that if this airs they hear this and they know how special their Qdoba wedding was to me. So, you know, I’m a, I’m a fan of a buffet, you know, poor girl from a poor neighborhood.
We loved our buffets growing up. Um, so I don’t mind a good buffet at a wedding.
Christa Innis: I know. I was just saying to someone, like when I was younger at weddings, I was like, like years from getting married, I was like, oh yeah, I wouldn’t, I don’t think I would do a buffet. I like the plated dinner. And then as I got older I was like, I love a buffet.
Like I just love it. And then of course when I got married I did a taco bar and I was like, this is where it’s at. Oh, you did the, you did
Colleen Borgert: the taco. There are people that came to your wedding that 20 years from now are gonna be like, I went to a taco of our wedding and it’s going to be you girl. Yeah. That is the wedding that they are referencing.
It’s yours.
Christa Innis: I was just like, I. Never really was a big fan of plated dinners unless they’re like, I don’t know, every once in a while. Yeah. Like surprised me. Really good. But I also worked at a hotel for, gosh, three years in college. So like I would saw all the banquet foods and I saw them and not like saying they were gross or anything, but like I saw how they would keep ’em warm and I just, I don’t know, just not my thing.
And so I was like, when there’s a buffet though, you take what you want. Maybe go for seconds, get a little guacamole in there. We’re good.
Colleen Borgert: Yes. I’m here for it. I’m here for it. And I love that you did. I can’t believe it. You did Taco. I know. You’re
Christa Innis: seko. Dopa. I was like, yes. It was pretty close. It was like a local place, but it was like, it was perfect.
Like perfect.
Colleen Borgert: Yes. Yeah. And people appreciate it.
Christa Innis: And pizza for a late night snack. Yes.
Colleen Borgert: The, the best weddings that bring out that 11:00 PM like fill your belly up snack. The best.
First Dance or Skip It?
Christa Innis: Yes. Oh, it’s the best. Um, okay. This next one says, not every wedding needs a first dance. Some couples just wanna party, so let them
Colleen Borgert: I agree.
Like if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. This is your special day. Who am I to say that you have to do something to make me feel special or this whole thing makes sense. Yeah. That doesn’t make any sense to me.
Christa Innis: I know, and I’ve heard of like parents like fighting back on it and being like, no, you need this.
And it’s like they don’t wanna be the center of attention. They don’t want that big moment. It like, it’s okay. Like no one should be forced to do anything at their wedding that they aren’t comfortable with, or that just doesn’t interest them.
Colleen Borgert: Right. Did you do a first dance.
Christa Innis: I did. Yes, we did
Colleen Borgert: too. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love it.
I love, I love a first dance. Yeah.
Christa Innis: But if they
Colleen Borgert: don’t want it, they don’t want it.
Christa Innis: Yeah. A hundred percent. We did a choreo, I’m gonna mess up the word choreographed. We practiced ourself.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh. We are not
Christa Innis: dancers either of us. I’m not. Okay. So when are you posting that to TikTok? I might have years ago.
I’m trying to think. I might have to repost it. I’m gonna get my scroll game
Colleen Borgert: on. I know. I
Christa Innis: gotta think about what I posted it. Um, probably not in a long time ’cause people were like asking about it once I, so we watched YouTube because I was like, okay, one lesson I always learn brides, if you’re listening was take some kind of dance course.
You don’t have to like pay for it. If you are doing a first dance, you don’t have to like pay for it. There’s free ones on YouTube, right. Um, and so we started doing that, like just to learn like the steps. So we, because I’ve gone to so many weddings where you can tell they’ve literally never danced together.
Right. They stand there and they just like look awkward. They just sway and they’re
Colleen Borgert: like leaving lots of room for Jesus. You know? It’s
Christa Innis: like, come on guys. Like let’s not have that first time you guys ever like, get in a room, dance together, be like in a, in front of a hundred people. Right? Right. So like I knew I didn’t want that awkward moment.
So like, we did like our step practicing and then as we were watching, or like YouTube, it was like suggestive videos and it was like Taylor Swift, uh, oh gosh, what song is it? Oh my gosh. I sounds, is her, this is her first dance. Yeah. Why am I drawing a blank? Ah, it’s Taylor. Um, oh, now I’m gonna like, have to like find it ’cause it’s gonna really bother me.
Um, but it’ll come to you in a few minutes
Colleen Borgert: and if not divorce will come. It’ll be
Christa Innis: fine. It’ll be fine.
Colleen Borgert: We’ll just pick your voice in. It’s
Christa Innis: can, I’m gonna sing it and I can’t sing. Can I go where we can? I can’t sing. Hold on, hold on. I’m a swifty. Give it to me. Be this clo forever and ever. And, and take me. Huh?
And with a, that called you’re my, my lover. Lover. Lover. I knew we’d get there eventually. Yeah. Okay. So it was to lover.
Colleen Borgert: Love that. Yeah. And there was a
Christa Innis: really cute dance on YouTube and they showed what to do. So we did like a little spin. He like picked me up in the end. Oh. And we didn’t tell anyone we were doing it.
So it was likes you
Colleen Borgert: had like your, um, baby moment from dirty dancing where he like Yeah.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Little less graceful than that, but Yeah.
Colleen Borgert: But I do love that you told brides that they could just get on YouTube, like they don’t have to spend their money. Yeah. Just hop on YouTube. Yeah. I, I love that you remind people of that it, it doesn’t have to break the bank to be special.
Christa Innis: Yeah, exactly. Like, we literally did it in our, in our apartment living room and we just practiced like every week. I think we was like, Monday nights we’re gonna practice our dance. Yay. Okay.
No Ring, No Bring and the Reality of Guest Lists
Um, next one is no bring, no ring, no bring is totally fair. Sorry to your new hinge date of two weeks. What are your thoughts on No ring, no bring.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my thought. Okay. So my husband, my husband did not get invited to a second cousin of mine’s wedding. We were not engaged. We got engaged the next month. Okay. And during the time I was like, I can’t believe they won’t let me bring him. Like, why would they not? Mm-hmm. And now that I have children of my own and I see the cost of things and I, I see more of like that behind the curtain.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I
Colleen Borgert: can see that and I can respect it for what it is now. Yeah. I tell you. But when I was in the moment, it felt like, oh, my partner isn’t allowed to be here, but I, I can understand it now. I can respect it now.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I, I totally get that. I had a similar thing, it was my second cousin’s wedding. Gosh, I don’t even know how long ago it was.
My hu Now husband and I were just dating, but we were living together for years and they like invited, it was weird. It was like they invited all of us, but like they put like, I can’t remember, there was something weird about it, but like, we were like, oh, um, I don’t, I didn’t, I didn’t know if they like, didn’t know his name or something like, weird, but like I had been with him like longer than this couple had been.
So like they’d met him many times. Like, this is your person at this point box. Yeah. This is like very clearly my person. Yeah. Like he like plus one of the other weddings in the family, like, he’d been to their house and then this second cousin, it was like a fairly like quick like, which no hate or anything.
Of course. That’s, that’s awesome. Right. But it was fairly quick. So like, they had been together like a short time and like he wasn’t invited and I was like, oh, I’m just making sure. Yeah. And again, now looking back, I’m like, we were not that. I was not like super close with them. So I was like, I get it. And I ended up just going with my mom and my sister.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. Which, you know, tho those can be fun times too. And it was fun, you know, like unexpected fun moments without, you know, the old ball and chain that, that’s fun too. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I do think there’s a difference between, you know, you had been dating your now boyfriend for years and I was almost engaged versus like, oh, two weeks ago I met Jimmy, you know, down at the gas station.
Yeah. Can he come too? Yeah. Like that’s
Christa Innis: different to me. I know. I just read this crazy Reddit story this morning where it was like. This girl was demanding to be invited to her boyfriend of a few months wedding, like, or his friend’s wedding. And she, he was like, oh, I don’t get a plus one. And she’s like, well, I’m your girlfriend.
I should be able to go. And he’s like, well, they didn’t gimme one. I’m a groomsman. I don’t really wanna start anything. And she’s like, no, if you like really like me, you need to like bring me. And that’s where I’m like, it’s only three months. Mm-hmm. He’s probably only least friends for years. I don’t see like where, why you have to automatically give a plus one.
Right. I agree. I agree with that. It’s very, it’s very nuanced. I think in a lot of it, it’s not all black and white. It’s kind of like each individual thing is gonna have different. Rules. Right?
Colleen Borgert: Like we, we didn’t do kids at our wedding. We had a no kid wedding. Um, but our final total, even after we got all the nos for our RSVPs, we were up to like 370 people with no children.
Woo. Like, you know, and that is hard for people to grasp too, you know, like, what do you mean I can’t bring my kids?
Christa Innis: Yeah. But when
Colleen Borgert: you are from such a ginormous family like you. When you eliminate those kids, you’re able to say, okay, my second cousins can now come and, you know. Yeah. So I think we have to remember to pull back the curtain on everything and kind of say there, there’s always more back there than what we initially think.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. 375 people,
Colleen Borgert: too many.
Christa Innis: That is insane. It, it was like 360 people. Too many. Let me tell you, if you were to do it again, do you think you would do it a lot smaller?
Colleen Borgert: I would do it. I would do it so differently. I I would do it smaller. More intimate. Intimate. Is that inter intimate? Intimate. In intimate?
I kinda like intimate, but it’s intimate. Intimate, you know what I mean? I, yeah. I would make it, it would be much smaller, quaint, and just a few close people, and I would probably want to do a surprise. And just if you wanted to show up at this random thing I invited you to, you get to come to my way. Oh, I love that.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I love that. I know, I think it’s like with age, we’re kind of like, because I always tell people if I were to get married in my early twenties or something, I think I would’ve gone way too big. Invited way too many people. Mm-hmm. And you know, like I had just been outta college or something, so I’d probably had like all my college friends.
Yes. My bridesmaids. And it’s like now here I am, like 15 years or ish out of college and I’m like doing the quick math out of college and I’m like. Half those people I don’t even talk to anymore. So I’m like, I’m, I would not have wanted them at the wedding. ’cause then they’re gonna be all these pictures like, you know?
Right. And that’s exactly how it,
Colleen Borgert: you know, and, and I’m blessed and lucky and it’s easy for me to be, to say now, like, oh, I would do it differently. But that’s because I got that moment. Mm-hmm. You know, I got the big moment of, you know, all my friends, all my family. But yeah. I don’t talk to the majority of the people that were there at no fault of theirs or mine life.
Just, I’m just, yeah. You know, just happens. Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: Did you get pushback with the no kids at your wedding?
Colleen Borgert: I did. There were a couple people that gave me pushback. Um, a couple family members and a couple friends. Uh, one of my bridesmaids had had her daughter like two weeks before the ceremony, so she brought her daughter to like, feed her parents came like, things like that didn’t bother me.
Yeah. But if I knew if I am, if I let. One family bring their two kids, then the next family had, and then before you know it, it’s 500 people. Right. And you know, so it’s not that the children, it was more so just I needed the number as low as possible to be able to invite all those people I no longer see anymore.
Christa Innis: Right. And then you wanted to be equal playing ground for everybody. Right. For everybody. Totally makes sense. Yeah. That’s one thing people don’t realize. And a lot of the stories I get, it’s like, they’re like, just make me the exception. Oh, my kids are fine. It’s like, well, you don’t understand if I let you bring your two kids and then yours.
And then I read a story the other day where an aunt was told it was just the aunt and uncle, and then she RSVP’d for. Her adult children who are four kids, their significant others and their kids. So, so she wrote in on the card 15 or something, extra people.
Colleen Borgert: I can’t
Christa Innis: like you’re not talking to one extra person.
You’re talking three extra tables. Two extra tables,
Colleen Borgert: yeah. Like in, in, in what world and in what mind does that aunt think that that is okay? Like I can’t wrap my mind around people that do things like that. But there’s people out there that do it. Mm-hmm. All the time. Yes. It’s crazy.
Christa Innis: It’s, it’s again that mind frame of me.
This, this is, this is gonna affect me if I can’t do it this way, or Oh, it’s fine. Right. I’m the exception. She loves me so much. Yeah. I’m her favorite aunt. Yeah. Yeah. And it’s so funny ’cause when I like do these skits, people are, I’m like, when I’m like acting them out, I’m like, oh gosh, this is so dramatic.
I’m making this 10 times worse than it probably is. And people will comment and they’ll be like, no, that exact thing happened to me. Or like, that is exactly what, yeah. Talk that way. Yeah. I’m just like, oh man, this is wild. Okay, speaking of before we get too over on our time, so are you still, are we still okay on time?
Yeah, I, I’m, I’m good. Okay. Let’s get into this week’s wedding story submission. So, as always, I’ve not read this yet, so feel free to stop me at any time and react or we’ll just kind of react together. Okay. Here we go. Okay. Let me see if I get my scroll. Okay, here we go. Here.
Bridesmaid Meets Her Groom’s Family
Hello Krista. I just wanna say I love your skits.
I have a story that still blows my mind years later. I’m not sure if it’s juicy enough to be considered drama, but it was wild for sure. Back in October of 2013, I started dating a man who was seven years older than me. I was 23 and he was 30. He had a younger sister who was exactly one month older than me.
She was the baby of the family and never did anything wrong in their eyes. She was also a teacher, which becomes important later because I’d always been, I’d always wanted to be an elementary school teacher, but had to pay for college on my own. Most of his family lived in New York or Florida, which also plays a role later.
Okay,
Colleen Borgert: hold on. So we’ve got a 30-year-old man. Mm-hmm. Dating a 23-year-old.
Christa Innis: 20. 23-year-old? Yes. Okay. And sister, who’s also 23 is my Okay. Teacher. Got it. Out of state relatives? Yes. Okay. By May, 2014, my then boyfriend had been in and out of the hospital several times for various issues, even having surgery to remove his appendix.
He thanked me for being by his side through everything and bought me a nice coach bag to show his appreciation. I had never owned a designer purse before. Then he asked my youngest sister for help, for help planning something my sister knew. I absolutely hated surprises and told me he wanted to propose and ask for suggestions.
So she’s just like, this is what he wants to do. Okay. I’m like, at what point? Okay, wait, so may They met in October, 2013 by May, 2014. So is it like a year and. No, not even, no, that’s just like six months. Oh, that’s like six months later.
Colleen Borgert: November, December, January, February. Yeah, that’s like five, six months. Oh, wow.
Okay. Okay. We are going, went
Christa Innis: along. Okay. Uh, then he asked. Okay. She gave him several ideas, so I wouldn’t know which one he’d pick or when it would happen. He also asked my biological dad for permission, which was odd because I’d always been closer with my mom. Okay. Mm-hmm. You would think he would know that, but maybe not in five months.
I mean only six months. Who knows? Who knows? Yeah. In 24, in June, 2014, he proposed and I said, yes, his youngest sister. Okay, so now his youngest sister planned a visit to our town in July, 2014 to see one of her guy friends. Okay. He messaged her brother. Okay. I’m like drawing my head. Yeah. Oh yeah. Duh. Oh my gosh.
Saying she wanted to see him and meet me. Okay. So they hadn’t met.
Colleen Borgert: And she’s getting ma. Okay. So she has yet to meet even his family at this point?
Christa Innis: Yeah, and they’re engaged. So she’s just kind of, okay. So she was just giving us background on the sister, but at this point they hadn’t even met. So he meets this girl and proposes in six months.
She hasn’t met the family. Maybe they don’t live, comes in town. Right. So she comes in town when she wants to meet. We planned everything around her visit, but when she arrived, she met up with her friend and blew us off.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, okay. To this.
Christa Innis: Oh, it gets better. I have never met her
Colleen Borgert: to this day. Hold on. Pause.
Pause one. They’re still together. I don’t, well, I don’t know if she
Christa Innis: just wrote to this day. I’ve never met her. Oh, oh. So I’m like really confused, like, is this, we’re talking 11 years later. And that 2014, unless I’m reading, is
Colleen Borgert: weird, flabbergasted. Like, so there’s nothing to indicate if the, if they are still together, except the phrase.
To this day, I still have not met her.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I’m gonna see. Let’s see. Okay. Let’s see what happens next. But I’m pretty sure she means like she just blew her off that time and then that was it. I don’t know. Okay. She says we set our wedding date for Saturday, October 25th, 2014. So about a year after they met, no one from his family was able to attend.
Oh.
Colleen Borgert: Red. Is that a red, is that a flag for you? I think it’s
Christa Innis: a red flag. Yeah. That’s a why. Okay. So Sister blew, blew them off, doesn’t go to meet her. And then no one from his family can just make it right. That, that seems red. That’s red flag. Red flags are everywhere for me. They’re, they’re popping. I’m sorry to this.
I mean, I don’t know what happens next. So, I’m sorry to this person that, that sent this in, but I’m just like, this is all very fast. Yeah. And weird that his family can’t show up.
Colleen Borgert: Right. And I think the, the, the age is like, the red flags are like popping and I’m like, hold on a second. So I’m excited to hear what comes next.
Yes. ’cause I’m trying to put it all together in my mind.
Christa Innis: Yeah, same. I know I’ve got like the family tree going on right here. Yeah, drawing here. Um, okay. Um, so no one from his family was able to attend, but they planned to watch the ceremony live on his sister and like, oh,
Colleen Borgert: 2014, is that like what on, like, how do you watch it live in 2014?
Yeah,
Christa Innis: because Facebook Did you like Zoom? Like I don’t even remember Facebook Live in 2014 because was I in 2014? Oh, I was having a baby. Okay, you’re like where? Yeah, I was having a baby. You were. But yeah. How do you I don’t know because I remember, okay, I was working at trade show. I honestly think it was 2014 at my fir, one of my first jobs outta college.
And they, my manager, I worked in marketing and she was like, look at this new app where you can live stream. And I remember her showing me, and that was before like Facebook Lives and stuff, because then I think it was bought by Facebook. So that may some, she had something, she had something, something maybe even like FaceTime and can you, you could FaceTime then, right?
I don’t even know. I
Colleen Borgert: feel like I still had a flip phone back then. Like with the A, B, C texting, you know, like, dun, dun dun. Oh my gosh. You had to hit it like three. I mean, you’re so young. Did you ever have a phone like that? I’m not that much younger than you, honestly. Oh, you look amazing Ellie. How you tell me you’re younger than me?
I’m turning 35 this year. Okay. Yes. You are a baby. You are a baby.
Christa Innis: Is that what, five years? That’s not seven. Seven. I, it’s funny though. I see seven. Oh, okay. Well, I don’t know. Yeah, it’s all, it’s alright. It’s all I feel like you’re at, I’m at the age where like. I, I was gonna say I have friends in their twenties, but I’m like, I don’t, I guess I have some friends in their twenties, but I have friends in their four, you know, like it’s Right.
You’re
Colleen Borgert: now to the point where you can go both sides.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I mean, I had an hour long conversation with my like 85-year-old neighbor last night and it was the best, like, I love chatting with her and so I’m like, I just, age doesn’t matter to me. Yeah. But, um, it’s funny, I like see 2014 and it also feels like yesterday and then I’m like, wait a second.
I have to remind myself, we’re like in the 20. That was a long time ago. Yeah, it was a while ago. Oh my gosh. Um, okay, she says, um, then on his sister’s birthday, September 26th, we’re giving some personal details though, so hopefully they don’t listen to this. Um, he was in the hospital again. I had no cell service and was too focused on my fiance.
The next day I reached out to her, to which, her belated happy birthday. So I’m confused. So. She says they never met. Maybe they just mean in person. So she talked to her. I think she has to meet in person. I,
Colleen Borgert: yeah, because she came in town in July, the sister blew her off.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Colleen Borgert: And then I’m thinking September he gets sick.
And then the wedding is in October.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That’s what it sounds like.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. So, so they just haven’t met in person. They’re a, B, C, texting each other, right?
Christa Innis: Yeah. On their flip list. Texting. Yeah. So, okay. So she reached out to Wisher, um, a belated happy birthday and apologized for missing it the day before. She completely lost it on me, calling me a horrible person for ignoring her on her birthday.
Colleen Borgert: No hard pass.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Like, we’re not like five or six years old where we like, you know, you are at this point, if she was praying like 24, like you can survive one
Colleen Borgert: day.
Christa Innis: Right. And your brother’s in the hospital. Mm-hmm.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. Like, yeah. That’s, that’s another flag flags.
Christa Innis: Huge red flag. Yes. Where, where are his parents in all of this?
Like, right, like she hasn’t really mentioned them except that they’re just not coming. They’re not coming. Which is weird ’cause it says family’s in New York and Florida. They’re in, um, Kansas City. It says. Okay. Then she insulted me saying she was a teacher and I was too dumb to finish college and get my teaching license.
Oh no. Just missing a birthday by one day and being with your brother in the hospital.
Colleen Borgert: Oh no. College. If you go to college, it does not make you any smarter than anybody else. I don’t get that many Gives, gives you a set of tools to be able to do a job. It doesn’t equate to being smarter than anybody.
Right?
Christa Innis: Yeah. And don’t, I just don’t get that mentality of like mm-hmm. Oh, I went to college and you didn’t, it’s like you probably went to college ’cause you had either a privilege to go to college, right? You had funds to go to college. You had, you don’t, you don’t know the full story of, and you’ll just choose not to.
And that it’s ally. Okay. And there’s no one’s smarter if we’re going or not going. Right? Oh
Colleen Borgert: yeah. That, that would, that would be like a, like I would feel that as a knife. Mm-hmm. Like that, that comment to me that that would stay with me. I feel like I’d carry that for a while.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh, for sure. Um, it says, after that she blocked me on everything.
My fiance was upset for a moment and then defended her saying That’s just who she is, and she’ll come around soon. Soon enough. No, someone that says that they’re not coming around Uhuh. And that’s also like, that is your
Colleen Borgert: fiance.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Colleen Borgert: This is the person that you’re getting ready to say I do too. And you’re just, he’s just gonna be okay with people being mean to you.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And see, this is where, again, I don’t know the rest of the story, so I’m sorry if it works out a different way, but like, I hope, I don’t know, maybe it doesn’t work out, but like someone that like jumped the gun really quickly to someone that was much younger than him and was like, let’s move fast. Six months from now we’re getting engaged.
My family’s not gonna be there. I don’t know. I’m getting some bad vibes and I don’t, yes. So
Colleen Borgert: I live by the rule that whoever you date, if you can subtract that amount of years and you wind up under the age of 18, it, it shouldn’t happen
Christa Innis: yet. You know? So, so if you subtract her age by their distance Yes.
Yeah. Of seven years.
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. Then I’m like, Hmm, that’s, that’s icky to me a little bit. Mm-hmm. You know, not to say that it, it, it won’t work out, and I hope that it did, and I hope that they’re happy. But that age gap, the, the life experiences that people have are so vastly different. Yeah. You know, a 30-year-old to a 37-year-old, they’ve had a lot of similar life experiences.
You know, you minus that number and it’s like, okay, they’ve been a, a grown adult for a long time, so it’s not necessarily the number that I get. Tripped up on. Yeah, it is. How much life experience is attached
Christa Innis: to those numbers? No, that’s a really, that’s a really good point. ’cause people are always like, well, my parents are this or that.
