Victoria Deardorff, CEO & Creator of Burgh Brides, Mini Story Submissions, Absolutely Knot, VIP Table

Ep. 6 

Victoria Deardorff, CEO & Creator of Burgh Brides joins the show! We sat down with her and discussed betting on yourself, building a community, and what it really takes to grow something in Pittsburgh.

Victoria joins us for the entire episode to read through listener mini story submissions, Absolutely Knot wedding guest edition, and the VIP Table best animated movies of all time.

You can find Burgh Brides on social media @burghbrides or at burghbrides.com

New episodes every week!

Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Absolutely Not, another podcast. I am Mr. Cassie, aka Game Show Garrett. We have Wedding Procass. I'm here in the studio. Another episode. Yep. We did have a fun, exciting weekend in the city of Pittsburgh. For the first time ever, Pittsburgh hosted the NFL draft.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Yeah, I was surprised we made it down there, but it was a blast. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 0:25

Last minute decision. Everything leading up until the draft, I want to say the whole month prior to traffic was the biggest concern. Parking was another big concern for it.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Yeah. I feel like 48 hours, if they would have asked us, I would have been like, I don't know if we're gonna make it down.

SPEAKER_06 0:40

It's a free pass. Tickets were what 80 bucks for us to park. Oh yeah. Like, let's just do it.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

And the city looked stunning.

SPEAKER_06 0:47

Stunning. And no traffic.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

No zero traffic.

SPEAKER_06 0:50

It took us 20 minutes to and from. It was back to 2020 times to get down to the city. Vibes were in Pittsburgh terms immaculate.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yes, agreed.

SPEAKER_06 0:59

Had a great time. Pittsburgh, the the pick itself, people were a little so-so on it, but I didn't mind it. The only caveat I have about the draft, and it's really Steelers related in general. Steelers, stop having Brett Michaels come and perform at Steeler games and at Steeler functions because I'm over it. The first time I had to deal with him was last football season. He blockaded hundreds of people and just was shaking hands with everybody, kissing babies, and I was over it. And then he was the highlight of the Friday evening draft function of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

I remember you telling me after the game that he was. Yeah, people started booing him.

SPEAKER_06 1:38

Not for his performance, but for him blockading everybody. There was a guy, a guy in concessions trying to get through, and he's bumping into me, but I can't get through. I'm sorry. So beyond that, though, great time. I thought the the city did a great job in terms of a huge event. But yeah, Brett Michaels.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

I have to agree. The draft

Interview with Victoria Deardorff, CEO & Creator of Burgh Brides

SPEAKER_01 1:58

was a blast. And today is also a big day for us. We have our very first guest on the podcast. We are very excited. Our number one pick. Number one draft pick. Number one draft pick for today. Are you kidding me? Oh my gosh. We are bringing on someone who is an absolute staple in the wedding world, especially here in Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_06 2:16

If you are engaged in the industry or honestly just love anything wedding related, there is a very good chance you have come across her work. Today we are joined by Victoria Deerdorf.

SPEAKER_04 2:27

Perfect.

SPEAKER_06 2:28

No, I started actually leading into it that I knew how to say it, and then I was like, I'm gonna mess it up anyway. Uh Victoria, you are the creator and CEO of Berg Brides. The most successful blog and wedding guide in the Pittsburgh area. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 2:44

Oh, lovely introduction, I must say.

SPEAKER_06 2:47

She has been building and growing and shaping the wedding scene for over 11 and a half years and shows no signs of stopping. She has created a platform that not only highlights incredible vendors, but truly connects couples with inspiration, resources, and ideas that feel fresh, elevated, and actually attainable.

SPEAKER_04 3:08

Oh, I'm gonna dare you guys to do my marketing. Great copywriting.

SPEAKER_06 3:12

Uh with Western Pennsylvania at the heart of it all, which I love. I'm a local boy. Yes. We welcome you, Victoria.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_04 3:20

I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

I know. I was telling Garrett that when we were starting to think, should we bring people on? Who should we be bringing on? You were number one on the list. Oh my gosh. You're such a big important part of the Pittsburgh wedding community. And we've crossed paths for so many years in different ways, but then this year finally getting to meet in person and coming to one of your events. So we're excited to have that.

SPEAKER_04 3:40

Thank you so much. And I'm so excited for all of the success that you have found with this account and just within the wedding industry. I'm so excited for your new endeavor. And I just really appreciate you guys having me here.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Of course. You know, we're just going wherever the wind takes us. Yeah, go with the floor. Well, I'm by the seat of my family. Wherever we go. We all are. Before we dive into the interview, I want to remind everybody that's listening in that if you have a good story or a topic that you want us to cover on the podcast, to email them in to infow at weddingprocast.com. You guys have been amazing with what you've been sending in, which is great. And then today, after the interview, we're going to be getting into a story, but it's not going to be our normal long dramatic story. We're going to be telling a bunch of short story submissions that came in from the Facebook page, which are hilarious. They're really good. Um, so those are coming, but we're going to jump into the interview right now. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 4:28

I'm in the hot seat.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

All right, you're in the hot seat. Buckle up.

unknown 4:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Before we dive into everything that you've built, can you tell us a little bit about where you're from and where life took you before you started Bird Breads?

SPEAKER_04 4:39

Yeah. So I am Pittsburgh, born and bred. I grew up in the South Hills.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Love that.

SPEAKER_04 4:43

And I went to Canon Mac, go Big Macs. Um, and then for college, I didn't go too far. I went to Allegheny College up in Meadville. I studied neuroscience, which is a far cry from weddings. But, you know, through my time at Allegheny, I was involved in a lot of organizations on campus, things like that. I did a lot of recruitment for my sorority. And so I got my feet wet in like PR and marketing.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 5:10

And without aging myself, that was when like being an event planner was actually starting to become a thing, like it was becoming its own industry. And I was like, oh my gosh, I can get paid to do this for a living. I don't want to do neuroscience anymore. I want to do this fun stuff. Time to change it up. Yeah. My parents were like, uh, excuse me, what? Um, so that was a fun conversation to have with them. But I ended up getting a job right here in Pittsburgh. I worked for Carnegie Mellon University for 10 and a half years. That was my first big girl job out of college. Um, and I worked in their events department. And we did commencement, homecoming, different faculty awards programs, staff awards programs, VIP visits from anyone from Mark Zuckerberg to President Obama, all kinds of things. Uh yeah. So I worked there for 10 and a half years and also started getting my feet wet in the wedding industry on the weekends as a freelance stay-of coordinator, different um creative projects. And I had this idea that there needed to be this platform where all of these incredible vendors of Pittsburgh, all of these stylish weddings could be shown off. At that time, like Style Me Pretty was really big and everyone was reading these wedding blogs, but you would never see a Pittsburgh wedding featured. It was always New York, Philly, Chicago, LA. The big dollar was the big cities. Well, I thought, well, this is like kind of a shame. Like I know these things are happening here, but no one was really talking about them. So I I sat on this idea for a number of years. I didn't know what it would look like. I didn't know how to do it. I thought I had to have everything planned out A to Z. But it was like one of those ideas I just couldn't get out of my head. Like it wouldn't leave. It wouldn't leave. It was nagging me for years. And finally in 2014, I was like, I'm just gonna do this. I'm just gonna see what happens. I didn't think anyone would read it. I didn't think anything would become of it. I it was just gonna be a creative outlet and it kind of exploded. Um so it's been a very um wild ride. And that, you know, that was 11 and a half years ago almost. So it's been incredible. I think it shows how much something like this was needed in Pittsburgh. And I I'm just so grateful for all of the growth over the years and for all the support both from couples and vendors. Um, and it's just been really exciting to feel like I'm giving back to my hometown a little bit.

