Absolutely KNOT Another Podcast
A wildly entertaining podcast hosted by Wedding Pro Cass and Game Show Garrett, where chaotic stories from weddings, family gatherings, and everyday life take center stage. Each episode dives into jaw-dropping drama, breaks down what absolutely KNOT to do, and mixes in fun, interactive segments, hot takes, and unexpected twists. It’s equal parts storytelling, education, and unhinged fun—you never know what you’re going to get.
Absolutely KNOT Another Podcast
Bachelorette Party, Absolutely Knot, Red Flag or Harmless, The VIP Table, & ABC Venue
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Ep. 2: After years in the event and wedding world (and marriage of their own), they're pulling back the curtain on the chaos, comedy, and unforgettable moments that happen.
This episode includes: a Bachelorette Party fiasco; Absolutely Knot things you should not or should be doing while wedding planning; Red Flags or Harmless wedding scenarios; The VIP Table songs to get you/keep you on the dance floor; ABC Venue.
Whether you're planning a wedding, attending one, or just here for the fun, we bring the laughs, the hot takes, and the absolutely knots.
New Episodes Every Week.
Welcome to episode two of the absolutely not, another podcast. I am host Game Show Garrett. And alongside me is Wedding Procast.
SPEAKER_03Here I am.
SPEAKER_00Here she is. If you are joining us for the first time, welcome in. If you're back from episode one, welcome back.
SPEAKER_03Welcome back. We are super excited that you are here with us. And we just want to thank you for taking the time to listen. And if you have listened or are listening now after you finish the episode, please go on and give us a review for stars only and above. We'd love your feedback, honestly. So please do that. And if you have a story, because obviously we're going to dive into a juicy story, we'd like you to submit it to info at weddingprocast.com and just make sure the subject line says story submission so that we can categorize it and read it.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03And also make sure that if you want the names changed or you've already changed the names, that you share that information with us. Okay, we are
Bachelorette Party
SPEAKER_03going to dive right into the story, which is brought to you by Marville's Diamond and Jewelry. This segment is brought to you by Marville Diamond and Jewelry, hosting the bridal event of the season on April 17th and 18th. Meet with the jewelry professionals and shop an incredible extended collection of engagement rings, wedding bands, loose diamonds, and more, plus gift bags for every appointment, swag bags for the first 35 couples, diamond studs with every $1,000 purchase, and even a free vacation with every purchase of $3,999 and more. That's right, a free vacation. Trust us, you do not want to miss this event. Book your event now by calling 724-929-6633. All right, so we are going to dive into our juicy story submission today, which is really great. It's about a bachelorette party. Okay.
SPEAKER_00I have not read this one, actually.
SPEAKER_03He's never been on a bachelorette party either. Neither, neither. Yeah, I have not. So I am submitting a story and I think it's perfect for your page. I would like to title it How Not to Be a Bridesmaid, and this person did spell it K-N-O-T, which I'm like, heck yeah. We no longer speak to each other, and she owes me and the other girls over $2,800 after all that she has done.
unknownHmm.
SPEAKER_03My name is Trista. That's not my real name, and all of the names have been changed. I got married in 2023 to the love of my life, and there is one nasty cloud that floats over my head every time I think about my wedding. Jenny. My so-called friend of 15 years and a bridesmaid in my wedding. I did something a little bit different and decided not to choose a maid of honor. I had eight girls in my party and didn't feel the need to single one person out to be in charge. Jenny has has been a friend since middle school and went to college with me, so she naturally started organizing everyone and introducing the girls to each other, since she has been in my life for so long. She gave herself the own title of honorary maid of honor. I didn't find out until after the wedding that basically she was on some power trip ordering everyone around like slaves. She was going above and beyond from my point of view, and sometimes too far, with her main focus being my bachelorette party. It's all she would talk about constantly. She had just broken up with her four-year boyfriend and was rebounding hard. She's always said how it has to be the best weekend ever, and kept joking that we would soon be sisters because she had a crush on my little brother. Gross, I promise this is important for the story. I told her I would be happy doing something laid back, and one night, since most of the girls were in several weddings and getting married themselves around the same time. I totally understood the commitment of time and money, but clearly she didn't care and didn't understand. She told me that all the girls were on the same page in the chat and they all agreed on how we would celebrate my Bachelorette weekend. One day out of the blue, she told me everything is booked, and it's going to be a weekend trip to Miami Beach. I was a bit surprised. I suggested a local spot, several local spots, somewhere driving distance. We live in Illinois. But a weekend trip with my friends sounded like a blast. I offered to pay for some things, and she said not to pay a dime. It was my weekend and just to take care of my flight, which I totally did.
SPEAKER_00I'll go on to Miami Beach too. Like it's we lived in Key Largo for a little bit. Going up there is expensive.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00Extremely expensive.
SPEAKER_03It's not gonna be cheap.
SPEAKER_00Going to twenty eight hundred dollars out from like the beginning of the story. I sense that's part of the reason.
SPEAKER_03It's adding up.
SPEAKER_00It's adding up.
SPEAKER_03It's 100% adding up. Over the next three weeks, leading to the bachelorette party, three girls drop out. I'm bummed because I wanted everyone to be together. And when I asked why they all couldn't come, they used the excuse of work or family. But after confiding in some of them further, the issue was money. We knew that. I assume that Jenny has been chatting with the girls to book something in everyone's budget, but all that was discussed was the general location and the date. My friend Carrie finally admitted that she didn't come because Jenny booked a place that cost each girl $875 for two nights only. This did not include food, drink, flight, or any activities.
SPEAKER_00Just the place.
SPEAKER_03Just the accommodations was eight hundred and seventy-five dollars per girl.
SPEAKER_00So I just booked a bachelor party, or I didn't book it, but I'm included in a bachelor party in Gatlinburg. Okay. The total for food and stay were driving to it. So like gas with splitting the cost is not that much, but it's under $450.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I mean that's pretty good.
