Erica Mokay, News Wedding Headlines, Absolutely Knot, VIP Table

We are joined by KDKAs news anchor and reporter, Erica Mokay! We discuss her story and her wedding takes!

Erica stays to join us for News Wedding Headlines, Absolutely Knot things you should/shouldn't be doing as a wedding guest, and VIP Table Best Broadway Musicals.

New episodes weekly!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Absolutely Not Another Podcast. This is presented by Forever and More Event Planning. Use code Bride10 at checkout to save 10% off of the top-tier 12-month planning pass. Cassie, it is July 4th weekend. Happy birthday, America. Happy birthday, America, 250. It also is our Golden Retriever's 11th birthday. So shout out Callaway. He's our top fan and he listens every single week.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

That poor dog. I love that dog, but he's an old man.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Old man, uh very emotional when it comes to the kids. I think we mentioned that multiple times in previous episodes. Probably. But I hate that his birthday is right around his least favorite holiday, the 4th of July, because he is not a fan of fireworks.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

He's terrified of fireworks and thunderstorms. Any loud noise, really.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

It's like babies crying, toddlers crying, me crying. It doesn't matter what it is. But back whenever we had him as a puppy, this was when we were in the heat of I was working in recreation, you were in the wedding and event realm, and I was working like 16-hour days during the holiday.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

Fourth of July was not like a recreational holiday for us. Like it was like, okay, you're going to work, you're working all day, and you're gonna be there for every little thing that anybody wants to do. You're there.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Yeah. I kicked off with a 5k, then would lead into different craft and activities on the pool deck or on the beach. And then it would end with Zambelli fireworks. We were in Florida and both the locations we were at and Zambelli also came down with us. So they were a good show. Which is local. Local to Pittsburgh. But now that we're back in the Pittsburgh area, we have been able to enjoy the Fourth of July with the kids, with our family, with our friends.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

I feel like it's nice to be on the opposite side of hospitality where you can do kind of what you want the day of or around. We could travel if we want, we can go to someone's house, and it's a little bit more laid back.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Yeah. We typically find ourselves at your family's on the night of the fourth because they have a nice backyard where it's far enough away from that we're not able to the kid Tyson does not like fireworks. So being farther enough away with headphones on, he doesn't really have to hear them. He can see them and he's okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

And they like to watch from the sunroom from the patio.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Last year I was playing, I made a 4th of July firework playlist. I thought it was I it ended with Katy Perry firework. But there's all the USA ones as well. Um but yeah, it's it's a good time. All of the different holidays that are around the summertime deal with fireworks. So I would advise to you know keep yourself safe, have fun, but maybe don't find yourself on the evening or morning news. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

Speaking of the news, we have a very special guest in the studio today with us who you might find on Channel 2 if you are local to Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Yeah, some people have seen her on KDK News here in Pittsburgh. Others in Steubenville, Ohio on WTOV. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, yes, that is a real place. You asked that. I did ask on WWMT. And some personally, either in Morgantown, West Virginia, or for me, it was on BVA TV. Right. Belver Nuria High School, home of the Mighty Leopards, and the very popular Gold Turf. In 2011, she was the award, won the award for Best Television Anchor by the Broadcast Education Association. But anyone who has watched her career knows that that was just the beginning. Since then, she's covered everything from breaking news, major community stories, and anything else in between. She's become one of the most recognizable and trusted faces in local television, all while staying true to her Mon Valley roots. And as someone who has grew up just a few miles down the road from her, it's pretty cool to see a fellow BV alum that build the career that she has. So without further ado, happy to welcome Erica Moke.

SPEAKER_05 4:07

That was so sweet. Thank you very much. I'll pay you later for a lot of my accomplishments. Um, but it's so nice to be here. I'm so excited. We've been talking about this for some time now, and I'm glad we finally made it made it work. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_00 4:20

I uh I tune into the news only on channel two. You know, going around to other ones as well. And I'm always hyped up like Cassie's seeing. I'm usually looking at uh other uh Ron Smiley's giving me the weather updates to just make sure, like, hey, what we gotta deal with today. Are we going outside with the kids? Are we not? Weather report for the kids.

SPEAKER_05 4:39

And I'll tell you, the is that really a place regarding Kalamazoo? That is actually a phrase on a t-shirt in Kalamazoo. Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo, and they sell like they sell t-shirts like that.

SPEAKER_03 4:50

We were talking about your career, and I'm like, what is Kalamazoo? Is that a school? And Garrett's like, no, it's a place. I was like, a real place. I know. What an amazing name, though.

SPEAKER_05 4:59

And to be honest with you, prior to going to Kalamazoo, first of all, I never thought I would have been in Michigan for any sort of time, let alone Kalamazoo. And I think that was my reaction as well. Whenever someone said, Yeah, it's Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Battle Creek. I'm like, what is Kalamazoo? Like, but yada yada yada. Sometimes you just have to go where where life leads you. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

I feel like that was slippery rock, though. Like if we ever say, Oh, we went to slippery rock, people are like, Is what is that? Like a school? It's a real place. Yeah, it is a real place. But it is a rock.

unknown 5:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

But so you found yourself after you went to West Virginia University, found yourself in Steubenville, Kalamazoo. But as mentioned, I first got to see you at Belvern on our nice little tube TVs in the top right corner of every homeroom. Was that where you found your mark? Is that where you found, say, hey, this is what I want to do for a career? Or did that come earlier than that or after the fact?

SPEAKER_05 5:51

So actually it it came earlier than that, but still on, I guess, Ross Raver Middle School TV, the BVA broadcast news in middle school. Um, I was doing the announcements at that point, and one of our teachers, um, Mrs. McCormick, said to me, You know what, Erica, I I could really see you doing something like this. I could see you being just like Barbara Walters and, you know, someone in middle school. I was like, uh, who is that? What is that? Yeah. But um, yeah, she was the one who kind of put the bug in my ear. And um I always enjoyed doing things on stage, and we'll talk about that eventually. But yeah, musicals were a big part of my life in in high school. I was a cheerleader, I was a dancer, so I knew that whatever I wanted to do, whatever I wanted to do whenever whenever I grew up, it would be something that was kind of in front of an audience. So um when I realized that I wasn't going to be anything famous like a dancer or an actress or anything like that, um, I realized that you know TV news was kind of the sweet spot spot that allowed me to kind of combine both.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

So I always think back to I've mentioned it the Cassie off-air on this. I was in 10th grade. This is when I was first introduced to you at um our tent, my tenth grade. You were a senior, I believe. Okay. We did Oliver.

SPEAKER_05 7:01

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

And first time ever doing anything on stage. I was always in like athletics growing up. I did chorus, and then my best friend Cody said, just do the musical if you're not doing basketball this year. He told me the real reason the cute girls. I don't know, I'm blushing.

SPEAKER_05 7:18

No, the uh but guys were certainly outnumbered, yes. We were outnumbered. We were very girls.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

So we get a I get a low role. I was Noah Clay pole. I had a couple voice roles, but I did not have the stage presence. And I I believe it was you. There was a few other uh girls and Cody that and Ian stepped me to the side of like, hey, you have a role in this, you gotta step your game up. You gotta do a little bit better than that. And I look back on it at the time, I was probably stingy. It's like I'm not gonna give it a too cool for that. You're too cool. And then I started to realize after Mr. Rosell would talk to us after any of our like um like week leading to he would give everybody different notes, and I just kept getting ragged on. It's like I gotta take this more seriously. And then it made me realize it wasn't necessarily that you were all coaching me to do better, which you were, but it was a production. Everyone was working together to have a good time. So just wanna I appreciate that you all did that. Oh my gosh. And it's so much fun.

SPEAKER_05 8:16

It's so much fun, too. Like, I think some those are some of my favorite memories in high school was doing things with musical, and we would do the sheets run in between the end of the school day and right before musical practice started. And if you're familiar with Bell Vurning, you know that really the only thing that we have is that sheets that's right on the corner there. So that was the go-to spot. It's the hangout. Um, but yeah, yeah, I mean, so many good times. And really, in a way, TV news and working in a newsroom is very much like that production where everyone really has to rely on each other. And if someone is lacking, they really need to step it up to make every make sure everyone else looks good and to make sure that you know things go off without a hitch. So there are really, interestingly enough, a lot of kind of similarities. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Roselle was our musical director. Now you're dealing with the news director. Yeah. It's making sure that everything stays fine-tuned.

SPEAKER_05 9:03

Uh there is food though, like with Oliver Twist, you know, there was a lot of stinginess whenever it came to the food, but there's plenty of that to go around, especially at KDK, because with PTL, they're always bringing free food in and what have you.

SPEAKER_03 9:16

So okay. So we have a little similarity that we live our life a little bit in the public eye. Yes. Mine very different than yours. You're on the news every single day, so lots of people probably recognize you, and that might impact the way that you live your life. Can you talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_05 9:33

Yeah, I mean, it does in a way. Um, you know, I'm in a way I'm kind of fortunate. So I still live out in Bel Vernon, so separate from the city a little ways out. So I think more so now I'm getting recognized. However, I don't think people out there necessarily expect to see someone that they see on TV at Shop and Safe. You know what I mean? Um, but I think more and more people are catching on because I talk about Belvernon and Ross River Township a lot on TV. And um, so I think people are picking up that I still live there or I'm from there. And so when they do see me, it's nice. And people, people are so, so nice. And I love that they feel comfortable coming up to me and you know, saying, Oh my gosh, I watch you every day, or they feel comfortable enough to hug me, like like we've been friends for years. And sometimes it's a little like, Whoa, do I actually know you, or is it just from TV, which can be a little awkward? Give me a second. Yeah. And you know, sometimes um also people will, I'll be sitting with someone, or they'll see me at the store or in passing, and they'll be like, How do I know you? And I'm I'm genuinely trying to run through all of the different scenarios that it could be how I know that person. And in reality, it's because they probably have seen me on TV or in TV in a promo or something like that. So I'll say, Well, who, what, what news do you watch? And then it kind of clicks. But you're from the news. But let me tell you, if I ever, I mean, whenever we're going out and about, if we're running just to the store or what have you, our hair's in a ponytail, no makeup on, that's when it gets a little uncomfortable whenever someone recognizes you because they give you kind of like the half look, like, is that you? And I'm like, yes, it's me without my face on. I promise I'll look better whenever you see me tomorrow morning. But you know, we're we're all human and and but people overall are just so, so very nice.