SPEAKER_06 7:35

I it's I don't share the similar story as in going into wedding planning, like both of you do. But uh Bel Vernon, actually. And then I went almost as far as Allegheny and went to Super Rock with Cassie and Greek life together. And I feel like we kind of learned our niche of events and where our world was gonna take us in college. And we actually we majored in hospitality and events. I majored in like three different things before I switched to that, though. Did not know anything. But um, you mentioned at the end there of giving back to Pittsburgh, yeah. And building something in your hometown hits different. And I think a lot of of the times when it comes to Pittsburgh people, they sense that pride in being from Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_04 8:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 8:19

So what does it mean to you to grow this brand that's rooted here in Pittsburgh?

SPEAKER_04 8:23

That's a great question. And I think you probably got a sense of that this weekend at the draft. But Pittsburghers love Pittsburgh, like we are very proud people. Um, and to be able to have grown up in this city, got my start in the industry here. I've been working in this industry for over 10 years. I have my finger on the pulse of what's going on in this city. I try to at least. Um, and I think that has helped develop a sense of trust between me and the Bergbride's audience. I'm not a journalist writing about a city that's hundreds of miles away. You know, I know what's going on in this city. You know, I try to stay on top of what's important to the couples who are getting married here, what's important to the vendors that work in this city, and then relay that information to both parties. So I think for a while Pittsburgh got a really bad rap. You know, I think we were like worse dressed city and like all these bad things. Um, but Pittsburgh's actually really cool. Uh, we have a lot to offer, and I hope that other people got to realize that this weekend. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 9:28

I think there was a positive impact on it, besides my survey of answering for the draft about Brett Michaels.

SPEAKER_04 9:34

Our claim to fame. The only claim to fame.

SPEAKER_06 9:37

Nothing but good things. And they really cleaned up the area. There's a lot of cool locations beyond what was here two years ago that have been sparked up. The art landing that's right there all the Benedict and Heinz Hall. It's great, it's great for it. So I love to see that like Pittsburgh finally is putting itself out of it. I get noticed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

And I could say, like, I'm not from Pittsburgh. I've obviously lived here since we moved up. So like seven, we're coming on seven years, or we are at seven years. Close to that point, seven years ago. Um, but I'm from Ohio and I never in a million years like thought about living in Pittsburgh, but it is such a wonderful city, and like the people of Pittsburgh are, I think, the best part of it. But so it is cool to see and be a part of like the draft, or the Pittsburgh wedding community is amazing, like so supportive. Everybody is very, very friendly, and you don't find that everywhere.

SPEAKER_04 10:22

You really don't. I've had people from other cities say that about the Pittsburgh wedding industry. Everyone is warm, they're welcoming. There's like a healthy level of competition. Yeah. But beyond that, people are willing to share, you know, their trade secrets. They're willing to talk shop with you. And you you don't find that in a whole lot of other cities.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Whenever you were starting Birdbreads, you said you kind of sat on the idea of starting it for quite some time. Um, I'm sure there was like a little bit of fear of like, okay, should I jump on this? Should I not? A ton of fear. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:53

Paralyzing fear.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Um, when you kind of first jumped into it, what was one of the biggest risks that you took? And how did that pay off for you now? Gosh.

SPEAKER_04 11:02

You know, I when I when I first started, I was still working full-time. And I worked full-time and I tried to go grow berg rides for about three years simultaneously. And that is not for the faint of heart. That is, anyone who's working full-time, building a business, has a side hustle, anything like that, I give you mad respect because it is hard. It you are burning the candle at both ends. And so the risk there was kind of like, am I going to fizzle out? Am I going to just burn my candle up? You know, am I going to work myself so hard that I fall out of love with all of this? And then when I decided to leave CMU, it was very spontaneous. I didn't have a plan in place. I kind of just was fed up one day and just was like, I'm out. I'm done. Yeah. And I remember I woke up the next morning and I was like, oh my gosh, what did I do? Like, I ruined my career. I had this reliable, steady income, you know, benefits, all those things. And I, and I don't have a plan. And that's not me. Like, I I have I like plans. And so that was a huge risk too. And I thought, I will see if I can make this work for six months. I will give myself six months if I have to supplement with part-time work, if I have to go back to a full-time job, at least I can say I tried. Um, and I I'm not a big risk taker. Like, I don't like gambling, I don't like the casino. Like, if I would lose $5 on a slot machine, I would low-key be upset. So, like to quit my job and and try to do something, try to work for myself was like huge for me. And that's terrifying. And I, you know, even I've been doing it full-time for almost eight years, and I that fear still comes and goes. You know, am I am I gonna hit my goals this month? Part of being an entrepreneur is just riding that emotional roller coaster. Like one day you're like, I'm awesome, this is great, I'm killing it. And the next day you're like, I suck, man. I gotta shut down. I should like go get a job somewhere else. It's it's a wild ride. You have to be emotionally prepared for it.

SPEAKER_05 12:59

Sounds like a conversation that Cassie and I had like very recently.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Yeah, yeah. Literally, I went through the same, the same of like building a business while I was working full time. And it is one of those things where you're like, you're so passionate about it, and you're like, okay, I'm gonna take this bet on myself. Is it gonna be worth it or not?

SPEAKER_02 13:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

I can say, I think for both of us, it's like two thumbs up. It usually is.

SPEAKER_04 13:19

It usually is. I don't think that anyone is ever truly ready to do anything. I think life has a way of pushing you in the direction that you need to be in. Um, and for me, it was making a very knee-jerk reaction. Some people it's getting laid off, or their company closes, or you know, what have you. Um, and it's just it's the universe's way of putting them where they need to be. And I usually if you listen to that, if you lean into it, uh things end up being fine. But it is terrifying.

SPEAKER_06 13:50

It is terrifying.

SPEAKER_04 13:50

Yeah, it's so funny.

SPEAKER_06 13:51

And always finding your sense of passion. Yeah. Yes. My uncle, who is a guidance counselor at a university locally, uh, in a time in college for me, I had no idea what I was doing, found my niche in recreation and don't do recreation anymore. But he always said to me, if you find your passion, that's what you're gonna be doing for the rest of your life for it. The biggest risk, yes.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 14:12

But was there a moment, maybe seeing couples using burg brides or vendors connecting through it where you thought to yourself, this is exactly why I built this.

SPEAKER_04 14:21

Yeah. Uh often, you know, I will hear from couples saying, We found our photographer and our DJ and our florist on Burg Brides, or we're planning from, you know, five hours away and we have no idea who is who and what is what. And your platform has been immensely helpful. I screenshot and save every single message like that. And I usually like will go back and look at them when I'm having a day where I'm on the downward slope of the entrepreneurial roller coaster. Um, just to kind of remind myself that, like, okay, this does matter. You know, sometimes, especially in today's climate, weddings can feel frivolous. But, you know, you have to remember that this is a huge day in two people's lives. Possibly, you know, the biggest. I would say one of the biggest, um, because there is life after a wedding. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Um people forget about that part.

SPEAKER_04 15:12

Yes. Uh, but knowing that I played even like the tiniest little role is so amazing to me that they let me be a part of their journey, that they trusted me and my team and the content that we put out, that they trust our recommendations, that's huge. Uh, and then to hear from vendors, you know, I booked this many clients this year, or I just signed up last week and I already had five inquiries. I screenshot those messages too. Um, it's just amazing to me that going from I don't think anyone's gonna read this, to people actually using it as a resource is is wild.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

And like a small idea you had 10 years ago is now impacting people's lives so positively and your own life, which is amazing. Yeah, thank you. I should be very proud of that. Thank you. I think we can definitely relate that we are both, well, all three of us, I guess, are parents while running small businesses, which is kind of a crazy thing, a crazy thing that we all have to deal with. How did becoming a parent impact how you run your business?