SPEAKER_00So $800 just to sleep there. And it's almost like that. And if they're coming from Illinois, flights aren't gonna be as exactly super cheap. They can't drive from Illinois to Miami.
SPEAKER_03So and I believe the wedding actually happened in 2023, is what she said.
SPEAKER_00So maybe flights were a little cheaper. Yeah, you can sit wherever you want at Southwest at that time too.
SPEAKER_03So times have changed. She was mad. I was pissed. I was livid. I found out this information three days before we left for our trip. I started apologizing to every girl in my bridal party, and I decided I needed to have a chat chat with Jenny in hopes to cancel and plan something local or even at my house where all the girls could attend, which is very kind because, like we said, that's a lot of money to spend on.
SPEAKER_00A lot of money. And honestly, the lot of my favorite bachelor parties that I've been at, I feel like I'm acting like I've been at a bunch, but the best ones were ones with within a two-hour driving. And we're just at a cabin, we're having a good time. Yeah. And not overspending in the least bit.
SPEAKER_03I've been to travel ones and local. I think they're all fun, but I do think it's less stressful when you're local. So I'm on board with that. I decided I would confront Jenny. When I did, she responded, sorry, your friends are too cheap to show up for you. I was so mad. I told her I no longer wanted to go on the trip with her. And she said, Well, it's too late to cancel. And if I did, everyone would be out all of the money that they spent on me. It was a guilt trip of the century, and I fell for it. So we headed to Miami and I put on my best face. And it started out really great.
SPEAKER_00So, okay, they're going uphill now. That sounds just like going to Miami. So great at the start.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. We land in Miami, we get to our Airbnb, Airbnb, and we are all pregaming and unpacking and having a blast until two strangers walk in, and Jenny is ecstatic. She knew them, and they were meant to be there, I guess. Nobody knew who they were. They were some girls she invited to fill the spots of the other girls who had dropped out of the Bachelorette. Literal random strangers at my Bachelor Bachelorette weekend, buzzkill of the century. Why would she do this? I awkwardly pulled her aside and she brushed it off like it was no big deal and said, if I didn't fill the spots, then she was gonna have to charge the original bridesmaids who had dropped out. So that's the excuse. Like those girls couldn't come, so I invited other people to fill their spots.
SPEAKER_00How did those girls pay? I'm assuming yes.
SPEAKER_03I'm assuming yes. We'll get to that, I guess. I rolled my eyes and we finished getting ready to go out. These girls took their own bedroom and they pregamed alone. So everybody's having a good time, and those two girls show up and go in their own room.
SPEAKER_00One of my main things about going to a bachelor party is assessing the badge situation for two people to come and just instantly claim rooms of their own that you don't know. Eh, not great.
SPEAKER_03And also, like, I don't know how it is on a bachelor party, but on a bachelorette party, it's it's like a special intimate moment. You're like bonding with your people, like all your favorite people. So to have a bunch of random people that you don't know there can be uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would say uh it's not the same in terms of like we're not having like intimate moments where we get there, we unload our our bags wherever. Honestly, there's times that like you want to be one of the first ones there to get a good bed. Okay, it does happen, but we're not we're just looking at just like catching up because at least in our age now, it's post-college, it's post-high school. You don't really get together with these people all the time. And you might see some of the guys frequently, but not weekly, monthly, yearly sometimes. So you catch up, but then it just goes into like full-blown hey, we're just gonna play games, we might do a power hour, we're gonna reminis and make golf and just act amok for hours on end.
SPEAKER_03I feel like girls is it's a little bit different. Same thing, but like I think if two strangers showed up to my bachelorette that I didn't know, I'd be uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00Especially like you're not close to home.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Are they from Miami? Are they friends with Jenny?
SPEAKER_03This bride had no clue who they were. So, like, they're maybe friends with Jenny, but they don't know anyone else.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's a little awkward.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the scene is weird.
SPEAKER_00Awkward.
SPEAKER_03Much to my surprise, she comes out with a crown and a sash that says Maid of Honor. Because she deemed herself maid of honor. And she gave everyone else buttons, including the two random girls that I didn't know. I guess they were joining us for the night out. We head to a bar that she claimed she reserved us a section. All the girls had previously paid for this, $150 each. And when we show up, Jenny runs in with her two friends she invited, and we had to put a card down to start a tab. Jenny was nowhere to be found. We thought she prepaid since she took everyone's money. She said the section came with a bottle or two. But no, she took everyone's money and then disappeared upon arrival. I gave the woman my card and was shocked when I had a twelve hundred dollar charge for the section in the bottles. At her own bachelorette party.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03And everybody else is in a group. That's what this seems like. She magically showed back up with her two friends a couple of an hour later with a bunch of men. This is at the tail end of the night. She missed all of us having a blast together because we did have a blast, but I was super annoyed. She kept saying she was having the time of her life, although she wasn't with the group at all and was with these two random girls. She's just doing her own thing, apparently, even though she's the maid of honor. We all are ready to head back to the Airbnb, and she says she is bringing this man back with us. And I lost it on her. This was my bachelorette trip. I just wanted to have a fun time with my girls, no boys, and no drama. And she brought both boys and drama, plus two extra strangers who also wanted to bring men back to the Airbnb. I told them to come back alone or not come back at all, and we parted ways for the night. I don't know how it is at a bachelor party, but at a bachelorette, it is a girls, it's a girls' thing. Like you're not bringing guys back. It's it's girl time, you're like acting silly, having a good time. You're not bringing guys back. At least the ones that I've been at.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I haven't been at one where like girls are coming back to our because first, if that I feel like if that was a thing, if you're going back to our place, our place is absolutely destroyed. Who would want to be walking back into that? But no, doesn't happen.