SPEAKER_03 11:18

It is a special feeling when people approach you and they're like, Hey, I know you. Can I get a picture with you? And it's like, yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_05 11:24

That just happened the other day. I was at Target, and this man saw me from like across the way, and he was like, Oh my gosh, Erica?

unknown 11:32

I was like, Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:33

Again, it was one of those things, like, do I actually know you? Or do you just know me from TV? And he was so, so sweet. He ran over, he asked if we could take a selfie. Then his wife chimed in and she was like, Oh my gosh, I watch you too all the time. Can I get in on the picture? And and just it's just heartwarming. It really, really is. I feel so lucky that that people feel that way about me. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

I love that. We went to a wedding in Cincinnati last year, or this a couple months ago. A couple months ago. And a lady was fangirling hard over.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

What did she do to bed? I hate to interrupt, but are you wedding pro cast? I'm like, yeah, I am. And she's like, I thought it was you, but there's no way you'd be here in Cincinnati. And then I saw your facial moles.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

I hope she's listening.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

I was like, I look at your facial moles and then I saw your. I think Garrett had a Pittsburgh hat on. Okay. Because she was like, I was telling my husband that you're from Pittsburgh, so it's probably not you. And then she's like, I was looking at at your page and then looking at you to make it.

SPEAKER_05 12:24

I was just gonna say, have you noticed people like looking at their phone and looking at you? And like you can tell that they're furiously like googling like your name and seeing, yeah, and I mean the comparison.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

I feel like for me it might be easier to pick out when I I do not wear a lot of hair and makeup in my videos. And so when I go out with the kids, like that's what I look like. So a lot of people will be staring at me. And if they're staring or they say something like, Do I know you? I'm like, Do you have a TikTok? That's probably where you know me. And they're like, Oh yeah, you're the girl that tells the stories in the wigs. I'm like, Yeah, that's me. Yes. But it's so cool. It's so cool. It is fun. It's like a special feeling that I don't think a lot of people get to experience in their life, but I feel the same as you. Very lucky. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

I've only had it one. I get it at home. I'm like, oh, I get it. I got it one time on our way to Cincinnati. I was picking up our rental car and I got asked if I was Mr. Cassie at the time. Because I think we just started this podcast. But it's only when I go home and it's um, oh, I remember you doing crank that soldier boy at the 10th grade pep rally or Beaving the Beast or like any of our shoes.

SPEAKER_05 13:23

Was I hosting that pep rally? Probably. Because I was doing that a lot in high school.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Yeah, it was Aaron Kreps said to at a bonfire pep rally that if you if they beat a certain team, that we were gonna do the soldier boy the next pep rally. And there you go. There we go. Them dynasty boys brought it back. They come out every once in a while.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

I had the pleasure of seeing them.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

I had to do it at our 15-year reunion. Oh my gosh, I thought I was away from it. So um, in your career, you have moved away from Pittsburgh and you spent time, as mentioned, in Steubenville and in Kalamazoo. What did each area teach you?

SPEAKER_05 13:58

Oh gosh. Um, well, in Steubenville, so that was my first job out of school. And in fact, I got that job while I was still in college. So I would travel back and forth from Morgantown to Steubenville on the weekends.

SPEAKER_04 14:09

Wow.

SPEAKER_05 14:10

I would anchor the news on the weekends and then travel back Monday morning for class. I would stay in a hotel, which was I mean, it was it was crazy. And at the time I was like, oh my gosh. I mean, you go to WVU, and I mean, it obviously has a reputation. Um, you know, and you want to have fun, especially your senior year. Um, and I was worried that I was giving up too much of you know, that freedom and your youth so early on, but but it was so worth it. And I learned so many wonderful lessons and met so many wonderful people in Steubenville. And in fact, I'm still involved in a in like a group chat with some of my coworkers from Steubenville. We we keep in touch. And and in fact, Mary Hours, who is um one of our meteorologists at KDKA, I met her whenever I was um trying to get an internship at KDK. We sat beside each other um at the interviews, and she's still on my phone as KDKA or Mary Hours KDK internship. And years later, when we were looking for a meteorologist in Steubenville, I mentioned to my news director at the time, hey, I know this girl that I interned with, yada yada yada. We started working together there, and now we're working together again. So meeting wonderful people. Um, I also learned in Steubenville, I think it really kind of broke me down and then it built me back up because you're you're just out of school, you know, you think you know it all, you know, you just graduated from college, you're an adult now. But it it really showed me that I still had so much to learn and just the major responsibility that comes with this job as a journalist, um, and that people really care about the information that you're telling them, and they really, really care about how you pronounce things. And if you pronounce it the wrong way, they're going to let you know about it immediately. Yeah, which I got a lot of um emails correcting me. But you know, that constructive criticism is really what makes you tough and it what it's what makes you better. Um, and then moving on to Kalamazoo, I think that's where I really got my stride. And I was really far away at that point. So Stupanville is only about an hour, hour and a half from from the Pittsburgh area. Kalamazoo was about six and a half, seven hours. And so I was really on my own at that point. I went out there not knowing anyone and ended up staying there for about six years. So yeah, that's where I really gained my independence and really kind of came into my own and I think matured as a journalist and and as a news anger. So a lot of lessons in in both stations, at both stations, and and it really, really turned me into the person that I am today. And and you know, uh because I grew up watching Pittsburgh News, and you're familiar with it, you know, I mean, Pittsburgh News is where it's at. Like you have some of the best of the best in the business. And between WPXI, between KDK, between WTE, they are all excellent, all top-notch. So I knew that if I wanted to come back home, I needed to be at that level. So, you know, I wanted to make sure that I was good before I came home because the last thing you want to do is embarrass yourself in front of the people that you went to high school with that watched you grow up. So that was really, really important to me before having the opportunity to come back here.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

I always think it's great for anyone post-college, post-graduating high school, just to get out for a few years.

SPEAKER_05 17:34

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

You find so much m about yourself, about like any routine that you gotta kind of pick up on, learn. Like we went our junior year interning in Florida. It was the first time that I was out of probably south of Myrtle Beach, a very popular Pittsburgh destination. Of course, but never went to Florida in my life.

SPEAKER_04 17:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

And being on my own for just the two and a half months, I knew right then and there that that's where it's gonna be home for me for the next six years. Yeah. And then learn everything, do everything that's in your career path, and then you get a call saying, Hey, there's an opportunity here in Pittsburgh for you to take, which is great. And you got that opportunity as well. So, how did that feel whenever you were able to say to yourself, I am now going back? Everything that I learned before, now I'm gonna be one of the anchors and journalists in Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_05 18:22

I mean, it was everything that's always been my goal. And I mean, from the time I was news has always been on in my house. Like I grew up watching the news. So I idolized those people, and that's where I wanted to be. It's always where I wanted to be. And having that opportunity finally, it was really it was a pinch me moment. Um and I'm I'm just so grateful that I I was able to come home and that I was able to achieve that goal. And and I loved working in Steubenville, I loved working in Kalamazoo, but being home in Pittsburgh, it just hits differently. You know, I I feel the stories here differently. I have a better understanding of what is news to people here in the area because there's there's something special with Pittsburgh, like the stories that we enjoy, um, the things that get people talking here, the sports, all of that. It just it's this secret sauce in Pittsburgh. And I think you have to be here to really understand it and to understand how the people here here tick. I second that.

unknown 19:29

Right?

SPEAKER_05 19:30

It's something, it's different. It's just something different if you've grown up here and or if you're someone who's coming in from the outside.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Yeah, technically I'm like a transplant. Like I wasn't raised here, but I came here and I totally call Pittsburgh home. Like it is a very, very special place. The people here are special. Everything around the city is it's different.

SPEAKER_05 19:46

It's unique. Yes. And until you live here and until you've experienced it, you just don't get it.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

Right.

SPEAKER_05 19:53

You know, and whenever I was away and continued to tell people, you know, I want to go home to Pittsburgh, that's really where I want to work. They'd be like, Why do you why do you want to go back to Pittsburgh? Like, what's so special about it? And yet it's it's hard to put in words, but there's just something unique. Yeah. It just has a spark.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

We moved from Key Largo. People were like, Why are you moving to Pittsburgh? Like, yes, it's home, it's close for our kids to we didn't have kids at the time, but we knew we were ready for a family.

SPEAKER_04 20:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

And bringing them to an area like here, there's no question. Not to bash Cleveland, but we're not gonna do that.

SPEAKER_03 20:28

No, and my family's not from Cleveland, we're from Kent.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

That's true. Get it right. Get it right. Get it right, Garrett.

SPEAKER_03 20:33

I know. Come on. Similar though, like if you say, Oh, I'm from the North Hills in relation to well, it's the same.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

If I am from that anyone talking to me that isn't from the Pittsburgh area, I'll say that. You say you're from Pittsburgh. Me too. Me too. But truly someone that is from Mount Lebanon or went to Schaler, where we're at now, I I do say I'm from Belvern and the Mon. Then then they're instantly like, oh, you're from the Mon Valley. The Mon Valley.

SPEAKER_05 20:59

They can call us out then.

SPEAKER_03 21:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Like, you got it.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

You win. Um, obviously, you're on the news every single day doing, you know, something you're passionate about, something you love. Do you ever feel pressure because you know all your family, friends, people you personally know are watching you? Like, do you feel extra added pressure since it's in your hometown?

SPEAKER_05 21:16

When I came, when I first came back, yes, absolutely. Um, it was like I was terrified to mess up. And because I thought people were gonna be like, oh, that Erica, she went away. I guess she didn't do all that well. I wonder how she got that that that job. Um, but for really so many people have been so, so supportive. And they'll tell me, you know, I I watch you now just because I I know you, I watched you grow up, and now I'm watching on the news. It's so, so cool. And I was just talking to um a friend, a guy that I went to high school with, um, graduated with him, and he was saying, you know, I I I don't really watch the news, but it's so comforting to see you on the news and to see someone who I went to school with doing Well, and knowing that and he was so it was he was just so sweet, just saying that you know, he felt like I was a good person and it was good to see such a good person doing so well. And you know, to hear your peers saying that, it's just I mean it it's so touching and it means so so much. And I've I've gotten that reception more times than I can count. Teachers that I had growing up, you know, they're so supportive and and always cheering me on. So that really helps to ease any nerves that I that I may have.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

But I'd be remiss to ask, uh, how often is Roselle Mr. Rosal message?