And it’s like, it’s a good point of like, well, when did they meet? How did they meet? What, what were they at in their life? Right. Um, ’cause yeah, I’m thinking like 23. Like, I was like freshly. I mean, I graduated at 23, so I was like, freshly outta college 30. Like, you’ve been in the, you know, job field for a while.
Colleen Borgert: Yes. And you know what you want in life, you know, and you know this man, he may be like, yeah, that, that’s the woman that I want. I’m going after her. You know, I’m, I’m gonna, I’m gonna get her. But was she ready for that? Could she see the red flag of hey, your fiance. He is not supporting you right now. And I think that that comes with life experience, you know, just growing into your own as a woman and, and the value that you bring to the table, you know?
Yeah. So, I don’t
Christa Innis: know. It’s a little, Hmm. Yeah, it’s a little, um, interesting. Okay. She says she never watched our wedding. Okay. So they got married and to this day, I haven’t spoken to her since September 27th, 2014. So we’re talking about 11 years. So they
Colleen Borgert: got married still. I’m so happy that they are happy.
I wanna put that out into the universe, but I’m still so confused.
Christa Innis: Well, there is still more. Oh, okay. Let’s go something. We can see what, what’s so, but she, so she said she hasn’t spoken to her. I even visited their mother’s house Oh, oh. In New York in February of 2015 where she lived. I still never saw or heard from her.
Interesting. She lived there and then didn’t show up.
Colleen Borgert: You refused to come by
Christa Innis: in November. Here we go. In November, 2014, I asked for a divorce and thanked his dad and stepmom for trying to help us through our marriage troubles. I I, can I give a I knew it. I was like, can I applaud it? Like, yes girl. I just,
Colleen Borgert: you know, and maybe it was the sister, maybe she was looking at it all being like, I can’t support this.
Like, I can’t, but No, no. Nope. I can’t validate that sister’s comment in my mind. The comment I
Christa Innis: tried. Yeah, I know. We were trying to be like, I know. And it’s like, where does that come from though? Either like where I’ve, I have a lot of questions still too. Um, it says his stepmom threatened to have his dad, my now ex father-in-law.
End my life if I ever contacted her son again. What? Because she asked for a divorce that just a whole family sounds very toxic. And red flag. She
Colleen Borgert: dodged a bullet. Like literally it sounds like she dodged a bullet. Yeah. Because the mom is like, I’m gonna enter your life. So she
Christa Innis: also very threatening, like Right.
Trolling maybe?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah. No, that, that whole 30 to 23, my flag went up immediately. I knew it. Mm-hmm.
Christa Innis: You, I, I saw your face too. And you’re like, wait, so she’s 23? He’s 30 there. Oh, six months later they went. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Um, so they were married for, wait, they weren’t even married a month because it says their wedding date was set for October 25th.
She filed for divorce in November, so it wasn’t even a full month.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my like, okay. Does she include like, where am I now? Like, do we get to heal? Hear like the healing part of all of this because, um,
Christa Innis: no, but there’s a little bit more. Okay. Because like a little more of a paragraph. Let’s see. Um, it says we got back together for a little while, but never spoke to his dad, stepmom or sister again.
I later found out his older siblings were annoyed at how much their younger sibling, younger sister got away with. I mean, at 24 she threw a fit because her brother was in the hospital and I wished her happy birthday a day late. It wasn’t like I’d forgotten entirely. Side note, I graduated a few years later after divorcing her abusive brother.
Okay, now we’re getting a little more of the context. Yes. And I’m working on my master’s degree. I also ended up teaching for a few years.
Colleen Borgert: Yay. Yes, queen. I love that. That was
Christa Innis: a happy ending because you know what? You saw your worth and you saw like, I went out of this situation and I’m glad. It was not even a month that you were just like, you know what?
I’m out. And I hope this is a lesson too for people listening that like, ’cause I’ve had, I’ve had friends before that are like, well, everything’s already paid for. We have to go through the wedding. It’s like, it’s never too late. Like just if you are in a bad relationship, it’s okay. Like it’s Right. Or Yeah.
Colleen Borgert: And, and that goes like both ways too. Like as a boy mom, having only boys, like I want them to know that as well. Like they bring worth to the table too. And they need to be love and respected. And if they need me to fake a heart attack as I’m lighting that wedding candle so that they can run out of the back door, I, ugh, I will do it.
I will do it for them. It’s never too late for happiness.
Christa Innis: Yes. No, I totally agree. I feel like we, obviously, we don’t know the full situation here, but the fact that she threw in that he was abusive, abusive. Which I kind of got the vibe he was controlling or something because of, you know, the moving so quickly and, um, him being a lot older.
But, um, yeah, that, I mean, that’s, that’s a scary situation. So always knowing in your gut or like listening to your gut about it. I hope she had someone on her side that was like, Hey, this doesn’t seem right. Right. ’cause it sounds like they went to his, his dad and stepmom for like, helping through marital issues.
So I don’t know if she had anyone on her side that was like, Hey, this guy is not right for you. Like this Also having Yeah. Also having that like third party, like, I know like, as like, you know, you, it’s nice that his parents were willing to help, but I feel like they should probably have had like a th like a therapist or something come in and Right.
Really sit them down Yeah. And be like,
Colleen Borgert: this is what we’re looking at here.
Christa Innis: Yeah. But I’m glad she got out of that because that could be very bad.
Colleen Borgert: Oh my gosh, yes. Like I, and again, it’s that life experience. Like you just don’t know. At such a young age, sometimes you do, but most part, like, you just, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Yeah. And it’s hard to see those things until that frontal lobe is developed, which is like 25, you know? So wild.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. It’s wild how like, at least like my grandparents’ age, it’s like they were like married, having kids like 19, 20, and that was like what they were expected to do. And they went to college to get their MRS and they, you know, that was their job.
Mm-hmm. And it’s just Wow. ’cause they were still children in my eyes. I’m like, you’re at 19, 20, 21. Like, you’re still a kid, right.
Colleen Borgert: You’re just a baby. Like you are still a, I’m still folding clothes for my college kid. I’m like, there’s no way you can get married right now. Like. I am folding your t-shirts for you.
Like the, it’s, you’re not ready. You’re not ready.
Christa Innis: Yeah. It’s, it’s wild. Um, well that was a wild story. Thank you to this person for sending that in because I think, um, it was a different kind of story that we’ve got, you know, and I think it’s good to kind of get all the angles of these kind of stories, and I’m really proud of you.
So, yeah.
Maid of Honor Regrets & MIL Drama
Colleen Borgert: Good job writer in person. What do you call the, what do you call, like submitter?
Christa Innis: Um, yeah, story submitter or like, I usually like online, I’ll say like op, like original or original poster, but I guess they’re not really posting it. They’re just sending it to me, so, yeah. Writer in.
Colleen Borgert: Good job. Writer in.
We’re proud of you. Yeah,
Christa Innis: we got, we’ve got great grammar over here. Oh my gosh. The number. It’s really in intimate, intimate over here. Intimate. Which honestly intimate. I think you could do something with that. Like I see, I, I worked in marketing the past like 13 years, so I always think of things you could do a mint at wedding.
It’s called an intimate, intimate listening. Oh, it’s so
Colleen Borgert: intimate here. I love it. If you’re listening, do it and then tag me in it so I can see all of your love.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh, I love it. Okay. I always end these on, um, a couple of confessions that people send in. So let’s read these and then we’ll get on with our days.
Okay. Okay. Um, let’s see.
Okay. This says, I kind of regret who I picked to be my maid of honor. I would’ve still had her as a bridesmaid, but yeah.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, I, I think that’s normal. You know, we kind of touched on that earlier. Just your life just changes and unfolds in different ways that you just don’t know how you’re going to need different people, and it’s okay that she was that person in your life, in that moment and that it might be someone different right now.
Like, it’s okay that both of those happened, and both of those can be true.
Christa Innis: Yeah, and I’m, I’m kind of reading it as she hasn’t gotten married yet, and she like asked them, that’s how I’m reading, but maybe I’m reading it wrong. Like, she has, she asked them to be in the wedding and so like the wedding’s coming up, but they’re like, and she wants to take it back and like, maybe it’s like the maid of honor’s not really stepping up, but I think that’s too, it’s like.
Expectations and communication too. Or maybe that maid of honor just doesn’t really know what to do or, you know. Right. Or you’re just not as close with that person. It’s hard.
Colleen Borgert: It, yeah. It’s hard and you don’t wanna hurt anybody’s feelings.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, this says I plan to cut my mother-in-law out of my life, regardless of what my fiance wants to do.
Colleen Borgert: Oh, Ooh. That’s gonna, that’s, that’s a, a therapy for sure. I feel like. Right. Like,
Christa Innis: yeah. I mean, I feel like if, if the, if it’s valid where like the mother-in-law’s done something like terrible turn, just treats her poorly, then I feel like the fiance should be backing her up and like Right. Being that buffer.
I feel like it should never be between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law because this is about the son or something. Right. Right. There’s
Colleen Borgert: something
Christa Innis: going on
Colleen Borgert: and it shouldn’t just be about her.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so it’s gonna be almost impossible. To just cut out the mother-in-law if the fiance is still talking to her.
Right. So then I need like, figured out of like, who is he gonna fully support? What’s the issue here? Right. Unless you guys just don’t get along, then I don’t know how that would work. But
Colleen Borgert: then you have to figure out like you’re, you’re gonna form a family together. Mm-hmm. Like, you’ve gotta figure it out.
Christa Innis: Gotta figure it out. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Uh, okay. This last one says, my grandma’s being, my, my grandma being my biggest supporter for eloping helped me elope and deal with all of the backlash.
Colleen Borgert: I love a good grandma. Like, is there anything better than a good grandma? There’s, there’s not, the, the, there hands down top five things a good grandma.
Like, you can’t, you can’t beat it. Yeah. And one that helps you elope and then says, not only am I gonna help you do it and I’ll help you plan it, but a grandma that says, you go and then I’ll tell everyone I did it and I’ll take the heat. Like, go live your life. That’s an amazing,
Christa Innis: you need that. I remember, it’s kind of funny, like, um, so I grew up, like I grew up Ca Catholic and I, um, you know, so like with Catholic parents, like, it’s like you don’t move in before you get married, like, right.
Mm-hmm. Like you child, my grandma’s Catholic, my parents, you know, like that. So this is nothing against that. It was just like how like I was raised, you know? And um, I remember though being like, I’m so close with my grandma that when my husband and I now husband, we were gonna move in together. I told her first and she was like, that’s great honey.
I’m so proud of you and my parents were fine with it. I’m the youngest. So they were like, by that point, they were like
Colleen Borgert: right by that point they’re just like, get out of here. Yeah.
Christa Innis: But I was like, it was just funny. Like, I told my friends, I was like, yeah, I told my, my, now she’s 90. But at the time, you know, she was.
Gosh, how long have I been with my husband? It was, she was like probably 80, but I like told her first and she was like, that’s great. I’m so proud, so excited.
Colleen Borgert: See top five. You’ve got one. She’s great. Yeah, you’ve got one. I’ve got one too. My grandma, um, for her 80th birthday five years ago, she’s still here.
Um, she jumped out of an airplane. She went skydiving on her way and
Christa Innis: we all went and
Colleen Borgert: yeah, she even, you know, got a second set of dentures so that if they fell out, she would have her. She was ready. She visited all of her doctors to get like the, okay, but there’s nothing better than a good grandma.
Christa Innis: That is amazing.
Oh my gosh, I love that. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you.
Colleen Borgert: This was so much fun. I truly enjoyed it.
Christa Innis: Good. Oh, I’m so glad. Like it was so much fun hanging out with you. And can you tell everyone again where they can follow you, find your content, and then anything fun you’re kind of working on?
Colleen Borgert: Yeah, so again, my name is Colleen Boer. You can find me on Instagram at at Miss Colleen b or at Leany Borg on TikTok. And if you are looking for educational news that is happening in this political climate, I am the teacher you want to follow. ’cause I’m gonna give it to you like it is. I love it. Awesome.
Well thank you so much. This was awesome. Thank you. Have a wonderful night.
Christa Innis: You too.
The Mental Load, Modern Motherhood & Drama That Sent Someone Packing — with Paige Connell
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Ever wonder what happens when a mother-in-law goes full wedding meltdown mode?
This episode dives into an unforgettable wedding story where chaos, drama, and unexpected twists steal the spotlight. From limo mix-ups and cross necklace demands to elopements and courthouse ceremonies, these real-life tales prove weddings rarely go as planned.
Listen as Christa and Paige navigate fiery family dynamics, outrageous demands, and the art of keeping your day stress-free despite unpredictable relatives.
Whether it’s dodging drama or finding joy in the unexpected, these stories remind us that love, and a little patience, always wins.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:39 Viral TikTok and Childcare Costs
04:10 Mission and Content Focus
06:09 Gender Equity and Mental Load
19:09 Wedding Hot Takes and Rapid Fire
24:59 Reading the Wedding Story
25:13 Mother-in-Law’s Wedding Day Meltdown
30:05 Deciding to Elope
31:47 Courthouse Wedding Drama
38:01 Reflections on Weddings and Relationships
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- The Guest List War – How a simple seating decision spiraled into a full family fight.
- Bridesmaid Betrayal – The shocking move the bridesmaid made behind her back.
- Mother-in-Law Overreach – The bold demands that crossed every line.
- Setting Boundaries Under Fire – The moment the bride decided to stand her ground.
- Choosing Peace Over People-Pleasing – Why walking away from tradition saved her sanity.
- The Fallout After the Wedding – The lasting impact of these choices on family relationships.
- What Paige Would Do Differently – Her biggest takeaway for anyone planning a wedding.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “Sometimes the ‘happiest day of your life’ is just the most expensive therapy session.” – Christa Innis
- “Weddings don’t make people crazy, they just turn up the volume on who they already are.” – Christa Innis
- “Know your audience and know what you and your partner want ultimately.” – Christa Innis
- “Family drama doesn’t magically RSVP ‘no’ to your wedding.” – Christa Innis
- “If someone’s love for you hinges on an invite, it’s not love, it’s leverage.” – Christa Innis
- “If you haven’t been a parent to young children in a very long time, you don’t know the realities of the cost.” – Paige Connell
- “My goal with that conversation is to help women articulate what’s happening in their lives so they can better process that with their partner, find equity at home, and hopefully in the workplace as well.” – Paige Connell
- “We have this narrative of the work that men do outside of the home being really important, if not more important than the work their partner does at home.” – Paige Connell
- “Whenever women do something that remotely prioritizes themselves, we position it as selfish.” – Paige Connell
- “Peace was my real wedding gift to myself.” – Paige Connell
About Paige:
Paige is a working mother of four who shares relatable content on TikTok and Instagram, highlighting the everyday experiences of women balancing motherhood, careers, and relationships. Known for her candid insights on the mental load of motherhood and the challenges of creating equity at home and work, Paige’s content resonates with millions. She also advocates for affordable childcare, paid leave, and reproductive rights, sparking important conversations about what families need to thrive. Her impactful voice and relatable storytelling have led to features in Scary Mommy, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and more.
Follow Paige Connell:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi Paige. Thank you so much for coming on. Thanks for having me. I’m so excited to talk to you. I was just saying before we started recording that I think I first saw you on, I wanna say it was probably TikTok or something and you stitched Dave Ramsey and I love like this like feminist movement where we were just calling out people that maybe say things that are a little harmful to, especially when we talk about moms and the mother load. And I always tend to like just jump right in.
Paige Connell on the Childcare Crisis and Gender Equity
But can we talk a little bit about what that was? I kinda wanna talk about your platform and how that’s kind of like grown over the years and what you kind of focus on?
Paige Connell: Yeah, sure. So that video in particular was right up my alley because I talk a lot about childcare and he was talking about the cost of childcare.
And so for context, I create content and I started out talking about just being a working mother and. part of that conversation is logistics. How do I make it work? How much do I pay for daycare? What does our schedule look like? Just all of those things. And I was just sharing my lived experience of motherhood, and the very first time I went viral on TikTok was talking about how much I pay for daycare, because people were just astonished at how expensive it is, and, didn’t even believe me transparently. A lot of people were like, that’s not real. And so I spend a lot of time bringing awareness to the childcare crisis because this is something that is happening to most people in our country, like most people and parents are experiencing the high cost of childcare and the impacts of that.
And so. When I saw the video of Dave Ramsey saying $25,000 a year for childcare, like, that’s not real. I felt like I had to respond because it is very real. It is the lived experience of many, many families, and for me, he’s a financial expert. He should understand the finances of the people he’s speaking to and the fact that this is the reality for most people in our country.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I think when. You get to a certain, I don’t know, I would say platform of his, He can’t really relate to the common person, the common family. and so I feel like, I feel like your content is so necessary because so many moms might go in and see something like this, and it’s like, oh wait, I shouldn’t be paying this. Or like, this isn’t normal, but like we can’t relate to someone like that, that actually is not in it. Right.
Paige Connell: Totally. Yeah. I think first and foremost, I think he’s of a different generation, and so childcare looks different today than it did even 10 years ago. And so if you haven’t been a parent to young children in a very long time, you don’t know the realities of the cost, right?
So I think in that way he’s out of touch. But it is his job to be in touch with what the average experience is of parents in our country, especially if he’s giving out financial advice, but I also think just in general, Dave has a very specific idea of what it should look like, right? He had a stay at home partner. He personally likes that, right? Like that idea of women providing that childcare, or at least he insinuates that in some of his content. And, yeah. You know, I just think it’s, he has a very specific platform and form of advice that he gives, and I just felt like in that instance, you know, I’m not a financial expert. I don’t pretend to be, but in that instance, he was saying something that I felt like was so outlandish and out of touch that it had to be addressed in some way.
Christa Innis: So I know I kinda jumped the gun right into like that conversation that I saw. But can you tell everyone a little bit more about what you post about on your page, your content, and what you feel your mission has become, with your posting?
Paige Connell: Sure. So yeah, I talk a lot about being a working mother and the realities of what modern marriage and motherhood look like specifically for women. I will say my following on all platforms is 99% women, sometimes 98. You know, it fluctuates. But it’s mostly women because my content for them is relatable and it’s something that they understand and see themselves in.
I would say the thing that most people know me for is speaking about the mental load specifically as it relates to motherhood, but I speak about it in general as well. And my goal with that conversation is to help women articulate what’s happening in their lives so they can better process that with their partner, find equity at home, and hopefully in the workplace as well.
And as part of that mission, I also talk about systemic things like lack of pay, parental leave, lack of affordable childcare, the motherhood penalty in the workplace. So my overarching goal is to help women advocate for gender equity in all facets of life. So not, being the default parent by default, right?
All of these things that I think as a society have been very normal for very long, but are leading women to feel burnt out and exhausted, and I do that through. Sharing my own experience, but also just thought leadership on these topics in general.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I love that. It’s so powerful and it’s funny, I mention it every time and time again, but like before doing all of this, I worked for a mommy brand and ironically it was before I had my daughter and so but with that, it was, I heard firsthand stories from moms, like struggling to go back to work, having to go back to work after six weeks or unpaid leave. And when I started kinda like digging into it, I was like, this is outrageous. Like it’s, we’re in a country where they want us to have more kids, but then there’s no support when you do have those kids.
Why Paid Parental Leave and Shared Care Matter
So what do you think are the biggest like things like work. I mean, workplaces is one thing. What can workplaces do? What can we do as a society to kind of like raise awareness to all this stuff?
Paige Connell: I think talking about it first and foremost is really important, bringing these topics up. You know, the things I’ve mentioned, childcare, paid parental leave. We often view these as women’s issues, when in reality they’re a family issue. They should be impacting anyone who is a parent, not just women, but women are the ones that disproportionately take on this work, right? So if there’s no childcare, who stays home?
Christa Innis: Typically, mom.
Paige Connell: Who adjust their career? Typically, mom.
Right. And so that’s just a societal expectation. And then sometimes people will point to the fact that, well, oh, the husband makes more money. And that just points the wage gap, right? It’s just like, it’s this kinda like chicken and egg thing, right? We’re struggling at home, we’re struggling in the workplace, and they’re really tied together.
And so I think on an individual level. I like to tell people this is not a failure. Like if you’ve ended up in a position where you’re burnt out and exhausted and you’re struggling with the mental load and your career has taken a hit due to childcare or whatever it might be. You’re not alone in that.
That’s not a personal failure, that’s a systemic failure across the board. But also there’s certain things that are within our control that we can do. And so we can’t fix all the systems at one time, but we can do some things, which is, for example, if your husband has access to paid parental leave, he should be taking it.
So many men don’t. So many men have access and they don’t take it, and they don’t take it because they’re afraid it’s gonna hurt their career, which ultimately just hurts women’s careers more and hurts their partners and their baby and all of the things. And so, we need men to be doing that. We need, policies that support parents in the workplace.
So adequate sick time, adequate paid leave, flexible work schedules. We need to stop these return to office mandates that disproportionately impact women, right? Like there’s all these things, but also within our homes. One of the reasons I suggest paid parental leave not suggest I strongly encourage, is because when men take it, they’re more likely to carry that mental load with their partner from the beginning and.
The mental load disparity happens very, very early on, typically even before you have kids. I think about, when my husband and I were in our twenties and we were going to a million weddings, I always bought the gift and the card and booked the hotel and coordinated all the things, and he was there, but I was coordinating it, right?
Like I carried that mental load. It wasn’t super heavy until we had kids, and so being aware of these dynamics in advance and talking about them with your partner, putting systems in place to avoid one person carrying too much, that’s something we can do, and there’s tools to do that.
Christa Innis: I love that. Yeah. I feel like it’s such an important conversation that a lot of families don’t, either don’t have or don’t know they should or can have them because it’s just, that’s the way it was when I grew up.
Or my dad went to work, my mom was home. So I just thought that’s how it went. And I think, like I said, with working at the mom brand, I was able to see like. I don’t want that when I go through postpartum, I need my part. It was like, have your partner support you, get your partner involved in the process.
Because so many women would like tell me like, oh, my husband wasn’t even in the room when I gave birth. Or he went right back to work the next day. Yeah. And even if they had a choice to stay home, they’re like, oh, well I gotta work. And it’s just like, you don’t realize if you are setting your family up for failure if you don’t take that time as a partner, to the one that gave birth, right? And so I feel like it’s such an interesting conversation because that push and pull between work and sticking up for your family essentially.
Paige Connell: Yeah. And I think, you know, it’s the narrative, right?
We’ve put a real premium in our country on men being providers and doing the paid work and women doing the unpaid care work at home. And so even like the overnight feedings I’ve said on social media, like, dad should be doing some of those, even if they’re partners breastfeeding, like they can change the diaper, they can soothe the baby. And men are like, well, I have work tomorrow. It’s like, she’s gonna be up tomorrow too. Okay. Like, and doing something incredibly important, which is caring for your newborn. And we have this narrative of this work that men do outside of the home being really important, if not more important than the work their partner does at home.