SPEAKER_03We were all woken up at 5 a.m. with her and her friends rummaging through the Airbnb, packing their bags, slamming cabinets, and then leaving abruptly. I get a text that says, Heading back to Illinois, this trip was a mistake. Hopefully your attitude changes. Would hate to lose this friendship. Gotta catch my flight. I just imagine being hung over and like someone drunkenly like stumbling through, grabbing all their stuff and just by see ya. No sorry, no apology. I was more than pissed at this point, but wanted to finish the weekend with the girls that were present. Not to mention that the girls shared that they had all paid Jenny for the boat cruise. Food and drink for the cruise that we were going on this afternoon. She was going to put it on her card. There was no way we were missing that. So again, we ended up paying our own way to enjoy the day, even though every single girl had already paid. The rest of the trip was honestly amazing, and I didn't give Jenny an ounce of my energy and honestly thought I'd be kicking her out of the wedding. But when I got back from my trip, she asked to meet for coffee. She apologized profusely, saying she was in a really bad place that weekend, but never meant to ruin my bachelorette weekend, and would like the chance to make it up to me. She said she was gathering the money to pay everyone back and wanted to be there for me on my wedding day, and I accepted her apology. My mistake, I guess. Apparently, she used everyone's money to pay for an emergency flight home for her and her two friends the weekend of my bachelorette weekend. The next two weeks she played Angel, being super nice and helpful, even apologizing individually to every single girl in the party, but conveniently never paid any of their Venmo requests. This is fishy to me. I'm just like, sometimes I want to slap the person in the face that wrote the story in. Yeah. I'm like, what are you doing? Like, why would you let her back into the wedding? Wedding day comes, and she comes out in the dress all the girls had on. Everyone had fully matching outfits, except her dress has a very deep slit all the way up, basically showing her bush and a very deep free V in the front of the dress. I asked her why would she alter her dress like that? She now looks sleazy and she doesn't match any of the other girls. Where's this bush at? She's wearing a dress where you could see a bush. I don't know. Apparently, this girl, Jenny. All she said back was, I needed to stand out since I'm the maid of honor. And my eyes on the prize. She was talking about my brother. Remember, I mentioned that earlier in the story? She ended up throwing herself at him all night. He was at my wedding with his girlfriend of a year and felt very uncomfortable. He told me twice. Apparently, she offered to relieve his stress during the cocktail hour after cornering him in the janitor's closet. This bridesmaid's messy. She was then later asked to leave by the venue manager because she was caught in the accessible restroom doing some interesting things while my grandma waited outside for 15 minutes to get in. The staff thought the door was jammed and broke the door down and caught her. I paid her no attention all night and enjoyed my wedding, and she didn't like that. She obviously left my wedding early, and then she decided to block my whole family and the bridal party on social media. No clue what she has been up to the last three years, but I know my brother isn't interested in her. She did not block me on Venmo, though, and every week I request $2,800 from her so we can all get our money back for the boat and club night that we double paid for. It's been two years and still nothing. Our parents are friends and they offered to pay us back, but we declined. That was it.
SPEAKER_00Jenny, come on. Just pay him back and be done with it.
SPEAKER_03Pay them back the money. She clearly took $2,800 from these poor girls.
SPEAKER_00Used it on a flight back. And like it's nice to like oh yeah, I gotta get home, but Jenny.
SPEAKER_03Jenny. That was no good. I think that was key of how not to be a bridesmaid. And also, I she didn't make a big deal of it in the story, but the dress being like totally different from everyone else.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Unless it's planned ahead.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, or like, hey, I want to alter my dress a little bit.
SPEAKER_00No discussion.
SPEAKER_03Zero discussion. It seems like she they probably did like a first look with the bride, and she probably looked across and was like, She had a first look of that bush. Yeah, like why? Why is your dress like that?
SPEAKER_00Obviously, people get rowdy at a bachelor-bachelorette party, but that doesn't happen often.
SPEAKER_03No, and like as a friend, like somebody that I had a great bachelorette weekend and then I've attended several. I I feel like your job when you're attending a bachelorette is to make sure the bride is having the best time. And then like to be going along with whatever the plan the bride wants. So, like if she doesn't want to go out or she doesn't want to go dancing, she doesn't want to do this, then like, okay, the group's not doing that. This girl, Jenny, seemed like she was like, I'm planning a trip in Miami Beach so that I can hook up with a bunch of men. With my two friends, with some two random girls.
SPEAKER_00I do not know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Or she does not know.
SPEAKER_03Weird.
SPEAKER_00Bachelor parties. We actually were in Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach area. Funny enough, when everyone was coming down for the bachelor party, we had two friends that were there early, but then the bulk of the guys were coming down from like Pittsburgh area. And right before they were getting on the airplane, they get a text from the Airbnb that the event or the location we were staying at was flooded. We can't access it anymore. Oh, yeah. That could be a story of its own. You guys had to scramble. And find another place. And when we walked into the new place, shout out to Kyle. Yeah, we found a new place. It was it was good, but you walked in and all of the couches were like this red suede. Fancy. It was a good bachelor party. We had a great time. But other bachelor parties, most of them recently I mentioned, is just been at a cabin. The guys get together. We went to Seven Springs at an Airbnb and then went to the resort. It's really just to get together because a lot of us now we live in various places. We're not catching up all the time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And I also think it's just respectful if you're planning a bachelor or a bachelorette party to get a sense of like everybody's spending comfortability. Like what's their budget like? Because it is a lot to ask people to take off work, to travel. Most people want like a two-day trip, where back in the day it was like one day, hey, we're going to the bars. But like nowadays people are planning like an actual like mini vacation, basically.
SPEAKER_00Gotta discuss, hey, this is where I'm gonna be at. What's everyone's budget for various places that we can stay at? Yeah. So that if everyone's in, you can accommodate everyone that wants to be in. And if the bride or groom want something fancier, then you have to be understandable if someone does say no to it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00$2,800 is a lot, but $875 just for the hotel? That's not good. I'm sorry. Jenny sucks. Jenny's out.
Absolutely Knot
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we do gotta find a bachelor one. If anyone has a bachelor's story, I think Garrett might write one in. I might have to write one in. I got a one that I might tell him like another time about my bachelor party that deals with bad. It was bad. Embarrassing for all of us.
SPEAKER_03I think embarrassing for the group is probably the right word.