SPEAKER_05 22:38

Oh my god. I just saw you. I ad I adore him. I I really, really do. Any opportunity I have to to do whatever I can for him. And in fact, he he contacted me, this was a while ago, and he wanted um Ron Smiley's help with something. So it's also so nice to like help people who are still so involved in different communities and different areas. If I can help them get connected to someone in the industry, if they need something in particular, I can do that. So have being that connection is is also really, really great. They've helped me along the way, and I want to do as much as I can to help them. So right.

SPEAKER_00 23:11

He's oh my gosh, Rosal Slide.

SPEAKER_05 23:13

And in fact, he actually I did a story, and I was I was looking for someone to interview. And as I was putting that name into Facebook, he popped up as a mutual friend. And he was the one who ultimately was able to connect me to that person so that I got the interview. And it ended up being a really, really good story, and I wouldn't have been able to do it without him. So shout out to the show. It's so funny, like full circle moments, and you know, how you just never know whenever you're going to need that contact or whenever someone is going to help you in in such a random scenario or situation. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

They're always there to help, even if he was our teacher or director.

SPEAKER_05 23:50

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

A couple years ago.

SPEAKER_05 23:52

Do you still do you still call him Mr. Roselle?

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's not gonna change.

SPEAKER_05 23:55

Never gonna be Michael, always Mr. Roselle.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

Just call him Rosel. Just Rosell. Rosal. Rosal. Okay, you shared a little bit with Garrett that you're a wedding enthusiast. You've attended a lot of friends and family's weddings.

SPEAKER_05 24:08

On my on my hinge profile, I I have that I'm my best self at a wedding. I'm still single, so perhaps it's not really working for me.

SPEAKER_03 24:17

Professional wedding guests. Um, have you seen anything lately, I would say like in the last year or two, that's super memorable or unique or like really stuck out to you when you were attending a wedding?

SPEAKER_05 24:30

Um, one thing that that I I saw recently, and it wasn't a wedding that I attended, but you know, I mean, I think wedding favors are really a hit or miss. And if they're a miss, they're such a waste of money. And weddings are so expensive to begin with. But um as a friend, actually, uh she had it in her home. It was framed. It was like a silhouette kind of sketch of her and her husband, so uh what they wore on the wedding, and there was an artist there doing them, and then before they left for the evening, that was kind of their favor. And it was just a really, really cool kind of piece to remember the wedding, but also have a unique piece of art in their home, you know. So I thought that was really, really cool. Um, I can't think of any other kind of trends that I have noticed. It's been a minute since I'm kind of, I feel like all of my friends have gotten married, so I'm almost out of that. You're at like the tail end of wedding. Yeah, yeah. And then all of a sudden, another surge. But there's so much fun. Like I I love, I've never met a dance floor that I didn't love. So, like, that's where you're going to find me whenever it comes to a wedding.

unknown 25:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

That's how we are. It's like I'll I'll sit down. When one good song comes on, I'm on for at least five, six more songs. Oh, yeah. Back on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

It starts getting too many to too many line dances.

SPEAKER_03 25:45

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

I might have to take a break. Like, I can't, I don't have it like I used to, but I will I will put it in my best foot forward.

SPEAKER_05 25:52

I noticed that recently too. Like I would be like a jumping bean on the dance floor, like jumping up and down, singing every word. I was at a wedding recently and I was like, I'm gonna take a break.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

I am tired.

SPEAKER_05 26:04

Yeah, exactly. Mama needs to sit down. Um, but oh my gosh, so much fun. So fun.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

Okay, and then on the opposite side, is there anything at a wedding that you're kind of like, oh, this is my least favorite?

SPEAKER_05 26:16

Yeah, being being the single person at a wedding. And I feel like I'm chronically the single person at a wedding. And I I sent you guys a picture and I was in a wedding there. And of course, you have the traditional bouquet toss, all the single ladies come up on the up on the dance floor to catch the bouquet. Well, uh, my friends, um, obviously I did not know, they set it up so that when the bride threw the bouquet, everyone else would exit the dance floor and they would leave only me behind. So I would get the bouquet by default. Okay. That was mortifying, number one. Number two, whenever it came to the garter toss, okay, one person came up to get the garter.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

So were they just trying to set you and that person up?

SPEAKER_05 27:02

No, he wasn't even familiar with the tradition. So literally, it was like he was like, I don't know what this is all about. It wasn't like, oh my gosh, I think she's pretty. Like, maybe this is my opportunity. No, no, no. It was because he didn't understand the tradition. So there I was getting the bouquet by default, and then this guy who was like, I don't even know what's happening right now, but I'm gonna get this garter. So that was great. Felt really good about myself the rest of the night. I'm sorry, but that is terrible. I know at least we are my friends. I'm like your friends. Shame on you, friends. And the reaction, you'll you'll see my reaction in the picture, and then everyone else is just like hysterical. And I'm like, I'm not laughing at this. It is more fun.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

I feel like I never see the bouquet in garter anymore, at least as a professional.

SPEAKER_05 27:45

I feel like that is yeah, kind of phasing out as well.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

Last two years, I would say I had maybe one couple do it, and it was a situation where the majority of the bridesmaids were single. Like it made sense. Like there was a lot of they were younger, a younger couple. But I'm like, most of my couples anymore, they don't do it. If there's a bouquet, it's like a bouquet dedication to mom or to the sister if they helped plan. But that's a good point. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're friends.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

Short end of the stuff.

SPEAKER_05 28:12

I mean it's a story to tell. I can laugh about it. We're all still friends.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

So we're all left lost. Like, if it's not that, what happened to you? It is a couple that has not yet gotten engaged. And then it's just kind of like that happened to me too. To make that happen.

SPEAKER_05 28:30

You were ringing up memories. That happened to me too. And yeah, things didn't end well.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

Um, but the bouquet tossed it. It happened at my sister's wedding. What? The bouquet and I can't remember your sister's wedding. That was a good wedding. That was too much. That was a good wedding.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

I don't know if she did a bouquet or garter. I don't think she did, though. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

I can't remember besides one wedding recently. I don't think like any of them have been having them. So a phase or a phase that needs to be phased out.

SPEAKER_05 29:02

People like me are very thankful, obviously, that those are being phased out.

SPEAKER_03 29:06

I feel like it's normal to be phased out. It is, it can become an uncomfortable and odd situation. Absolutely. So when when I haven't been seeing it, I'm not pushing it. And all my clients all be like, Do you want to do it? I ask, and they're all like, oh, no, gross. I'm like, good call. Good. Love that for you.

SPEAKER_00 29:24

All right. All right, we'll we'll keep on uh wedding uh segments after this. So we have absolutely not Erica's gonna stick around after, but before we move on to our next segment, just rapid fire questions. Okay, really? Okay. First one, this is very niche to both of us, but permanent's or foster house?

SPEAKER_05 29:40

No question, foster house. Yeah, absolutely. Like, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_00 29:45

I I don't mind permanent, but foster house, just yeah. When we travel down, cash only.

SPEAKER_03 29:51

When we travel down, I'm like going in. Yeah, get the cash out. We gotta go. It was a big fee on that.

SPEAKER_05 29:56

No, someone won a million dollars there on one of the scratchers. Did you know that?

SPEAKER_03 30:00

No. Even more, even more of a reason to go.

SPEAKER_05 30:03

Yeah, I think it was it was it was maybe like two-ish years ago, but but yeah. She was there, she got a scratcher there, and she won a million dollars.

SPEAKER_04 30:10

Like, I couldn't. I gotta go and get scratchy.

SPEAKER_05 30:13

I'm obsessed with lottery scratchers too. Like, it's my guilty pleasure. Like, that's I I'm gonna that's how I'm gonna get rich, is a lottery.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

I want like the thousand dollars a week scratchy. That's what I want for the rest of your life. I don't know if there's like a limit, if it's maybe for the next five years. I don't care how long it is.

SPEAKER_05 30:28

I would like it a little more than five years.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

Yeah, yeah. But I feel like it has to be like 50 years because it will be like for a lifetime. Yeah, you know? It's like a lifetime supply of I don't know. Back in like the cereal boxes, it would say like lifetime supply of this. I think it might have been like a year or something. Back in my cereal eating days, though, I don't know. All right, uh, Mountaineers or Panthers.

SPEAKER_05 30:50

I I'm sorry, Pittsburgh, but it's gonna be not much day. I'm okay with it. I'm okay with it.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

I'm a slippery rocker, so I don't have no allegiance. I'm very neutral. Not even an empty lion.

SPEAKER_05 31:00

Have you gone to like a pit WV game or a pit game versus a WVU game?

SPEAKER_00 31:05

I have I've done a WVU game when I was in college, maybe like freshman year as a like patron. I bought a ticket, I was in there. The Pitt Panthers, I've only gone, I've gone to a few.

SPEAKER_04 31:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

But typically I was working security when I was in college for it. But then Penn State, I only went whenever it was playing like a pretty bad team. So I didn't get to see White Out Night.

SPEAKER_05 31:28

Like the full experience.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

In Pitt, West Virginia versus each other, only on TV.

SPEAKER_05 31:33

Oh my gosh. So I did it. Um I've done it twice in Pittsburgh. Yeah. It's an experience. It is so much fun. It is so much fun. I mean, even if you didn't go to one of the schools, yeah, it's an experience.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

If you're local to the area, yes. It's like Belvern versus Thomas Jefferson.