And so I really think we should push back on that. And I do think most men wanna be good dads. They wanna be good partners. But to your point, like as a society and, kind of what’s been modeled for us just doesn’t show us what that looks like.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I was talking to someone the other day and they were asking like, oh, how was your, postpartum?
And I realized, I’m like. Obviously I had a lot of challenges and stuff, but I think because like my husband at the time, like where he was working at the time, he got like two weeks off. I was like, this is what it’s gonna be like when I’m, postpartum. Like, I’m gonna need you to help with this. And like, I remember just being responsible for like breastfeeding.
I was like, other than that, he did everything else or we were able to split other things. I would hear of all these moms like having like postpartum depression and obviously that’s so nuanced. There’s so many reasons why women go through that. Right? Totally. But I feel like a lot of it could be helped with a supportive partner or supportive workplaces because a lot of times these women are stressed about going back to work in a few weeks and they’re not getting paid and they have to get their child in daycare and, that’s a lot.
Paige Connell:There’s a lot. you even mentioned daycare. Women are typically the ones finding childcare, and that’s really hard to do. And so yeah, it’s not as simple as just being home, taking care of a sleeping baby. You know, it, it’s pretty complex what’s going on. I’m glad to hear that you had the support that you need.
I mean, similar to my husband had. Not a lot of time with our first three kids. He had no time. and then with our fourth, he had four weeks and it was night and day experience for us. Right. It was a vastly different experience for me. and I think that’s so important. I wish everyone had that.
Christa Innis: I know.
It’s like, imagine how it would be if men were like forced, like, you have to be home during these 2, 3, 4 weeks, whatever that looks like. And just support women.
Paige Connell: Yeah. I mean, some countries do that. They mandate it, that men have to take it, and there’s like specific rules around how that looks. And so yeah, I think unfortunately in order to get men to do it, oftentimes it has to be mandated.
But I do think, more and more men are doing it, but we still need to see that improve across the board and. There’s data to show that, the work that women are doing and the mental, they’re caring it leads to real impact, mental, emotional, physical tolls on women, and that has a long-term impact on their lives and their well-being.
And so if we care about that, if we care about mothers as much as we say we do, then we should prioritize their care.
The Double Standards That Keep Women Carrying the Load
Christa Innis: Yeah. So I bet with like posting this kind of content, I mean, I see it ’cause I follow a lot of content about like talking about, inequality with women or, women empowerment.
There’s always the haters in the comments. What do you think the most, like, not necessarily like hate, comment, or like argument against what you have to say, or, you know, negative comments that people will comment and how do you kind of handle that?
Paige Connell: Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people say couple things, that I hate men, which I don’t, I don’t hate men.
I just want men to show up in a more meaningful way and I think most of them want to do that, which I know not everybody believes that like I actually am a person on the internet who says, like, I actually think most dads wanna be good people and good parents. they’re not doing it necessarily, but I think they want to.
And so it’s worth trying to get them there. But most people say, I hate men, or, that my husband must hate me. Those are two top comments, because I’ve talked about my own experience in marriage and motherhood with my partner and what that journey’s been like. And so, this mostly comes from men.
Obviously it’s not coming from women. I would say the vast majority of women. Feel understood or at least relate to something that I’m saying, even if not everything. But those tend to be the top comments, which is because I’m pushing for gender equity that yeah I don’t like men and then men in my life don’t like me.
Mm.
Christa Innis: I feel like too, it’s like people that say that kind of thing, in their family. It’s like, if it’s not, broke, don’t fix it kind of thing. Yeah. It works for them, but does it actually work for them? Maybe it works for them as the male partner, but have they actually sat down with their partner and asked, does this work for you?
But I think they are probably afraid to ask that question because they don’t wanna get the push back or have to carry more of that mental load.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I think it’s, layered. I think it depends on the person, obviously. And. one I hear from women in their sixties, seventies, all the time who are like, I wish I’d had this when I was younger.
’cause I just suffered through it. And I spent 40 years of my life catering to somebody who never helped me at all. And I hear that constantly. And then I’m lucky enough to hear from young women who are learning about what they do and don’t want in a relationship. But I think for men, some of it’s, you know, what did I see growing up? What did my dad do? What did my mom do? I think to your point of happiness, one of the comments that I see often, which is always so surprising to me, and I think comes from a very specific subset of men, is that men will sacrifice their happiness for their family, and women will sacrifice their family for their happiness.
So insinuating that women who expect more from their partner or choose divorce because they’re unhappy, are choosing their own happiness above their families, and men are willing to suffer for their families. and it’s this very specific talking point that I find so interesting. But I think it’s, again, trying to position women in this bad light the same way we do as single moms.
Single moms are bad. Where are the dads? Right? Like the moms are there. Like we talk about that. Like the impact that being raised by a single mother has. And we never say like, okay, the impact of a father being absent has, right? Like, we never talk about that. So I think it’s a branding thing, but essentially like.
Whenever women do something that remotely prioritizes themselves, we position it as selfish. When women have a career, they’re selfish, right? They’re, looking to make a ton of money. They’re letting somebody else raise their kid. When men do it, they’re providers, they’re family men, right? They’re putting food in the table.
We vary different narratives for men and women in our society. So much so that. We would never call a mom a hands-on mom or a present mom. Mm-hmm. But like so many women will be like, I have the best husband. He’s such a present dad. He is so hands-on. It’s like, yeah, you, kind of have to be hands-on with the toddler.
Like there’s no other version of parenthood. Right. For women. And so it’s just so interesting. I think some of it is just, yeah, the status quo, what we’re used to, and then other parts of it are kind of like, yeah, what we think about men and women at their time and whose time we truly value.
Christa Innis: That’s such a good point.
Yeah. It’s like I’ve seen videos about where it’s like a mom could be juggling like a few kids at the store and they just, they’re like, that’s a mom. The kid might be like throwing a tantrum or something and they’re just like, okay, whatever. She’s doing her mom thing. But if a dad does it, he’s such a good dad.
Paige Connell: The best dad.
Christa Innis: She’s such a good dad. And I remember like people will say like stuff about my husband, they’ll be like, oh, he changes the diapers. Oh, he takes her places by her himself. I’m like. Well, he’s her father. Like why wouldn’t he? Yeah. But I feel like it’s also generational, like, at least my parents’ generation, I feel like a lot of times it was Stay at home mom, so she was with the kids a lot, the dad was at work and you know, you saw them for dinner time the older generations are like, what’s happening here? Like, something’s shifting.
Paige Connell: Totally. I think things are shifting. I think in the millennial generation you’re seeing more egalitarian relationships, which is amazing. you’re seeing a little bit more polarization in the younger generations between men and women and what they expect from one another.
And I think. There’s many reasons for that, but it is interesting how different millennial men are compared to their fathers. And I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s a good thing, but it doesn’t come without push back. obviously, when you’re talking about these, deeply ingrained expectations of men and women, when you push back on those people, it gets uncomfortable.
Christa Innis: Yeah, definitely. it’s for the better good of, everyone. For sure. I agree. what’s your message for anyone listening that. Maybe is, struggling with the mental load right now and doesn’t kind of know the first steps to take either with their partner or their family or their work.
Paige Connell: So with the mental load in particular, I often say the first thing you have to do is just start to understand what it is. I think oftentimes women feel incredibly burnt out and exhausted and they feel like they’re kind of on this hamster wheel they can never get off of. They have this ongoing running to do list that’s always there and never shorter. And they can’t articulate that, right? Like when their partner says What’s wrong, they’re just like, I don’t even know. There’s a million things I could tell you. A million things that I’m stressed out about right now. Right? And so first and foremost, I suggest people familiarize themselves with the terms and what’s actually playing into the mental load.
And so one way to do that is to, we say, make the invisible visible, write things down every thought that pops into your brain, which is like, I have to pay, the school for a raffle basket. My kids need cash ’cause they’re going to the beach tomorrow with camp. I have all these reminders on my phone and I think a really important way to do this is just write everything down.
For a week, two weeks, just write it all down and look at it and you’ll see, you’ll start to see what that mental load looks like. What are the things that are weighing you down? What’s stressing you out the most? What’s causing the most tension? Where do you think your partner can support you?
Where do you feel like you’re strong? being able to look at it in a really concrete way. I use a spreadsheet, I offer this to people, whoever wants it, it’s part of my free guide, but I have a spreadsheet and it just lists a bunch of tasks that most families do. It’s from the book Fair Play. E Rodsky created this game, which is a really great way to make that invisible labor visible.
Doing that is so helpful just for you as a person to be able to see it and say like, okay, this is why I’m tired, like this is why I’m stressed out. and then from there. You can think about having a conversation with your partner, but I often tell women like, sometimes you’re not ready for a conversation with your partner and you just need to be able to say it to your therapist or say it to your best friend and start to articulate what you’re feeling.
And then once you’ve been able to do that, then you can start to have the hard conversations of, okay, well what does it look like for us to change this?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I love that. Saying it out loud. ’cause I feel like a lot of times, like as women, we like keep things in until like, yeah. Kind of builds up a little bit and then it’s like you can’t take it anymore.
So, I love that, getting it outside, saying it to a therapist, a friend, and kind of piggybacking off of that. Okay, let’s get into, because I know everyone loves the crazy stories Wedding Hot takes. Let’s get into some different hot takes for weddings. if as we’re kind of talking, you have like any wild wedding stories or wanna share anything, you know, don’t, no pressure to share anything personal if you don’t want to. But, okay. These are hot takes that people sent to me. Here’s what they said. It’s okay to skip traditions that don’t resonate with you, including the white dress.
Paige Connell: Yeah. Why not? My daughter’s daycare teacher just got married and she wore a pink dress, and my daughters are all about it. They’re like, that was beautiful. It was like a baby, like very light, light pink. But they, like a four and 3-year-old are obsessed.
Christa Innis: Yeah. So I love that like old princess dress. I know. I feel like there’s so many things that we do with weddings or whatever it else It is, and we don’t like ask why.
We’re just like, let’s just do it. Yeah. Yeah. It says you don’t owe anyone a plus one, especially if they’ve never met the one. Mm, yeah.
Paige Connell: Yeah. There’s a weird expectation that you have to give people a plus one. And I think, going back to the finances talk from the beginning, it’s like, it’s expensive to have a wedding and I’m paying for your plus one to be here.
And I think depending on what, who’s funding it, right? Like having that understanding, be able to understand, especially if they’re your close friends, like. I can’t give everybody a plus one, and I think that should be okay. I think context matters if you’re inviting. A coworker who knows no one and you give them no plus one.
I actually think that’s probably pretty uncomfortable for them. If you’re inviting your cousin who has 20 other cousins at the wedding, they don’t need a plus one.
Christa Innis: Right? Yeah. Like your 16-year-old cousin that just started dating someone. I think they can come with their parents like that. That’s fine.
Yeah. I find this interesting thing when I post about either, like if I do a skit about plus ones or kids being invited or something like that. People have this, they either are like, yes, I agree. Like no one needs, you don’t owe anyone an invite. Right? The other side of people are like, just say you’re broke if you’re poor, don’t have a wedding.
I’ve had some people say that and I’m like, just because they’re not inviting the whole world and then some, doesn’t mean they don’t have money or they’re broke. There’s just everything’s nuanced. Right? And it’s just like, I don’t know.
Paige Connell: Yeah. It also reminds me of, like, when I talk about childcare, people will say, well, don’t have kids if you can’t afford ’em.
And it’s like, okay, but I am having kids that I can afford. It doesn’t mean that it’s not expensive. people are having weddings that they can afford. It just means they can’t invite your plus one. So it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s very, to me, it’s very like classicist to be, like, to say, you’re broke. It’s like everybody’s having the wedding that they can afford.
That they, they can afford or that’s within their budget. And if you don’t like it, then don’t attend. Right. Then don’t go. But I don’t think we should judge anybody for the scale of their wedding or how many people they can invite or how expensive it is, because at the end of the day, you know, we’re all living in this world and this economy together.
Right. We all have different means. I think it’s a very strange take to have,
find that so.
Christa Innis: Honestly. Yeah. It’s so interesting. Yeah. That’s such a good point too about the kids comment, because you hear that all the time and it’s like. One, it’s like if just because someone has a budget or they’re like, oh, this is expensive, or we can’t afford to do this because blank, it doesn’t mean like they made a poor choice and why are we why are we putting someone down because of their life? And I don’t know.
Paige Connell: Yeah, it’s also a very privileged take, right? Like we’re all like one bad medical disaster or layoff away from struggling financially like most people in this country. And so if you have that perspective, you can understand that some people maybe aren’t prioritizing plus ones at their wedding because they’re saving for a down payment on a house.
And so they’re not broke. They just have different priorities to you, and that’s okay. But I do think it’s a pretty privilege take to have that. Like, just, just say you’re broke side of it.
Christa Innis: It’s so people are, people are funny in the comments about honeymoon stuff or paying like, um, gifting at a wedding.
All these kind of things that are just like, just do what you can afford. People are more happy to have you be there. It’s like, yeah. Very interesting.
Rapid-Fire Wedding Chaos: The “Would You Rather” Edition
Okay. To kind of kick off a little bit more, and before we get to the wedding story, this is rapid fire. This is kinda like just a new little wedding chaos, rapid, rapid fire thing. Okay. Um, would you rather have your childhood nemesis in your bridal party or your partner’s ex sitting front row?
Paige Connell: Partner’s ex.
Christa Innis: Okay. Would you rather have the fire alarms go off during your vows or your mic cut out mid speech?
Paige Connell: Mic.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like that happens at like a lot of the weddings, anyway.
Paige Connell: I was gonna say, I, and I’ve been at a wedding where the fire alarm went off. It wasn’t during the vows, but we had to evacuate for a while.
Christa Innis: Oh gosh. I just heard a story where the fire alarm went off. And they all had to go off into the parking lot and they ended up just like the DJ just played music out there and they like opened up a bar outside.
They’re like, we couldn’t afford wait for hours. And I was like, I love that. I love that turn of events where you just make the best of it.
Paige Connell: It’s memorable. Yeah, exactly.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Everyone will always talk about that wedding. Um, would you rather have your cake be made of styrofoam for display or taste like cardboard?
Paige Connell: Styrofoam.
Christa Innis: Would you rather your hairstylist ghost you or your makeup artist show up two hours late.
Paige Connell: Hairstylist ghost me.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, would you rather accidentally post your private vows on Instagram or text them to your ex? These are wild.
Paige Connell: Instagram. I’ve said worse on Instagram for sure.
Christa Innis: Right. It’s like at this point someone was asking like how I post content and I’m like, once you kind of start, you’re kind of like, we’re all on this floating rock together.
Like once you Yeah. It’s like once you get it out there, you’re like, I don’t care. Like these sting sometimes still, but for the most part, I’m just like, it feels kind of like, I dunno if you’re ever like scrolling, like TikTok, do you feel like we’re just like, all like on a talent show and we’re all just kinda like posting like different things and like it kinda just rolls past you after a while.
The Mother-in-Law Who Turned Two Weddings Into a Battlefield
Okay. Let’s get into this week’s wedding submission. As, as always, um, people just send me different stories to react, to give advice or. I guess it’s kind of, I was gonna say unsolicited, but they sent it so I guess it’s solicited. Um, so yeah, feel free to stop me at any time or we can add little side stories. So let’s see. I have not read it, so let’s see how it goes.
Okay. She says, or they say, so this is a long story. It started when my brother-in-law got married a few months before our wedding. My mother-in-law insisted on paying for the reception. The couple offered to chip in because they wanted to include the bride’s grandparents.
My mother-in-law said it was fine and that she would handle everything. Okay. On the day of the wedding, she was incredibly sweet, thanking everyone for coming. But as soon as the guests, including the couple left and the bill came, she completely flipped out. Mind you, this was a low key reception, a buffet at a buffet style restaurant.
My husband tried to calm her down and even covered, offered to cover the cost for the bride’s grandparents, but she refused and said they were all ungrateful. She had also insisted on paying for the limo the bride took to the church. It was chaotic getting ready that day. There were three limos outside and the drivers were directing us where to go.
We even got into one limo and were told it was the wrong one, so we had to switch. At the time, I had a year and a half old daughter. She wasn’t in the wedding, so my mother-in-law offered to watch her until the ceremony, after the ceremony. Anyway, I’m in the limo with the bridesmaids and the flower girl.
We arrive at the church and there’s my mother-in-law, absolutely fuming. Apparently the limo we rode in was meant for the bride to be fair. The only difference was the color. She had my daughter on her hip and was walking up the steps. When I saw the bride pulling up in the other limo, she practically threw my daughter at me and I tripped trying to catch her so she wouldn’t fall.
My gosh. Okay. Then she walked over to the bride’s limo. Tried to hand her a cross necklace to wear. The bride politely thanked her, but explained she was wearing her late grandmother’s necklace who passed just a few months before. That must have been the last straw. She reached into the window, window of the limo and tried to pull the bride out, screaming and cussing that she didn’t deserve her son.
Oh, wow. Okay. That’s wild. Um, and then like nothing had happened, she walked back to the steps and tried to take my daughter again. I told her absolutely not that I was going to walk down the aisle with her. I had already cleared it with the groom who was in the back of the church sobbing. The bride’s parents asked her to leave, but she said, “You’ll have to call the cops. I’m not leaving without seeing my son get married.”
Imagine saying that, and then demanding to be there for the wedding.
Paige Connell: No, that’s crazy. I mean, well, is that it or is there more?
Christa Innis: There’s more. Okay. It’s already pretty wild. There’s a, yeah, like another page. Okay. Oh gosh. Like it’s, it’s funny, like these stories, like sometimes they seem like out of left field, so I don’t, ’cause you know, you don’t really get like the before. As sometimes you get some of this stuff, but then all of a sudden it’s just like this crazy like day that just like goes wild. Um, okay sure enough, the cops came and escorted her out. That’s wild. Okay. The rest of the wedding was actually beautiful and went off without a hitch.
Paige Connell: Well, that’s good.
Christa Innis: I guess that’s good. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay.
Paige Connell: I’m confused though. Did she pay for the reception and the rehearsal? It must have been the rehearsal dinner. That she was talking about at the beginning. I can’t imagine she’s paying for a reception she’s not attending. But…
Christa Innis: I know, well it said she insisted on paying for the reception, but…
Paige Connell: Maybe that’s the rehearsal dinner. Myabe it’s at the restaurant. I don’t know.
Christa Innis: Yeah, because it sounds like the night before. Yeah, right. Said, oh yeah. So I’m wondering if she meant rehearsal, maybe. Yeah. Because yeah, it was the night before at a restaurant, and then they got a check. Mm-hmm. So, yeah. Yeah. I can’t imagine she’d offer to pay for it now, especially if everything.
Paige Connell: No, sure. She was escorted away by the police then she wasn’t there for the check. Right.
Christa Innis: Yeah, that is wild. Just because they took the wrong limo. I’m so confused of like, there must be another backstory or something that happened.
Paige Connell: I mean, it sounds like she doesn’t like the daughter-in-law and it also sounds like, I don’t know, there’s so many accounts out there that talk about these kind of mothers of son dynamics and mother-in-law dynamics and I think this sounds like someone who, obviously we do not have the context here, but like wanted this wedding day to be about her and what she wanted. Um, I also think the grandparent thing is so strange ’cause it’s like it’s two people. You agree to it. Um, and I think. You. Yes. Like if, if somebody paid for my rehearsal dinner, I would say thank you and be grateful and all the things, but, um, you shouldn’t do it because you wanna parade. Like if you’re offering to do it, and if you’re agreeing to do it, it’s, you know, I don’t, I don’t know what she wants from the bride and groom and they’re obviously preoccupied with everything else and that day’s about them. And so. Even if they are thankful, it doesn’t have to like, I don’t know. I don’t know what that person wanted.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I feel like it’s that common trope of like, they offer to pay for it, but there’s this like invisible string or like, they’re dangling a carrot, you know, to be like, we paid for this, so we get to do this. Or, there’s all these like. If I do this, then I get this and it’s like, that’s not how it works. If it’s a gift, an actual gift, and you wanna help, then treat it as a gift.
Paige Connell: Yeah. There’s no strings attached or control, like you don’t get to control a situation because you financially provided for it.
Christa Innis: Right. Yeah. And I feel like they want like this, like red carpet then rolled out like, oh, that’s, that’s her. She paid for the event, you know? But it’s like, it’s still not gonna be about you. It’s about the bride and groom.
Paige Connell: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Now she says, now my wedding. After all of that, my husband and I decided we were going to elope to Vegas. We asked my parents it. You’re like-
Paige Connell: Get it. I get it. Yeah, I get that. I eloped as well. I get it.
Christa Innis: Okay. Okay. Um, I guess you can. If you wanna share stuff, but um, you can.
Paige Connell: Yeah. Oh no, my family just doesn’t get along and so I figured instead of that whatever is happening here, I don’t think that would’ve happened to me.
But I think, um, I decided instead to elope with my husband in Italy and we had the best time by ourselves. And so, I mean, I get the eloping I actually recommended to everyone. Even if your family is not complicated, because personally to your point earlier, like weddings are expensive. People are never gonna be fully happy with everything that you do.
And I’m a person who, if you are a person who knows that you’re gonna show up at your wedding and be more concerned with everybody else having a good time than having a good time yourself. Don’t have a wedding, and that’s who I am. Like I would be running around being, are you having fun? Are you having fun?
Are you having fun? The host and I wouldn’t be having any fun. And so eloping, I was able to do whatever I wanted, which was great.
Christa Innis: That’s such great advice because I know brides were like, I was a bridesmaid for them and the whole time they’re more concerned about everyone else. They’re doing everything for the other people.
And it’s like, yes, you wanna, you know, care obviously, and you want people to enjoy themselves, but it goes by so quickly. And if you’re there like stressed about everyone else and like, oh, did so and so like their food, or did so and so blah, blah, blah. Then it’s like it loses the whole purpose, I think.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I agree.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, okay, so she says they eloped to Vegas. Um, we asked my parents to watch our daughter and began saving for plane tickets in a hotel we had planned for a two month window. Um, wait, they were going for two months?
Paige Connell: I’m assuming in two months. Like two months from then. Maybe. Maybe. I dunno.
Christa Innis: No, that was, yeah. Sometimes I read as I’m reading these, I’m like not absorbing. I get it the right way. Um, okay. But as life often goes, something unexpected happened. I found out I was pregnant with our second child, no flying for me. So we decided to get married at the courthouse and plan to do a vow renewal in Vegas on our one year anniversary. We wanted to keep it simple and stress free.
So the mother-in-law from the previous story is, is that, that’s gotta be her husband or partner’s mom.
Paige Connell: It’s her husband’s, yeah. Mom. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Okay. So a mom of two sons it sounds like. Who?
Paige Connell: At at least two? Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah, at least two. Yeah. Who might not like the daughter-in-laws? Okay.