SPEAKER_00So stay tuned. If you keep listening, that'll eventually come out. But we can't talk about it right now. All right, let's move on to our next segment. Absolutely not coming back again. This one is things that you should absolutely not be doing while you're wedding planning. Okay, I'm ready. Number one.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00Book your caterer before you book your venue.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely not. You can't be doing that. You just can't. If you're getting married and you book your venue, you might go to your venue and they have like an exclusive caterer. Like you have to use this caterer. Or if you're gonna waive the caterer, it's like some astronomical fee. If you book your caterer first and then you go to book your venue and then you can't use that caterer, you're out to deposit. And then you also have to consider that if you book your caterer and then you book your wedding venue, you could be uh limited on your wedding date because they might not be available.
SPEAKER_00All right, absolutely not, or yes. Choose to have your ceremony at 1 p.m., but the cocktail hour doesn't start until 5 p.m. Got a four-hour difference. What are we doing?
SPEAKER_03We got a big gap. I'd say absolutely yes. If there's a there's like a caveat, it's okay if your ceremony location is in a different location than your cocktail hour and dinner reception because that's like a standard gap wedding. Like a lot of times people get married in the church and then they do their party and cocktails later. That's normal. But if you are going to get married in one location, like your ceremony, cocktails, and dinner are all in one spot, you cannot be doing that. You cannot have your guests waiting around for like three to four hours for the next thing to start. Got it. It's flow it all together if it's at the same location. If it's at the same location all in a row, if you're in different locations, then that's okay. It's called a gap wedding and you just plan accordingly. Got it.
SPEAKER_00Couple chooses to invite their friend, but not the spouse, to save on seats.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely not. No. If I understand there's like a rule, people are like no ring, no bring. But if you're married or engaged or like long-term dating someone and then you're invited but your significant other is not, there's like a very high chance that that person is not attending. And I think that's weird. Especially if you have like an established relationship to leave the other person out. So I would say absolutely not. Obviously, if there's like some secret drama or something like that, then of course I could understand. But like most of the time I'm gonna say if they're married or engaged, you invite the couple together, not just one person.
SPEAKER_00And I think if there's secret drama though, I don't think either are getting invited. Yeah, I would hope. Schedule yourself first for hair and makeup.
SPEAKER_03I'm also gonna say this is an not an absolutely yes, but like that's okay. The only thing that's an absolutely not is scheduling yourself last for hair and makeup. Because if the schedule runs behind, then the bride's hair and makeup is gonna be cut short. If you want to schedule yourself first, that's fine. But I typically recommend like middle of the pack. So like halfway through, three-fourths of the way through, so that you have time. And then if you need adjustments, there's still like buffer time at the end. First is fine, but obviously you'll be sitting in your hair and makeup a little bit longer. So absolutely yes, or okay.
SPEAKER_00Asking your cousin to be the photographer to save on money, they have a professional grade camera and they really want to get into the industry.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00You want to have good pictures.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, like pictures are sometimes, at least to me, they're not to every couple, but to most people, photography is one of the priorities. Like they want to have all these beautiful photos to show their family and friends or their kids down the road. So to rely on a family member that wants to be in the industry and has a great camera is not where it's at. I also feel like frienders or friends or family that are vendors is a bad move typically, especially if they're a guest at the wedding. And I feel like a cousin would be a guest at the wedding.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Like they're probably gonna want to drink, they're probably gonna want to sit and have dinner. But if they're doing what the guests are doing, then they can't professionally fulfill their contract or obligation.
SPEAKER_00They might miss out on some good shots just because they're catching up with family, talking with family. All right, uh, changing your table assignments the week of the wedding.
SPEAKER_03Doesn't bother me. I think if you have a planner that's like helping you organize, there's gonna be a lot of last minute changes typically the week of the wedding. Somebody's like, oh, I'm now no longer coming. Maybe you're changing people's table because they brought a plus one when they weren't given a plus one. So being flexible is fine. I think like the day of the wedding's a little bit more difficult, but the week of the wedding, as long as you know when we're printing escort cards or the scene chart, that's okay.
SPEAKER_00All right, asking people to pay for their plate or charge them ahead of time in lieu of giving a gift. Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely not. I do not think that you should be charging anybody to attend your wedding. It's not a concert, it's not like the event of the year. And I say this all the time, but giving a gift is not mandatory. So to tell somebody like, hey, the plate costs $85 per head for the bar and the food, let's say. Sometimes it's way higher, sometimes it's way less, but let's say it was $85. That means if it's a couple, that's $170. Maybe they were gonna gift you $100 for your gift, or maybe they were gonna gift you $50 for your gift. You cannot deem what's appropriate for a gift. Like it's very personal. And like I said, you don't actually have to give something. You could give a personal note, you could buy something off the registry. But to say, hey, in order for you to come here, you have to pay for this. Your guests had absolutely no say in what you picked. So you could be picking like a $400 plate, and then people can't attend because they can't afford it, which I think is crazy. Like that's not what a wedding's about.
SPEAKER_00What about skip making a timeline and just going with the vibe?
SPEAKER_03Absolutely not. As a professional, that gives me like anxiety to not have a timeline. And I feel like for the guest experience, as well as your vendors being able to execute their contract and their services and do a really stellar job, that they need to have a timeline. And it needs to be like well thought out. You need to think about like the order of things. Is this gonna work in the venue? I mean, there's a lot of things that go into play when you're building your timeline. But to just say, hey, we're gonna go with the vibes, that's not gonna fly. Because then I think the couple's gonna be disappointed at like what actually plays out.
SPEAKER_00Good answer. Good answer. Surveys. All right, last one, skip out on the food tasting for your wedding menu.
SPEAKER_03So some caterers don't give a food tasting. So on this, I'm gonna say, like, that's okay. If food is not your number one priority and you just want to make sure your guests are fed and they have enough food, and you're not like super stuck on like, or it's not super important to worry about the flavor, the plating, the presentation, like that's not important to you. Then I think it's okay to skip the tasting. As long as you know that there's the quantity's gonna be good and that you're giving some options to your guests and that like dietary restrictions are covered. You don't technically have to go to a tasting.