SPEAKER_05 31:51

See, I would say Belvern versus Yacht. I feel like Yacht was our original rival.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

That's what it makes me mad now because we haven't played each other in years. But back when we were in high school, yeah, it was Yawk all the way. That was it. Even we had a the Belvern Area Football League that had two Yacht teams. Like that was your my rival. Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_05 32:10

Do you remember with the shirts that we did in high school? The Yacht is Yuck shirt. I'm sorry, Yacht, and my mother is a teacher there. So and my friends are went together. But like it was a whole thing. It was a big deal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

All right, last one. This is uh Pittsburgh cookie table related. Three things. You're gonna eat one, you're going to take one, and you're gonna throw one away. What three cookies?

SPEAKER_05 32:29

Okay, if I'm if I'm taking one, am I savoring it because it's the best, or am I what do you think? Like, what's the number one, the eat it or the take it?

SPEAKER_03 32:40

I would say eat it is the best, take it is the second best.

SPEAKER_05 32:43

Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Throw it away is the worst. Throw it away is that the worst.

SPEAKER_05 32:46

Yeah, yeah. Okay, so the eat it for me would be those cream wafers. Do you know what I'm talking about?

unknown 32:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 32:51

You probably do, but you don't know what they're called. They're like, they almost look like little cookies, and they're like very sugary, and then they have uh like icing, a layer of icing in them. They're teeny tiny, they look like buttons almost. They are my all-time favorite.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

I'm trying to think, like, what is it?

SPEAKER_05 33:05

It's called a cream wafer.

SPEAKER_03 33:07

A cream wafer?

SPEAKER_00 33:08

They're like this big, they're like a vanilla. I probably had them multiple times.

SPEAKER_05 33:12

Yeah, they're delicious. They kind of like dissolve in your mouth. Oh, I love, love. Um, take it would probably be um a lady lock.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

Yes. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:21

Love a lady lock. And this is going to be a hot take, but um, the throw-it away would be anything with nuts.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

That's not a hot take at all.

SPEAKER_05 33:29

No, some people don't like not a fan.

SPEAKER_00 33:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:33

I would just leave it, you know. I like things that are I like super sweet, I like sprinkles, I like creams, I like icing. So that's what I go to.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

Yeah, like a nice little classic sugar cookie.

SPEAKER_05 33:43

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:44

Buckeye. Buckeye. Those are my favorite steak.

SPEAKER_05 33:46

I like a buckeye and white chocolate.

SPEAKER_00 33:48

Ooh. Ooh, Tyson's favorite.

SPEAKER_03 33:50

White chocolate. White chocolate.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

We went to see Toy Story 5 last week. And he wanted like a cookies and cream on a s on a pretzel stick. And he had one of them. He didn't like it. And I had the rest of them. Like, yeah, those are mine. Those are 100%. All right, perfect. Well, Erica, thank you. You're gonna stick around.

SPEAKER_03 34:09

Of course. All right, we are in our normal wedding story segment, except for today, instead of sharing one very big dramatic story, we're gonna share a bunch of wedding stories that have been in the news.

SPEAKER_05 34:18

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_03 34:19

Special for you. How I like them. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 34:22

Have I reported on any of these?

SPEAKER_03 34:24

I don't think you've reported on any of them. Okay. I don't think so. Maybe. Maybe. I'm gonna think about it. I'm again saying Pittsburgh. No, none of them say Pittsburgh specifically. There is some like America ones, though.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

So yeah, there is one that says and specifically in England.

SPEAKER_03 34:36

And England. Okay. A couple asks guests to purchase a ticket to their wedding. A couple from New York sends out a link to their guests list with tickets to be purchased to attend. Different ticket prices based on your placement in the room. They state the costs are astronomical and they think it should be up to their guests to help cover the costs. The groom says, if you are playing, you are paying.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

I'm imagining like close to the bar. Close to the bar, you could pay 200 bucks. Yeah. Kids free section, 300 bucks. Dance floor.

SPEAKER_05 35:11

Who, but like seriously, who is going to do that? And plus, isn't that basically like the kind of etiquette when it comes to the gift that you give? Like you're supposed to give a certain amount that basically covers your plate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:26

I always say like a gift isn't mandatory. So technically, like people could gift you whatever, but in America, it's very customary to like give a gift that would align with you know the food and drink that you're eating. Right, right, right. I think to demand someone pay to attend your wedding, tacky.

SPEAKER_05 35:42

Was there a is there a follow-up? Do we find out what the final headcount was?

SPEAKER_02 35:45

Because I know the stories are short. I think that would be the true. The true story. How many people actually bought tickets? Yeah. That would be the question.

SPEAKER_05 35:54

And then at the day of, if the seats in the front weren't filled, can people file in, get a little closer?

SPEAKER_03 35:59

There's a business now. I'll probably like talk about them, I'm sure, on my socials. It's pretty new, but they own a business where couples can come to them and say, hey, we have like all these open seats. Like, say you have a guest minimum. We have 20 seats open at our wedding. We have to meet 80 people. We have to pay for 80 people regardless. You can buy a ticket then through this app to attend a stranger's wedding. It's like a new service.

SPEAKER_02 36:22

I'm not going to be able to do that. I actually kind of love that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:24

That would be so much fun. They emailed me and was like, Would you and your husband want to attend a wedding to like experience it? But it was a day that we already had plans, and I was like, Oh, I would have loved to. But they list them out per city, and then the couple can vet the people that apply to attend the wedding.

SPEAKER_02 36:38

I'm like, this is brilliant. I actually think it's so much fun.

SPEAKER_03 36:42

It's brand new. Like, I'm sure it will be upcoming.

SPEAKER_00 36:45

Yeah. Oh my gosh. Let me know when the app is up and running. You can register. I'm gonna have to look it up after this.

SPEAKER_05 36:51

Yeah, share it with me too. I'm I'm intrigued.

SPEAKER_00 36:53

I thought it was hilarious. I'm like, that's actually funny. I did see this was you know, Survivor just ended its season. Another episode talking about Survivor. Survivor's on. But they had a lot of the contestants who were on season 50 crash the wedding. I wonder if it was in sponsorship with huh. It could have been.

SPEAKER_05 37:11

Can you imagine though if you're a survivor fan? Or can you imagine if you had no idea, like who Survivor who death probe showing up at your wedding like stranger?

SPEAKER_02 37:20

Talking to Uncle Bill at the bar. They all have these buffs on.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

I would go wild.

SPEAKER_03 37:26

Yeah. You would have been excited. Okay. Next story. Bride arrested in her wedding dress. A bride in Poland was arrested during her wedding reception after allegedly getting into a physical fight with her mother during hair and makeup. Police handcuffed her while she was still wearing her wedding gown and escorted her to jail. So clearly the mom called it in, right?

SPEAKER_05 37:46

My The call was from within.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

Yikes.

SPEAKER_05 37:49

Big yikes.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

Yeah, that one's not. Bueno. This one is titled Wedding Ends in Murder Investigation.

SPEAKER_05 37:56

Oh my gosh. I love true crimes. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

And I don't know, Erica, you might have reported on it. Did you say Michigan? Michigan, groom and bride were arrested just hours after their wedding when authorities allegedly alleged the groom intentionally struck and killed one of his groomsmen following an after-party dispute. Apparently, complimenting the bride's looks was not the right choice of words. Did you report on those?

SPEAKER_05 38:19

Did it say specifically where in Michigan? It just says Michigan. Oh my goodness. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:24

Yikes.

SPEAKER_05 38:25

And he died at the That's what it says.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

Murder investigation. It seems like the groomsman made a compliment to the bride, and the words that he was saying to her were not the right choice on a wedding night. After apparently complimenting the bride. Jealous groom. Oh yeah, jealous groom. Which, like, why would there be a jealous groom?

SPEAKER_05 38:46

I also feel like the bride gets a lot of compliments around the wedding. Maybe it was more than a compliment.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

Yeah. I don't know. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 38:55

Also, why'd she get arrested? Was she involved?

SPEAKER_00 38:57

I I don't know. Yeah, they were both Michigan groom and bride.

SPEAKER_05 39:01

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

Wait a second.

SPEAKER_05 39:02

Was this premeditated?

SPEAKER_00 39:03

Maybe.

SPEAKER_05 39:04

I'm sorry, I'm asking all of the hardest.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Groomsmen? Or there are multiple grooms?

SPEAKER_03 39:10

Groomsmen. Like a one, one guy.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

This one is in any murder, no, no one's buying tickets, but there was an English couple. Title is Wedding Photos Interrupted by Zombies.

SPEAKER_04 39:21

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

An English couple was out in the park enjoying newlywed bliss when they were nearly stampeded by a group of zombies crawling, growling, and dragging their legs across this beautiful backdrop of the park. Not real zombies, of course, a zombie flash mom, which probably doing thriller. They were preparing for a music video shoot for an upcoming Halloween music video. Um year was this? There's no years. It could be thriller, or it could be the Monster Mash.

SPEAKER_05 39:52

Could be.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

Graveyard Smash.

SPEAKER_05 40:00

Okay. Wasn't there weren't there photos that went viral? It was of a wedding and like someone dressed as like, was it like not the Jason mask? The uh Michael Myers mask was just kind of like standing in the background. No, I'm just gonna be able to do that. Maybe that was a tactic.

SPEAKER_03 40:14

Um I think it was uh a gender reveal. Was it a gender reveal?

SPEAKER_05 40:18

I don't know, but I love whenever people get really creative like that. However, I think you really have to think bigger picture. Like, do you want Michael Myers in the background with all of your wedding photos?

SPEAKER_02 40:27

30 years from now, when you're showing your kids your wedding photos, are you gonna be like, here's us with a zombie flash mop? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

Like if you have a wedding around Halloween and you say, like, maybe attire, it's like, I don't know, like dress up attire. There was someone I remember, it might be someone from our hometown.

SPEAKER_04 40:42

But oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

There was I saw a video of somebody dressing up because it was a Halloween wedding. Not like a Halloween-themed wedding, but he was the only one that dressed up. And I think it was like Dracula or something.

SPEAKER_03 40:53

I went to a dress-up wedding once. How was that? Awkward. Really? We dressed up. I was a child at the time.

SPEAKER_05 41:01

Like I was probably not dressed as you were an actual child.