SPEAKER_04 16:09

Oh gosh. I think it allowed me to be more understanding of my clients and see them more as human beings and extend them more grace. You know, if uh someone has to cancel a call because their kid woke up sick, or you know, they have to reschedule a meeting because they, you know, their kid missed the bus and they have to run them to school, things like that. I'm like, I totally get it. Don't even apologize. I have been there. If I haven't been there, I'll probably be there one day. Like you just you just understand so much more about how chaotic life is for working parents, for parents who just for parents in general, whether you're working or whether you stay at home with your kids or whether you run a business or whether you do all three. Um it's just chaos. Just 24-7 circus. Yes. And it's beautiful and it's magical and it's so, so, so much fun. But I think other other parents get it more than people who don't have kids quite yet. I know when I before I had kids, I was like, you know, I would roll my eyes at the people in the office who left early because they had to go pick their kid up from school. I just didn't get it. I didn't know what I didn't know. And now I know, and it is hard. It's very hard. Yeah. But I think just, you know, having a bigger sense of understanding for my clients and what their lives look like.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Yeah. Parenting is a humbling experience. That's a great way to describe it.

SPEAKER_04 17:36

I feel like it will put you in your place.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Yeah. We were both on the same wavelength, though. I remember like when we worked at Ocean Reef, my boss and my other two of my bosses had children, and I always worked Christmas, I always worked Christmas evil. Like it was just us, we didn't have family.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

But they would leave early and I would be like, Man, don't they want to work? Like, this is such like we're doing like the coolest things. And then now that I have kids, I'm like, yeah, I would have been the exact same way.

SPEAKER_06 17:56

How can I get out of it?

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_06 18:00

Good, good. Not parent-related. Okay. Looking at the version of who you were when you first started versus who you are now, what's the biggest way that you have grown personally?

SPEAKER_04 18:11

Oh gosh. Oh, uh, just like astronomical way. I look back, you know, even just from like a branding and a marketing perspective, like the things that I put out my first year, uh it's just mortifying. I hope those pieces never surface.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

They never surface now.

SPEAKER_04 18:31

I think at my first postcard that I sent out to people, like telling them I was doing this thing, I was launching it, I made it myself in Microsoft Publisher.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Canva wasn't a thing.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Canva wasn't a thing. I'm really aging myself now. Um but beyond that, just personally, you know, I think that so much of my worth was tied up in bergbrides and how many followers I had, how many clients I had, how much money I was making, how many likes a post got. And if one of those things deviated at all or didn't hit an imaginary goal I had in my head, I took it very personally. And I would agonize over losing a client for days. And it meanwhile, maybe had nothing to do with me at all. You know, maybe they were closing their business or maybe they were moving or maybe they were pivoting out of weddings. Um, but still I took it so personally. And then I don't know if it was a combination of like hitting your late 30s and just a lot of therapy, but I came to realize, and I'm, you know, it's something that I'm always working on, but who I am as a person and like my value as a human being has nothing to do with bird brides.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

It you're two separate entities.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

Two separate entities. You know, bird brides is my first baby. I love it, I will always love it. I I want it to succeed, you know, I want it to do well. But at the end of the day, like what really, really matters to me is being a mom and being a wife and just being a good person, being a good human, and like sucking all the fun out of life that I can. And so I let things slide, or I should say I let things roll off my back a little bit better than what I used to. Um, but it's hard to get there. You know, I think you have to go through some stuff in order to be able to do that. And I'm still working on it.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Yeah, I feel like it's a never-ending process. It's hard. People on the internet can be brutal.

SPEAKER_04 20:23

They can be mean, be nice.

SPEAKER_06 20:25

Yeah, be nice with everyone. I just started posting clips from the podcast, and it was something, it was a Permanence hot take. I said I didn't mind Permanent's, but it wasn't even about me talking about the sandwich. There was a couple of people talking about like my face getting red. How red is face to be like, oh man, his blood pressure must be on PSI. I'm like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Garrett, take the engagement. Well, just that didn't happen. Yeah, exactly. We gotta have skills.

unknown 20:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

This one is wedding vendor related. Okay. Well, I feel like we relate because we own a mobile bar. So we're like a vendor. I'm a planner too. So like we're in the scene of like wedding vendors quite frequently. Yeah. Okay. If if wedding vendors got together and they were having a group therapy session, which we do every time you have a vendor meal, that's what we're doing. Um, what do you think is the number one thing that they all need to get off their chest?

SPEAKER_04 21:18

I think what they want couples to remember is that they are humans too. Uh, you know, there are people behind the brands that you're hiring. There are people behind the cameras and the rental bars and and the flowers. They are um, and none of them are living in, you know, these giant mansions with like Olympic sized swimming pools and uh eight car garage. They're just normal people. They are all normal people. And weddings are expensive. Um, you know, I know there is this uh there's this thought that if you attach the word wedding to anything, people automatically jack up the price because they're stingy and And they just want they just want your money. And that is not true. It's just it's not true. There is a lot more at stake when it comes to a wedding. So yeah, things for a wedding might be more expensive, but it's a much higher pressure situation and planning journey than say a four-year-old birthday party. You know, they're just they are different. So I think at the end of the day, vendors want couples to remember they are people just like you. Um, they deserve respect. They are hardworking, most of them. Um, they want to see your wedding day be exactly what you envision. And so, you know, they deserve your respect, they deserve your patience, they deserve your communication. And so to just be kind to them, please. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

No notes. Yeah. No notes. Ding. We have a winner. Nail it.

SPEAKER_06 22:56

All right, let's go a little lighthearted. Uh, this is uh it might be a real bougie wedding, actually. Okay. So if you could attend any celebrity wedding in history, this could be past or present or future.

unknown 23:08

Future. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:09

As a guest, whose would you pick and why?

SPEAKER_04 23:12

Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift. I'm a huge Swifty. Love her. Love her so much. And I'm just, I am so excited for her. I think that she is a I don't think this woman can do any wrong. I think that everything she does is just so spot on. She's such a good human. She's so kind and generous. Brilliant, brilliant songwriter.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

She has her music is so good.

SPEAKER_04 23:37

The uncanny ability to put into words exactly how I'm feeling throughout several stages of my life. She is just a she's just a good person. And I'm so happy that she is finally happy. Um, and I know there were sort of some mixed reviews about our last album. People were saying it wasn't it. I loved it. Let the girl be happy. Not everything needs to be soul crushing, heartbreak. Like, just let the girl be happy. That's fun. It's a yeah. So I would love to go to that one.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

That's a good one. I feel like too, when her wedding does actually happen, it is going to be iconic for the wedding industry. Like people are going to be copying, not copying, but finding inspiration from her wedding for years to come, especially Swifties. Yeah. 100%. Excited. That's a good choice.

SPEAKER_03 24:19

Yeah, thanks.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Okay. Obviously, you get to see a lot of wedding trends go in and out. I feel like trends are changing like every year. You see new things coming in and out. Right now, what are your favorite wedding trends that you're loving? Or like for this upcoming season? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

I love that more and more couples are embracing the micro weddings and the intimate celebrations. You know, we we saw them obviously come to rise like during COVID out of necessity. That's all we could do. But they have kind of stayed popular. And I there's something so special about them. You know, I I and I think people are, whether it's for budget reasons or you're just you you just want to keep things small. There's something so special about, you know, being able to celebrate with the people who mean the absolute most to you. The fewer people, the more time you are able to spend with each of them. And, you know, I think that you can a micro wedding, a small celebration can still be incredibly special and you can still have all of the bells and whistles just with a smaller guest list. And I it's amazing. And I'm so happy that more and more couples are doing them.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

I also love that trend, and I feel like a lot of couples don't want to be introducing themselves to somebody on their wedding day. Right.