SPEAKER_00We didn't go to our tasting. We had our parents go and said, hey, this is what we want. This is what we're we need, chicken, chicken, chicken. I was a little worried.
SPEAKER_03No, I was a little picky about the food, not in a bad way. Picky, you asked for chicken parm. I asked for chicken parm, but I asked my the one time I went to go meet with the caterer because our parents like did that. I don't even think they went to a tasting. I don't know if they did, but I asked for it to go because like for some reason we were in town for like two days, and I was like, Can I just pick it up and try it? And like it was good. And on the wedding day, it was super good.
SPEAKER_00It's harder for like caterers to mess up if they have a bit successful business.
SPEAKER_03It's hard for professional caterers to mess up. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, not just like showing up to a wedding and backing a truck up. And this next
Red Flag or Harmless
SPEAKER_00segment is brought to you by Clink 92, planning a wedding, party, or special event. Skip the boring drink setup and bring the bar to you. Clink92 Mobile Bar delivers a fully mobile bar experience that adds style, personality, and unforgettable vibes to your celebration. From signature cocktails and craft drinks to a professional, friendly bar setup that becomes part of the experience. Clink92 helps turn great events into legendary ones. They are perfect for weddings, private parties, corporate events, and celebrations of all kinds. So if you're ready to raise a glass and make the event stand out, visit clink92rental.com and book your date today. Our next segment, this is a new one. This is red flag. I wish I had flags to be like or harmless, like Shy Guy says. I'm gonna share some wedding scenarios. And you will share whether or not is it a red flag or hey, that's all right. Completely harmless. First one red flag or harmless. The vendor takes five plus days to respond to emails. Red flag, 100%. Yeah, even just like in the modern workplace. We worked at a the club down in Key Largo, HR said to us, hey, they didn't like bring us all in a corner. They had a class in the offseason and said most appropriate time for an email, 48 hours or less.
SPEAKER_03And I sometimes I tell a lot of people this, but it's no problem if you can't like answer the email fully, but just to acknowledge the email and just be like, hey, I got this, I'm working on this. Like apologies on the delay, but I'll get you the answer by this date. I feel like if a vendor's not responding for five plus days, 10 plus days, that's kind of crazy. Now, there is wedding season, which is kind of crazy. So sometimes in wedding season you might get longer response times because people might have back-to-back-to-back weddings. So their focus obviously is on like the wedding or event that they have on hand. But if you go like a couple weeks and you're not hearing anything, like please follow up. And if you're not hearing after that, then yeah.
SPEAKER_00And if you are busy in a busy season for work and you know you're going to be away from your computer, not on your phone, because everyone in corporate world even has their email on their phone, have it an away message.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00Just to acknowledge I'm not frequently at my desk today or not available through these times. Anticipate me following up within 48 hours for it. One type of person that I absolutely uh red flag as well, not the question, but if somebody sends me an email and then has you acknowledged for a read receipt, oh my gosh, it's terrible. I hate that.
SPEAKER_03Those are like micromanagers, but via email. Via email. I ain't about it.
SPEAKER_00Please don't do that to me ever. All right, red flag or harmless couple has no budget but wants a luxury wedding.
SPEAKER_03This is gonna be another red flag for me. It's just like the expectations are way off. Like a beer budget on a champagne. Or yeah, beer budget on a champagne. What is it? What's the words?
SPEAKER_00Beer budgeted on a champagne glass. Champagne bottle.
SPEAKER_03I don't know. I don't know what the saying is. I said it in the car, but I can't. Just go back to absolutely not a harmless. Okay. I'm gonna say absolutely not for this one. Sorry, come back to the phone. Just kidding, it's not absolutely not. Okay, I'm gonna say this is totally a red flag because the expectations are then way off for the client. And there's a lot out there that can, I think, cloud people's judgment. They see Pinterest and it's all these beautiful weddings, and they're like, oh my goodness, I want that. But people don't understand the cost of a wedding. So it's sometimes hard to come in when they're like, This is what I want, and and but I only have $5 to pay for it.
SPEAKER_00Like balling on a budget.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, balling on a budget. That it's not usually it can fly, but like not sometimes, depending on what you're wanting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00Red flag or harmless. The bride changes color and decor selections halfway through planning.
SPEAKER_03To me, this is harmless. I feel like some brides are on it and they have like a very distinct, clear vision. And then there's other couples that I have that are very go with the flow and they maybe don't know exactly what they want. And so flip-flopping, as long as you have enough time to kind of pick up the pieces and make sure the linen order is right, making sure the decor that they're ordering or flowers are right, I think that's okay. It's it's a green flag. It's okay to be indecisive sometimes. Cool.
SPEAKER_00Red flag or harmless, the planner is not included in vendor emails.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna go with a red flag for this one. I feel like if you tell other vendors and other people, like, this is my planner, um, they're managing the expectations for wedding day, they're putting together logistics that they should be copied on the majority of the emails. Like it's very rare that the planner shouldn't at least be copied or BCC'd on something to like know what's going on, because if something's missed or there's a conversation that happens like in the background, and they're like, oh, well, we talked about this. But if the planner didn't know, how are they supposed to make sure it comes to fruition?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. If you're in the common workplace too, if you're working on a project, if you have a task that you were assigned, and then you come to find out that things were happening without your knowledge, you might have already completed that, and now this communication broke down in some light.
SPEAKER_03It can cause like unnecessary problems on a wedding day. So, like if you're questioning copying the wedding planner or not, just copy the wedding planner.
SPEAKER_00All right. Uh, red flag or harmless. Bride says, I'm chill. I'm chill. I like a chill bride. But as a minute by minute timeline, breaking things down every 30 seconds.