SPEAKER_03 41:03

Yeah, I was yeah, I was a child. Probably like 10, 11, or 12, like young, young girl. I don't know. And it was a Disney themed wedding, and they made it seem like okay, everybody dress up, everybody's supposed to dress up. So like we all went all out on our costumes. We show up with like makeup, sure, outfits, and then like our group is the only people dressed up. And like guests were that's so uncomfortable. And we're like, okay. Well, I do have to say the wedding itself, they were dressed up. Like the the bride and the groom and the people they were dressed up as like Cinderella and Prince Charming. Which makes sense. Yes. So like they were into it, but like all of the other guests, except for our core group of like 20 people, nobody else was dressed up. They were in regular, like daytime clothes. I'm like, all right. It is what it is.

SPEAKER_00 41:50

They made it like a theme costume and no one did it. Boring. I participated.

SPEAKER_05 41:55

Well, I mean, what do you how would you feel like if you were the bride and groom and you said this is a dress-up party and then no one showed up like that? I feel like you were following the rules.

SPEAKER_03 42:03

Yeah, but then I'm like, I also was a child, so I didn't read the invitation. My mom was probably like, here's your costume. Yeah, yeah. Like, okay, I'm gonna dress up.

SPEAKER_05 42:11

Would you go with that? Like, even if you think it's ridiculous, if it's like a requirement on the invitation, like it do you go with what the bride and groom is like.

SPEAKER_03 42:19

I actually say if they put like a whatever the formal attire, whatever type of dress code they're doing, I try to match every single time. If it's with color, whatever level it is, you try to accommodate that.

SPEAKER_05 42:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:31

And I get like dressing up might be uncomfortable for some people. But if somebody said, hey, it's a Halloween dress-up party, you gotta dress up in a costume, you don't have to go all out, but like have a mask or something. Yeah. Something to like fulfill the the couple's wishes.

unknown 42:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:46

So I don't know. I would go with it, whatever it would be.

SPEAKER_00 42:48

Yeah. You asked my dad about like dressing up, or like, I feel like if he he'll wear a nice polo, like fits casual attire. Casual attire to him might be like jeans. Like put on some ice fellows.

SPEAKER_01 42:59

Cat. No jeans allowed.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

Cacks it. This one is the caterer never showed up.

SPEAKER_01 43:05

Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_00 43:06

A couple arrived at their island wedding only to discover their caterer never delivered any food. Local businesses and boat operators scrambled to help and save the reception at the last minute. Like, my goodness, an island wedding? That's like a wedding nightmare. Not have the food show up and scramble.

SPEAKER_03 43:23

I can't imagine.

SPEAKER_05 43:24

No.

SPEAKER_03 43:25

They're probably like the resources on the island might be very limited when it comes to like wedding catering. Coconuts. It's not like, oh, I'm gonna call Olive Garden. Like they don't have an Olive Garden probably on the island.

SPEAKER_05 43:35

Yeah, I do love the Olive Garden though. And if they don't have one, they're missing out. Yeah. But I wonder what the excuse was. Like, why didn't the caterers like I always want to know the backstory. If it was something good and like he that they couldn't control, like and have a little more sympathy.

SPEAKER_00 43:47

But was up.

SPEAKER_05 43:49

If it's something careless, I don't even I couldn't even get on board with that because you had time to prepare. Yeah. No pun intended.

SPEAKER_03 43:56

I don't know, it doesn't say on there, but no, I feel like with the eyelids. There's a lot of questions to be either that.

SPEAKER_00 44:02

I mean when we get submitted those ones, we can be like, give us responsibility.

SPEAKER_03 44:05

Well, these ones, all the ones that I picked had links tied to them. So like I could probably go back and look at the link because it had like a full story. Okay. This is like the synopsis of the story. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 44:15

I'll report back.

unknown 44:17

Please do.

SPEAKER_00 44:18

I'm like, I don't know. The latest coming out $195. Like unsolved mysteries solved.

SPEAKER_02 44:22

There you go. I don't I don't think I can get I can't read this one.

SPEAKER_03 44:26

I'm going to do it. Bride lost an arm to a crocodile, then got married anyways. An Australian bride was attacked by a crocodile just days before her wedding and lost an arm. She still walked down the aisle five days later and described it as the best day of her life. I feel like that would be traumatic to go through, like days before your wedding.

SPEAKER_05 44:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

And I mean, I don't know the recovery for that, but I feel like she probably had to be bandaged up. Goodness. Right. But I get it at the same time, you're planning for a year. What do you just like say? It's a lot of money. You're probably like, well, it's not like I'm still here. I'm still alive. Doesn't really matter.

SPEAKER_05 45:02

She was determined.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:03

And she must really love him. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_00 45:05

Like the gift somebody gifted, like from uh Happy Gilmore. Like, you know, like that's a good one. That's what I was thinking. That's why I was laughing.

SPEAKER_03 45:13

I was just laughing because I was thinking of Chubbs. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 45:18

God bless him. God bless him.

SPEAKER_03 45:21

All right. Wedding crasher stole $60,000 worth of gifts. Also, whatever guests were invited to this wedding. They should be invited to all the weddings. That's a lot of money. A man allegedly blended in with all the wedding guests at a California wedding reception and walked off with the couple's card box containing around $60,000 in cash and checks. Security footage went viral and eventually led to arrests and return of the money. Thank God. Yeah.

unknown 45:45

Thank God.

SPEAKER_03 45:45

The money's returned. $60,000 is a lot of money.

SPEAKER_01 45:48

I wish I was invited to that wedding. It's probably fancy. That had to be a fancy wedding.

SPEAKER_05 45:52

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:53

Good time. Good time.

SPEAKER_05 45:54

What was the excuse though? As he was walking out. Like, eventually someone's going to catch on that, like, no one's recognizing this person. And then can you? I'm just gonna take this.

SPEAKER_03 46:03

I'm gonna help the Brian Group take this to my car. The thing is, I will talk a lot about on my page uh making sure that you have safe protocols for your card box. If that's somebody clearing the card box, if you make sure a camera's on it, that it's locked, that it's to a table.

SPEAKER_05 46:18

Yeah. Isn't that sad though?

SPEAKER_03 46:19

And I always think like in 12, 13 years of me doing weddings, I've never had a problem, ever.

SPEAKER_05 46:23

Knock on wood.

SPEAKER_03 46:24

But then all these other people will come in my comments and they're like, this happened to me. We lost all of our wedding money. And I'm like, who is doing this? Who was like, Yeah, let me just do it.

SPEAKER_05 46:32

Sometimes it's it's family. Yeah. And that's what ends up coming out later, which is the worst. Yeah. I can't imagine.

SPEAKER_00 46:41

No. No, especially that.

SPEAKER_05 46:42

I'm glad they got that back.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

And wow, they have great friends.

SPEAKER_00 46:46

He's arrested. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:48

This segment is brought to you by Guest 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 are sitting on their cell phones. Guest Lens fixes that. You create a custom QR code and a landing page. Your guests can scan it at your wedding, 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.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

All right, our next segment. This is Absolutely Not. We have Erica and Cassie here. They are going to be writing Absolute Yes or Absolutely Not on things you should or should not be doing when planning or attending a wedding. Ready for the first one.

SPEAKER_04 47:33

Ready.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

Number one, inviting people last minute to fill the seats after the one story and you kind of went off on one. Like actually, there's that app.

SPEAKER_03 47:46

I'm gonna look it up after this. I'm not kidding.

SPEAKER_00 47:48

All right. Ready? Go ahead and flip.

SPEAKER_03 47:52

Yeah. I'm like on the fence because I think I think if you do it because uh you have uh capacity limits at your venue or something, and you have like a B list or a C list, you need to do it very tastefully, and you still need to give them enough time to like receive an invitation. Yes. I think it is kind of tacky if you text out, like, hey, we have seats open, you want to come. I think that's rude. But I think if it's done tastefully, then sure.

SPEAKER_05 48:14

Yeah, that is not an invitation, that's an unvitation.

SPEAKER_03 48:17

Right.

SPEAKER_05 48:17

Um, I totally agree though. And I think, you know, when when you're inviting people, first of all, I mean, weddings are so expensive right now. You can't invite everyone. You want to invite everyone. So I think that's kind of an opportunity to, okay, I did want this person really to come. Now I can at least extend that that invitation. So yeah, I'm I'm on board with that, but I agree with the with the stipulations, the time.

SPEAKER_03 48:41

Yeah, don't like I had a story once, and it was like, I received an invitation in the mail and it said, my name-b list. Like they didn't remove it.

SPEAKER_02 48:50

Oh no. I was like, that's bad. Like they probably used Excel and like it just to organize everything.

SPEAKER_00 48:58

Yeah, if we can some of the stories I get, I'm like, oh man.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

Oh no. Not good. Uncomfortable. All right. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 49:07

Absolutely not or yes. Refusing to give a plus one to someone traveling three plus hours alone. Not no, no.

SPEAKER_05 49:18

Now, I will say that I used to be very much against the plus one if you didn't have a significant other that was like significant enough to be in your life, that could be in your life in the future.

SPEAKER_03 49:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 49:33

Um, because again, weddings are so very expensive. And I'm sure that the bride and groom, they don't want just a random person who then could show up in your pictures and you know, that friend and that person that they break up soon after that. However, you know, as we get older, it's more and more difficult. More and more people are in a couple. So if you're the one that's single and doing all the traveling and spending all of the money, that is that's a lot. That is a lot on one person. So my my stance on that has kind of kind of changed.

SPEAKER_03 50:06

I agree. I always say, like, if you're above the age of 25 and you can fit it in your budget, then anyone older than 25 should be getting a plus one. That's like 25, really. That's like that's the number if my clients are like, we're on the fence of who gets a plus one. Some people will be really strict. They're like, no ring, no bring. If you're not married, you don't get anyone. Which I also get that perspective. But I'm also like, if you send someone that or invite someone to the wedding that doesn't know anybody, or the people that they know are all coupled up, that can be a very terrible guest experience for that person. And couples nowadays lean very heavily into their guest experience, or they're like, I want to make sure all my guests feel comfortable, that they're having a good time. And one way to ensure that is to make sure that you're giving your guests that need it a plus one so that they can still enjoy their time and not feel like, oh, it's a money grab. They just want me here to have me here.