His mom insisted he stay at her house the night before, even though we had already been living together for two years. She also insisted I wear her cross necklace, so she’s going through these same like motions. Despite me not being religious, I had found a dress I love on sale just, just $260 for the dress, Petco and veil. I’m not into heels. I even wore flip flops to the previous wedding, but she took me shoe shopping and made me get these blinged out heels instead of the white slipper style shoes I liked that were only $10.
I, I don’t understand. Made me get like, she’s like, poles are up to the front and is like, you’re wearing these on your wedding day. So I’d be like. No.
Paige Connell: Yeah. Yeah. I think, yeah, I get it though. I think some people have a hard time. Like if you’re a, uh, which I sometimes say I’m like a natural people pleaser. I’d have a hard time finding a way to like tactfully say no. Uh, but, I think also like, yeah, sometimes, especially with your own wedding, it’s like, yeah, I’m not wearing those shoes. Thank you though.
Christa Innis: That’s so kind of you.
Paige Connell: It’s kind of you. Um, but I’m gonna politely decline.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, I know. And I’m sure it’s like so complicated seeing how she reacted to the last wedding. So she’s like probably tiptoeing totally to this mother-in-law. Gosh, that’s gotta be a nightmare. Okay. What was supposed to be a short 25 minute ceremony started to feel like a full-blown production.
I was pregnant, emotional, and just wanted to marry my husband, eat a burger, and go home. My parents offered to take us to an Italian restaurant after the ceremony. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but my husband really wanted to go, so I agreed I figured I’d settle for ravioli instead of a burger. They invited his mom, my best friend, who was my witness, and his brother, who was his witness.
The whole time at the restaurant, his mom was making nasty comments to his brother about his wife. Oh my gosh. So she still doesn’t let this all go. I also wonder how between that wedding and this one, how the relationship was, if they were like, you know, we’re gonna keep our distance. Or if we’re like, oh, it didn’t happen to us, we’re just gonna brush it off. Because getting arrested and pulled outta your son’s wedding is a big deal.
Paige Connell: Yeah, totally. Yeah. I don’t know. Uh, there’s a lot of missing pieces here.
Christa Innis: Yeah. He eventually got up and left. Then she started on in on my husband saying he wasn’t sticking up for her. It got super awkward. I finally said, it’s our wedding day. We just wanna celebrate with the people we love. She looked me dead in the face and said, well, now I have no sons. Are you happy now?
Paige Connell: Yeah. I think, I think she’s just a classic example of the, like, boy moms we see on social media, the the ones who are a bit, um. Yeah. Are never gonna be pleased with whoever the other, uh, it’s weird to say the other woman, but the, the wife is, essentially. I think this is a lived experience that many women have and it feels like a no-win scenario. I mean, obviously we don’t know the intricacies here. We dunno what’s going on from this story. It sounds like she feels like she’s like losing quote, unquote losing her sons to their wives, which like. I think that’s what’s supposed to happen. They’re adults. Um, so yeah, that’s complicated for sure.
Christa Innis: Yeah. There’s a, there was a term for, I just had a therapist on last, a couple weeks ago, and there’s a term for it. It’s like. I can’t, no, I don’t wanna butcher it and like say the wrong thing, but Yeah. It’s like, or enmeshment. Enmeshment.
Paige Connell: Yes. Yes.
Christa Innis: And she was like, it’s when they like can’t see their kids as separate people. Mm-hmm. Even when they’re into, they’re adults, they feel like they always own, owe them, or they always are connected in some interesting way that’s not Yeah. Normal. Yeah, not normal, but I guess it’s not.
um, okay. I was shocked in complete disbelief. My husband calmly asked her to speak. To speak with her outside as they were heading out. He told my best friend to grab my coat and purse. We got married in December and bring them to him. She followed and handed them to his mom. Later he told me, he told her her behavior toward me, toward him, toward us was completely unacceptable that she wasn’t going to ruin another wedding day.
He told her we needed a break. There we go. And that she had to accept that her sons had found women they love. She jumped in her car and sped off. We went five months with no contact after that. The root of it all control. She constantly tries to compete with everyone financially, emotionally, and otherwise.
That was nearly 14 years ago and to this day, we still have to take breaks from her.
So they’re not no contact it sounds like, but-
Paige Connell: Maybe low contact. I think some people go like low contact with their parents, where they engage with them when it feels like they can and then otherwise. You know, take space from them. I mean, that’s really hard. I think you hear about these stories a lot of times, and I just dunno that there’s a healthy way to interact with a person who’s going to engage. Even if I felt incredibly wronged by somebody on their wedding day, I would say nothing. No, ma no matter what, my sister, I don’t care. Like, I would say nothing. I’d be like, that’s for another, that’s for my therapist for another day. You know? That’s not for now. I think, um, people who don’t have that capacity, obviously, um, that’s a very different situation and obviously I imagine for their, her sons like so hard to navigate.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I feel like that’s so, that’s gotta be so hard coming in as like a daughter-in-law really excited to like.
Marry this person and having your in-law like hate you just because you’re with her son. Yeah. No other reason. And you really can’t win. I feel like in a situation like that, unless the mom goes to therapy maybe, or like do some social searching or something, I don’t know. Um, that’s just gotta be really challenging.
Paige Connell: I can’t imagine. Yeah. Honestly.
Christa Innis: I’m proud of the, the fiance or the husband because a lot of these stories, you don’t hear them mention the fiance or partner or husband. A lot of times it’s just like their personal story with the mother-in-law or if it is a mother-in-law story or the situation, and we’re always.
Where are they in this story? So I’m really glad that he like put his foot down, was like, this is not okay. Because you don’t always hear that in these stories because-
Paige Connell: It sounds like both of them did, both, both brothers, um, stuck up for their partners and I think that’s really important. You hear that a lot, which is like, I have these awful in-laws and my partner doesn’t do anything about it.
And you know, I think that’s a really difficult situation to be in. So yeah, I think it’s great that both partners, you know, stepped in.
Christa Innis: Yeah, absolutely. Well, that was a wild, wild wedding story. Um, okay. Um, you know, talking, it’s funny that we were talking about eloping and stuff because I, when I share these kinds of stories, people are always like, oh, that’s it.
I’m gonna elope. And I think the important lesson here is like. Know your audience and know what you and your partner want ultimately. Because I think eloping is a great idea. I don’t think everyone should elope, but I think it just do whatever makes sense for you and block out all the noise because it’s so easy to think like, oh, my parents or my sister, or whoever it is, wants this big wedding for us.
And then you do it and you’re like, that’s not what I wanted. And then it’s, yeah. Disappointing.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I think weddings have become this like big, big, I mean, they’ve always been a big thing, but I think now too, in the age of social media, it’s like, what’s the hashtag? What’s this? What’s that? It doesn’t matter at the end of the day.
And I think having a strong partnership is ultimately. The thing that you’re gonna hold onto for the rest of your life is not gonna be that wedding day. I will say I have friends who’ve absolutely loved every single second of their wedding and loved having one and would do it a hundred times more. And I think if you are that person and you think that’s going to be you, you should absolutely do it.
Like do that. And if you’re not, that’s okay. And if it doesn’t end up being the best of your life, that’s okay. Um, and this is not meant to sound, um, flippant, I guess, or I don’t know if that’s the right word, but like, as a wedding guest. I couldn’t tell you what somebody’s bouquet looked like seven, seven days later, let alone seven years later.
I don’t remember, right? I’m here ’cause I love you and I wanna have a good time and I’m gonna dance and I’m probably gonna cry at your vows, but I, you know, I don’t, no one else is nearly as invested as you are. And I tell my friends all the time, like when I’m a bridesmaid, I’m like, don’t worry about my pictures.
You’re never gonna look at ’em again. You’re really not like, you’re never gonna look at this picture of you and I in my bridesmaids dress again, you’re only gonna look at pictures of you and your husband and maybe your family. Yeah. Um, and that’s just the truth. Like at the end of the day, we’re doing it for us and our partner and there’s so much that goes into it that we stress about, and it’s like, no one else is gonna remember this a week from now.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Paige Connell: You know? So don’t kill yourself. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I know. It’s like you hear people getting stressed over like. I mean like the favor being, uh, oh my gosh. I was in a wedding once where they were stressed about the way the favor was on the, on the plate, and I was like, no one’s gonna notice. Let’s not stress about that.
It’s okay.
Paige Connell: And they never know. Like, I didn’t know what it was supposed to be, so I don’t know that it’s wrong. Exactly. You know, like you’re the only one who knows. And here’s the thing, if, if a vendor has royally messed up and you’re paying a lot of money for it, like you should care. Um, but in the sense that you should try and get your money back, not in the sense that like anybody else cares.
Christa Innis: No, absolutely. I would say it was kind of a blessing. Like my husband and I, all our, like good friends got married before us. We were like one of the last ones. And it’ll allow us to see over the years, like what we liked, what we didn’t like, and learn from brides too. Like being like, oh, like I didn’t, I wasted money on this, or I really wish I would’ve done this, or, um, I caved and did this when I really sh you know, whatever that was.
Yeah. And I feel like we chopped off a bunch of people too that like. They wouldn’t have cared to be there or not. And so I feel like you can, we can learn a lot from, from observing, I guess. Um, yeah. Okay. I like to just end these with, uh, some confessions. People send me their crazy confessions in Instagram.
Um, this one says, um, my fiance wants me to remember the good times with the in-laws, and I just don’t think I can. So that sounds like a. Yeah, maybe a bad relationship where-
Paige Connell: Maybe with the in-laws. Yeah. I mean, I think like you can’t, you can’t ask somebody to do something that they don’t have the capacity to do. So it is what it is.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That sounds like to me, without like assuming too much, it just sounds like the son’s probably put in the middle of like the in-laws. His wife not getting along and he doesn’t want to like, cause a barrier or say no, you know, and so he is just like, just think of the good times. So, that’s hard.
Um, my sisters were so much drama at my wedding then got mad when I didn’t want to be at theirs. Oh.
Paige Connell: That’s, that’s hard.
Christa Innis: That, yeah. That’s tough. Um, last one says I have to invite someone I hate because she’s the wife of my, of my fiance’s best friend.
Paige Connell: Yeah, I think you do have to invite her kind of, Ooh, I don’t know, it’s tricky. I would say if something has actually transpired between the two of you and she is a person who’s caused you harm. You don’t need to, and like your partner should be the one to have that conversation with his best friend. If you just, just like don’t like her, like you just don’t vibe, you don’t like her energy or like just who she is as a person, I think that’s slightly different.
Um, if somebody’s caused you direct harm, it been unkind to you, you shouldn’t have to have them at your wedding. If it’s just that you just don’t like them. Like, I don’t know. I think we can, you are not gonna pay attention. You’re not gonna notice her. Again, going back to the, like, if you have a hundred people at your wedding and you hate one of them for no real reason, and I’m not saying you do, but if, if that’s what it is and it’s like, just don’t pay attention to her. Like just ignore her. It’s you. You don’t have to interact. There’s enough people there to buffer that. It doesn’t have to impact your day.
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, that’s, that’s a really good point. And I wanna say, I’ll try to say it so it’s not like too obvious, but I have to say something similar happened at our wedding. I wouldn’t say hate, of course, I don’t hate anybody but someone in our wedding that’s like really close with my husband started dating someone. I knew from my childhood that was just like, like kinda like a bully, not like a nice person. Yeah.
Paige Connell: Yeah.
Christa Innis: And when I found, like, I was like, oh, we have to give him a plus one. I know he’s gonna bring her. And it was just kinda uncomfortable, awkward, not nice person, but I just like put my feelings aside with it and it ended up being fine. Like, it ended up being fine. Totally fine. She was awesome. And I feel like it was just me kind of holding onto some like childhood thing of like, okay, I don’t know how this is gonna go.
And it was fine. So, I don’t know, I, I don’t, not saying recommend to like all of a sudden like, let it go. ’cause we don’t know what happened with these people, but just Right. Totally.
Um, well thank you so much for coming on. I feel like we kind of jumped all over the place because I’m like, oh, like let’s talk weddings and, um, mental load. But I feel like there’s so many important conversations to have and I was just telling someone, like I started by just sharing like, you know, wedding stories on here. ’cause that’s what I do on my, in my content. But I feel like it’s so much more complicated than just wedding. There’s relationships, there’s um, you know, new, you know, new relationships, dynamics, that kind of thing.
And it all ties into so much more. So thank you for coming on.
Paige Connell: Thanks for having me.
Christa Innis: Can you again just tell everybody where they can follow you, what kind of content you share, and anything interesting or fun you’re working on?
Paige Connell: Yeah, sure. I share content on modern marriage and motherhood and what that looks like in relation to gender equity, and you can follow me on pretty much every social media platform at, she’s a page turner.
I also have a website. She’s a page turner.com, a substack, all the things, and so. You know, if you Google it, you’ll find me.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Well, thank you so much. It was awesome chatting with you.
Paige Connell: Thank you.
Hired Bridesmaids, Fake Weddings, and a Parking Lot Party with Jen Glantz
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
Weddings and meltdowns? A tale as old as time. In this hilarious and heartfelt episode, Christa chats with Jen Glantz, professional bridesmaid and founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, about the chaos, comedy, and confessions that come with walking down the aisle.
From makeup disasters to fire alarms (yes, really), we hear a wild listener story that proves a great attitude and a solid DJ can save any wedding. Jen also shares her bold take on why the bridesmaid tradition might be on its way out — and we are HERE for it.
So grab your glass of champagne and tune in for secrets, laughs, and a whole lot of drama. Because if it didn’t go off the rails at least once, was it even a wedding?
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Starting Bridesmaid for Hire
02:10 First Experiences as a Hired Bridesmaid
03:37 Wedding Drama and Secrets
10:32 Reflections on Weddings and Marriage
24:12 Surprise Weddings vs. Bridal Showers
24:39 Bridesmaid Dress Dilemmas
26:26 Wedding Day Mishaps and Makeup Mayhem
28:01 A Wedding Day Story: Locked in the Bridal Suite
36:02 Wedding Chaos and Confessions
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- When Makeup Goes Rogue – One bridesmaid’s obsession with touch-ups led to mismatched foundation and delayed the entire glam schedule. A perfect example of beauty chaos in action.
- Locked in the Bridal Suite – Just minutes before the ceremony, the bride was accidentally locked in a historic art museum room by a kid… and had to be freed by maintenance.
- The Corn-on-the-Cob Catastrophe – Steam from dinner set off the museum’s smoke detectors, forcing a full-on evacuation mid-wedding. Yes, over corn.
- Dancing in the Parking Lot – With no venue access, the bartender rolled out drinks and the DJ kept the party going outside. Crisis = avoided.
- The Uninvited Plus-One – An estranged wife of a guest showed up unannounced and partied like she was on the list. Because of course she did.
- The Case for Bridesmaid Extinction – Jen shares her spicy hot take that bridesmaids aren’t just unnecessary, they’re on their way out completely.
- Strangers Are the Best Listeners – Jen opens up about why she connects more deeply with strangers than friends, and how that makes her job as a pro bridesmaid uniquely powerful.
- Chaos, Confessions, and a Wedding That Still Won – Despite the disasters, the couple (and their guests) still call it the most fun wedding they’ve ever been to, and that’s the real win.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “This is like literally a movie-like, all these little things that happen? Insane. Wild.” – Christa Innis
- “We shield ourselves in certain ways, not because someone’s making us, but because it just feels easier to be our full selves around strangers sometimes.” – Christa Innis
- “If you go into your wedding day knowing something will go wrong, you’re gonna be fine. It’s the ones expecting perfection that freak out.” – Christa Innis
- “Please, guests, don’t tell the bride drama during the wedding. Save it for next week!” – Christa Innis
- “Just leave it to the professionals, and please, put down the iPad.” – Christa Innis
- “I don’t love weddings, I love helping strangers through one of the most stressful times in their lives.”– Jen Glantz
- “Your best friend might lie to spare your feelings. I won’t, I’ve got no stakes in this game.” – Jen Glantz
- “Being locked in a room on your wedding day? That’s my literal nightmare.” – Jen Glantz
- “You don’t need bridesmaids. In five to ten years, I think they’ll be extinct.” – Jen Glantz
- “If you have good people and good vendors, they can carry you through anything, even a wedding evacuation.” – Jen Glantz
About Jen:
Jen Glantz turned a closet full of bridesmaid dresses into a bold idea: what if you could hire a professional bridesmaid? After joking about always being a bridesmaid, a lightbulb moment, and a Craigslist ad, led to 250+ inquiries in two days. In 2014, she launched Bridesmaid for Hire, offering unbiased support in a $300B wedding industry. Since then, Jen’s helped hundreds of clients, trained a team of pros, and become the go-to expert on wedding chaos, featured on the TODAY Show, GMA, and more.
Follow Jen Glantz:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi Jen. Thank you for being here.
Jen Glantz: Thank you so much for having me.
Christa Innis: It feels so funny to like say hi now ’cause we’ve just been chatting nonchalantly for like 30 minutes. I’m like, oh, maybe we should like start recording. I feel like we just so naturally just started like hanging out like old friends. ’cause I’ve been following your content for such a long time and I feel like it just fits so well into what we’re gonna talk about today.
Jen Glantz: Oh, I’m so excited to be here. I love the show. I’ve been following you too, and I feel like we’re like long distance best friends who needed a reason to meet and now we’re meeting, so this is great.
The Professional Bridesmaid Who Saves Weddings (and Keeps Secrets)
Christa Innis: Yeah, and we just found out that our daughters are like pretty much twins, like born the same time, so that’s pretty fun too. So all these things just lining out, which is kind of cool. So let’s talk about a little bit more about you. you started Bridesmaid for Hire, so let’s talk about that and then we’ll get into all the drama and crazy stories that you might have. So how did you get started and like what made you start it?
Jen Glantz: It was such an accident. I was in my early twenties and like a lot of people, I was just asked to be a bridesmaid so many times by friends. And then what happened? It was like distant friends, people I hadn’t spoken to in forever started asking me to be a bridesmaid.
And I didn’t really like being a bridesmaid. I thought it was expensive. I just thought it was like too much. I didn’t like it. And I was venting to my roommate one night after two of these distant friends asked me and she was like, Jen, they’re asking you ’cause you’re a professional. Like you’re just good at this.
And I had like a light bulb moment where I thought, okay, if I could do this for people who I hardly know, maybe I could do it for people I really don’t know. And at the time, Craigslist was a big thing. So it was a Friday night. I opened up Craigslist and I posted an ad offering my services as a hired bridesmaid for strangers.
The ad went completely viral. I got hundreds of emails, people wanting to hire me, and now it’s been a decade and I’ve been a hired bridesmaid for hundreds of strangers.
Christa Innis: That’s amazing. I was gonna ask you, how many times have you been at BRIDESMAID now? So now it’s been like in the hundreds?
Jen Glantz: Yes. There were years where I worked like 59 weddings a year. I would work two or three weddings a weekend. I didn’t see anybody, none of my friends, not my boyfriend, who’s now my husband, like I was only on the road working weddings. I’ve since slowed down a little bit ’cause I have a toddler, but I still do it and the business is alive and well.
Christa Innis: Wow, that’s amazing. And so. What was that like first wedding? Like where you worked with a stranger? Like were you kind of figuring things out because I’m sure it’s so different with someone you know, versus someone that like you know nothing about. Like were you interviewing them first, finding out that you’re a good match? What were kind of the stipulations for like working together?
Jen Glantz: It was so crazy ’cause I had posted this Craigslist ad. I got all these responses and I just happened to scroll through one, her name was Ashley from Maple Grove, Minnesota, and in her email she was like, I wanna hire you because my best friend, I just fired her as my maid of honor. She was jealous. She was sabotaging the wedding. Ashley had mentioned that her mom had passed away and she just really didn’t have the support that she needed. And I got the email. I called her up, we talked for a little bit, and I thought. Okay, let’s do this. I had no idea what I was doing. I wasn’t the best bridesmaid in the world. I didn’t like being a bridesmaid. But I posted this ad for fun and I got this response and I thought, okay, well maybe it is my calling. So a couple weeks later, I got on a plane. I flew to Minnesota, I walked into her house and I was her bridesmaid for the weekend. We instantly connected. I found this like love for her in so many different ways.
I was able to show up for her. I walked down the aisle for her. I wore the dress. I danced on the dance floor with her. And I remember getting back on the plane thinking this was the craziest thing I’ve ever done. And nobody’s gonna understand this, but I absolutely know that this is something that the world needs and I’m gonna spend my life doing it. And that was 10 years ago.
Christa Innis: Wow. So I’m sure you get, like you said, like this girl had just fired her maid of honor. So I’m sure you get all kinds of like dirt or tea or stories like from people that are like, okay, like this is the bridesmaid to look out for, or we’re having issues with this bridesmaid. Like, are you so quickly like brought into the drama or brought into the dynamics of the family?
Jen Glantz: Oh, beyond. I don’t know if you realize this, like, and you do this probably too. It’s like we tell strangers things a lot easier than we do tell our friends, our family members. I know like, I’ve been on the subway or I’ve been on a bench in New York and I’ve struck up conversation with someone and told them a secret that my friends don’t even know about me.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: You know, we go to therapy, we tell the therapist things nobody knows about us. Yeah. So to a lot of people who hire me, I’m that temporary pair of ears that they can just trauma dump and never have to see again.
Yeah. I think. Interesting thing is, is that when someone hires me, nobody else knows I’m hired.
So they don’t tell their family, their friends, sometimes they don’t even tell their Beyonce. But I do think I bring this energy to people around me of you can trust me, you can tell me things and I won’t judge you. ’cause I really have no stake in the game to judge you. Mm-hmm. So I end up being that bridesmaid with no agenda, no real intentions. And people come to me to tell me things because I think I give off that energy. So I have mothers telling me things, bridesmaid telling me things like everyone telling me things and yeah, you often leave the wedding and you’re like, I am so full with drama right now. I don’t know what I’m gonna do with like, I need to explode, but I have nowhere to explode. It’s the weirdest and worst feeling after the wedding.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. So when you’re thinking back of all the weddings, I mean, I’m sure you’ve all these like flooded memories that come up. What’s like one of the craziest or like out there things that you either witnessed or you heard about or you saw at a wedding?
Jen Glantz: I worked a wedding one in Staten Island. I got to know the bride and the groom for about three to four months. Everything checked out. Everything seemed normal. I get to the wedding, we get her dressed. We have a great morning. Everything is going really well. All of a sudden, five minutes before the ceremony, all her guests are seated.
The wedding officiants there. Five minutes before the wedding, she grabs my arm, pulls me in a room and locks the door and she says, Jen, I hate the groom. I don’t wanna do this. Oh, that was the first time that this has happened to me. Like, you see this in movies, the bride who’s I don’t wanna do this, let’s go.
Yeah. But this was happening in real life, and I think this was like two or three years into the job where I never experienced this. So I basically said to her like, look, I will call us an Uber. I’ll sneak you out the back door. Like we will go, I don’t care. I’ve been paid. I don’t care. You know?