SPEAKER_04 25:33

That should not be the first time you meet someone. Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

And for a lot of people it is. Like even at our wedding, we had a very large wedding. Yeah. Over 300 people. So like you're meeting people for the first time. Like you've maybe heard their name, but like taking time out of your day to meet someone, introduce someone, like you're not gonna remember. Right. So I also love the micro wedding. And I I like to see that couples are being selective with their guest list. And then if they have a decent budget still, like you can be luxurious and luxurious, you could be having extra enhancements. Like there's so much you can do when it's a small wedding.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

And I love seeing all of these newer venues that are popping up that are geared more towards like fewer than a hundred people. I feel like, you know, five, six years ago, there were very few. Or you, you know, you could go into one of these larger reception spaces, but uh you felt it it felt kind of cavernous, you know. It was just it wasn't meant for that. Yeah, yeah. So I'm so glad that there are more and more spaces that are kind of geared towards like 75, 100 people.

SPEAKER_01 26:27

Agreed. Love it. What is one piece of advice that you would give to a newly engaged couple?

SPEAKER_04 26:32

Ooh, the wedding is one day, the marriage is the rest of your life, and being married is hard. It's so hard. It's amazing, it's awesome, just like kids, but it's hard. And I think a lot of couples, myself included, when I we got married, you know, you get caught up in the wedding planning and the decision making and all of the pretty things and the sparkly things that you forget, like, oh, there's actually something beyond this. There's there's something that, you know, this is for the rest of my life. And am I really prepared for that? Do I really know what I'm getting myself into? And unfortunately, I don't think a lot of couples do. So I would say go to therapy together, have the hard conversations, you know, figure out what your love language is, figure out what your communication style is, talk about things like finances and religion and children and those major life things. Don't wait till after you're married to have those discussions. Like you gotta do that beforehand. Yeah, so I think the the wedding, I mean, I love weddings, right? Like I love the details and the thoughtfulness that people put into them and the party. Like, who doesn't love a wedding dance floor? But at the end of the day, you know, it's it's so much more important to put more energy into your life afterwards.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

That's fabulous advice.

SPEAKER_04 27:52

I mean, I need to take my own advice, but yeah, I say that from experience.

SPEAKER_06 27:57

Talking to a married couple. Yeah, like let me get all my notepad out.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Take some notes. That was really great.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Yay, that was a great interview.

SPEAKER_06 28:06

She can't leave us yet. We got more segments, so Victoria is sticking around for the remainder of the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

Yes, she'll be here for the next 30 minutes. They've locked the door. I can't get out. This segment is brought to you by Guest

Mini Story Submissions

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Lens, the number one digital guest book you need for your wedding. Because here's the reality: your guests are taking hundreds of photos and videos, and you'll probably never see most of them because they'll just sit on their phones. Guess Lens fixes that. You create a custom QR code and a landing page, and your guests can scan it, and boom, every photo and video gets uploaded into one private gallery from their perspective. It's simple, it's seamless, and it captures the moments you would have missed. Use code WeddingProCast for a discount at checkout. We are diving into our many stories today. We asked on Facebook what was the craziest thing that you have ever witnessed at a wedding? And as usual, the answers did not disappoint. We're gonna read some of our favorite wildest wedding submissions that we that we uh had submitted to us. First up, father of the bride showed up with an actual shotgun to the rehearsal. As the wedding coordinator assured him he would not be needing that. Everything was good and all ended well. Could you imagine though? Like, as a wedding coordinator at some of the places I worked, I would have had to call the police.

SPEAKER_04 29:21

Was there any context? Like, did he say why he showed up with no okay, okay, okay just then. Um, all right. Uh yeah, I I can't think of a single reason why you would need a shotgun on the wedding day, but I don't know, maybe he had a good reason. I think of like, what is it?

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Like when the boyfriend picks the their daughter up for the first day. Early on. Well, did she just like instill fear in the groom? They're getting married. Like she already said she's gonna marry this guy. Yeah, no, no, no, no. Okay. Bounty Hunter showed up to serve the groom papers from his ex-wife. What kind of papers? Spousal support. Turned out to be a false claim out of pure spite. The two, yes, the two teenage children were there to support their dad at the wedding. I was the wedding director, and I had to block the police from entering the sanctuary and wait to serve him privately in the minister's office out of view from the guests. Never been there. Yeah, she probably like found out the wedding date and was like, let's serve him divorce papers or whatever, or spousal support papers on the day of the wedding.

SPEAKER_04 30:29

This person needs therapy.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

Yes. They should have taken those notes. Yeah. Are you listening out there?

SPEAKER_04 30:37

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 30:37

Yeah. Can't do that. I've never had to do that. Like when I worked at a menu, I never was like, hey. That is a new one. I haven't heard that one before. Most of these were pretty new. There's a couple that I was like, okay, I've seen it.

SPEAKER_04 30:48

You don't think you think you've seen it all and that you can't be surprised, but then you can be surprised. You always are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 30:54

This is uh one very short, but I don't mind it actually. I'm a little tacky. Uh a dollar dance with a credit card reader.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_06 31:04

See, I I don't carry cash on me. So it would be great for the do so.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

Yeah, I'm not a cash carrier either. Like I neither. Okay, I don't have cash. I could, I could just like put my card up. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 31:14

I never have cash. Never ever ever have cash. I know that a lot of um I think isn't the money dance like rooted in some like Eastern European culture tradition?

SPEAKER_01 31:27

It is like a cultural tradition. It's how it started. Yes. I feel like America's kind of evolved into the city. Yeah, now it's like honeymoon fund. Yeah, honeymoon fund.

SPEAKER_04 31:34

Yeah, yeah. So I if you're doing it for cultural reasons, cool. Absolutely. If you're doing it as a money grab, absolutely not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

Yeah.

unknown 31:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:46

Yeah. So wow, credit card there. That's like for convenience sake, I'm not mad about it. It's it's innovative. You know, I have to give you points for being creative, I think.

SPEAKER_06 31:56

Right. All right, this one's a little longer. Went to a wedding where lips of an angel was played at the reception. That married marriage did not last. Can I just imagine hearing that?

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Why?

SPEAKER_06 32:11

Also, went to a wedding where the parents were divorced, and when the photographer asked the bride's family, the Smiths, the mother shouted, I'm not a Smith anymore. I don't need to be up there. We were really embarrassed for the bride. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

It's like just get up for the phone. Right.

SPEAKER_06 32:26

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_03 32:27

Today's not the day to air your grievances or serve the papers. No. Just wait a day. Let's wait a day.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

All right. Having to listen to ads on YouTube before every song that played, before the wedding party and the bride walked down the aisle, had they told me ahead of time, I would have made the playlist on Apple Music ad-free, and it wouldn't have been a problem. I was already there as the officiant. Oh my, why is the officiant playing? I have many questions. I have many questions. Number two, either upgrade your YouTube or your Spotify or make it on Apple Music.

SPEAKER_04 33:00

Like Wow. Yeah. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No, no. There are just some things you can't do at a wedding.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

All right. While DJing a wedding, we were playing a game, scavenger hunt kind of game, and I asked for a pair of something. This woman in a wheelchair with no legs came to me, lifted up her shirt, and said, How about these? The entire reception. Oh my god. Busted out laughing. For once in my life, I was speechless.

SPEAKER_03 33:27

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 33:28

I think I'd also be speechless.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

I am speechless right now.

SPEAKER_04 33:33

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 33:35

Like I am for the game. Like during the dinner portion, like it sounds like they're playing some interactive game. I'm like, okay, that's fun. But then for some woman to just splash the DJ.

SPEAKER_03 33:44

Woo, wow.

SPEAKER_04 33:45

Wow. I wouldn't be interested to know if all of these weddings are Pittsburgh weddings.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

Because I'm sure your audience spans. It's pretty national.

SPEAKER_04 33:55

Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

These, I don't think these are Pittsburgh weddings. If so.

SPEAKER_04 33:58

Yeah, if so, we gotta have a right in. I gotta have a this is gonna be a blog post idea not to do.