SPEAKER_05 50:51

And I think that shows that the bride and groom are genuinely thinking of that person and they really do want them to come. They don't want there to be any barriers, whether it's an expense or whether they don't know someone. Yeah. So that really I think shows that you want that person to be there.

SPEAKER_00 51:05

Agreed. Like we got married right a couple years out of college where a lot of people were single, not in a relationship.

SPEAKER_03 51:12

I would say 95% of our friends were single. And that's a different story.

SPEAKER_05 51:16

And plus, like if you all kind of went to school together, you know each other. It's totally, totally different. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:21

But I think like, oh, a random work person from like one part in your life that you knew them. Yeah. And then you're inviting them and they don't know anybody else and they don't have anyone to talk to. Like that can be a very uncomfortable or awkward situation. Incredibly.

SPEAKER_00 51:34

In inviting someone to your bridal shower, but not to your wedding. My handwriting's bad. Yeah. Not no go. No go.

SPEAKER_05 51:43

That is rude.

SPEAKER_03 51:44

Very rude. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 51:46

That is asking for just a gift.

SPEAKER_03 51:47

Yeah. It is a money grab at that point. I always say the only time that it is an exception for me is if the bride and groom are doing a very intimate destination wedding where all the guests are not able to afford to travel or something. So you have family, and then you have a little shower with aunts or cousins, and they're they aren't able to go. To me, I'm like, okay, that's not as bad. Still not great. Yeah. But if you're inviting like a list of 30 friends to come to your shower, and then you're like, oh, well, I can't invite you to the party. The actual fun part.

SPEAKER_05 52:20

Sorry. It's a bad taste in my mouth. Yeah, I agree. I totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 52:25

Making guests stand during a 45-minute ceremony.

SPEAKER_05 52:30

31.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

Not like thinking just even for myself, not even anyone that might have just mobility issues, heals. You gotta accommodate that.

SPEAKER_05 52:42

Yeah, hello. And how many times? Um, I feel like more so now than ever, we see people fainting. Yeah. So often because they have to stand at the altar for that amount of time. And isn't there a trick? Isn't it like you can't lock your legs?

SPEAKER_03 52:54

Yeah, you should like be having a give or bend in your knees to like avoid that.

SPEAKER_05 53:00

That's inside baseball right there.

SPEAKER_03 53:01

Yes. I've never I've never had that happen, though. I've never had a bridesmaid or a groomsman or anybody pass out. Knock on one.

SPEAKER_00 53:08

Knock on one again. You've given yourself a lot of opportunities.

SPEAKER_03 53:10

Had the priest not show up once, and that was enough. For me. That was recent.

SPEAKER_00 53:16

I've done my biggest fear. I officiated two weddings now.

SPEAKER_01 53:18

Two, right?

SPEAKER_00 53:19

And then I did one fake photo shoot one. Um wait, what? Yeah, we did a photo shoot with the History Center. But it was like intimate. I did one that was like I was officiating the last one I did. My biggest fear was everyone comes down. Everyone's standing as the bride comes and looking out and not, you know, please be seated. That could be an instance where they might be standing for 45 minutes and I gotta say it.

SPEAKER_03 53:44

I always tell the parents, like, if the officiant doesn't remind you to sit down, like sit down, because everybody will follow you because you're in the front row. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:51

I'll fit in a very religious wedding and I'm sitting down, standing up, sitting down, kneeling down. It's a lot of work.

SPEAKER_03 53:58

But also in the religious ceremonies, the couple and the wedding party sit for like the majority of it. They're like off in the pews or like in the front row.

SPEAKER_05 54:05

You know what is also, and you will have insider info on this, but I also think it's really difficult whenever there is not someone kind of directing people to stand before the the bride comes out. There's not always that natural, okay, it's time to stand, or there's not someone in in eye shot where you can see them kind of motioning to go up. I've I've seen that recently where people kind of like don't know what to do.

SPEAKER_03 54:28

I feel like if there's not a big break in the music and it's not like canon and D, you know that's the bride's song. Yes. People won't stand up, or if the officiant doesn't say, please rise or please stand, then it is a little awkward. I've also had brides though that don't want people to stand. They want, they're like, oh, I want people to have a better view of me. So they, especially their parents, they want their parents to be able to see them, or like people in the front. So they'll ask people to sit. But in that case, the officiant's always like, please do not stand. Yeah. Right before. So that people don't. Yeah. Huh. I know. People are doing all kinds of cool things these days. Making their own rules. Yep.

SPEAKER_05 55:01

True about it. Some addition.

SPEAKER_03 55:03

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:04

All right. Our next one. Having no seating chart for the dinner reception. Chaos. My face showed my answer. What do you do at that?

SPEAKER_05 55:15

You're asking for trouble. You are asking for trouble. It's going to be like a mad dash to one table. And then if you don't get at that table, it's going to be like, I didn't get at the cool table. Yeah. And then people feel it with me. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 55:28

I've seen it too where people move tables. Like they pick up the table and they or they try to scooch chairs in. Yep. And I'm like, those people can't fit there. Yep. And then there's some people that have to sit alone because they don't know anyone, and then nobody wants to sit at their table. It's terrible.

SPEAKER_05 55:44

Oh, and I know I hear, and I don't have experience myself, but seating charts are the worst. Are they the worst?

SPEAKER_03 55:50

I think if you're doing table assignments, so you're just assigning people to the table, it's not that bad. Okay. If you are deciding that you're gonna do table assignments and seating assignment, meaning you're assigning each person to seat one, that to me is stressful and unnecessary in a lot of uh uh weddings, I think.

SPEAKER_05 56:08

So are you seeing more people just doing it? You're at this table instead of okay.

SPEAKER_03 56:12

I'd say the most popular I see is a table assignment. Like you can look on a chart, or maybe there's an escort card, you go to your table, you pick your own seat.

SPEAKER_05 56:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 56:18

But you're the right amount of seats is there, you're all set.

SPEAKER_05 56:21

Yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 56:22

But when you do the seating assignments, the couple has to then figure out who's at 12 o'clock, who's at one o'clock, who has a view of the dance floor, who's facing the other direction. You have to give it more thought, and then the catering people have to take that or the planner and set it exactly as they want it.

SPEAKER_05 56:37

Yeah, that's complicated.

SPEAKER_03 56:38

And most of the time, I'm like, it's very unnecessary for a wedding unless you have a formal wedding. There really is no need for a seating assignment unless that's something you're particular about. In my opinion. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 56:53

Live streaming the wedding ceremony on Facebook or social media in general, YouTube.

SPEAKER_03 57:00

I have an I have a sidebar. Me too, not ish. But not if you're not asked.

SPEAKER_05 57:07

Oh, you mean like a guest does it? Yeah, I'm thinking a guest. I was just thinking the couple's like, we're gonna live stream this.

SPEAKER_00 57:13

That's what I thought too. You're thinking guests.

SPEAKER_05 57:15

I was thinking of guests like if you weren't at some guest, just pops up the Facebook line, like, yeah, hey, celebrate my buds here, and then just leaves it on.

SPEAKER_03 57:22

Yeah. I guess though, if you're saying from the couple's perspective perspective, if I guess if they wanted to.

unknown 57:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:29

That's why it was like live streaming like everything. Absolutely necessary.

SPEAKER_05 57:34

Or if, like, you know, grandma or grandpa, they can't be there because you know, in a hospital situation, I think that's okay. But then I feel like it could be awkward if someone's like, if people are like standing like right in front of the camera half the time, then you can't see. That's uncomfortable, or you're only eating bits and pieces of a conversation, can't hear anything. I mean, we got stuck. Were you in the elevator? You were not in the elevator.

unknown 57:58

No.

SPEAKER_00 57:59

The guys were not in the elevator. The girls. Like, we'll take the stairs. And it was one level down.

SPEAKER_03 58:04

Us lazy girls, 11 of us. Shoes.

SPEAKER_00 58:07

Yeah, it was like a weird spiral staircase, too. It wasn't like this normal.

SPEAKER_03 58:11

We got in the elevator to go down with the kids, and the elevator broke. It got stuck the floor between floors two and one. And the wedding ceremony was like starting. And so we FaceTimed, I don't know why we picked my dad, but we facetimed him. And he's like, answers the phone, hey, during the middle of the ceremony, and then he's like trying to figure out how to turn the camera around to show us because we're like, we want to see the ceremony. Like, we missed her walking down the aisle. We did get out. We got out like before we were in there for like 20 minutes, I think. Yeah, they had the fire department.

SPEAKER_00 58:39

Yeah, the fire department. So in like Geneva on the lake. It was a perfect view for like the ceremony, but you guys were.

SPEAKER_03 58:44

We missed it. We were stuck in the elevator. In the elevator.

SPEAKER_00 58:46

There was 11 of us with kids.

SPEAKER_03 58:48

So there was probably like eight or nine adults. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It was hot.

SPEAKER_05 58:52

I hope it was an open bar after that.

SPEAKER_03 58:54

It was.

SPEAKER_00 58:55

It wasn't going Halloween tubes.

SPEAKER_03 58:56

It was a Halloween.

SPEAKER_00 58:57

No one was dressed up as a zombie, though, doing a flashball. Probably. Um, getting physical and throwing hands during the bouquet toss. Garter tossing. I don't know if anyone's getting physical.

SPEAKER_01 59:10

No.

SPEAKER_05 59:13

Physical.

SPEAKER_01 59:14

Nah.

SPEAKER_05 59:14

Not now. I think when it gets interesting is it usually after the money dance? Do you know what I'm talking about? The bride or the dollar dance. And then after it's over, everyone kind of crowds in around the bride and the groom has to like break in. Yeah, it's a good thing. Are you familiar with that tradition? That's when I think things get a little aggressive.

SPEAKER_04 59:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 59:38

I've seen that happen before.

SPEAKER_03 59:39

People call that the napkin dance.

unknown 59:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:43

Oh, yeah. Because they have the napkin.

SPEAKER_02 59:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:45

And then they come in and then.

SPEAKER_01 59:48

I think they're a combination. Right? Yeah. Sometimes they go in right after each other. Once it's all done.

SPEAKER_05 59:53

But that's I have seen it.