But I personally can’t sleep at night unless you sit down with the groom and tell him you’re leaving because like that just doesn’t seem right to me. Yeah, this isn’t a rom-com. This isn’t a movie. This is people’s real life. So I basically put the groom in the room with her. I put a timer on my phone for 10 minutes and I was like, you guys talk for 10 minutes and then I will come back and whatever is decided I will help you with.
So in that 10 minute time, they basically hashed it out and they realized, okay, like they actually don’t wanna marry each other. They don’t like each other, they don’t wanna do this. But the weddings now and my, you know, the wedding should have started. So basically what they decided was that they were gonna go through with the wedding.
They never signed the marriage license, and it was just gonna be fake because the truth is like nobody actually knows if you sign your marriage license. And that’s what marriage actually is, is that legal document. So honestly, at a lot of weddings, they just don’t sign the wedding, the marriage license, and they’re not really married.
So the wedding starts, they don’t sign the marriage license, they’re like miles away from each other. The first dance, they’re like high schoolers who like won’t touch each other. It’s an outdoor wedding. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day. It starts storming torrential downpour. Everyone’s soaking wet.
They go to move the cake on the dance floor, the cake falls off the table. Like literally everything goes wrong. It was as if the universe was like, this shouldn’t happen. And I just remember leaving that wedding thinking like, wow, like this is crazy. It was crazy.
Christa Innis: Like you mentioned, it’s not like a romcom, but it kind of like it sounds so crazy they’re like together this whole time playing this wedding and then the day of, they’re just both like, yeah, you know, I don’t really care. Let’s just go through this fake wedding. And did anyone else know?
Jen Glantz: No, because, all her friends were just like, why, what’s going on? And I was like, oh, they just like have to talk about something before they go do their vows.
So like nobody really knew. But then I think during the wedding there was obviously a sense of like distance and hatred between them. But a lot of people don’t really pick up on that. nobody really questioned it. And yeah, I think like after the wedding ended, a couple months later, they just went their separate ways. And that happens. I mean, not a lot of people, but people will break up or get divorced a couple months or a year after they get married because they felt this way on their wedding day, but they just didn’t admit it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I’ve, seen it happen before too, where like all the signs were there and I’ve talked this before, so sorry to people listening. They’re like, I’ve heard this story, but A wedding that I was in years ago, and it was like all the signs, like every single event that we had around the wedding, the shower, the bachelorette party, even the rehearsal like ended with her in tears, like saying, I don’t wanna do this and I, like, we all sat in the car and we’re like, you don’t have to do this. We will figure out a way to get you out of this. But it was like more about now the presentation of the wedding and it was like, no, we’ll make it work. And I’m like, if you have all these negative gut feelings, I don’t know, like something’s telling me, you know? And so I feel like that happens a lot too. ’cause it’s more of the pressure of the big day, oh, family’s flying in. Oh we already paid the vendor. Or what are people gonna think of us? And it’s like, well it either doesn’t work out now or down the line it you get divorced or whatever. But yeah…
Jen Glantz: And in a weird way I get it because I do think like it’s hard to back out right before, and I’ve talked to so many people who are like. I remember walking down the aisle of my first marriage thinking, wow, this is gonna suck to have to do again. Like they knew on their wedding day that it just wasn’t gonna work.
But they were so far deep into it, and I get that, like, you get yourself so far into a situation, you might just take it to the finish line and then back out of it after. I can never judge people for that, and I completely, completely get it. But yeah, it’s really weird when someone admits that to you because there’s this aura around a wedding that everyone’s supposed to be in love and happy, but that’s not always the case.
Christa Innis: Right. I know. I think that’s where like in the wedding industry, it gets very caught up with like, looks and appeal and like, who’s spending the most money. And I feel like that’s where like a lot of the drama comes into with like, the lot of stories I read, it’s all about like looking good and like, flashy, flashy. And it’s like, are we getting lost in the mix of all this chaos around weddings versus like. A couple that just has a very intimate wedding and just signs a paper, Or just has like 15 other closest friends,not saying one’s better than the other, but I feel like sometimes we get lost in like what other people want for us or looking good in front of other people, for sure.
Jen Glantz: I think it’s scary because we get so lost in it that the wedding ends and then you’re left with the marriage and you’re like, wait a second. I spent no time thinking about the marriage. I spent no time planning what would be next. That there is that wedding blues thing where after you get married you’re like, what now?
What is life? Do I really wanna be with this person forever? Like I didn’t even have a wedding. But I did feel that after we got married, the first year of marriage was so hard for me. ’cause I was like, wait a second. I’m stuck with this my whole life, like this little thing about my husband, like he’s never gonna change this.
I have to deal with this forever. Like I definitely had moments of that where I was like, wait a second. But like I think we just feel really strange after the wedding. And if you do a good job preparing for marriage, asking your partner the right questions, being on the same page about finances and future stuff, then the wedding will end no matter how you get married.
And your marriage will be off to a good start. But if you focus so much on the wedding and then you leave the wedding, you’re in debt, you’re sad ’cause that chapter’s over, it makes marriage really hard and that first year can be kind of brutal.
Christa Innis: Yeah, I agree with that too. I feel like there’s a lot of people that don’t realize or they realize, but they kind of pushed it aside. They’re like, oh, everything’s just gonna fall in place. Because I think it’s like the movies, you know, we talk about the movies and it’s like, you see all these like romance movies when you grow up and the finish line is the marriage or the wedding, right? And so like they get married at the end, they fall in love and they live happily ever after. I dunno if it’s like how girls grow up, right? We see these movies with princesses but like there’s more after the happily ever. After the big thing, there’s the actual life starting now.
Jen Glantz: It’s so boring. Like honestly, it’s so boring. So like how are you gonna be okay with that? You know? I feel like you planned this like grand wedding and then it’s over, and then you’re like, wait, now I’m on the couch with this person for the rest of my life. There’s a big reality check that I think people feel and no one really talks about.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, for sure. Yeah. I think that’s such an important conversation. I mean, we see these a lot, these stories when they come together, to get married. And then it’s like that, we were just talking about this before recording, how different families and personalities come together for this big day.
You hear like for example, somebody’s mother-in-law stories and then now you’re like, I’m married into this family, so now I have to see this mother-in-law at every single event. Or I have to see this cousin that hates me every single event or whatever that is. So like what people say is you’re not just marrying your partner, you’re marrying the family, or you’re marrying a routine or you’re marrying, that becomes your life, I guess.
Jen Glantz: It really does. I think the drama you’re experiencing within the wedding won’t go away. When the wedding is over. It will carry through to your life. So how you deal with it, how you process it, how you fix it during the wedding will be an indication of how you can handle it after. Because drama doesn’t just come and go with the wedding I think it sticks around for a long time, if not forever sometimes.
Christa Innis: Yeah. So in these scenarios, when you are hired as a bridesmaid, I feel like some of these dramatic moments are moments where they like kind of wanna like pull you into what’s going on. How do you like mix, empathy versus professionalism versus like how do you kinda like carry, I feel like it’d be so challenging for some of these moments.
’cause you’re like, okay, am I a friend here, but am I also like a bridesmaid? Like how do you do all that?
Jen Glantz: The only way to do it is to go all in. To go all in and pretend and not pretend, but to truly believe that this person is your friend, and to treat them that way and to show them like this level of love that you have for your friends, for this person you hardly know, which I think makes doing the job hard.
And you at the core have to be a person who. Likes other people who enjoys other people, even people who are so different than you. So I go all in. I have to listen to the drama, I have to take it on. It becomes my drama. And you have to really be there for the person, even if inside you’re thinking, this is so stupid.
This is so, like, there’s bigger problems in life. Like you’re thinking all these things. It’s just like when your friend vents to you and you’re like, I wanna tell them. Like, get over it. But instead you’re like, no, I’m here. I hear you. I’m listening. Well, how can we get through this? Like, you really have to be in the moment.
But I think again, when you leave these weddings, you never see these people again. You’re cut off from the drama, you don’t always know how things end. And you go back to your real life and you’re like, who do I talk to about this? And for a while it was like really, really hard. It would take me like 24 to 48 hours to detox from this drama and everything I experienced.
And it was really tough. And my husband, who was my boyfriend back then. He would be like listening, but he wouldn’t be able to fully understand or process ’cause he didn’t walk in those shoes.
Christa Innis: Right.
Jen Glantz: So yeah, it became really hard. It became like I was living in this double life where I’d come back to my real life and I would be like depressed because I’m just like shedding all of this emotion that I carried for a weekend.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I think I saw, and I, if you do this for every wedding, but like sometimes you like. People don’t know you’re a hired bridesmaid. so sometimes you have a story means you have a different name. So how did that kind of start and do you think those are more common than being who you are as like known of, a hired bridesmaid?
Jen Glantz: So most of the time when they hire me, I have a fake name, a fake backstory, and I integrate into their life. So they’ll say, okay, I want you to be Jackie from high school. Here’s where I went to high school. Here’s everything you need to know. And I study this identity. I study all the facts from street corners to clubs we were in.
I read the yearbook like, oh my gosh, on this role as Jackie. And then when the wedding ends, Jackie disappears. And it’s not that weird ’cause like friends do come and go from our lives. So it’s very normal that Jackie would just be flaky and like never talk to this person again. That happens. So I become Jackie and then I ditch Jackie.
And then the next wedding I go to, I become Samantha. And I change my identity for these people to really integrate into their lives. They wanna keep it a secret. They don’t want people to know, and that’s their choice. And I carry that out for them.
Christa Innis: Wow. So. That sounds like you’re like the FBI or you’re like undercover. Do you ever stress out about like, what if I actually say the wrong name when I’m just chatting with someone?
Jen Glantz: Oh, like beyond the secret is when you’re talking to people, you just talk more about them and not about you. So like if they ask me a question, I’m like, everything’s good. I’m like, yeah, I’m good.
How about you? Like you just throw it back on them so that you don’t talk very much, which is. Totally fine. Like you could be the shy bridesmaid who just is like kind of aloof and that’s the personality you take on.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That also sounds so fun ’cause it’s like you get to like live up whatever, like you’re just telling these crazy stories. You’re like, yeah, when I was in college I did this. And you’re just living your best life. Do you go to bachelorette parties? Do you go to showers? Like what other kind of events do you attend and like what are those kind of like?
Jen Glantz: I do bachelor parties, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, bridal showers.
I think the most interesting part is that I don’t drink, I just don’t like to drink. I haven’t drank in so many years, so I go to all these things completely sober. And it’s interesting because a lot of these environments are meant to be you, and people are kind of more rowdy and drinking. So when you’re the sober one, you see it in such a different light. Like you see the drama in a really different light. But also like I need to be sober because my job is not to party with them, it’s to fake party with them, but be there for them and you really need to have a clear mind. So I think that’s like a lot of people who want to work this job are like, I’d be so good at it. I love to party, I love to drink. I’m like, but that’s not the job. The job is to be like an emotional support animal for these people and really just like be there with all the twists and turns. And I think that it’s less glamorous than people think it is.
I’m Not Wedding-Obsessed But I’ll Be There for You”
Christa Innis: Yeah. okay, so you said like in the beginning you weren’t really a fan of being a bridesmaid, but then through making this your business and then like being in so many different weddings, is it like something that you find joy in and like what are your favorite parts of it all?
Like, because I’m sure it’s so different. I’m sure you meet like very organized brides that like tell you like this, this and this. And other times you’re probably helping them organize a little bit more. So has that like shifted or changed since you’ve done it?
Jen Glantz: You know, I’ve said this publicly from day one that I don’t love weddings. I don’t understand them. I did not have one. I’m not wedding obsessed. I never was the little girl who cared about weddings. I still feel that way. I don’t necessarily love the wedding environment. I absolutely have this like deep love for strangers and helping people Idon’t know. I’ve always been like that.
It’s just part of my personality. I find it harder to connect with people in my life. I find it easier to connect with strangers, and that’s why I do it. That’s why I love it. I do think my favorite part of the job is being able to help a person during a difficult time in their lives. People don’t label weddings as that, but they actually are.
It’s really tough for people to have a wedding, especially ’cause most people have a tough family dynamic. They have secrets they have. Problems that surface during the wedding and they don’t really have anyone to turn to. ’cause your friends, they’re busy or you feel scared to tell them this information ’cause it will live with them forever.
So being able to enter a person’s life and help them process what should be a good time in their life, but is often a stressful time. Is the reason why I really love this job. I am not qualified to be a therapist, nothing like that. But I do feel like a little bit of my job is therapy for people, or at least it’s like a secret keeper.
Like I hold onto their secrets for them. and to be able to help them get through that is what keeps me going. It just happens to be in a wedding setting.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I’m sure like you were saying earlier, like having an unbiased opinion from someone or just an open ear is helpful. ’cause you think like all your closest people at a part of your wedding or something, they’re all gonna have some kind of bias around you.
Like whether that’s good or bad. Right? And so just having someone there that’s there to help you and listen, like I’m sure just feels good to be like, just be on my side for this. I just need to tell you about this crazy thing my aunt did, or you know, whatever it is. Um, yeah, and I’m
Jen Glantz: Not gonna lie to you because I have no stakes in the game.
So like, if you want my honest opinion, I’m gonna be honest. If you want unbiased advice, I’m going to do that because I don’t have to ever see you again. So I’m not gonna say things because I need to tiptoe around you. I’m gonna say what you want because. That’s kind of the relationship is like, I am completely going to be unbiased for you.
I’m not going to lie to you. I’m gonna try to help you and do what’s I think is best for you because I have no stakes in the game where your best friend might be like, oh, Jen, like you’re just having cold feet. Like go through it that go through with it because they don’t want you to be embarrassed and they have all these like other agendas.
I have no agenda except that I’m, my job is to be there for you like a true friend would.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I love that you said too, like it’s easier to talk to strangers about things than like people in your own life. ’cause I was like, it’s weird. I like kind of, I get that what you’re talking about. It’s such like a profound thing that I’ve never thought about. But like even when I started my TikTok account, I made sure like. It was a brand new account. I didn’t tell any of my, even like best friends that I was doing other than my husband, no one knew I was making videos on TikTok until like it hit a certain point. Then I was like, okay, they’ll probably see it somewhere. So I was like, here, like, just so you know, I’m not like lying or like making things up. I was like, here, this is my account. because it just felt easier to almost feel like, you know what? These people don’t know anything about me. I can be like on the internet and do a weird skit and know they’re not gonna be like, oh, that girl’s weird. ’cause I’m like, I have no idea who that is. You know.
Jen Glantz: Less pressure for you because then you don’t have to think about, okay, what is my friend gonna think of this? Or what is this person gonna think? Like, it’s less pressure, it’s the more authentic version of you. I think it’s amazing when people do that because I think like we’re so swayed by the people in our lives for so many things.
Like I think It could be good to get engaged and not tell anybody for a really long time and spend that time making your own decisions about what you want for your wedding because you’d be surprised, like the second you get engaged and you tell people, everybody has an opinion for you. Everybody is swaying you one way or the other. And I think that’s really hard for people. So I love that you did that because I really think it allows you to be authentic without the pressure of everyone in your life.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I think we definitely, I don’t know if it’s like shield ourself in certain ways. Not because one’s making us, but I just think we naturally like maybe act a certain way around someone or say something around a person. And that allows us to be like our, like you said, authentic self.
Okay. I know we’re kind of like behind schedule and I know you’ve got, I don’t wanna like keep you too long, so let’s get to the next area and if we have a cutoff, let me know too.
Jen Glantz: Oh my God, no. Thank you. I’m like texting my husband. He’s like, Just wondering. So I was like texting you.
Blisters, Secrets, and Surprise Weddings
Christa Innis: Yeah, no, sorry. Okay, so we’re gonna do a quick rapid fire and then we’re gonna do this week story submission, if that works for you. Okay. So Rapid Fire Wedding Chaos Edition. Would you rather find out the bride copied your wedding, or your best friend booked her wedding the same day as yours?
Jen Glantz: I’d rather someone copy my wedding because I feel like. That wouldn’t bother me as much. I do feel like it would make me kind of flattered that they liked my style or my design, but I think my best friend having the same wedding, that would be, really awful. Like, yeah, that’d be tough to get over. And I think it would separate the friendship.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. I agree. Would you rather have a maid of honor speech include your most embarrassing story story or your biggest secret?
Jen Glantz: I think embarrassing story. ’cause I think if it’s enough distance, time-wise, you can process that. It’s funny but secret. That could be like a dagger to the heart. I don’t know.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Especially you don’t know if it’s coming. You’re like, great.
Jen Glantz: Right. No embarrassing story. I feel like with distance it could be funny.
Christa Innis: Yeah. would you rather have to plan a surprise bridal shower or a surprise wedding?
Jen Glantz: You know, I once went to a surprise wedding and it was so cool. So I think I would say surprise wedding actually, because I feel like it’s so shocking for everybody that like it is kind of magical. Whereas bridal shower, it’s cute, it’s fun, but like I think the wedding could be really, shocking.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like showers, like in my parents’ generation at least, they used to be a little more surprised. Like my mom was like, we never knew when it was coming, and like you would just get surprised. So, yeah well, surprise wedding sounds really fun. Would you rather wear a bridesmaid dress you hate, which you might have? Sorry about that. Or shoes that give you blisters.
Jen Glantz: Mm-hmm. God, this one’s like really dark. I would say bride me dress you hate. ’cause when you take it off at the end of the night, you can like leave it behind. But we’ve all had those blisters on our feet that linger for like a month and are so painful no matter what shoe you wear. Like my feet right now are like tingling, thinking about it. So I think I would say ugly dress.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. I can only imagine the amount of bridesmaid dresses you have. You could probably have a collection.
Jen Glantz: Yeah, they’re literally all in garbage bags at my husband’s, parents’ house, and then we have an office and I just have like garbage bags of dresses.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh.
Jen Glantz: Ever need a bridesmaid dress? Let me know. I probably have it. Oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: You could have like your own bridesmaid, like resale store or something from all of them.
Jen Glantz: I tell all my friends and I tell everyone I know, like, if you ever have to go to a wedding, call me first. I’ve got dresses in every size. Like, come over, take ’em. But the only rule is you cannot bring it back like once. It’s yours. It’s yours. I don’t want it.
Christa Innis: would you rather have to redo your hair and makeup three times or redo the seating chart the morning of.
Jen Glantz: I think the seating chart, I think you can get away with that easier, but you’re doing your hair and makeup, that takes so much time that I worry it would push the wedding time start. So…
Christa Innis: Yeah, that would stress me out. would you rather have a wedding, be kid free or phone free?
Jen Glantz: Because I have a kid, I’m gonna say phone free. I know that kid free weddings are like such a thing. But I do think there is such like life that these little kids bring to weddings and I’m so biased. But I do think like it’s more fun. Whereas like a phone wedding, I think we can all like put the phone down.
Like everyone’s taking like videos of them on the dance floor. Like of what? No one wants to see your head on Instagram of you like bobbing your head dancing.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: Let the kids come if you want.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Leave it to the, professional photographers. Yes, yes. Yeah. Be present. And it’s so funny because, and I know this is gonna be a blanket statement, but I feel like the, older generation that tends to be like, oh, get off your phone.
They’re the ones more on their phones at weddings when I am at weddings or their iPads.
Jen Glantz: Thank you. I was just gonna say that I’ve been to so many weddings where they’re the first two rows and their iPad is like up in the air and I’m like, oh my god. No. Yeah. I think like phone free would be amazing for everyone. Oh my gosh. I love that.
Locked Doors, Dessert Raids, and a Surprise Guest
Christa Innis: Okay, and now the story submission, are we still okay on time?
Jen Glantz: So nervous. Okay. Awesome.
Christa Innis: Okay, so this is this week’s story submission. I’ve not read it yet, so we’ll react together. this might be drama for some, but to me it was just funny. Here’s the story of our wedding day.
I come from a big family and most of them stayed in the same hotel as us the night before the wedding in different rooms. Of course, my husband took, my cousin, took it upon themselves. To make sure my husband and I didn’t accidentally run into each other the night before the ceremony. It was actually the first time he was meeting some of them, and he thought it was hilarious how seriously they took their self-appointed mission as my gift to my bridesmaids.
I paid for professional hair and makeup. One of my bridesmaid, let’s call her Leah, is a family member who kept going back for touchups between everyone else, the rest of the bridal party, my mom, even my daughter. Which caused a delay for me getting ready and threw off our timeline. Karma’s real though, because she had her makeup redone so many times.
I love that. We were just talking about having makeup redone and then this just happens. She had her makeup redone so many times. She ended up with two different foundation shades. So now in all the wedding pictures, she only shows up in profile. We got married in an art museum that used to be an old mansion.
The bridal suite was the original master bedroom complete with its original door. The museum was still open to the public when the wedding started, our ceremony was at 4:30 PM and the MU museum closed at five and there was a kid’s room right to the outside of the suite. Okay. A lot of, lot of set up details here.
Um, after the bridal party left to line up for the perception processional, I had a few minutes to myself. Not even two minutes later, I heard a kid fall into the door. Yep. They jammed it shut and I got locked inside. This sounds like a movie. Oh my gosh. I would be freaking out. Oh God. I would not do well with that. I’m telling you right now.
Jen Glantz: No, my like, literally my number one fear is getting locked inside of a bathroom. I will never lock the door. I’m like, this is like my fear. My fear,
Christa Innis: Yeah. Have you ever been somewhere where the, the doorknob gets like clicked and for a minute you’re like, this is where I live now.
Jen Glantz: It happened to me the other day. In like a dark little coffee shop bathroom, and I could not get the door open and I, I was freaking out. I was like, how does this end, it’s my, it’s my biggest fear. My whole body like shuts down and get hives. Like I’m listening to this and I’m like, on the wedding day, like the worst thing that could happen.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. She said, when I didn’t show up downstairs, my wedding coordinator came to find me and discovered that the door was stuck. I was laughing the whole time. At least Alicia can laugh about it. I give the credit. I know. I’m like sweating, thinking about it. I know. She ended up grabbing the maintenance man and my photographer and they had to take the hinges off the door to get me out.
Jen Glantz: God.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. This is like a total side story, but I’m thinking about how there was this one time. So we have a balcony where we live and one time my husband and I were out, like reading one morning, this was before we had kids, our daughter, and I’m like reading and he’s like, I’m gonna go in and shower.
And I’m like, not paying attention, so I’m just reading blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he, um, wasn’t thinking. And I like finally go to go inside. The door is locked and he like was just, just doing his normal thing. So he just like shut it. And I’m like out there and I’m like, and it was like a hot day and like this is me just like being dramatic.
And I didn’t have my phone out. I didn’t bring my phone out, I didn’t bring my watch out. And I’m like. Oh my gosh. Okay. I’ll just try to read, I’m like sitting there panicking and I’m like, what if like, he like takes a long shower and like sometimes he just like, like, um, breathing exercises. And I was like, what if he takes so long to get outta here?
And then he like finally comes out and I’m at the door and I’m like, he’s like, oh my gosh, did I lock you in?
Jen Glantz: Nope. Like, what if he left to go out or something? Like what would you have done? What would you have done? I dunno.