SPEAKER_06 34:07

We had someone dressed as the king from Burger King come walking into our reception. We didn't know him, but we did get a picture of him before they asked him to leave. Like, of course you don't know.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Wow! Oh my god.

SPEAKER_06 34:22

Is this around Halloween? Is he just wearing it to wear?

SPEAKER_04 34:26

Like, I don't know if the couple came who if he brought Whoppers, I would be like, okay, cool, late night track. But if oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

They said they asked him to leave. They were like, let's get a picture. You're out. Wow. You gotta go. Picture first, then you gotta go.

SPEAKER_06 34:39

The groom's uncle cut in on the couple's first dance.

SPEAKER_01 34:43

Which that happens more than just we have like five separate submissions on this post about people cutting in on the first dance.

SPEAKER_04 34:51

What is the thought process behind that? Is it like, oh, I think this is gonna be really funny. I'm gonna like no. Now is it always an uncle? Yeah. I feel like we need like more handlers. We need some like security type people at some of these weddings.

SPEAKER_06 35:06

This happened at one of my family's weddings, and it was the last person, not the couples, but it was the anniversary dance. And the last couple that went was doing their dance, and then their family started to surround them.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

Oh, that's cute though. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 35:19

Yeah, it was our family.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

I was like, wait a second, that was us.

SPEAKER_06 35:22

It started off with our brother-in-law, and it was like, what is he doing? He's like, we gotta go help him out. Was that a wedding where an elderly uncle at our table quietly vomited into his water glass during the toasts?

SPEAKER_01 35:35

Oh man. Like, at least he didn't make a scene. Wow.

SPEAKER_06 35:39

Like off to the side.

SPEAKER_01 35:40

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_06 35:43

Did he drink it after? Excuse me.

SPEAKER_03 35:45

Wait, what is happening at these weddings? I need to be a guest at these weddings. I don't know. All right. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

Arrived late and I was sitting in the back of an outdoor wedding. I think I was the only one who saw it. The two chefs transporting the giant cut of meat over to the reception area. It rolled off the tray and onto the ground. They quickly scooped it back up and had no trouble serving their carving creation to a line of hungry people minutes later. I did not eat the meat.

SPEAKER_05 36:11

I sure hope not. I wouldn't have eaten it either. On the ground.

SPEAKER_01 36:16

Actually, this past weekend we saw someone drop their pizza. And we were like, five second roll. Pick it up. I was gonna say, my kid has definitely done that. I wouldn't do that. Wait a second. Maybe I would have done that. This one got me as a parent. Bride was breastfeeding during the ceremony, and it wasn't her baby. What? I'm kind of like, okay, she's breastfeeding somebody else's baby, whatever. That's what you what you're doing, fine. But like just wait until you're done and then do the series.

SPEAKER_04 36:49

It had to happen right then. Like there was no, you didn't have any wiggle room at all.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Like maybe the baby was like screaming and they're like, Oh, let me just quiet the baby down. I don't know. I I yeah, wow. I'm also thinking, like, what kind of dress did she have? Because like it was always a mess. Again, I might Connie Yammy Plunkett right in.

unknown 37:10

Right.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

Tell us more. Tell us more about this experience. Okay, I was a bridesmaid in a wedding, and while the mother of the bride was giving her speech, she leaned too close to the candelabras, and her heavily hairsprayed hair lit on fire. A couple of us proceeded to pour water on top of her to put it out. The thing is, this happened to me. Like I caught my hair on fire at a wedding once. So, like when I read this, I was like, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:34

You're like been there. That happens. I get it. I mean, I've seen like napkins catch on fire, like, you know, flower petals, things like that. Never someone's hair, but I get there's a fruit for everything. Unfortunate.

SPEAKER_06 37:46

Like you burn yourself, but like your hair burns. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

Like she probably was having a moment, like, and then like these people are just like, Let me pour water on your head. It's the only way to stop it.

SPEAKER_06 38:00

Oh, I got a couple more. Um, didn't witness this, but heard the story many of times. At my parents' wedding, my dad's uncle let out an earth-shattering fart against the church pew during the ceremony, caused the commotion, and many of the guys died laughing as the priest didn't know what to do.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

I knew that one was going.

SPEAKER_06 38:22

I got to the line, like, oh no. Yeah. I would have. It reminds me of the one there was a TikTok video or online where it might have been like the best man or someone standing next to the groom and his pants fall, and the other guys are trying to like keep themselves composed and they just can't. You can't at that point.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

In a wedding, it's such a it's a serious moment, especially for the couple. But like when stuff like that happens, like you just have to laugh it off.

SPEAKER_04 38:49

Like there's nothing else you can do. And that's the thing, like, something will go wrong. Oh, yeah. But you can plan for every scenario, but something will go wrong. So you just gotta roll with it, I guess.

SPEAKER_06 39:01

Sometimes you get gas.

SPEAKER_03 39:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 39:04

All right. I I'll do one more. This is a this is a longer one. This could even be like a story, maybe, just based on how long. This was a country wedding with a backyard reception. At the wedding, Dolly the pig, a 300-pound pig, was the ring bearer. Great choice. No.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Red flag. Nope.

SPEAKER_06 39:26

Yes, she trotted down the aisle in the church with a poop handler. We're back to that. Picking up her droppings. When Dolly got to the end of the aisle, the best man untied the flower harness on her back that held the wedding rings. The best man red flag number two.

SPEAKER_04 39:41

They don't ever put the actual rings on there. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_06 39:45

The best man held the rings over his head with two hands and and in a loudly declared, in an exaggerated voice, here are the rings. His loud voice caused Dolly to run toward him, to knock him over, and the rings went flying. We, the congregation, immediately started searching for these rings. Unfortunately, Dolly was also searching. After a 30-minute delay in the ceremony, the rings were found and the pantcuff of the bride's uncle. Why is it always uncles? Yeah, it's always on uncles. And that was just one part. The reception was wild.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

Say the name, tell them the story.

SPEAKER_06 40:22

It's the two first names. Maria Maria.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Maria Maria. I need photos of Dolly.

SPEAKER_06 40:28

I always say like 300 pounds.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

300 pounds. I want to see this 300-pound pig. You never give the rings to the ring bear. And especially if it's an animal. Right, right. Even worse. And the three-year-olds. Give them to the best man.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

Come on now.

SPEAKER_04 40:46

Yeah, amazing.

SPEAKER_06 40:48

Oh, good one.

SPEAKER_04 40:49

That was good.

SPEAKER_06 40:50

Ended on Dolly the pig and two things dealing with gastral issues. Oh, good stuff. Keep submitting those.

SPEAKER_02 41:00

Yes, please keep submitting those.

SPEAKER_06 41:02

Our next segment,

Absolutely Knot: Wedding Guest Edition

SPEAKER_06 41:03

this is absolutely not. We have Cassie and Victoria doing our wedding guest edition. So I'll be asking the questions to Cassie and Victoria, and they are gonna write on their marker boards whether it's an absolutely not or an absolutely yes.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

So we should what? Flip it over and then one at a time say what we said. Because people are listening, so they won't be able to hear that.

SPEAKER_06 41:29

Very true.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

I didn't think about that.

SPEAKER_06 41:32

All right, our first one, absolutely not or yes. RSVPing yes and not showing up, locking in your answers.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

Reluctant. My answer's lock in.

SPEAKER_06 41:43

All right, let's start. Cassie, let's go ahead. You can flip at the same time.

SPEAKER_04 41:47

I feel like we're on we're in agreement.

unknown 41:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 41:49

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_04 41:50

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 41:50

Don't do that. Are you kidding me? Come on. No, no. I always say the only time it's acceptable is like if you have a family emergency or medical emergency. Like, of course. Of course. But like if you're just not coming because you don't want to drive in and go to the wedding, like you suck. Rude. Jail. Straight to jail. Straight to Jew.