SPEAKER_01 59:55

You can see that getting physical. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 59:56

I have seen it before, and it is not good. So, you know, there might be a little bit of like a back and forth push and pull, but you have to let the groom in after a while. Like some people take it a little too seriously and a little too far.

unknown 1:00:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:09

Maybe have it happen like a little bit earlier in the night. And it might work out better.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:13

It probably also doesn't help it. Typically with the dollar dance what they get a shot too.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:16

Yeah, they get a shot of like peach schnops or something. They usually do like something. If it's a little bit heavy. All I know is that for the for the bouquet toss, I have seen it where the people get physical. Like our friends, I feel like got oh they're excited. When it's a bunch of like single younger girls, they're like excited to catch the bouquet, but like we don't, it doesn't really mean anything. It doesn't matter if you catch it or not. What do you mean? It doesn't mean you're gonna marry.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:43

I'm about to get married after I caught that. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:48

All right, last one is make it a good one. All right, last one is asking your guests to clear and clean up the tables at the end of the wedding. They probably aren't frienders at this point. Not the I'm like, eh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:05

Hire somebody.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:06

Like I might lend a helping hand. It happened at the World Cup, I think it was the um Japan match. The Japan fans afterwards, they bring bags and they're waving them around and then they clean up their mess after, but they're not cleaning up tables.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:20

Let me ask you this. Okay. If like you're if things, if if things are clearing out, we're getting toward the end of the night, and there's a centerpiece. If you're not offered, like, is it okay if you take it?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:34

I always say if you're gonna take one, most of the time people don't care if you take them, but you have to check if the vessel is rented because that is like a very that can be a lot. It's probably like a five dollar vase, but they're gonna charge the couple $25 to replace it. Oh. And so it's like usually to take the flowers, they're paid for. So it doesn't really matter. Unless they have plans for them, I would say, yeah, you could take the flowers, but taking the whole thing without asking, I'm always like, don't do it. Yeah. I have to stop people a lot of the times, and I'll be like, you could take the flowers, but not the vase, like leave the vase over here. Yeah. Or sometimes people are have paid for them and they want people to take them. So they're like, push them on the guests, like make sure they take them. Yeah. Or else we're putting them in the trash or something like that.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:15

What about like the cookie tables? Like, do you encourage couples, if they have one, to have kind of like the to-go box?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:21

Always. Yeah. Always have the to-go box. Even if you don't, some people are like, oh, we don't have a lot of cookies. And I'm like, I don't care. Like, people will want them. Yes. And then you usually don't want to take them home. Maybe a box goes to the after party or the next morning you have them. But like some weddings have thousands and thousands of cookies. And if you don't put them in bags and pass them out or encourage guests to take them, you're stuck with cookies for like the next year.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:44

And then or they go to waste.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:45

Yeah.

unknown 1:02:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:46

Don't worry. If they as a professional wedding guest and I see a cookie table, and I know the boxes got placed out. I always take them. Yeah. Yeah. And then I'll, you know, I'll still eat before I even go.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:56

And I'm glad that's becoming more and more popular that they actually get the to-go boxes and have them there ready. Because before you'd have people like shoving them in their purses, wrapping them in your phone. Bringing their own tupperware. Yeah. Now that's a that's a knot.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:10

That's a knot on the Tupperware. It is nice to have it though, I do have to say. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:16

Craving a cookie tape. When's our next one? Oh my gosh. Saturday. Well, no, like our next wedding is guests, not September. September. 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 your guests can make predictions throughout your wedding, like who is going to cry first, how long the speeches will go, who's hitting the dance floor with the craziest move. But here's where it gets even better. You can keep it super light and just play for bragging rights, or if your guest is a little competitive, you can actually have guests make a real bet. At the end of the night, the winner takes all, or they can choose to split the pot with the couple, or like give it to the couple. And it's easy to set up. You can just create your event, share a 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. All right. Uh VIP table, we have Erica here with us. Because way back when it over this is actually two years ago. Uh we were in Oliver. Yes, it's not on my list, it might be on yours. I don't know. But figure we do best Broadway musicals.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:32

We will let you go first with the first pick.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:35

This mustache is really rich. And then Cassie will go second, I'll go third, and we'll go back from there.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:41

My number one all-time favorite musical is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:47

Oh, I didn't even think of that one. That's a good pick.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:50

I'm gonna tell you this. So Belvern and Miss Rosel did it. Were you in it, or was that after you?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:56

That was after me. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:58

I will die on this hill that I am the reason he did that show. Because I told him that it was my favorite whenever I was in high school.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:06

And then a few years later, I believe it came to the Benedom, and he went and he saw it. And not long after that, he did it. But I planted the seed and standing by it, but it's my all-time favorite.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:17

It's a good pick. I felt like he always would mention, like he would tease after he would announce which musical it was each year. Like it was between this, this, and this. Uh-huh. I that one was always being picked up as like an option.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:30

And it's a hard one to do because there are so many guys in it, and it's so physical. And really, I mean, traditionally, we didn't have the guys, so we needed to participate in the musicals, but it's oh my gosh, it's an all time.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:40

I think that's also why you did Oliver because then he was he got a lot of guys that were in elementary, middle school. That were great, they were super talented.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:47

Starting to like start the process and get them. Recruit early.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:53

I told Garrett, I I have a very superficial list because I was never in musicals growing up. I'm a fan of watching musicals. I was a dancer, but like never in musical. So mine are all ones that I've seen either on Broadway or off on like small shows. But my number one pick, easy Hamilton. It's a good one. Number one. We've seen it twice in Miami and then this past year in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. Both are part of my life. So good.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:16

So yeah, that's definitely that was that was on top of my list as well. That is a when it first came out, I think I was still using like Pandora, like free Pandora, and then I would go like to my show tune station. And it started to creep in and then it blew up.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:32

The songs are incredible. Like it's just, it's a easy listen. Like the music is catchy.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:37

Oh yeah. Road trip. Like it you can go through the whole album.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:40

I wish though, so I've seen it once. I wish I would have done a little bit of like studying beforehand to really understand the storyline and to pick up on the things, the references in the songs. Yeah. Because I feel like I probably missed out on a lot of like really creative moments because I wasn't fully familiar with the background.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:00

Yeah. I feel like and it took, I feel probably multiple times of listening to it. But until you see it on a stage, that's where like, oh. Now I get it. The first time we got to see it, we were in Florida and we did not have kids at the time. And like how I was emotionally fixated on I think the song's Dear Theodosia that deals with the like their being becoming fathers. And I'm listening to it as like both my kids are born now. I was an emotional rector.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:29

By criteria, like just hearing up. It was bad. It was bad.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:34

But it was great. It was beautiful. It was beautiful. All right. My uh I got two picks and then cast it's back to you with my first pick. I did not see this one until about a little over a year ago. We went to New York City when you were on the Tamron Hall, and we had a night to like go do something. And it's I've listened to the soundtrack, but I have not gotten to see it live yet. It's Book of Mormon. I've heard I want to see it too. Oh my gosh. So good. I think we were about halfway through the first act, just dying of laughter.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:08

I had no makeup on because I was crying from laughing so hard. Like my I was just tears running down my face. I couldn't stop laughing.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:15

I have listened to the music years before we got to see it live, but still then it was incredible. I'm dying to see it. I think it's worth it. It's so funny. And like we had a guy that was except for us.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:30

I was like, this is not appropriate for you to shoot now.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:33

Definitely like the couple of the songs, if it's in English, it's literally the worst song out there. But it's incredible. Uh the my second pick is um torn between two, but I'll go for my first option for it. This was like 2016.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:53

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:54

It had a live version on TV, and I would like had a spiritual awakening of like I didn't like this show before, but it's Greece Live or Greece. Oh yeah, like Aaron Savet, Julianne Hoff.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:08

Yes. Oh, so good.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:10

Grease is good.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:11

I feel like that's a classic. It is a classic. I didn't put that down. I didn't even think about it. Because I think of it as just like a movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:18

But it is broad. Well, it yeah. Broadway, I think it came after the movie, which is a lot of some of my other ones on here, too. But yeah, that one in particular, my roommate at the time when we moved down the Key Largo had the DVD version of the live thing. And it I may or may not have brought it back. Don't take it back, Kyle. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:39

Yours now. But it's so good. So good. It is very good. I'm going with Wicked. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:43

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:44

That's sorry if I'm stealing some of yours.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:46

I was already now high on my list, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:49

It was it was one of, I think it was my second musical I ever saw. It's good. The music's so good. We saw it. We saw it this year again.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:55

Yeah, when it like the actual like show version of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:57

And um and like I feel like the movie brought like another wave or generation of people that will love the musical, even though it's a little bit different seeing it in movie form. Yeah. But seeing the show, it is a good storyline. It relates a lot to what's going on in the world. I feel like there's a lot of symbolism and like connection there, and the music's incredible. The people that always like are Glenda and Alphabet are so good. Like I don't even know how they're singing the songs.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:23

Incredible.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:24

Amazing.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:24

I um that was the first show that I saw that I had like an emotional reaction to it out of nowhere. Yeah. Whenever, right before intermission, whenever she's doing Define Gravity, I got so emotional. I saw it at the Benedom. And I I mean it brought tears to my eyes. And that is really something that I never anticipated, but it it is moving. It really, really is. And I loved whenever, you know, the the first movie was just coming out, all of the um different Glendas and um Alphabas that were on Broadway were singing the parts, and you see how many just incredibly talented people play those parts. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:08

Amazing, amazing how excellent they are.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:10

Yeah. It will come up on my like TikTok or Instagram algorithm of like top five alphabets. And I'll watch every single one of them. Yeah, they're all good. Like, why is this number five?

SPEAKER_05 1:11:19

There's one I can't remember her name though, and she's my all-time favorite.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:22

Is she I don't if I it might be obviously. Is it the girl that was might have been at Stardust or was like not even on Broadway before she got the part?

SPEAKER_05 1:11:34

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:34

Maybe. I don't remember her name though.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:36

I was gonna say she's gonna be a good one. I want to go there.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:38

Whenever we go to New York, I I need to go there.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:41

To see it in New York?