Christa Innis: I don’t know. I mean, luckily we’re not too high off, but I probably would just flag someone if I saw ’em on the street. Like, hey!
Jen Glantz: Yeah, no, but like that is like terrifying. That is. But even being stuck out there for five minutes, like your life kind of flashes before you, you’re like, is there an end to this? It’s scary.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Especially when you on the clock, like you lose like track of time. You’re like, how long was I out here for?
I don’t even know what it was. I, no, it probably 30 seconds, but it feels like 20 minutes, like two minutes. Um. Why my mom always called me dramatic growing up. Um, okay. The ceremony went great. Okay, so I guess so she got out, ceremony went great. Cocktail hour, also a win. Then dinner service started. Remember, we’re still in a museum.
They brought out a fresh tray of corn on the cob and the steam from it set off the smoke detectors. Because we weren’t an official museum event, we had to evacuate until the fire department arrived. Damn.
Jen Glantz: Oh my God. Okay. I honestly thought the fire department was gonna have to come to knock down the door.
So I’m like, okay. There’s, I’m glad the fire department’s coming now. Like that is awful. Imagine standing outside in your wedding dress with all of your guests just like standing this room.
Christa Innis: This is like literally like a movie, like seeing like all these things. I’m just glad she’s like being able to like look back and like laugh on it.
Jen Glantz: Yeah. Yeah.
Christa Innis: She said 30 minutes outside, no fire trucks. It’s like weddings, like 30 minutes is a lot of time. There’s a lot that can happen. Yes. Turns out the security officer told dispatch not to send them since there wasn’t an actual fire, but the museum’s insurance required them to come, so we were stuck outside for over an hour. Oh no!
Jen Glantz: Oh my God. That is crazy. Like also like are, were they allowed to bring drinks with them? Food with them? I doubt it. Like I’m sure. Yeah. And like, God, the temperature was, and people standing around like it, I think it also kills the vibe ’cause everyone was probably like up, up, up. And then they’re like back down to reality. So recovering from that must be really tough.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Seriously? Yeah. Then you’re, yeah, you’re like, you’re like outta your party mode. You’re like, okay, what? When are they gonna get here?
Jen Glantz: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, it says, but don’t worry, our bartender pulled their truck around and kept serving drinks. There you go. In the parking lot, the DJ grabbed a speaker and his phone and the people were dancing in the parking lot. I love that. That is so awesome.
Jen Glantz: She did it right. That’s how you, but that’s also how you know that like. This couple is good and chill because they were able to look at a situation like this and not panic and they were able to figure out a way to get through it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, and this is one of the things I talk about too, like in different like videos and stuff is like I get sometimes brides being like, oh my gosh, your video stressed me out. Like I don’t want wedding to be like that. And I’m like, no, I’m telling you, most of the time there’s no drama or people don’t know about it. Like it would be something so small and you just talk about it later. But if you go in with like. In your mind, like, okay, something will go wrong today. It’s bound to happen. There’s gonna be something, right? But if you tell yourself that, then you’re just gonna be like, oh, okay, okay. The dress needs to be steamed and we’re gonna be a little late. Or, oh, so and so’s Uber didn’t show up. You know, like there’s always gonna be something. But like if you’re just like, what can you do? Make the best out of a situation and go roll with the punches, right.
Jen Glantz: So true. I think. Yeah, exactly. Like you said, people have to go into it knowing that at least three things will go wrong. It just things happen in threes. Three things most people won’t know. You might not even know, and that’s good too, but there’s no such thing as a perfect day. I mean, these things happen. It’s life.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. And too, like we were talking about, is like I dramatized a lot of the skits while some Yes, I’m sure happened just like that at weddings. Um, like for example, there was like two, like two pretty small things. I wouldn’t say small. Drama ish moments that happened at our wedding, but we didn’t know, like us as the bride and groom, no one told us it happened until like weeks after.
They were like, oh, by the way, so and so said this to so-and-so. And then we were like, wait, what? And so they kept us out of it. So if you’re listening to your guests at a wedding, always keep the bride and groom out of it. Don’t tell them about little dumb things that happen. ’cause at the end of the day, like it doesn’t matter and don’t let it affect their day.
Jen Glantz: No. And if you’re in the bridal party, don’t tell the bride anything until like exactly like a week later. But yeah, I see sometimes made of actors or bridesmaids will like run up to tell the bride. I’m like, oh no, no. Like keep them out of this. They don’t need to know. It makes them just feel a lot better not knowing the truth.
Christa Innis: Yeah, absolutely. Um. She said go, but wait, there’s more. When we finally got back inside, someone had thrown out our dinner plates. Why? Why is someone trying to ruin this wedding? Crazy. Yeah. Um, and people had already started raid the dessert table. We didn’t have a cake, just two chocolate fountains, one with white chocolate for me and one with milk chocolate for my husband.
Interracial couple goals. Um, so she says the caterer had to rearrange everything to make the couple table look full again, so we could have our, our cake moment when we dipped and fed each other. As the party kept going, we noticed a woman dancing like she was having in the time of her life. Neither of us recognized her, so we assumed she was someone’s plus one.
We were wrong. It was the estranged wife of one of my husband’s friends. She found the invitation and decided to crash the way.
Jen Glantz: God. Okay. This is like a wedding where it’s like bad things happen in threes, but this is like, we’re at like six, like this is crazy, crazy. At that point, I’d just be like, okay, invite the fire truck crew, like whatever.
At this point, you know, all can come in who sees an invitation and is like, yeah, I’m gonna go, but I’m not invited. Like, that’s ballsy.
Christa Innis: That is really ballsy. Yeah. Just be like, you know what? I’m gonna stir up some drama. I mean. I, it’s, there’s no drama about her. I guess she just showed up, so,
Jen Glantz: Yeah. Yeah. And when you look at the perspective of this whole day, that’s like the least dramatic thing. So it’s like, okay, great. Like we have a wedding crasher, but also I was locked in a closet. The fire department was here. There’s no food. The desserts ruined. Like perspective wise, we’re like, let her stay, like let her have her best time here. She’s welcome.
Christa Innis: Yes, yes. Um, she said it’s been five years and people still talk about how ours was one of the best weddings they ever attended, despite all the chaos, and honestly, I have to agree, we laugh about it every time we tell the story.
It makes a really good story to like just tell people. I love that. Like every little thing that happened, they were able to just like laugh about it and be like, we’re a fun couple. We don’t care. This is not gonna bring us down. I love it.
Jen Glantz: I mean, honestly. A lot of weddings are the same, and you leave them and you’re like, well, that was it. Like that was like the last one. And like you hear a story like this and imagine like going home and telling people this story, like it makes it fun. I don’t know, it’s not like I don’t wish bad things on anybody, but like I do think when hiccups like this happen, they do make for good stories and memories for people.
And the last thing you want, I think, when you’re planning a wedding is for people to leave and be like, it was generic. Like it was just, you know, okay. Like you kind of want them to have like a moment to talk about, obviously not. So dramatic like this, but yeah, I feel like, but something people are, yeah, yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I mean I feel like the dancing in the parking lot where the de like that is so fun and the fact that like they just thought quickly. It’s also a sign that she hired some great vendors because I feel like I know vendors that would not be as like, no. You’ve heard, I’m sure you’ve seen or heard stories too, or you just, there’s some vendors that are just very like, this is it. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Jen Glantz: Yeah, no, I, it shows that she had like good vendors, good people at her wedding, good partner. She had a lot of good, and I think if you have a lot of good going for you, it’ll outweigh anything that happens at your wedding.
Christa Innis: Yeah, totally. Um, yeah, that’s like another note for people that are listening. ’cause like I’ve heard even weddings about like. It down pouring, but it still just ends up being this beautiful day and they just like dance in the rain or they like have beautiful photos and everyone’s just like sopping wet and they’re just like, but it was amazing. Like if you’ve got good vibes and you’ve got that good energy, it’s gonna be amazing no matter what.
Jen Glantz: I agree. I agree.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Well that was a crazy story. I’m like picturing it as like a movie. All these like little like things that happen like. Insane. Wild.
Jen Glantz: I give her a lot of credit. I think she made the best of it and I think it’s a true testament to other people. Like, go with the flow, it’s gonna be okay. And yeah, there’s things that are gonna happen that you just can’t plan for.
Christa Innis: Absolutely. Okay. I like to end these with, um, weekly confessions. So people send me confessions on Instagram, so I’ve got a couple here that we’ll just react to, um, at the very end here. Okay. Um, wedding planning landed. My mom and I in therapy six years to this day, don’t, and we don’t talk about it.
Jen Glantz: Yeah.
Christa Innis: that’s rough. Like we were just talking about, weddings can bring out the worst in people, but can also just bring out all these like unresolved emotions. ’cause I feel like it’s all this one day different personalities coming together, finances, starting new lives. It’s, it’s a lot.
Jen Glantz: It’s not the wedding. This was gonna happen either way. Just the wedding. Propelled it forward, unfortunately, yes.
Christa Innis: Um, it says, my middle sister and I missed our eldest sister’s wedding ceremony because of a traffic jam. Ooh, that is some traffic jam.
Jen Glantz: I know. I’ve seen that happen. I’ve seen it happen. And then the couples like, well, do we push the ceremony back and wait for people? But like, there’s a timeline. Uh, it happens like we did not go to my, my husband’s brother’s wedding. There we’re all very close with him. We did not go because my 2-year-old had 105 fever. Yeah. And we couldn’t go, like we just physically, my, my husband ended up going, but we couldn’t go. And it was like so hard to explain people without kids. It was so hard to like explain the situation. But in my head I’m like, I know this is the biggest day of their life, but like there will be other days, I’m like, this is like a circumstance we can’t control. And I think you have to kind of let that go and people miss it or they can’t go. ’cause of like these crazy circumstances, forgive, because they try Like you try your hardest.
Christa Innis: Yeah, you gotta try. Yeah. And you can’t, you can’t hold on to like a, like a grudge. Hopefully. I mean, she doesn’t say too much other than that, but it’s like hopefully the sister doesn’t hold on Grudge and. If it was just a ceremony, maybe there’s a reception after and they all, you know, dance the night away.
Jen Glantz: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, our flora, this last one says our florist was shut down by the IRS the week of our wedding. No notice and no help.
Jen Glantz: Hmm. That’s tough because like you already spent the money. It’s hard to find. Some in the week of flowers are like a decent part of the wedding. That is. That is like really tough. That happens though. Like your vendors are businesses, they’re people like things. Things happen.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: But there will be someone who can come pick up the pieces. Like you can always try to find a solution, even if it’s on a wedding vendor, like try to look outside the box or event people or just like people who are like learning, like amateur people who can kind of step into the role and make it better for you.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. It sucks when there’s like something like that that happens. I had people that happened to a friend of ours with a vendor, like they went bankrupt and like closed like a month before their wedding was supposed to happen, and it was like. Scramble. Like, let’s see what we can do.
Jen Glantz: It’s awful. My heart goes out because that’s like the last thing you wanna deal with the week before your wedding. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Oh my gosh. Totally. All right, well thank you so much for coming on. Before we sign off, do you have any like crazy, like what’s a hot take you have about weddings? I know you have, you have something that you’ve shared before.
Not to put you on the spot, if you have one. Um, what’s like a hot take that you.
Jen Glantz: You don’t need bridesmaids. I think in five to 10 years, bridesmaids will be extinct. Have your friends be there for you in the ways that they can and the ways that you want. But they don’t need the official title. They don’t need to walk down the aisle.
They don’t need the bridesmaid dresses. They don’t need any of that.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Jen Glantz: All right. I love that.
Christa Innis: Well, where can everyone thank you so much for coming on. Of course. Like it was so much fun hanging out with you and meeting you officially. I feel like we like already know each other. It’s so weird how sometimes like internet.
No. ’cause you like see people and you like watch their content, but where can people follow you of course and keep up and what’s like the next kind of thing you’re working on?
Jen Glantz: People can find me @bridesmaidforhire.com. I’m on TikTok at Instagram at Bridesmaid for Hire. I have a newsletter called 1-800-BRIDESMAID and my book is called Finally the Bride.
You can find it on Amazon. It’s a lot of crazy stories you haven’t heard before, and thank you for the support and thank you for having me on the show.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Yeah, definitely. I wanna check out your book as well because I. I feel like you have so many crazy stories and I feel like I would, I’ve seen so many of your, I think I’m on your, your email list too, where I’ve seen like some of the stories that people send in and, um, your advice for bridesmaids. So any brides should definitely go check it out. Well, thank you so much.
Jen Glantz: Thank you. Yay.
Relationship Red Flags, Family Dynamics, and a Shocking ICU Revelation with Kate Gray, LMFT
My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live!
“You’re just the mother of his child.”
That one sentence cut deeper than any legal document could fix. When a tragic motorcycle accident left her partner in a coma, our storyteller learned the hard way what “not being married” really meant. What followed? A secret wedding, a livid mother-in-law, and a decades-long family rift and guest Kate Gray dissect this jaw-dropping submission with raw empathy, real questions, and a heavy dose of “WHAT just happened?” They unpack what happens when legal ties or the lack of them collide with family loyalty and personal boundaries.
Also in this episode: ruined wedding invites, Karen-level MIL energy, and the emotional weight of doing what’s best for your own future even if it means letting go of your past. If you’ve ever doubted whether the legal stuff really matters, this story will have you rethinking everything.
Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:11 Discussing Complicated Family Dynamics
01:51 Guest’s Professional Background
02:32 Marriage and Family Therapy Insights
08:00 Wedding Planning Stress and Family Dynamics
17:11 Rapid Fire: Red Flags or Normal Stress?
36:45 Navigating Family Boundaries
37:36 Story Submission: A Life-Changing Accident
40:42 The Aftermath and Family Dynamics
49:59 Reflections on Marriage and Family
54:58 Confessions and Regrets
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
- Life-Changing Crash – A traumatic brain injury left her partner in a coma… and her completely powerless.
- Locked Out of the ICU – Despite living together and raising a child, she was denied access to his medical care by his own mother.
- Secret Wedding Surprise – They threw a barbecue that turned into a surprise wedding… and the MIL didn’t know until the cake rolled out.
- Family Fallout – What followed was over a decade of strained family dynamics, emotional boundaries, and financial detangling.
- Power of Legal Ties – Kate and Christa explore how love, legality, and next-of-kin status affect real lives in unexpected emergencies.
- Enmeshment & Control – What happens when parents can’t emotionally separate from their adult children?
- Boundaries vs Protection – Should you tell your partner everything—even when it might hurt them?
- MIL Chaos Strikes Again – Christa shares the viral story of a MIL destroying wedding invites out of spite.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
- “The wedding is kind of the test… the precursor to the marriage.” – Christa Innis
- “You’re starting your own family—and you have to get in the habit of making decisions for that family.” – Christa Innis
- “This is your moment. You can be a little selfish.” – Christa Innis
- “You never think about what happens in a tragedy… until you’re in one.” – Christa Innis
- “Do what you want. Everyone else will get over it.” – Christa Innis
- “Marriage means someone else is making huge decisions about your health—this stuff matters.” – Kate Gray
- “You can have boundaries as adults. You don’t have to be terrorized in your own home.” – Kate Gray
- “It’s wild how many of these stories come down to family systems and emotional enmeshment.” – Kate Gray
- “People are shocked to find out these things have names—and that they’re not alone.” – Kate Gray
- “When it comes to relationships, there isn’t always one truth—but there is one choice: yours.” – Kate Gray
About Kate:
Kate Gray, better known online as Codependency Kate, is a couples therapist, married mom, and refreshingly real voice on all things relationships. With a deep understanding of family systems, emotional boundaries, and the unspoken chaos behind “normal” wedding and marriage dynamics, Kate offers the kind of education you wish someone had given you sooner. Her mission? To help you stop blaming yourself and start understanding the why behind your relationship struggles. Kate doesn’t just talk theory, she gets into the messy, emotional, behind-the-scenes stuff that can make or break partnerships, especially when family dynamics, trauma, or toxic in-laws get involved. Her content bridges the gap between formal therapy and real-life application, empowering listeners with language, tools, and clarity to protect what matters most.
Follow Kate Gray:
Join the Drama with Christa Innis:
- Website
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Get Christa’s Book, Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris & Sloan Story
Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!
Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.
Submit your story today: Story Submission Form
Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!
A Team Dklutr Production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Christa Innis: Hi Kate. Thank you for being here. Hi, nice to see you. I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Yes, I’m so excited. Like I was saying before we started recording, you came up on my feed strolling and you were talking about difficult relationships with mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws. And you talk about so many complicated relationships in marriage and family.
And so that’s why I thought you are perfect to come on because we see a lot of these issues, I should say, I dunno if that’s the right term, but come up in these stories that we read. And so I thought from a professional standpoint and we can kind of, you know, chat about other stuff as well. But um, before I get too into my fangirling and being really excited about your work, can you just tell us a little bit more about yourself and what you do?
Kate Gray: Yes, so I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist, and I also make content under the handle codependency, Kate. Um, I’m so passionate about education. Like you said, there’s, these are huge issues and people don’t really talk about them except venting to their friends. You know, people don’t really understand the background behind things.
Family Drama Starts with “I Do”
And when I was in school to be a therapist, I was learning all this stuff. I was like, oh my gosh, everyone needs to know this. Why am I. Learning this now, this is so important. And so that’s when I started posting on social media, was in grad school to purely educate. And it’s just kind of turned into a thing, especially around, um, estrangement specifically, um, just because there’s so many, there’s so much stuff happening between marriages and in-laws.
It’s so complicated and complex and no one knows what to do. And so I just try to zoom out and educate people on family systems theory and dynamics so that they can be more informed, take this information to their friends and family, to their own relationships. Obviously parallel to a, um, you know, going to a therapist themselves.
But, uh, yeah, so that’s what I just try to do with the platform that I have.
Christa Innis: Yeah. No, I think that’s so good because like I was saying, in so many of these stories, it’s like. Something might happen completely outta left field. Like the husband could have a great relationship with his mom, great relationship with his fiance, and the second, you know, they get engaged or get married, there’s a flip.
Yes. Um, and so I think a lot of times people don’t know to prepare for that or like how to prepare for that. So is this something that you see a lot in your work where there it’s just kind of like, um, or you’ve studied a lot in your work where it’s like there’s a, there’s a switch because it’s a dyna, like a power shift and it’s like, oh, he has a new family.
Like where does that come from? Sometimes,
Kate Gray: yeah, it’s tough. It’s, you know, every situation is different, but it’s also not, you know, there’s definitely themes at play. Um, you know. What I have seen in my work with clients. So, ’cause it’s different, my work with clients and then a lot of stories I hear online, you know, there’s very different audiences here, but I’ve definitely seen this a lot.
I think what happens is, yes, there is a different, a totally different dynamic at play. I think what happens is an outsider coming in, it kind of reveals existing dysfunction or existing, um, power imbalances. Just very complex, complex, nuanced things that have existed for a long time. It’s all people in this dynamic know, like say the, a new husband and his mom, they’ve been in this dynamic, you know, his whole life.
He, it’s all he’s known, but then his wife comes into the picture and it kind of challenges that relationship and it shouldn’t, in healthy families, it doesn’t. It’s a, you know, a new daughter-in-law, for example, is a welcome addition. There’s the things are already set up to be successful, but in it’s, again, in these dysfunctional dynamics when things go awry, when a new person’s introduced.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I find, and not to like, I don’t know, if not oversimplify as a thing, but not, or not to group some, I should say. Right. I find a lot of times in the stories, I feel like the husband or the partner, the male partner I should say, in heterosexual relationships. Yeah. Seems to be very, um, I don’t wanna say docile, but he seems to be like passive.
Yeah. Like more passive. Like, we don’t hear a lot of him in the story. It’s more of like, he’s go with the flow. And so like, I think it’s. He grows up, he’s good with the flow, he pleases, you know, he is good to his parents. And then if there’s someone in comes in and she’s maybe a little more strong headed or she’s not afraid to like stand up for herself, I find that’s when there’s usually like a.
Some that’s, there’s buffer contention. Yeah. Yeah.
Kate Gray: Uhhuh, are you saying, um, between her and his family or, yes.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Or like, yeah, if like, the mom’s kinda used to, you know, the son being very like, go with the flow and, um, I just find a kind common theme, like when I have people on here and we react to these stories, they’re like, where’s the partner?
Where’s the fiance? You know, you hear like, this bride rides in and she’s like, this happened, or like, the mother-in-law cornered me or she yelled at me and they’re like, where’s the fiance?
Kate Gray: And it’s kind of no position. And that is the question that is the question I asked too. Because he’s not necessarily in the middle, but he is the link between her and his family.
She, you know, I did a video where I drew this kind of in a, not a di, like a, it’s called a genogram, where you just kind of draw it and she, there’s the parents up top, the son below them, and then she’s to the side of him. You know, like she’s not another child of his parents and they’re not totally separate and she, you know, so roles are very important.
The concept of roles. And that is the question is what is the fiance doing here? What is this dynamic? There’s a lot of reasons, you know, if you go a little deeper, there’s a lot of reasons why he’s that way, and that’s kind of the dynamic shift that has to happen. He has to step into a, a different role and that I, I guess, you know, a lot of men I think don’t talk about that.
General. Mm-hmm. So they just kind of are overwhelmed by these, these women, these strong-willed women. And, um, women can get a really bad rap when the real core issue is a more passive fiance in that role.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely makes sense. So one of the biggest things we were talking about in wedding stories is like the overbearing mother-in-law, or, you know, and, and it’s funny ’cause a number of times I’ll say like, it’s a mother-in-law, people immediately are like, well the bride’s mom is, you know, can be this way too.
And I’m like, well, mother-in-law could be either the groom or the bride’s mom. It’s just Oh yeah. Whoever’s perspective uhhuh. But so many times people hear mother-in-law and they just assume, oh, it’s the groom’s mom. Um, but I always like to like reiterate that. Yeah. So why do you think things like a planning a wedding, I’m sure it’s like high stress levels, but
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Bring out this controlling or kind of boundary pushing behavior on, on the mother’s part or parents’ part.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Well I think what I have seen recently is there is there are very big generational differences in the concepts of weddings. Um, I think in the past, mothers in-law and, you know, grandmothers have planned the whole thing or, or they’ve waited their whole lives to do this for their child.
And the daughter, for example, hasn’t been very involved. Everything’s just been picked for her and it’s just done for her. Mm-hmm. Whereas now I think brides wanna be the bride. They wanna make those decisions and for her parents to, um, not just be more in the passenger seat or the backseat and her not be in the passenger seat or backseat.
So I think that’s one part of it. Um. And I think another part of it is that people have this idea of wedding planning being an amazing thing, and it’s so much fun and it brings everyone together. It brings out the best in everyone, and that it’s just not, it’s just not the case. It’s not the case. It’s kind of one of the first big family events that happens after, you know, high school graduation, college, you know, graduation or big family events.
So it can just bring out everybody’s stress responses. And people I don’t think are prepared for that. There’s a lot of management. There’s also. It’s a new stage for the fiances to come together on. That should be the point is to, this is kind of their first endeavor together where they’re managing all these things because the, the development stage that they are in as a couple from the family life cycle point of view is leaving and cleaving from their families of origin to come together.