SPEAKER_06 42:06

Straight to jail. No free ads SNL. Next one. Guests blocking the aisle during the ceremony with phones. And a flip. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 42:20

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_06 42:21

Listen.

SPEAKER_04 42:22

Absolutely not. Especially if it's an unplugged ceremony. Yes. Yes. Like couples will, you know, make that announcement or they'll have a sign or something and guests just ignore it. I'm like, you're rude.

SPEAKER_01 42:33

You're a rude person. And the other thing I always say is like sometimes people don't do unplugged and they want the pictures. But it's like, leave the aisle space for the paid professionals. Yes. Yes. That's the best footage. They're paying for those. Everyone else, take it from your seat. You don't need to be lean. Like in our wedding photos, there's someone with an iPad. Yeah. But I do have to say, she saved the day because we didn't have a videographer and she got our vows. She got our vows on the one exception. That's an exception. That's a one-time exception. But like it is that she's in all the photos, and like I sometimes have to crop her out if I'm posting like a lot of four pictures. Yeah. No. Distance. So I'm like, Lisa, you know who you are. Leave the iPad at home, too.

SPEAKER_06 43:11

All right. Asking the couple, why wasn't I in the bridal party?

SPEAKER_01 43:15

My size. Giving it away.

SPEAKER_03 43:18

I feel like these are all. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 43:20

All right, go ahead. Yeah, this is probably.

SPEAKER_03 43:22

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 43:23

No.

SPEAKER_06 43:23

Actually, I asked that one before.

SPEAKER_01 43:26

I feel like I understand how some people could maybe be feel a little sad if they're not asked. Like that's totally understandable. But to be like, why wasn't I asked? Is weird.

SPEAKER_04 43:36

Yeah, it is weird. It's you need therapy too. Yeah. Lots of people need therapy.

SPEAKER_01 43:40

The wedding day isn't about you.

SPEAKER_06 43:44

All right, next one. Yapping, doing a little chit chatting during the parent dances. All right. Flip. I thought maybe I was gonna get a little flip flop on it.

SPEAKER_01 43:55

Both all right. I did an absolutely yes if it's quiet and you're not being like.

SPEAKER_04 44:00

Yes, yes. I feel like there are like caveats. Like if it is like your mom and your brother or something, like very close family members, you might want to pay attention, maybe take some pics. If it's if like a distant family member and you're on the in the corner of the room and you're quiet, it's fine. Yeah. Yeah. There are more rude guest behaviors I can think of. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:22

Like I feel like I find myself yapping at a lot of weddings if we're guests during those dances because they happen during dinner or like during the tail end, like you're still eating. Yeah. I'm not talking loudly. Or I have a loud voice, but like I'm trying not to talk loudly or like be interruptive. But like I'm watching, but I'm not like dead silent. When it's the first dance, I'm like, okay. Right, right. That's like sacred time. Yes.

SPEAKER_06 44:45

Following up, asking for a plus one when you weren't given one. Try to sneak in the yes.

SPEAKER_05 44:51

I feel like this is gonna be a I'm like, we have a one.

SPEAKER_04 44:56

Don't do it. No. Again, it's the uh, you know, there's probably a reason why you weren't given a plus one.

SPEAKER_02 45:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:04

And I think couples often find themselves trying to explain or rationalize or, you know, uh make people agree with their decisions, and that just isn't always going to happen. You know, I think you you need you can set boundaries and you can say, you know, we are limiting our guest list because of venue capacity and budget, you know, whatever your reasoning is. And then that's kind of the end of the conversation. You don't need to, you you don't need to talk about that ad ad nauseum. And I know that's easier said than done. I know, you know, if you're a people pleaser, that's that's gonna be tough.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

But I also feel like sometimes people maybe get invited to a wedding, then they get a girlfriend or a boyfriend, and then they're like, oh my gosh, can I bring them? Yeah. And I think like maybe if you mention it once like in a harmless conversation where you're just like, oh, you know, now that we're dating, if the couple right away is like, sorry, no, I'm like, that's it. We're not bringing it up again, we're not harping on that conversation. Yeah, yeah, I agree.

unknown 46:03

Cool.

SPEAKER_06 46:03

I feel like I need a marker board for this one. Sneaking in a cooler or leaving every 30 minutes to make a drink in your car at a dry wedding.

SPEAKER_01 46:12

Oh, I know. Oh gosh. I know. I feel like me one thing versus what as a professional.

SPEAKER_03 46:20

I know. I'm like, what's the what's the right answer? Do I want to answer as Victoria or as bird brides?

SPEAKER_06 46:25

Before you flip, I would have I would probably have said yes because I'm a professional wedding guest. Come on now. I'm gonna have a good time. But I'm also I'm not at a sweet 16, so I can get it if you put I put absolutely not.

SPEAKER_04 46:39

I'm gonna say not, although I will tell you, I am actually guilty of this.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

Yeah, I know that's a hard time.

SPEAKER_04 46:44

But I was like 23 and didn't know better.

SPEAKER_01 46:47

That's what I would do that. If you want to have a couple drinks before the wedding, I'd say go ahead and pre-game. But like sometimes when you're at the actual wedding, it's three, four hours. Yeah, just go without a drink.

SPEAKER_04 46:58

Go, and then if you need to leave early because you want to party, go ahead. Yes, but yeah, you do kind of have to respect the the couple. Yeah, that's how I feel.

SPEAKER_06 47:08

Yeah, probably a reason. It's just dry.

unknown 47:11

Correct.

SPEAKER_06 47:14

All right, taking your shoes off at a wedding for dancing. Flips.

SPEAKER_02 47:20

I'm thinking my head. I but yes. I but yes.

SPEAKER_04 47:22

I but yes.

SPEAKER_01 47:23

I mean, it's not the most hygienic thing, but yeah. I would say like the caveat to this is like I think it's totally fine. Try to bring a change of shoes if you can, like if you have a bag or something. Yeah. Like this last wedding we went to, I did not, and my feet were like nasty. Yeah. And as a professional and like working at a venue, sometimes there's like glasses.

SPEAKER_04 47:41

I was gonna say, I I cut myself one time on broken glass doing this exact thing. It's like take your shoes off at your own risk. Yes, yes, yes. But be have band-aids.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

Yeah, band-aids, or if you could bring flip-flops or like a change of shoes, just do that.

SPEAKER_04 47:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 47:54

Men don't do that. Yeah, men keep your shoes on. Keep your shoes on. I know that mine.

SPEAKER_04 47:58

And men, keep your shirts on.

SPEAKER_06 47:59

Shirts come on. But that's usually when it's on. It's usually the shirts come off.

SPEAKER_03 48:02

What is going on?

SPEAKER_06 48:03

Yeah, my paws are purring when I'm on the dance floor. Okay, I'll do two more. Asking for a to-go box at a buffet wedding. Yeah, flip, flip.

SPEAKER_01 48:16

Absolutely not. Well, why are you asking for a to-go box at any wedding unless it's the cookie table?

SPEAKER_04 48:23

That did happen at my sister's wedding. People I think that they took the cookies, but they they did like kind of they brought their own larger. It wasn't like they just had, you know, like the the little takeout boxes that my sister had out. They brought like a large tupperware. Uh yeah. I don't know if it was tupwear or maybe it was like a cardboard box situation. I'm not sure, but that did happen. Yeah. I'm like, for the cookie table, I get it.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

But like I'm like, for dinner, people gotta go still gotta eat.

SPEAKER_04 48:51

Go through a drive-thru on the way home. It's fine.

SPEAKER_06 48:54

It's always good. After a wedding, it's almost a guarantee the next morning that I'm getting McDonald's breakfast.

SPEAKER_01 49:00

That's like our go-to. That's a takeover care. It is McDonald's breakfast.