SPEAKER_03This is like three red flags for me. I think they want everybody to think they're a chill bride, but they actually have super high expectations. And they're like, this is exactly how I want it to go. And so for me, and I always say this like a second by second timeline is no good because uh a wedding timeline fluctuates like five to 15 minutes. So I think like increments of five minutes are a little bit better. But like saying, walk down the stairs at 2:30, get my dad to walk me down the aisle at 231, like why are you setting yourself up for failure? Because if it doesn't go to your timeline, you're gonna say, oh my goodness, we're behind schedule or we're ahead of schedule, nothing's gonna go as planned.
SPEAKER_00But if you are a little bit more flex, yeah, if you have the timeline set at dad walking down the aisle 230, next sequence, you can even put like 235.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Give yourself a little bit of wiggle room. A wedding day doesn't like always go minute by minute.
SPEAKER_00I always say you never want to really look if you're a guest of a wedding, you're not looking at not you don't have a timeline in front of you. And if you do, then my goodness, are they particular on letting everyone know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But you're not going to a wedding and being like, oh, when's the dancing should be starting at seven o'clock?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Majority of your guests have absolutely no clue what order of things that you're doing, and adding like minute by minute just adds stress. Like just loosen up a little bit. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it happens in the uh in overall event world too. That you might be behind the scenes not seeing things happening at those exact times. But everyone that's a part of the event, that's enjoying the event, they have no clue at all. And they do not care. No, they don't. All right. Uh, next one red flag or harmless. The wedding party doesn't know the timeline week of.
SPEAKER_03To me, this is harmless because a lot of people don't tell their wedding party until like the day before, like two days before what what their schedule's gonna be. Now, I think everybody should have like a general idea of like, hey, you need to be in this place at this time. This is when rehearsal is. There's like some key things that everybody needs to know, but like a breakdown of like hour by hour, hey, we're doing hair and makeup, this is the schedule. Like, you could send that out a couple days early. So to me, it's not like a super red flag.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I do not know the timeline as a groomsman at any point, except for you know, rehearsal dinners this time, night before. Hey, we're meeting in, let's call them Jason's room to get ready. We need to be ready at this time. Even the timeline of who I'm going out with, I don't know who uh is my partner until the day before. And I don't know what we're song we're going out to until maybe a week before, if I know them, but most of the time it's like night before. And am I doing the stanky leg or not? Because again, it happens everywhere.
SPEAKER_03Game day decisions. Game day decisions there.
SPEAKER_00A red flag or harmless ceremony start time keeps changing. Red flag.
SPEAKER_03If you've booked a venue and you know when your ceremony is supposed to start, especially if you send out your invitations, you can't be changing the ceremony start time. Like people need to know when they need to show up. So you can't be like, hey, it's actually earlier, or hey, it's actually way later. People start planning. So once you send out the invitations, that's it. We're not changing it after that. Before, fine. But once the invitations are out, it you stick to what's on the invitation.
SPEAKER_00All right, I'm gonna do the last one. Groom. We're bringing the groom. Red flag or harmless. The groom has not been involved at all.
SPEAKER_03To me, this is like a yellow flag caution.
SPEAKER_00Proceed with caution.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, proceed with caution. To me, it's like I don't enjoy a silent partner, like when I'm only working with one person and I never hear any feedback from the other person. Like I always encourage both partners to like give their opinion, give their input because it's both of their wedding days. However, I do understand that like some grooms just like aren't into the flowers or they're not into the linen colors. And it's more the bride that takes the brunt of those decisions.
SPEAKER_00It might be discussed like lightly, but even for our wedding, I didn't necessarily care for, but I knew that you had it handled. I didn't need to like, I didn't have any expertise on any of that info. What I was like, I like to get involved with was us sitting down and we met with our DJ and we're going through, you know, what type of music do we want to listen to? What's our first dance? We're we're talking amongst each other, you know, what's the father-sodder, father-daughter dance going to be? What's the mother-son dance? And we like discuss that on our own. There's intimate moments that the groom needs to be involved with, I believe in, but I don't think overall they need to communicate with their groom's mother as well to make sure, like, hey, be at this at this time, uh timeline discussion for it. But like again, not ahead of time, just corral the corral the troops.
SPEAKER_03All I ask of like partners is like if you're asked a question of like what are your thoughts on this, do you agree with this? That you give some sort of response. And you're not like, oh, well, it's their day. Because it's like, well, it's actually two people's day. So like both people give input.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And be like have fun with it. If you write your own vow vows, vows. If you write your own vows,
The VIP Table
SPEAKER_00like have some thought into it. Don't just Google or have Chat GPT do it for you.
SPEAKER_03ChatGPT is no good for the vows. Yeah. I'll say that much.
SPEAKER_00Gotta do it from the heart for it. So we have ours stamped right behind our bat.
SPEAKER_03So yep.
SPEAKER_00And that's a green flag.
SPEAKER_03Green flag.
SPEAKER_00For our last segment, it's the VIP table. Before we get to our last segment, this is brought to you by Serious Fun. If your company's idea of team building still involves awkward icebreakers and forced small talk, it's time for an upgrade. Sirious Fun creates high-energy team building experiences that people actually want to attend. We are talking live game shows hosted by Moi, Scavenger Hunts, charitable give back challenges, and fully custom events designed to get the team laughing. Competing and working together. Sirious Fun turns ordinary corporate gatherings into unforgettable. So if you want your team building activity to be fun, visit Siriusfunevent.com. VIP table. It is songs to get you on the dance floor at a wedding. And I also think to keep you on the dance floor.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00There's I agree. We have to do one as I was going through the lists. We have to do one of songs that are going to get me off the dance floor because there are plenty.
SPEAKER_03And I do have to say, both of us are like dance floor people. So if there's a good song, that's usually where you'll find us, is like on the dance floor.
SPEAKER_00Some of my picks are not going to be songs that I'm listening to in the car that I'm jamming out to. None of mine are. They're specific to weddings. Some of them I will listen to in different settings, but most of these songs are like mainly featured when I'm cutting a rug on a dance floor.