So it’s this like detachment phase and I think that’s just really scary and unknown. There’s, there’s loss in it for parents. Mm-hmm. And so it’s just a whole thing that people don’t, aren’t
Christa Innis: prepared
Kate Gray: for.
Christa Innis: Right. And it’s so complicated. I’m sure you see it in your work all the time. ’cause it’s like definitely there’s nothing that’s black and white because Right.
I have heard stories where. Like the mother-in-law has cried over an engagement, but yes, maybe the partner really, really was terrible to their son or daughter. And so it’s just that that’s their reaction. So I wanna make people know too, like, it’s not, it’s not always the parent that they, they can see things too.
Like, okay, yeah, this person’s terrible to my son or daughter. And they’re scared.
Kate Gray: Yeah. And they’re
Christa Innis: scared. Yeah, absolutely. So, um, it’s definitely nuance. There’s so many different, um mm-hmm. Different aspects of that, but for couples that are maybe going through a difficult relationship with, you know, in-laws as they kind of move forward in the next stage, what, how did you recommend they set clear boundaries?
Um, you know, whether it’s before the wedding or kind of moving into their new life together so that there’s not like a total like blow up.
Kate Gray: It’s really tough, I think. The stuff is so hard for people to do on their own. They, I would really, I mean, I think therapists could have a whole like sector and there might even be one of like engagement counseling or like wedding planning counseling because it’s so stressful.
There’s so much to manage and it’s really easy for people’s stress responses and kind of lack of emotion regulation and, and all that stuff to come out. Mm-hmm. And there’s so much pressure and expectations and personalities to manage that. I think first of all, meeting, like having a therapist, having a third party that is separate from the family.
Like not necessarily a wedding planner ’cause they’re not qualified to be doing this stuff. But like, um, just I think being on the same page is the most important thing in this process, I think. ’cause from my experience too, people that have been married 10 years have trauma from their engagement and from their weddings with their in-laws, with their families.
Just with one partner. Not stepping up. Not stepping in, or one person doing too much. There’s, you know, it can be, it can magnify existing dynamic issues. And so getting married and, and having a wedding is not just about the wedding, it’s about starting a healthy dynamic. And, and kind of fixing things.
Maybe that, or just getting ahead of things that you don’t foresee, or just having someone guide you, I think is, takes a lot of pressure off figuring all of that out yourself, so, right.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Because I think a lot of couples see it as like, oh, it’s this big party, it’s gonna be easy. They don’t think about finances like putting together this big party where it’s like, yes, it’s not unlimited money, first of all.
Yeah. It’s like your first time maybe like putting money together for something big or uhhuh having people that are very opinionated from different sides coming together and, and that can be a stressor and mm-hmm. Yeah. Hearing a lot of these stories, I’m like, I feel so grateful that our families just got along well and like, I get along with my mother-in-law.
Great. And so it’s just, it’s, it’s difficult when, um. These relationships kind of come together and it’s like, okay, how do we make, you can’t make everybody happy, but how do we do the best at keeping, keeping as much peace as we can.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, yeah. And from, and from your, your perspective too, it’s like how much is keeping the peace too much like right.
Like when is it like, when are you bending over backwards
Kate Gray: too much? Exactly. Like when is it no longer about you? Mm-hmm. And I think that is what can be really sad in these situations is like. You know, if a bride, for example, is used to keeping the peace, but then for her wedding, she actually has all these ideas that she’s wanted and she’s used to caving.
And unfortunately, this is the one situation where like she’s shaking things up and it causes problems. You know, all her worst fears can come true in these situations. Um, so I am of the advocate of a wedding planner, a therapist, a you know, your bridesmaids, your groomsmen, everyone like supporting you, um, enlisting all the emotional support you can.
’cause it is just a, it’s really tough. It can, I won’t say like make or break something, but I think it’s just important to start off, you know, on a good foot with your in-laws and with your own family. ’cause it, you know. It can just set the tone for things. Yeah. Or it can be something to come back from.
And that’s just, that just sucks. That sucks. Oh, for sure.
Christa Innis: Yeah. If you have a bad wedding experience, it can carry with you forever. Mm-hmm. I mean, some of these stories that, that were sent to me happened 20, 30, some 40, 50 years ago.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: On things. They’ll send me messages and be like, this happened. It was like, I don’t know, whatever.
It was like a cake was changed last minute and it was something that they couldn’t eat or, you know, whatever it was. Or flowers were changed or she was told she looked fat in her dress. You know, like there’s been so many crazy things that were sent to me and they’re like, I still remember it and I remember how I felt and, um.
Someone like, you know, if someone put them down. And so I feel like if you start on the, having that middle ground, like what you’re talking about, um, and it’s funny that you bring up wedding planner ’cause I had a wedding planner on once and she’s like, I feel like half the time I’m a therapist.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Literally. She, she should go to school. No, actually that is, she’s a buffer. I mean, they are a buffer between, you know, and I, I think they’re really valuable ’cause they have to advocate, you know, their, their job is what the bride and groom want. And so I think they can be really healthy. A really healthy addition to the planning crew.
Um, yeah. Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh.
Red Flag or Just Wedding Stress?
Christa Innis: Okay. So I thought we would kind of switch things up a little bit. Yeah. Put together some rapid fire if you’re okay with this. Yeah. And it’s either a red, the options are red flag or normal stress. And if you wanna add a little bit to it, feel free. Okay. Um. Because I know, I don’t, I don’t wanna like put you in a corner or make you say something that you don’t wanna say either.
So, um, they’re just different like scenarios. And then just say if it’s a red flag or normal stress around what, okay. Okay. Okay. One partner says, let’s just do what my mom wants. It’s easier that way. Red flag. Red flag. Uh, the couple hasn’t had a single conversation about how they’ll split finances after the wedding.
Kate Gray: Ooh. Major red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. That’s tough. Yeah. I feel like that comes up a lot with stories too, where it’s like, this is the first big event and then sometimes they just, like, they expect their parents to pay for everything and then they go to the next stage and it’s like, but then I didn’t realize like.
This happened, or we can’t afford this, or they’ve never discussed it before.
Kate Gray: No, it’s tough because you’re, you’re expected, you’re, you have these huge decisions that like only 10 year married couples are like, have the foundation to make, and you’re making them immediately upon this huge commitment. So yeah.
That’s just tough. And so those conversations in general are so important. Yeah. Yes.
Christa Innis: Uh, okay. The bride’s mom says this wedding is as much mine as it is yours.
Kate Gray: Oh. I mean, I think that’s normal. I think that’s like, that comes up so much probably. Um, but yeah. Or for the bride, that’s, that’s sad. That’s a
Christa Innis: red flag.
Yeah. Um, one partner wants kids some someday the other doesn’t, but they say they’ll figure it out later.
Kate Gray: That’s a major red flag. That’s not, yeah.
Christa Innis: I see that happen so many times. Really, I’ve seen it. I, not a ton in stories, but I’ve just seen it like, um, stories like people posted like that, like either eventually one like changes their mind and then they, one wants kids when they both didn’t want kids before.
And I’m sure that just like sometimes happens, but I feel like that’s, like, that was like one of the biggest things my husband and I talked about before, getting married to make sure, yeah, of course,
Kate Gray: age. Well that’s a compatibility issue. Like that’s a fixed thing that, um, isn’t, you know, that’s not a dynamic issue, that’s a fixed thing and it can be just a symptom of something deeper.
But how, you know, the question is like, how do you resolve things that y’all are fixed on that are opposite? You know, like even religion, faith can be part of that too. Like that you’re fixed on these things.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. And
Kate Gray: you just think you’re gonna deal with it or it’s gonna get better. And that’s just, that’s, that’s definitely something to handle on the front end.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Um, the groom refuses to go to premarital counseling, counseling and says it’s a waste of time.
Kate Gray: Um, that’s tough. I mean, I, me, I’m like, red flag, red flag, red flag. But I, I think that’s probably very normal. I don’t know. Yeah. I think not going, not being open to counseling is a very much a red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And I mean, I feel like if they’re having, and you might know this better from your, your profession than Yeah. Me just, no, it’s okay. But if they’re having the kind of issues where counseling would come up before and then they, he brings it, she brings it up and he’s like, no, to jump in knowing they might need some kind of.
Kate Gray: Yeah,
Christa Innis: exactly.
Kate Gray: I mean, it’s like if y’all can talk about anything and you resolve problems, then like saying no to counseling is like, okay. I mean, ’cause we don’t need it to solve problems, but if it’s just like, no, because I don’t wanna talk about anything and I don’t want outside guidance, that’s, that’s the red flag of it.
Christa Innis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The couple always avoids hard conversations by joking or changing the subject.
Kate Gray: Um, see, these are tough because that seems so, I’ve just, that’s so normal. I think for early on in relationships, people don’t really know how to deal with stuff. So I think that’s normal. I think that that is definitely gonna come out in their marriage, that’s gonna be magnified by it.
But um, yeah, that’s not an, an unfixable issue that I would say that’s very normal, but it’s definitely not good. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I feel like you can. Only joke so long before, like, something’s gonna be hard, like curious. And you have, well,
Kate Gray: there, there’s something called, um, I mean, just to be all nerdy real quick, there’s something called pseudo hostility, like fake hostility.
It’s like, that’s what you’re talking about, like the joking.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Kate Gray: And it is an indicator of like suppressed emotion and an inability to really resolve conflict and be vulnerable. Okay. So it’s like a really unhealthy dynamic and or like, um, behavior in general and it’s found in families. That’s where the term came from.
But, so it can be, it’s joking about real problems as an indicator of that, but again, it’s, it’s something that’s very fixable with a therapist or with just, you know, this podcast.
Christa Innis: So yeah, just chatting about it. Yeah, because I feel like I’ve known people before that are just very, like, that’s like their personality is like the comic relief.
So it’s like even when things are like serious, they like wanna throw a little like. Comic in there.
Kate Gray: Yeah. And that’s how comedians are born. Yeah. I
Christa Innis: I feel like that’s a lot of, like, when you hear like deeper stories about comedians, it’s like a lot of times they just have to laugh to get through things,
Kate Gray: literally.
Yeah. And that’s, I mean, it’s not an unhealthy thing when you can do that. But if you only can do that and you can’t be vulnerable and you can’t talk about your feelings and you can’t receive criticism, for example, then that’s when it becomes an issue. And that’s when that term applies. It’s not just about joking and being funny, um, or even lightening the mood sometimes.
But if you can only do that when it’s tense, you know, you think about. People that like bust out laughing at like funerals and stuff. Like, it’s like there’s response. Yeah. It’s like, um, is that how, you know? It’s just those things just invite curiosity. It’s not to like pathologize people or to say, you know, if you do this, there’s something wrong with you.
It’s just an indicator of like, something to be curious about if you’re having issues in relationships or, or if, if this is a, a pattern for you.
Christa Innis: Interesting. Wow. I’m, I’m learning so much. Oh, okay. Um, a partner deletes texts from a parent they know that the other wouldn’t approve of, oh
Kate Gray: man, this is, these are so hard.
’cause they seem very normal. ’cause it sounds the person would be trying to protect their partner. I think people do this with good intention, but at the same time, I think that’s not a good habit to get into. In a marriage. So that’s a red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. ’cause for someone like that, like if someone’s deleting texts, that means in some way they’re, and you can’t control the other, what the parent does, but in some way they’re allowing them to talk negatively about their partner.
Right. Right. Or they’re not setting us clear boundary of like, Hey, if you talked that way, we’re, we’re done. Yeah. Or we’re gonna limit.
Kate Gray: Yeah. No, a hundred percent. That’s right. But I also, on the other side of the spectrum, I have, in my experience with people, there’s been way too much transparency and this, their partner is like scarred for life by what the parents said.
Yeah. So there is like. Transparency isn’t necessarily, you know, there it, there’s nuance here. It just depends on what they’re saying, you know, like mm-hmm. Um, but yeah, I think the general, like the habit of deleting texts is sketchy and is definitely a red flag. Mm-hmm. In a relationship in general.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
That’s interesting. Yeah. You say that because Yeah, I know. I’m thinking about that now because, um, there was a story that a girl sent me, and this was not about a mean text necessarily, and actually podcast and she talked about it, but Oh, mother-in-law, um, yeah, she was anonymous. She turned the camera off.
Uh, so we reacted to her story and then she was like, maybe we’ll have a part two because I’m going dress shopping with her. And so I had her come on and kind of share what happened, but basically she was demanding to know the location of their wedding venue, and this was like. Far from where they lived.
They haven’t actually seen it personally yet. She’s like, well, I just wanna drive by and go see it. And they’re like, it’s a private property, you can’t. And she’s like, we sent you the location so you can kinda see pictures. And she goes, well, I delete texts. And she like went to this whole thing about how like, I delete texts, just tell me the address so I can show up and go.
And she kept pushing, pushing. It was like a long, crazy story, but she ended up like cornering her in the kitchen and was like, yeah, it was like this crazy thing. It’s still ongoing, like they haven’t gotten married yet, but, um,
Kate Gray: oh my goodness.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so the delete texted made me think of that conversation because um, she just said like.
She would, the mother would delete texts in her phones and then claim not to have it anymore. Claim to not know that because the text was gone.
Kate Gray: That’s weird. Never heard of anything like that.
Christa Innis: I know. I was like, does she, does she work for the
Kate Gray: FBI? Why? Yeah. Seriously. Is she a CIA agent?
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. So that was, wow.
Kate Gray: Interesting.
Christa Innis: Yeah. But that was one where, on her episode where she came on, she talked about they, she went through a lot of therapy herself. So like they did a good job of like keeping up with boundaries. Yeah. And it was where her husband just had a hard time of like standing up to his mom because I bet.
And so used to like running the household and now this new strong female voice comes in and she’s like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I’ve never been told no before, so, yeah.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Right. Which is, that’s a red flag. I’ll say that. Like, moms not being used to their adult children telling them no about things. That’s a red flag for Yeah.
Like when you’re, if you’re a fiance, you’re looking at your partner and their parent, and that’s the dynamic you see. It’s like that’s, those are, those are scary waters to enter into. Like you, that’s a scary situation. And I think their partners feel that, you know, they like get that sense. And I think that that brings out their own stress responses too.
Mm-hmm. Um, because there’s a powerlessness that children feel even when they’re adults with parents. Parents. And so that can just make them really scared and they, however they normally respond when they’re scared. So maybe they over control or they. You know, overcompensate in some ways. So it can just be tough.
Yeah.
Christa Innis: Interesting. Wow. Okay. Um, this one says, the bride says she doesn’t want the groom sister in the wedding and won’t explain why
Kate Gray: the bride says she doesn’t want the groom sister in the wedding. Oh. And she won’t explain why. Yeah. That’s part of it. That’s the part of it. That’s the red flag.
Christa Innis: Yeah. They won’t explain why.
’cause I feel like you don’t need to have your sibling or your partner’s siblings in the wedding. I feel like that’s a totally, there should be no pressure to have anybody in the wedding, but
Kate Gray: yeah.
Christa Innis: Why won’t you explain why?
Kate Gray: Yeah, why don’t you explain why, or like, why can’t they just be, I love the idea if that’s the case.
Like if, say you’re the bride and you don’t want your groom’s sister being a bridesmaid, but can she be a groomsman? I don’t know. Do you have this, the ultimate set? You know, can’t, is there some gray area here? Right. Like if
Christa Innis: he, I know. That’s what I think is interesting too, is like, I, I mean, I had my.
Husband’s sister and sister-in-law on his side. Um, sister-in-law on his side. I dunno if I said that right. But I mean, it’s our sister-in-law, but in the wedding, ’cause I’m like close with them. Yeah. But like, we have my brother ’cause like they’re not super close or anything. Okay. But I’ve seen it always and that, that’s like a weird thing.
But like, I, I don’t know. It’s interesting.
Kate Gray: Well, I think this can be an issue. So say the groom’s sister is rude to the bride or like they don’t get along or, or whatever. And so the bride’s just like, yeah. I mean, you’re not gonna be in our wedding party. Mm-hmm. Um. But I think that could also be like an, is a situation where fiance, they can come together where it’s like, Hey, I’m uncomfortable with her in my, on my side of things, you know, going on my bachelorette or like, and standing up there, that feels inauthentic to me.
But if you, you know, she’s your sister, you kind of get the say in what you want her to be in our wedding and we can talk about it. And so do you want her to stand up with you in a black dress? You know, like is there something, if your parents are gonna be really upset and embarrassed by that, like is there something we can do to get everyone a win-win scenario?
Um, yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Because what’s weird to me too is that she would have to explain to the groom almost like in my. My thought is if the bride and sister didn’t get along, the groom would already know that or know that there was some kind of weird tension. So like, let’s figure it out together. But if like, let’s say she secretly like hated the sister and was like, yeah, jealous of something, you know, whatever.
Then like that’s already, that’s a red flag because it’s like you’re not openly communicating with your groom. Like, oh, the sister did this to me. That’s
Kate Gray: the issue is like the not openly communicating.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Okay. This one’s, there’s two more. One person does all the wedding planning because the other partner says they don’t care.
Kate Gray: Is that the most normal thing I’ve ever heard about this? Probably. I mean, but it’s a red flag. Like. I don’t know, what do they not care about? Is that part of the dynamic? Do they not care in general? Are they like, I never care about what we eat, and so the other person’s always responsible for figuring out what they eat.
Like is this the dynamic or is this just like, oh, I don’t like, you know, oh I don’t know, some, like, I don’t wanna do girly stuff, or some stupid stuff like that. What’s the deal about it?
Christa Innis: Yeah, because I feel like there’s a big difference between like, oh honey, you’re so good at this stuff, so I don’t care.
Like, do you like the pink or the green butter? You know, or it’s like, I don’t care.
Kate Gray: You know? Like the, yeah,
Christa Innis: how are they communicating it because exactly how
Kate Gray: are they communicating it? And you know, I think that that’s not. Yeah. I think again, it’s a, all these things seem like places, things to explore. Like is this just this situation or is this in general?
Or does this bother me? Does it bother me that they don’t care? Or am I happy they don’t care because I wanted to do it on my own anyway. You know, like Right. What I, how do you actually feel about it?
Christa Innis: Right. No, that’s a, that’s a great point. It’s so, these are so nuanced. Yeah. Because I’ve seen relationships before where the bride is like such a big planner and so she was like, I got this.
We’re good. Yeah. And he kind of just was there if she needed him, but that’s it. He was like, I don’t care. Pick, I will walk in for a wedding. You want, but then I’ve seen others where like the bride was stressed beyond belief and he went a finger and you’re like, that’s where I’m like, it’s your wedding too.
Right. Um, but I think a lot of times there’s those couples where they just assume like, oh, it’s the woman’s job to do all of it. Yes. Um. But
Kate Gray: I don’t know. And that’s again, like not a a bad, these things aren’t like inherently bad, but it’s like, how do you feel about them? Do you want them more involved? Is are there things you can do together?
Are there things that they really do care about or do they just not know? I think a lot of the time people don’t know what they don’t know. Yeah. And so you think you’re not gonna care about something, but you really end up caring about the food, or you really end up caring, like caring about the transportation from the venue to the reception.
You know, like, yeah. Is, is there an open mind there? For things to be, you know, to evolve as you learn more. Because I mean, when I planned my wedding, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what I, you know, how do you, how are you supposed to know when you’ve never done it before?
Christa Innis: Exactly.
Kate Gray: Yeah. So
Christa Innis: it’s a lot.
And I think people don’t realize, like, especially their first time going through everything and seeing like what they have to do, they’re just like, what?
Kate Gray: Yeah, there’s so many decisions.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And so all the comparison with social media and all stuff, it’s like you have to really shut out the noise of like, okay, do I want, uh, a golden arch because they have it on Pinterest, or do I want one because it would look cool for us, like, you know.
Exactly.
Kate Gray: Yeah, for sure.
Christa Innis: Okay, last one. A parent constantly criticizes their part child’s partner, but the partner just keeps the peace to avoid conflict.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Major red flag. First of all, why is a parent criticizing? I think that’s, so, I, I think things can be so backwards. Like parents should be there to be so supportive ’cause they know they’ve been through it and they know how stressful it is.
Mm-hmm. So it’s just crazy to me in general when parents are adding, they add stress even though they know they’ve been through it themselves. Um, so I think that’s the red flag is like parents criticizing in general. That’s definitely something to have a boundary around. Um, what was the rest of the question?
And the, uh, the partner just keeps the peace to avoid conflict. Yeah. And that’s another thing. Do they always do that? Do they do that with you? Do they do that at work? Do they do that with their friends? Are they always avoiding conflict? Because the thing about that is that it comes out sideways. It it does eventually, you know, people aren’t just like doormats, you’re human beings and emotions, you know, it’s gonna come out.
So, but it, but, or is this a situational thing where it’s just like, you know, let’s just get through this wedding. Like, I don’t even care. Let’s just get through this wedding. Right. That’s one thing. So, and it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s, you know, things are not irreparable. If you just, if the wedding is just, if you decide it’s not the time to deal with all these dynamics, then just make it easy for yourself.
You know? Like if you need to avoid it, do it, whatever. But as long as like you, um, yeah, I think just doing what you need to do at the time
Christa Innis: Yeah. Is
Kate Gray: how you leave these situations. Like not traumatized.
Christa Innis: Right. When they’re
Kate Gray: tough.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I don’t know how I would react to something like that, but yeah, if it’s something like you live across the country and you’re only gonna see ’em for this one day and you talk to them, okay, whatever, just like, we’re like, whatever.
But if you see them a lot and they’re constantly putting your partner down, like, let’s, boundaries.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Boundaries. Because that’s, you know, if a parent’s criticizing their partner, that can really make the kid feel undermined. Like, Hey, you don’t trust my decisions. Like, I, I wanna hear your feedback, but I’m, all I’m hearing about them is this, and that’s making me not trust your opinion because they’re both good and bad.
Like, they definitely have stuff, but it, it’s, it feels reflective of me and what you think about me and my decision. So yeah, that can be something important to communicate. But again, if this isn’t the time, then don’t like just deal with it later.
You’re Just the Mother of His Child
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. All right. Now let’s get to everyone’s favorite part of these episodes, and that’s this week’s story submission.
So here we go. Okay. It’s Blind React. I’ve not read it, so, okay. What we got. Okay. You know how people say you don’t need a piece of paper to prove your love? That was us until life taught us otherwise. We met in the mid nineties, in our early twenties and clicked instantly. Within a few months, we were living together.
The next year we experienced a miscarriage, and not long after I was pregnant again, our Rainbow baby was born the following spring. By the end of that year, we bought a house together, and still we had no plans to marry. We were anti traditional and didn’t think a certificate mattered. Then everything changed.
In the summer of 2000, my partner was riding his motorcycle and hit a full. Hit at full speed while making a, and was, I’m sorry, and was hit at full speed while making a legal turn. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in co a coma for three weeks. Oh my gosh. His helmet saved his life, but it was a long road ahead because we weren’t legally married.