SPEAKER_03 1:11:42

Uh well, the the Stardust uh theater. Like I know it's nothing special, like but I always see it and I'm like, I need to go there. No, my favorite.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:51

We haven't got to go off is the wickedly talented Dallas. Okay. Erica, you have two picks.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:01

Okay, two picks. Um, and these are newer.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:04

Um I just saw this one, I can't remember if it was last year or the year before, but Michael, the Michael Jackson musical.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:11

Have you seen it? I have not seen it. I listened to, you know, it comes up on like music and such, but I have not got to see it yet.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:17

My it's good. It is so good. It is so I mean, first of all, the music of Michael Jackson is fantastic to begin with. And um, we saw it whenever it was here in Pittsburgh and didn't know really what to expect. And as the show started, I was like, okay, this is kind of cheesy. Where are they going with this? I wanted to get up and dance. It was so well done. It was so interesting. And the way they kind of like just put the storyline in it, it's really, really good. If you have an opportunity to see it, definitely go. Especially if you like his music to begin with. It also gives you a totally different perspective on the song Thriller.

unknown 1:12:52

Oh.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:52

And I'll leave it at that. But it's really, really kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:55

So now it's yeah, it's gonna have to be a little bit more. You have to see that you have to go.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:58

Another one, if you haven't seen you need to, is six. I knew it was gonna be another one. I was like, I hope she puts it on her list because I haven't seen it. Oh my gosh, it is so good. It is so good. It's like a combination of um like Hamilton and like the Spice Girls put together, or like Hamilton and I don't know, any sort of like reality music game show. Not game show, but reality show that involves music like American Idol. Oh my gosh, it's so good. What's very spotline for it? So it's um all of Henry VIII's wives. That's what it is, and it kind of goes through their their storyline and their history, um, and you know, how they got with him, how they died, and and all that kind of stuff. It's just it's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:41

Yeah, that's when my sister took my nieces to, and they were like, you have to go.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:45

I'm gonna go with this is another cheesy one, Lion King. I love The Lion King. So good. It's like I grow up watching the movie, then you see the musical, the props are so good, the songs are like very, I don't know, makes you feel like you're getting wrapped in a warm hug. It's very like nostalgic for me to see the show. So I always enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:04

I think it's the best Disney one. Yeah. In terms of like re from movie to musical. Have they done a musical to a movie from Disney? I don't think so. No idea.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:14

Musical, let me think. Musical to a movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:17

You would know better than I would. Like Mary Poppins is a musical, but it was definitely a movie first. Beauty and the Beast, uh Aladdin both came after the fact, I believe.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:28

I would think so.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:30

It would have to have been.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:32

Other than that, Hercules just actually became, I think, like a musical. A cruise musical.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:36

Yeah, cruise musical. We gotta get on that cruise because I want to see it.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:39

Do it. So maybe we'll go see that one. All right, I get to see.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:41

The question with Lion King before we go on. But so when you how many times have you seen it?

SPEAKER_00 1:14:46

I've seen it twice. Twice. Like recently within the last five years, and then I was maybe like six years old, was the first time I got to see it.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:52

I think I've seen it either two or three times. Who what do you find yourself watching? Do you watch the actors' faces or the animal faces?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:01

The first time it's definitely. I think I sat too far away. But then you start really like I do, but you know, it's hard to like not then focus yourself on the people and what they're doing.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:12

It's kind of like a mind trap. Like, I wanted to watch the animal, but at the same time, I want to watch the performers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:18

Yeah. It's super cool though. It's so good. I said I think that should be Tyson's first musical. I think he would like it. Oh, for sure. He was on that.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:25

I think it comes this year. I think you're right. I think you're right.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:29

He could be at the age. Not Benny, not yet, but Tyson, yeah. Not quite.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:33

Third pick is I think it was my senior year, it's one of the two chorus trips I went to in New York.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:39

And our our teacher, Rosa, would always like pick different options for us to go see. And he was really gung ho on us seeing this one. This one ended up winning the Tony this that same year. It's Memphis, the Broadway musical. It is so good. And it's one of those like the end of the first act or second act that like it was the first time I cried watching like somebody perform live. Outstanding. The plot line.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:08

I was gonna say, other than Memphis, what's it about?

SPEAKER_00 1:16:10

It's about a guy that has dreams of being on the radio in Memphis. And then it like is starting to work out for him and kind of in like the second act, and then of course, like something falls through, and then he builds himself back up. And Memphis lives in him.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:27

Your mustache is upside down.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:31

Oh, it can barely look at me really intently. I keep touching it too.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:34

I was like, what's wrong with the mustache? It's upside down. Oh, now it's falling off.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:40

There you go.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:40

He's lost it.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:41

Yeah. For the last pick, I'll take it off. Um, Memphis, number three. Great show. Thankful that that was option because I'm pretty sure he was saying, like, we can do we end up doing Adam's Family is that same year. But then the other option was something that was very mainstream. It's like, you guys, let's do this one instead. All right, my last pick is something that you would never go see on a chorus trip in high school. But I did get to see it off Broadway with my parents that had no clue what they were walking into. It was Avenue Q.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:12

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:13

It's like Sesame Street. But inappropriate?

SPEAKER_05 1:17:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:17

Yeah, pretty inappropriate. Highly inappropriate. Very that, like it's it's hilarious, though. It is funny. Um, who is the landlord or the ten for all the tenants? It is uh what you're talking about, Willis. I don't know what his name is. What is that um kid's name though? Good. It was on like one of those like Nick at night.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:38

Yeah. Gary Coleman.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:39

Gary Coleman. It's not actually Gary Coleman, but they're like Gary Coleman's their landlord.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:44

And then all of the cast, except for two people, are knockoff of Sesame Street characters.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:53

It's puppets. It's pretty hilarious. Oh, it's hysterical. Garrett plays the music sometimes, and I'm like, it's pretty funny.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:59

Yeah. The some of the titles of the songs are really bad. Okay. But then there's some that aren't. Like really good music overall for it.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:05

So, how did your parents react to it when they realized what they were watching?

SPEAKER_00 1:18:09

They they're you know, look at me kind of like, what, but then laughing at the singers. Yeah, and I didn't give any backstory of like what we're watching into.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:18

Oh, it's like perfect.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:19

Uh singers, but they're holding Muppets. And maybe two or three songs in. Like, oh okay, here we go.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:27

All right, for my last pick, I'm picking Aladdin. But a b-mainly just because the one song, You've Got a Friend and Me. I think that's a really great piece of choreography and like showmanship on the stage. And like they're tap dancing, there's magic. It's very like wow. It's fun to watch. And I just that's the most recent show I saw, so it's fresh in my mind.

unknown 1:18:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:51

But yeah, yeah, a friend like me is like what? It's not like the movie version. It's like six and a half.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:57

Yeah, it's like super long. I like that. And I think I also am loving it because Tyson was very into a lot, so we were watching it a lot. But that'd be my fourth pick. That's a good pick. Solid.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:09

It's Mary Poppins, and I saw it because of a school chorus trip. Yeah. And the re and I'll never forget it. And I was I was never really a Mary Poppins fan growing up. I don't even remember seeing the entire movie the full way through. But there was a part when we were sitting like up on a balcony. And there's a part when I can't remember if it's right before intermission or if it's at the very end, but she flies. Yeah. And she flew right past us on the balcony and she winked at us. And I was like, this is magic. Like, I can't get enough of this. And I will never forget that moment. I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. And it has just stayed with me. It gave me chills.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:52

That's my mom's favorite show. Really? Favorite musical. And that's his mom's favorite character.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:57

She has to have seen the show, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:19:59

I don't know if she was a chaperone at that year.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:02

Did you go?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:03

I went to that period. Because it was like Mary Poppins and I forget what the other show, a chorus line.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:10

And it was Mario Lopez was do it was like the no memory of seeing that.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:14

Must not have been good.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:17

I must have had an actuation.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:20

You don't remember. You're gonna remember. But yeah, doesn't I mean Disney's just incredible?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:25

I mean, every I like all their sh I like all their stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:28

Yeah. That's I have to definitely shout out to Disney. Yeah, shout out Disney. We'll be back in August. Not things.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:35

They get shout out at every episode because we were talking about our trips.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:39

Yeah. And now it comes up. That and Survivor, I feel like, pops in a lot. The only other ones I had well, I had a plethora after, but I haven't seen some of these ones. Dear Evan Hansen, I never got to see live, but good music. First act I thought was really good. Music. We might have bootlegged it one time.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:56

We did.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:58

No, we didn't. No, we did not.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:01

So many people have said that they just leave sobbing, and I don't know if I'm prepared for that.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:06

Sometimes like the person that plays the character, the guy that was the first one. He was in Pitch Perfect. Yeah. But now that he's not in it, I don't know. It's kind of like Lynn Manuel with Hamilton.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:18

Oh, it's not like it's not that it digresses and loses its luster.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:22

Other ones, something rotten, another one I have not yet to see, but it's good music. It's like a something went back to like the Renaissance area era. Okay. Shakespeare. Oh, it seems fun. I haven't seen it yet. And one that bores me to death, but it's just the classic. Fiddler on the Roof.

unknown 1:21:43

Rough Dave.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:44

Yeah. But there was one time I went with another one. I went with my parents and my grandma, because that's her favorite. And my looked over and my dad's just fast asleep.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:55

Sunday is really sunset. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. Great songs.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:02

All good songs, but some of the acting parts. I'm like, I can get it, Dad. I can get it. No, those are good picks. Rosell now has a laundry list of options for his BVA. Oh, yeah, he doesn't do BVA. Good episode. Great episode. Erica, thank you so much. This was so much fun.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:22

You guys are fantastic. I love this. Anytime you want me to come back, I'm here.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:26

Yay, she's gonna be our repeat guest.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:28

Put me in the books.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:30

We'll get you in the we'll you can use this way. You can have the wait next.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:33

I'm gonna leave and they're gonna be like, we're never having her back ever again.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:36

No, this was fun. And and if you have a dramatic or crazy story, send it into infow at weddingprocast.com and title it story submission so we can flag it and read it and have it on the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:48

Happy Fourth of July, and we will see you all next week.