SPEAKER_03I'm ready to dance at a wedding. I'm going to go with the classic. It's my all-time favorite song. If anybody ever asks me on an invitation, like what song do you want to hear at a wedding? I always pick September by Earth and Wind and Fire. Okay. I know a lot of people are like, oh, that song is like so overplayed. I don't care. I love it. Grandmas love it. Kids love it. It has a good beat. It's happy, friendly, and it gets everybody on the dance floor.
SPEAKER_00Most of the time, it's one of like five different songs that are the first played song to get on the dance floor.
SPEAKER_03It's like a generationally loved song, which like at a wedding, you have tons of generations together. So that would be my number one pick.
SPEAKER_00Always that was a good choice. It's a good song. My first one, it might not be what's played to get you on the dance floor at the start, but it's something that keeps people on throughout the at some point in the night it comes on, and it doesn't it doesn't matter if it's someone in their mid-30s, male, grandma, wife, it is I want to dance with somebody, Whitney Houston.
SPEAKER_03Yes, that was on my list. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's I I don't leave at that point. It's a good song. I have a something that's lit up. I'm fla flailing it around, having a good time, and I'm singing every word.
SPEAKER_03It it also starts out slow. So like if people don't know the song, you know they're like a little hesitant. But once it kicks off, it's like the best.
SPEAKER_00Everyone knows a song. And if you have a good DJ, they're mixing it in to like get to the good part already. Don't play it from the beginning. No, it takes a minute. All right. My second one, there's a I have a ton of good ones. And I have this on like lower, but I'm gonna do it anyway. It is living on a prayer, Bon Jovi.
SPEAKER_03You don't think that's a good one? No, I think it's a good one. It wasn't on my list, but like now that you say it, I'm like, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's the the per like again. If you have a good DJ, he's putting it on, and it's at some point, probably halfway there, and you're having everybody oh, cut the music, and you hear everyone in the dance. Like it's only meant when there's everyone on the dance floor, but that's gonna keep everyone going on that too.
SPEAKER_03And it's not maybe like a dance song, but people are like singing the song to each other. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00Which is like you're still like having like that awkward dad, like you're shuffling doing it, but you're more so singing along to that song.
SPEAKER_03That was a good pick. Not on my list, but a good pick. Okay. Mine is more of a dance song. Okay, it has a good beat, and I think a lot of people like it. Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_03Like it's good, it just has like a happy beat, and I'm getting out of my seat and I'm going on the dance floor.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's Again, you crushed it with that one too. That's another one that might be the first one played, and everyone's going out. I when I was searching songs, I think that was the first one on the list. I I look back on it. This is only a niche for me, is when we worked at the club we worked at. We had a uh an event that was taking place, and the TV had that song playing like nonstop, and it was this old man that was dancing to it. So again, it could be all ages for it, but I just thought of that. I'm like, I can't put it on just because of that man.
SPEAKER_03I was almost gonna pick the song that your team used to always dance to. It's on my list, but I'm not saying it now. And you have another pick. I know. Okay, next up on my list, another oldie classic that like people hate it. Like they're like, I don't want to hear this song at my wedding. Oh no. Shout.
SPEAKER_01Yes. I don't care.
SPEAKER_03Like, I if I have a couple drinks in me, I'm getting a little bit softer, I'm getting a little bit louder, I'm going all levels on that song. And everybody knows the song. So it's like another one that can get me out on the dance floor, and I'm staying out there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I love it.
SPEAKER_03Sometimes it goes a little long, like you don't maybe have to play the whole song, but like it's like a memory song for me. I'm scared you're gonna pick my last song.
SPEAKER_00Well, I got two in a row here. Um, I'm going both of them are more personal related reasons for picking them, and I couldn't leave them off my list. First one, it was at our wedding.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00Twist and shout, the Beatles. Okay, shaking it up, baby. Oh, yeah. Twisting and shouting at our head table. It was in front of the dance floor, and I got on the chair, my best bands next to me, my sisters got up with me, and I was doing the uh part, and everyone was singing along it back and like shouting it back. And it was just like a I'll never forget that memory for it. I also won't forget the memory a few seconds later when like security came up to me and said, You have to get off the chair. Yeah, this is my wedding. He said, I don't care, I own this venue. Like, okay, sir, I will get off. Sorry. All right, the next one also I we were just at a wedding this past weekend that you were um planning and it came on, and I sang sent it to all my buddies that are a part of it. It's not really a dance song, but it's a song that when I'm I'm at a wedding, most of the time my buddies are there too, or someone knows about it. It's one more time by Daft Punk.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it's more so of like a drinking dance song.
SPEAKER_03I knew you were gonna sing.
SPEAKER_00It was a guaranteed pick for me. I should have saved it for the last one. But if you don't know one more time, you probably know Thunderstruck more so. But one more time, same concept. Every time you hear the word or the phrase one more time in the song, you take a drink of your drink. I think it's over like 50 times that you do it. But I And it's a long song. I'll even be going through the local grocery store, Giant Eagle, and it'll come on, like, oh hey, and I'll send it to everybody too. But that's keeping me on 10 out of 10 times. It also might get me off of it, so it might be a bad pick because if I I'm already low on a beverage, you gotta go get fill up your drink.
SPEAKER_03Okay, this is gonna be my fourth pick. And this is such a millennial song. I bet you have it on your list. I bet I do. Mr. Bright Side. Yeah, yeah. It's like if you're a millennial and you're like out mingling, this song comes on. We are bolting to the dance floor, and you're just screaming the words, jumping up and down. Like it's a good song. It's a it's a dance floor filler. Do I get to pick another one?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you pick your fifth one now.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Oh, this one's hard, but I'm gonna go with Fireball by Pitbull.
SPEAKER_00Oh, okay. I have any Pitbull song.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, like Pitbull has a lot of great songs, but I had Fireball because I just have like a lot of memories of that song, but it's upbeat, it's fun. It's just it's like a happy song. Another one that like a lot of people will like get on the dance floor if they have their drink, they're drinking their drink. So that would be my fifth pick is fireball.