SPEAKER_06 49:03

So I don't like to overeat like the night of a wedding anyway. So can't be happening. All right, last one taking multiple favors from the favor table.

SPEAKER_01 49:13

I'll change my answer. I have a two-part.

SPEAKER_05 49:15

Yeah, I'm like, you wrote more than just one word. All right. Flip it. We got a yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:21

Yes. Yes. That was what I was thinking too. If it's late and there are lots left over, most people have gone. I'm sure the couple would rather you take six than the rest go in the trash.

SPEAKER_01 49:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 49:32

You know?

SPEAKER_01 49:33

Um but if it's like early in the night, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:35

Like still in your pockets.

SPEAKER_01 49:36

You're not taking like six or seven of those. Like take one at the end of the night if you see more left on the tables, then just grab them. Right, yeah. Agreed. I usually order one per person, so judge accordingly. This is so much fun.

VIP Table: Best Animated Movies

SPEAKER_06 49:49

This segment is brought to you by Betting on the Wedding, an interactive activity that might be one of the most fun things that you can add to your wedding day. It's an app where guests can make predictions throughout your wedding, like who's gonna cry first? How long will the speeches go? Who's hitting the dance floor with the craziest moves? If you bet me, it's minus 1,000. But here's where it gets even better. You can keep it super light and just play for bragging rights. Or if your crowd is a little competitive, you can actually have guests make a real bet. And at the end of the night, the winner takes all. Or if you're nice, they can choose to split the pot with a cop couple, which is kind of iconic, if you ask me. And it's so easy to set up, just create your event, share the QR code, and your guests are in. Trust me, this is the kind of thing your guests will be talking about long after your wedding. Okay. Wigs are back. I'm not Brett Michaels, as some may think that I am. But we are doing the VIP table. Since all of us are parents, we figured that we do best animated movies of all time.

SPEAKER_04 50:56

So fun. So fun.

SPEAKER_06 50:57

I got some rules. Again, it could be anything from classics, Pixar, University, University, Universal, and Disney today. Like one rule. Yeah, Disney is a lot on my list. One rule is if this movie features sequels or multiple entities, you can pick, you know, the second or third, but all are off the board. You've got to be specific. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

Like blank two. Gotcha. Mission Impossible three. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 51:24

Mission Impossible two and one are out. Okay. Ooh. That makes it tough.

SPEAKER_04 51:28

That makes it tough.

SPEAKER_06 51:30

All right. Victoria, since you are our guest, we will let you go first.

SPEAKER_04 51:35

If you guys have seen this, I'm going to be so excited. My top pick is Luca.

unknown 51:40

Luca.

SPEAKER_02 51:41

Oh, I love that movie. That is so cute.

SPEAKER_04 51:44

So adorable. The sea monster. And he really wants to be a human. He wants to go to school. And it's set in this Italian coastal village. And they have the Vespa. They have the Vespa and there's pasta and gelato. And it's just, it's so adorable. That is a really good movie.

SPEAKER_01 51:59

It wasn't on my list, but that's a good one.

SPEAKER_06 52:01

It wasn't on mine, but I know that it would have been on Tyson's. Yeah. 100%. No free heights, Tyson. All right. I'll go second. One pick. I don't know if I'm going to take hers or not. We've been like going back and forth on which movies that we were going to have. I could go many ways. My first pick is not Disney, and it is a sequel. It is Shrek 2. Shrek 2.

SPEAKER_01 52:28

I had Shrek 1 on my list. I had Shrek in general on my list. So yeah.

SPEAKER_06 52:32

Shrek 2 just whenever the sequence of holding out for a hero, whenever he's the massive gingerbread man, when Pinocchio is like, I'm not wearing ladies' underwear.

SPEAKER_01 52:45

Our son loves that scene where he's like, I'm not wearing ladies' underwear.

SPEAKER_03 52:49

There's so many good like adult jokes in there that the whole family can really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 52:54

The humor is too good in those. Shrek 2 is my favorite movie short one. Okay. Shrek was two on my list. Oh, I get to pick two? Two, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 53:02

Well, snake draft.

SPEAKER_01 53:03

Then my first pick is going to be Toy Story. Yeah. Like, I love a good Toy Story. I was never a Toy Story, huge like Toy Story fan until Garrett made me watch all the Toy Stories when we were in college. And I was like, this is a boys Disney movie. I'm not watching this. And then I was like, wait, these are so good. Yeah. And then obviously we saw four come out, and then we had our son, and he's just like he's still in that buzz era. Yeah. And like we have all the toys, and then we go to the parks. Like, he just wants to ride Slinky Dog and Toy Story Mania. So I love them. I cannot wait for Toy Story 5. I know. We're excited too.

SPEAKER_06 53:36

I had Toy Story 3 as actually my number two.

SPEAKER_04 53:41

I had the first one as my number two.

SPEAKER_06 53:43

I just grew up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:45

I was like, we all have one.

SPEAKER_06 53:46

When Andy went to college was the same year I was going to college. So when it came out, my friends and I took our moms with us to go see it.

SPEAKER_05 53:55

I just don't laugh at me. It was like our last parting date night with our moms.

SPEAKER_01 54:01

I love that for you guys. Okay. Then my second pick was Shrek, but I'm gonna go with The Lion King. Yes. That's like a personal favorite. That was my favorite childhood movie. I watched it every single day, multiple times a day, and I even would wear a Simba costume, like out and about with my mom to the stores. So I couldn't not have it on my list.

SPEAKER_06 54:22

It's a good pick.

SPEAKER_01 54:23

It's not a good one.

SPEAKER_06 54:24

My second pick, it's a tell as old as time. A song as old as rhyme. It's Beauty and the Beast.

SPEAKER_04 54:30

That's a good one.

SPEAKER_06 54:31

I we just recently got our kids into Beauty and the Beast. They're probably watching it at home right now.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

I had to make them Lumiere hands with cups and lights. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. They're very into it.

SPEAKER_04 54:44

Oh, I love that though. Do you guys do like the family Halloween costumes? Sometimes. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 54:49

We have. And then I feel like we digressed off it last year.

SPEAKER_01 54:52

I can't even remember what we were.

SPEAKER_06 54:53

Well, he was five different things before Halloween actually happened. He was Dr. Facilier until about a week away, and then he was wanting to be Santa Claus.

SPEAKER_03 55:03

Yeah, he was Santa Claus.

SPEAKER_06 55:04

And Benny Captain Hook, our daughter.

SPEAKER_03 55:06

Yeah, she likes that. That's cute.

SPEAKER_06 55:08

But they do find me now as a celebrity because in my senior year high school musical, I was Lumiere. And they couldn't believe it. And my buddy, I couldn't find the DVD. I must have really tucked it away. But he found it. He let us borrow it.

SPEAKER_01 55:22

And we're watching that now. I've been watching it on Wheat, like literally. And our son was like, my dad's Lumiere. Like, yeah, he is. Nailed it with those high kicks.

SPEAKER_06 55:33

It did. For good high kicks. All right, Victoria. You got two picks.

SPEAKER_04 55:36

Ooh, okay. Uh my next pick is the wild robot. Oh, I've never seen it. Oh my goodness. Is it good? It's good. It's it as a parent, I think you'll appreciate it much more than maybe if you didn't have kids. Um, but it made me cry. It made me cry. Because it's it's all about like that relationship between like well, it's not a you know, a mom and a child in the movie, but it's it's kind of about that like parent relationship, parent-child relationship, and it's it's very sweet.

SPEAKER_01 56:07

I keep seeing commercials for that one.

SPEAKER_04 56:09

It's cute, yeah, yeah. But be prepared to get live. Uh 2023. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fairly recently. I think it's on Disney, but I don't, it wasn't a Disney movie. It was maybe Dreamworks.

SPEAKER_06 56:23

Yeah, maybe I did see because I went to you know research some of the movies. Of course, of course. And that was on, or like Shrek was on the Disney Plus. Yeah. No free ads to Disney Plus as well.