His mother stepped in and told the doctors she was next of kin. This is, oh my gosh. Wow. Oh my God, this is so bad. This is terrible. Oh, she explicitly told them not to speak to me. How do you, that stuff, this is like something that’s so complicated that I never would’ve even thought about.
Kate Gray: Wow. Like, yeah, we just
Christa Innis: automatically assume your partner for that long.
Having kids together, like. That’s your person you like
Kate Gray: earned your right? Like in Yeah. In all in their eyes too. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Uh, she said I understood she was heartbroken, but I had been his partner for years. We shared a home, we were raising a toddler, and yet I was completely shut out. Wow. Oh my gosh. She even looked me dead in the eye and said, “You’re just the mother of his child.”
Oh. This is probably one of the tragic stories I’ve read on here. Um, that sentence has never left me. Yeah. A single piece of paper would’ve spared me so much pain. Mm. Thankfully we had an incredible nurse who saw what was really going on. I showed proof that we lived together and she let me sneak our son into the ICU to see his dad.
Mm. So the, the grandma was even keeping the, the son away sounds like,
Kate Gray: oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: Within four days, he woke up. I truly believe that visit made a difference. The bond between them has only grown, grown stronger since. Eventually he came home and made an incredible recovery. About 95% of who he was before the accident.
I didn’t tell him what happened while he was in the hospital. I just wanted him to heal. Oh. So this is interesting ’cause it kind of relates to what we were talking about, about like protecting your partner. Mm-hmm. But this is like the opposite way. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So she’s almost protecting him from his own mother.
What’s her take on that? Like, ’cause I am, I’m also wondering how involved this grandma is in their life. Yeah.
Kate Gray: For
Christa Innis: and be like, no, he’s my next. I’m the next of kin.
Kate Gray: Yeah, exactly. My, I have a lot of questions. I’m like, I. If they didn’t get married, then there wasn’t a family, you know, then there wasn’t a wedding and there wasn’t this family event.
This like, I don’t know how much that matters, but like basically she wasn’t necessarily included in their formal relationship.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Kate Gray: And may, I’m wondering what their relationship was like before, you know? Mm-hmm. How involved she was, how not involved, what her relationship was like with her son. But yeah, so that’s what I have just context.
I want context to that. But you wanna really, you wanna demonize the mother-in-law in these situations, you know, like it’s easy to say, oh my gosh, what a terrible person. How could she do this and disrespect me like this?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: Um, yeah. And I wonder, again, that’s like zooming out. Is this a pattern where she like the.
The partner doesn’t share things with him to protect him. And is this just another thing, part of that, when this is something that he definitely needs to know?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: You know, they definitely need to figure out together.
Christa Innis: Yeah, because I feel like that would be my thought. Like I understand her concern with being like, you know what, let’s just focus on him healing.
But yeah, then I would also be like, what if something happens? Like where,
Kate Gray: yeah,
Christa Innis: he has a stroke. I don’t know. Just you think like something happens where like another life altering event. Of course you would hope like nothing happens after that, but like things happen and you know, then you’d be like, okay, how can I protect myself now I wanna talk to him because.
I wanna make sure we’re like on the same page moving forward or something.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Wait, did she say like, did she say that she didn’t tell him any of this? Is that what she said?
Christa Innis: So there’s still a little bit more, but she said so far, um, I didn’t tell him what happened while he was in the hospital. I just wanted him to heal.
Um mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Wait. And then right after it says, so I didn’t read this yet, but once, but once he was well enough to return to work, we started making secret wedding plans. Oh. Oh, okay. Okay. Let’s, okay, let’s see where this goes. Okay. It says, we hosted a backyard barbecue that December. A few close friends and family knew it was more than just a cookout, but most didn’t.
Okay. So they did a surprise, oh my gosh. Wedding. Most didn’t including his mother.
Kate Gray: Wait, I, oh wait, his, so his mom didn’t know. Didn’t know that it was a secret wedding.
Christa Innis: Okay. I have so many thoughts now because I’m like, okay, was their relationship with the mom always bad or if the mom always made it clear that she did not like her, because now it’s like, I’m not gonna tell you what happened.
So you talk to your mom, we’re gonna have this wedding.
Kate Gray: Oh my gosh. I didn’t even think like retaliation basically, which like,
Christa Innis: obviously they’re gonna get married anyway, so I don’t want ’em to think I’m thinking that, but I’m just like, oh. She’s like, you did that to me while my husband watch
Kate Gray: this.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Watch this. I’ll prove you. How much like he’s my partner.
Kate Gray: Well, or I mean, or, or she just learned from that. Like, this woman is not safe for us to tell anything to, and we need her in a group of people so she’s not acting crazy that when it’s our moment. That’s such a good, that’s who. Because I, um, man, that is, that is, you can’t make that this up.
Like you cannot make this up. It’s wild. This is a wow
Christa Innis: story. Yeah. I’m like picturing it now. And that was such a good point about like being aware of like, okay, how could she act out if it was just us?
Kate Gray: Right.
Christa Innis: This way she’s gonna maybe, hopefully be on her best behavior. ’cause certain people like that aren’t gonna put on a show.
I mean, they might, some people might.
Kate Gray: Right. But if they did, there’s witnesses now.
Christa Innis: Yes,
Kate Gray: man. Like, we’re
Christa Innis: not the crazy ones. It’s not us. Yeah, exactly. Like now you see Yeah. Yeah. This is what we’re dealing with. Oh my gosh. Wow. Uh, she had no, oh, here we go. Okay. She had no idea it was a wedding until the cake came out.
She was livid. Oh my gosh. Oh. A year or so later, we paid off all of her debts and helped her move out. That’s a wait. Move out. Wait. Was the mom living with them? Did I miss something? Oh,
Kate Gray: because that would be crazy if the mom was living with them and she didn’t know they were getting married.
Christa Innis: Yeah. And like how long was, if the mom was living with them, how long was she living with them for that she then blocked out.
I’m so confused. Oh my gosh. Well, because it says best decision we ever made because they paid off her debts and helped her move out, so she was living with them.
Kate Gray: Oh wait. Helped her move out, wait. Paid off her debts and helped her move out. Yeah. Moved out of where? That’s the question.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Oh my gosh. It says our relationship with her stayed strained for over a decade.
She passed away in 2014, and since then life has been calm, happy, and drama free. Now we’re planning our 25th wedding anniversary, and this time it won’t be a surprise to anyone. Oh my God. Oh my gosh. That is
Kate Gray: a wild story. Wow. I’m feeling a lot of things about that. Yes. Well, wait, so backing up, when he got in that tragic accident, that was like, what?
Probably five years into their relationship? Is that like a general timeline? Probably. So
Christa Innis: they met mid nineties in the summer of 2000. Yeah. Yeah. So probably like five or so years. Okay. They had a toddler together, living together. Mm. Yeah, where was the mom and all this? Like did she live with
Kate Gray: Yeah, did she live with them?
Yeah. I, so my, so from a family systems point of view, remember that’s my context. ’cause like, I wanna be per, I wanna respond personally to this, but like, ’cause this is crazy, but not in a clinical way. You’re not crazy in a clinical way. Yes. But it’s still just like, what is this guy, you know, you said this at the beginning, like when people are like, oh, where’s the fiance?
People submit stories and they’re like, wait, where? Where’s the fiance? Where’s the husband? Where’s the partner?
Christa Innis: Yeah. And
Kate Gray: that’s what I’m wondering is like, what has he just been passive in this situation and mm-hmm. I don’t know. I think it’s so easy to be, you know, with these mother-in-laws that do these things, to be really scared of them.
And I mean. And let them dominate. You know, I think there gets to a point where it’s like you, you can have boundaries as adults. Like you can, you know, you don’t have to have her in your, your house. If she’s terrorizing you and you’re scared of her and you’re laughing at her behind her back, you know, like, so I don’t know, but.
That sounds,
Christa Innis: that’s what I’m confused about. Crazy. Like he had a good relationship with his mom, so he was like, oh, she’s fine, she’s harmless. But then maybe, right. It wasn’t until he was in the ICU that she became really terrible and was like, like actually a threat to their relationship.
Kate Gray: Yeah, yeah.
Christa Innis: Because you know, you hear like funerals and weddings and, you know, all those big life events bring out the worst in people. Right? Right. And so like, I mean, there’s so many cr I mean, I’m sure there could be a podcast about funeral things that happen with families, like being torn apart and money is, you know, there, there, you always hear about stuff like that.
And so that’s what makes me think of like, maybe the mom was playing nice and then she was like in tragedy brought up. Right. I don’t know.
Kate Gray: Yeah. Well, oh man, that’s so hard. That is so hard. I mean real life. And that’s why marriage relationships are so important to get right. Because life is crazy and there are huge things that happen like that, that alter things and alter relationships.
And so having a balance and having communication and resolving conflicts so that it all doesn’t come out in this one crisis, you know?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm. Is
Kate Gray: so important because crises happen.
Christa Innis: Yeah. But yeah, and it’s um, I love that she shared this story ’cause it’s such a unique perspective and I feel like open people’s eyes up too because it’s kind of like a different perspective of the stories we usually get.
’cause you know, it’s usually like the wedding drama and the planning and stuff. So this was a very like, alternative kind of story. And I think it’s really interesting ’cause you never think like. In like a, in a tragic moment, like, what’s gonna happen? Or, you know, right. How would we handle that? Married or not?
How would we handle that situation? ’cause that’s gonna put, that can put stress on family. How is family gonna come in at that point? Um,
Do It Your Way
Kate Gray: well, yeah, and I think it depends. When I got married, I remember like a month after we got married and we’re home from and everything and it’s like really hitting you this commitment and this legal change.
And I was changing my name and I remember being like, I’m changing my social security card. Like, if I am in an accent, you, you are gonna be like, you know, who’s young at my age who doesn’t have experience with hospitals, you know, my mom’s a, a nurse and, um. I just remember like that, the gravity of that hitting me, you know, you just grow up like it, it’s just so much transition internally and in life.
And you’re like, oh my gosh. Like if I am in a car accident, you are gonna be making these decisions. Like this is crazy. Yeah. So I think there, you know, um, I, but I agree like with like what you’re saying just about how the, the legal thing like this, it matters. This marriage is, is this person is making these huge decisions and when health is on the line, I think that’s a time where like hard lines need, hard boundaries need to be there, like mm-hmm.
Or else there’s this situation right where the mom and the partner, like the wife or the, the partner Yeah. Are not, there’s no clear lines there. ’cause legally did the mom have the right, or I don’t even know what the laws are.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I don’t know. And I don’t know what state there, ’cause I’m sure it differs state to state too.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: But it sounds like she probably had the legality because she was the mom, but I don’t know. ’cause it’s like if he’s over 18, doesn’t that kind of go away? I don’t know how that works. Yeah. Um, but I actually heard a crazy story. I don’t even know how long ago it was now. Um, and I’ll change up the story slightly to protect who they are, but, um, this couple was married for a long time.
They were going through a divorce and while they were going through a divorce, the man had a traumatic, like, I think I wanna say brain cancer, brain tumor. Mm-hmm. And it turns out that certain tumors can make you act different ways or like do different things. Mm. While that was happening, he had an affair with her sister.
It was, I know. It was crazy. And so while he was in the hospital, the sister and I, again, I don’t know the legalities or how this worked. Yeah. Uhhuh, um, I. This was like through a grapevine,
Kate Gray: Uhhuh,
Christa Innis: um, through, through the sister. The sister was not allowing the ex-wife to Oh, father of children. Father of the children, what?
25 years? Yeah.
Kate Gray: Oh my gosh.
Christa Innis: And I was just like, this was a long grapevine, but it was just like, what? Like how, like I, again, I don’t know, like the legalities of that because they were divorced, but he wasn’t with this new person legally. But I don’t know if she was just there when the injury happened or they like, did the surgery or what.
Oh my gosh. But the, like, those kind of things are just like, you don’t, you don’t think about that when you’re like, you know, I don’t know. Getting married or like all that stuff.
Kate Gray: No, no, you don’t. You definitely don’t. I’m watching, it’s funny we’re talking about this too. ’cause I’m rewatching, um, Grey’s Anatomy, so I’m like seeing all this stuff in episodes and um, but yeah, it really does make you think of the legalities.
’cause I think that is what they determine what they make those decisions based on. Right. Like the doctors have to know Yeah. Who’s next of kin and who’s formally next of kin.
Christa Innis: Right. Yeah. Because I know there’s been really sad stories where, um, a gay couple or something have been partners for a long time, but they, because they weren’t legally married, they refused to let a longtime partner of someone in the hospital room So crazy.
And I hope that’s changed in most cases, but I’m sure there’s gotta be some kind of like paperwork or something, I don’t know. Mm-hmm. How that works. Mm-hmm. But maybe next I need to have some like.
Kate Gray: Lawyer on it should have someone on here. Yeah. Yeah. Talking about that. Is there a lawyer listening?
Um, okay. I know we’re about at the end of our time, so I always like to end this with confessions, weekly confessions that people send me. So here’s a couple that people sent in. It says, biggest regret was having a wedding instead of eloping like I wanted to. Mm. And I was told I would regret it later.
Kate Gray: That is so sad.
I hate when people, or it’s just sad when people project their own experiences and you don’t realize it’s them projecting and not everyone’s truth and not like a universal truth, you know?
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: Oh, that’s tough. See, that’s why like, you have to make these times, you have to do what you wanna do, I think.
Christa Innis: Yeah.
Kate Gray: Because they’re so big.
Christa Innis: Totally. And I feel like when you tend to listen to everyone around you, but yourself, you’re gonna end up regretting it a hundred percent. Whether it want a big wedding and you went small or you went small and you want, you know, or I just said the same thing twice. Yeah. You know what I mean?
Um, or you, you don’t elope, but you really wanted to elope because you’re ultimately trying to please everyone else and you’re looking back. Exactly. Feel like, what was that for?
Kate Gray: Yeah. And it’s like if you do what you wanna do and it didn’t turn out the way you wanted to, you can learn. It’s not a, it’s not, I don’t think is as bad as if you listen to someone else over yourself.
’cause I think when you get married, like when you go into that stage of life. And you start your own family, whether you have kids or not. Like you’re starting your own family, that you have to get in the habit of making decisions for your family and for yourself and putting yourself first in that way.
That’s what’s best for your family. Mm-hmm. Is choosing yourself every day over everybody else. You know, obviously considering other people, but no one knows your family, no one knows you better than you know you.
Christa Innis: Mm-hmm.
Kate Gray: Even if you haven’t been some through something that other people have been through.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Yeah. You know, the way you just said it, I’m like, you know, the wedding is kind of like the test, like, kinda like the precursor into the marriage. ’cause everyone’s so focused on the wedding. Right. But it’s really the marriage, like that counts and I, I don’t know. Yeah. I can kind of say that to like, you know, your clients before, but I just feel like so many people focus on this like, you know, big day, right?
Yeah. The flashing lights and all that, but. It really is kinda like the precursor of like, how are we gonna handle stress? How are we gonna budget for this big event? Yes. How are all these strong personalities gonna come together and how will we deal with it? Because in our, you know, marriage, there’s gonna be trials and tribulations, there’s gonna be hard times, there’s gonna be great times.
Um, and so I feel like that’s kinda like a precursor of like, are we gonna listen to everyone else before us? Yes. Like, how are we gonna Well,
Kate Gray: yeah, and like I said, like I really do, when I’m thinking about it like this, I’m like, there. People don’t, I don’t know you. It’s crazy that this amount of pressure and this complex of a thing happens at the very beginning of a relationship because in life you’re never dealing with this type of thing again.
You know, unless you have children and there’s like, you live on a compound with your family. Like there, you know, there’s not this level of pressure, of personalities of, of involvement in your life and in your life decisions as there is when you’re married. So I wanna like, I feel like that would’ve been so helpful for me to understand of just like, this is kind of a one time thing.
You know, this. And like maybe if you, if you can get pregnant, if you wanna get pregnant, whatever the birth of your first child, like, I feel like those are kinda the two main first things. And then after that, people leave you alone in a way. And so just to know like if you’re feeling a lot of pressure, you can like chill because there’s nothing like this, I think other than funerals, you know?
Yes. Other, other things like that. But even, even then, you’re not the center of it a lot of times. So
Christa Innis: yeah. This is your, your time for it to be about you. You can be a little selfish. Um, yeah. And yeah. Kind of block out the extra it,
Kate Gray: It will be over, you know? Yes. But I agree with what you’re saying. Like it totally is a precursor for things and magnifies your dynamic.
Christa Innis: Yes. Yeah. A lot of, lot of personalities and thoughts and opinions coming in on this, on this one day. That’s Yeah. That can, uh, can make or break sometimes.
Kate Gray: Yeah. But do what you want.
Christa Innis: Yes. Do what you want.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Um, this says, um, mother-in-law shared a video of Karen’s ruining weddings as a joke and warned me wait and said it was a warning from her wor from her words.
I don’t know how that. Mother-in-law shared a video of Karen’s ruining weddings as a joke and a warning from her words. Yeah. So she said it as like a warning. What? So basically saying, if you don’t do what I say, I can ruin your wedding. Oh gosh. That is so mean. Did you see there was this thing that went viral.
Someone just tagged me in on TikTok. This girl shared a picture or like a video of all her invitations in a bucket of dirty water and said, thanks to my mother-in-law, oh wait, no, I didn’t see that they were already, or they were, the water was dirty because it was all the ink. She already had pre-addressed all these invitations in envelopes, and the mother-in-law threw them in water because they weren’t what she wanted, or she didn’t want the wedding to happen.
It was like going viral on TikTok. And people were like, can you make a story about this? And I was like, let me gather some thoughts.
Kate Gray: That’s terrible. Oh my gosh, that is so awful.
Christa Innis: Do you, that is so awful. Is that someone that just can’t deal with their emotions or can’t communicate, or has or hasn’t been told? No, maybe.
Kate Gray: Yeah. So the like term is enmeshment. They’re enmeshed, which means they’re fused, like, so, um, when it comes to relationships, there’s only one truth. Like there’s right or wrong, and both people have to see it that way. Mm. Whereas, so they need to learn what’s called differentiation. Like, hey, my kid is their own person.
They’re making their own choices and their own life. And it doesn’t have to be the same as what I would do.
Christa Innis: Mm.
Kate Gray: Or I don’t have to approve. They have full autonomy and agency to do what they need to do. Mm-hmm. And so there’s definitely a component of not being able to regulate emotionally. There’s the component of, of being, um, not really having boundaries.
You know, there’s, there’s a lot. I mean, not, again, not to pathologize people and ’cause I don’t know all the context behind these things, but definitely parents that get upset at their children’s decisions, there is a level of enmeshment between them.
Christa Innis: Interesting. Wow. I don’t know how some of these people get through.
Like, I know position, I just can’t. Imagine being treated that way.
Kate Gray: Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Um, awesome. Okay, well that’s all I have for, oh my gosh, thank you so much for coming on. It was so great chatting with you and hearing a different perspective on some of these things that we see.
Kate Gray: Thank you for having me. This was really fun and different.
Like it’s not, I normally just, I talk about this stuff on such, in such a serious way, you know, and so this was really light and fun. I really enjoyed it. Oh, good. Thank you again. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Well, can you tell everyone again where they can follow you, find your content, and then what kind of things you’re working on and what kind of things you share?
Kate Gray: Yeah. So, um, you can find me on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube under the handle codependency. Kate, KATE. Um, what am I working on? I don’t know. I’m just like having fun posting and, um, just still learning about my community and what the needs are and just doing fun things like this. I did start a podcast, it’s called The Gray Area.
Christa Innis: Oh, fun. Where?
Kate Gray: Yeah, where like, so I post a lot of educational stuff and my podcast is um, where I just elaborate. It’s just like long form. I literally just started it and I am doing it just by myself and I, I’ve been like, I didn’t realize I could yap the way I do. I’ve literally like for 45 minutes to an hour can just like talk about something.
I had no idea. I’ve always been curious, like I wonder if I could just go. Like how long I would talk. Yeah. And anyway, so, um, that’s on my profile. You’re sign up now? I’m literally, yeah. Um, so that’s what I’m doing. Yeah. Now.
Christa Innis: Awesome. Well, very cool. I feel like a lot of times our, our content can like cross over, like you can be like the more, more serious
Kate Gray: Yes.
Christa Innis: Um, and educational for Yes. I like education. Yeah. Yeah. Because I feel like a lot of people have que, you know, they hear these stories and they have questions about it, or, um, brides will reach out and be like, this is what I’m currently dealing with and I, I can’t deal with it from, or I can give advice from a professional standpoint.
I just can say like, this is what I’ve seen in these stories. Yes. Yeah. So,
Kate Gray: um, well, and that’s valid too, your experience with these stories. So. Not to like think that, um, you have to have formal training to be able to answer. But yeah, I’m always happy to provide the educational component because there people, from what I’ve learned, like are shocked to find out these things have names and there’s, these are issues, you know, I’ll post a video about this and people are like, oh my gosh, this is my exact situation.
And there’s, you know, 10,000 other people that feel the same way. And it’s just so family systems is super fun to educate people about and it can be very validating for people struggling in these situations.
Christa Innis: Yeah. I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about social media is that we’re able to connect on those things like, yeah.
Like I saw someone say once like, oh, my algorithm algorithm’s spot on. ’cause it’ll be like a video about like someone with like a D, H, D and anxiety and you’re like, oh my gosh, wait, I have those things. Wait, I do those things. Or it just allows you to connect and see that you’re not alone in something or someone totally in the situation.
And,
Kate Gray: um, it’s so valid. It can be such a relief and so validating for people that don’t have access to therapy or like support, extra support like that. I literally got a message from someone yesterday from like Gambia Africa. Wow. And they’re like, yeah, we don’t have access to therapy here, so I really appreciate your content.
I’m like, oh my God, this is so cool.
Christa Innis: I didn’t know. Yeah. Yeah. And I think too, there’s such a. I think, I think our world’s getting more accepting of therapy and like talking about it being like, Hey, yes, I see I go to therapy and I, but like that wasn’t always the case. Right. And I’m sure you saw too, it was more of like a hush hush thing like, oh, I go to therapy.
Mm-hmm. Like mm-hmm. You are worried about what people are gonna think about you. Mm-hmm. And so I think for those that are still kind of like scared of therapy or like they don’t know if they wanna do it, social media’s a great way of kind of start like opening that door being like, it really is, wait, this is really, this is helpful.
Oh, this is cool. Yeah. Wait, I can talk to someone and like, like get empowered or learn
Kate Gray: about myself or, yeah. That’s great. Like be listened to and just even explore my own thoughts. Like I, I just think that therapy all it is, is just creating space for you to kind of come out and learn about yourself, like you said.
So
Christa Innis: yeah,
Kate Gray: it’s great. Yeah.
Christa Innis: Yeah. Love that. Awesome. Well thank you again for coming on. I had a great time chatting with you. Me too. Thanks again.
Kate Gray: Thanks.