SPEAKER_00I'm not gonna pick a pit bull song for fifth one, but even hotel room service. Yeah, it's another one that's always played the and like every pit bull song is gonna get people up there for it. Mr. 305, he was our neighbor down in uh the keys.
SPEAKER_03Maybe not our neighbor, but in the same area.
SPEAKER_00Not direct, not direct next door neighbor, but this is more local-based. Okay, I bet you have it. It's either or you either love the song because you went to this college, or you hate the song because you went to the rival school, or you just don't like this college. Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond.
SPEAKER_03Yes, I have to do that.
SPEAKER_00It's another one that like kind of like living on a prayer, the DJ will stop playing it and everyone's still singing along to the song, whether it's the let's go. Let's go pit or the eat eat poop pit. Oh, yeah, you don't know that one.
SPEAKER_03I never hear that one. Like I do Pittsburgh weddings mainly, so it's like I hear Let's Go Pit.
SPEAKER_00But then like if you're from Pittsburgh, you're not tied to being a Pitt fan. I know. You are either a Pitt fan, you're a West Virginia fan, you're a Penn State fan. Also, you probably suck if you don't like any of those three teams for it. All right, good picks. I like them. I have a bunch more.
SPEAKER_03Let's each share a couple, like we don't have to we could just share at the kids' table. That's what we're gonna call this, our honorable mentions at the kids' table.
SPEAKER_00All right, I have uh Return of the Mac by Mark Morrison.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I didn't have that on my list.
SPEAKER_00Good song, love it. That's uh that just makes like my uh revolving playlist personally. Uh Shake It by Metro Station.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I love a little metro station.
SPEAKER_00Foot loose Kenny Loggins.
SPEAKER_03Not on my list.
SPEAKER_00Been working so hard. Crank That Soldier Boy. Now, this one is another one. Like, I wasn't gonna put it on the list. If you know me from high school, and I go to a party, a wedding, my class reunion. It is guaranteed going to get played, and my two best friends have to get up there and dance to it. I am 15 years removed from high school. It's been 17 years since it was we did it at a pep rally, our sophomore year of high school, and now it is a part of my life that I have to do crank that soldier boy every time we're all together. I'll have whenever our funerals come, we're gonna have to crank that soldier boy. There's gonna be one, there's only gonna be one of us left cranking it by ourselves, which is kind of sad.
SPEAKER_03Okay. These are my uh kids' table picks. Blurred lines by Robin Thick. I love it. Good vibes. Hey Yah by Outcast and Dancing Queen by Abba. I also would put Let's Groove by Earth Window Fire on there. You already had one. But I already had Earth Window and Fire.
SPEAKER_00Another one I had was Piano Man, Billy Joel, but it's not that's like an end of the night song. End of the night song are actually the conference that we kind of started dating at, Recnet. At the end of the night, we all get in a big circle and we sing along the piano man, and everyone gets in the middle of the dance floor, dances the piano man, dances silly, like not like we're not ballroom dancing, interpretive dancing. A few other ones I had uh Dear Maria Count Me In, all time low. Similar to like if you're someone into that genre and I'm at that wedding, your best friend had it playing, and I just lost my mind. Neither of us put any group dance, line dance type of song. Like I had electric slide on my list, but it keeps me on the dance floor. But then if you then go from electric slide to cha cha cha slide to the wobble to the cupid shuffle, back to back to back, eventually I'm getting tired and I want to get off.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, one line dance at a time and like max three the whole night. I don't want to hear more than three.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, gap it out and really be particular with which ones.
SPEAKER_03I don't mind the wobble and the cha-cha slide on like those. Electric slide is a good one too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, if if you know how to do the electric slide, like I I think that's my favorite one personally. Cupid Shuffle is probably 1A1B with electric slide. Cotton I Joe, when I knew it, but it's not like wedding. Oh, Cupid Shuffle is probably my favorite, actually. We probably missed out on that one. Another one that is kind of like any boy, girl, man, woman, man. I feel like a woman, Shania Twain. That's another one.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, man, I feel like a woman. It almost made my list, but I didn't put it on.
ABC Venue
SPEAKER_00Great list. That'll be posted for you to vote on. Who wins that one? Great songs, nonetheless. Put the all of those on your wedding day playlist because if that's your vibe. If that's your vibe. If it's not, then don't invite us. All right, for our last segment, we're uh this first time in my life I have a mustache fully grown. Um, this is ABC Venue. I am playing the groom calling into ABC Venue.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for calling ABC Venue. This is Jessica. How may I help you?
SPEAKER_00Hi there. This is Ted calling in. I am and my wedding's this upcoming week, and I was just calling. I know that we're planning on having a hundred guests, but we're actually looking at 150 guests, and I was just making sure that that wouldn't pose any issues.
SPEAKER_03Um, that doesn't cause any problems. I just want to make sure that you'll be adding five more tables then for your guests to sit at.
SPEAKER_00No, we were just thinking just having them stand at the high tops for that.
SPEAKER_03But you're serving a chicken dinner. Don't you want them to have a seat?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but I feel like all of them are okay with just going sitting at the high top, standing at the high top. It's but it wouldn't be any problem, right?
SPEAKER_03That is a problem, a big problem. If you are gonna bring people to this venue to have a meal, you need to make sure that they're sitting at a seat, which means you need to add five more tables.
SPEAKER_00Got it. Well, let me go back and talk to my wife Louise and just brush it over, and you said five more tables.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so that is the uh the lesson of the day from this call is if you're serving a plated meal sorts or an actual dinner service, you need to make sure that every guest has a seat. You cannot be having them sit at a high stand at a high top or like sit on lounge furniture. They need to have a seat at a table.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Cocktail hour, fine. Cocktail table or high tops are fine, but not for dinner service. Yeah, not if you're cutting through any meat. That's just tacky, not fun.
SPEAKER_03Well, thank you so much for joining us. And again, if you have a story that you would like to submit, please send it to info at weddingprocast.com and hopefully it will be featured on the pod and tune in next week.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you.