SPEAKER_04 56:32

No free ads. My second pick, Finding Nemo. Oh yes, yeah. Love it. I think just the accents alone make it super fun. Oh. The Australian accents. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 56:44

And I feel like when Finding, like Finding Dory is also good, but when Finding Nemo came out, it was like the movie of the year. Yeah. Like I remember my cousins being in at like little kid age, and so we were always watching it. It's such a good movie. I'm nervous which ones you're gonna take.

SPEAKER_06 56:59

Okay, I'm going with another sequel. I shouldn't, but I am. I shouldn't, but I must. It is Madagascar Escape to Africa.

SPEAKER_04 57:10

I knew you were gonna take it. I haven't seen any of the Madagascar films. They're hilarious.

SPEAKER_06 57:15

I I saw the first or the second one first.

SPEAKER_02 57:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 57:19

First, it was back in near like Century 3 when they had the like dollar movie. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And went with a group of friends, not with our moms this time. Sure. It's just something about Madagascar cracks me up every single time. But that second one, far better than the first.

SPEAKER_01 57:37

Not far better, but they're funny though. Both of them. The penguins of Madagascar. I've never seen them.

SPEAKER_06 57:42

I'm not about that. I don't need that one.

SPEAKER_01 57:44

I don't need that one. Okay. Am I up?

SPEAKER_06 57:48

Do I do two now?

SPEAKER_01 57:49

Okay. I'm gonna put next on my list Ice Age. That's a good one. Like I loved Ice Age. I feel like our kids aren't really that into it, but like I remember as a kid just like going to the theater with my cousins and then like on Thanksgiving break going like two more times. Like we thought it was so funny.

SPEAKER_06 58:06

And then dandelion.

SPEAKER_01 58:08

Yeah, when I watched it, I'm like, oh, it's so good. And there's I mean, there's a lot in the series. I think I've seen maybe like the first three. There's like five or six. I don't really know how far it has gone. Oh, okay. And then the last one, this is very hard. I think I'm gonna go with Monsters Inc.

SPEAKER_04 58:25

That is a good one.

SPEAKER_01 58:26

I love Monsters Inc. I never really loved it that much, but our kids love Monsters Inc. They did like Monsters University, but they took a little break from it. And our son's scared of the like head mistress. Oh no! Too much of a good one. But um, they're so good. And I also think they're like low-key hilarious. There's just like some jokes in there where he's like, Don't eat the yellow snow.

SPEAKER_03 58:47

Like when he throws in the can of like the deodorant, he's like, stink them up. Yes, it's just so good.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

Um, so that would be my final pick for my good one, good one on the list.

SPEAKER_06 58:57

My last one. I'm gonna go with up.

SPEAKER_03 59:00

Yeah, I had that on my list too. It's a good one.

SPEAKER_06 59:03

Another one that I saw at Century 3 Mall. Dollar. And but I didn't know what to expect.

SPEAKER_05 59:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 59:12

After the movie, it's like, oh, this is incredible. The Talking Dogs. Doug. Doug Doug Days.

SPEAKER_01 59:18

Love Doug Days.

SPEAKER_06 59:19

The best shorts that are on Disney Plus right now. I cannot stop. Our son did the same thing with the fire episode of Doug Days. Memorized the whole thing. Memorized the whole thing. So hilarious. And also just the first what five, ten minutes of that movie. I know. So sad. It's very emotional.

SPEAKER_04 59:37

Emotional. I'm gonna go inside out two. I've never seen it. You picked good movies, though. But I like I actually like two better. Yeah. What happens in two? Uh so she hits puberty. Okay. So Riley hits puberty. So she has some new emotions like anxiety, embarrassment, boredom. And it's uh it it hits home for adults too. Yeah, I like it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:03

I loved the first one.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:04

Yeah. Good one.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:06

More recent ones that are like on my honorable Zootopia.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:10

Yeah, we all did our four, yeah. One, two, three. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:14

Was it like Zootopia? One and two. Two was released.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

Yeah, that's cute. What other ones did uh I had Hotel Transylvania? Like a very close like I love I loved those and I love Adam Sandler, so like I thought those were hilarious. Coco would have been my other Disney.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:30

Cocoa is good. Yeah. I like um The Secret Life of Pets. Oh, yeah. That one's cute. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:37

I had ones that I knew that just uh Pokemon the first movie. That was just one growing up. The Lego movie. They little toaster. Lamb Before Time. Um and the B movie. I was like, that's sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:55

I would have also put like Tangled, Frozen, all of those. Yeah. Yeah. Another one that I almost put on my top list, and it's more niche, but a small foot. Have you ever seen that? No. The dinosaur. No, it's um Yeti. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:12

And Zendab.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:13

Music is so good.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:14

LeBron James is even in it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

How about that? It's pretty good.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:17

Yeah, music's great. It's kind of a good storyline, too. It's a good storyline.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:21

It's hidden gem. They find it. It is a hidden gem. Wow. People probably haven't seen it. Yeah. The human is the small foot.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:28

And he goes up to like find the guy is searching for a Bigfoot to broadcast, and he's on the news, or it's one of those guys that you would find on the travel channel that it's like I can find the Bigfoot around or Yeti around.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:40

It's really good. It's a good one.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:41

No one believes him, and then it's a good I don't know if your kids are like my kid, but he will get fixated on one show or one film, and then we watch it approximately 600 times. So I'm desperate for some new material. So I'll check out some of these.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:59

Our classic return is always Toy Story. Like when he starts getting when our kids are sick of whatever they're watching, it's back to Toy Story. Right now they're on Beauty and the Beast, and I said, just hold that out till we go to Disney. Right. Like just hold on to that moment because I love Beauty and the Beast.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:13

Because before that, it was Hercules kind of makes an appearance over the Titans more so.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:18

He likes the Titans from Hercules. Like our kids are villain lovers. Yeah. They love the bad characters.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:23

Like Wizard of Oz. That was another big hit. The tornado in Wizard of Oz mainly. Yeah. That's what got him hooked on it. All right, good list. Great episode. But before we send you off, Victoria, we have one bonus question. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:35

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:36

Cookie table edition.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:37

Ooh, yay. My favorite.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:38

We're gonna eat one. We're gonna take one, and then we're gonna throw one out.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:44

Okay. Eat a peanut butter blossom.

unknown 1:02:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:48

The one with the Hershey Kiss. So good. Take. I always grab a sugar cookie, especially like the custom ones, like the really pretty decorated ones. Yeah. I always take them. I usually like I'll eat them in several like increments, you know? Yeah, like break them. Because they're usually huge. Yeah, so I break them up. Toss anything with coconut. Same coconut macaroon on the bottom. Oh my gosh. Nope. Nope. Seven layer bars.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:17

No. No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:18

No, thanks. Oh, that's really picks.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:21

I know you'd be on like buckeye.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:23

I love it. I would be eat buckeye, take Ladylock, throw away seven layer bar, or throw away the coconut macaroon.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:31

Nobody wants this.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:32

I would flip the Ladylock and Buckeye for me, I think. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm throwing away pretty much the same stuff. Coconut.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:38

Or classic chocolate chip. Like, I don't want that. Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:40

I don't want it. Yeah. I know some people, that's the first thing they grab, but nah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:44

Probably like they're always homemade hair in them, nothing else.

unknown 1:03:49

That's mean.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:52

All right. That's a nice taste. Thank you so much, Victoria, for joining us. You can find Victoria at Berg Brides basically everywhere. Yep. Yep. Um, so you can look her up there. We'll be tagging her in all of our posts and on YouTube. Um, but thank you so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:08

Thank you. This was so much fun.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:10

Perfect. Again, if you uh listen. Oh, my boy's falling off. Um tune in, make sure you like, subscribe, and we'll see you next week.