87: Craziest Moments, Wedding Sabotage, and a Child-Free Wedding Dilemma
Here Comes the Drama with Christa InnisShow Notes
A highlight episode featuring past guests Salma, Ivette, Shawna the Mom, and Lauren Lowder of Burnt Out Teachers. Alongside these, the conversation dives into a fresh listener dilemma: a pagan wedding planned for 2028 with unity circle seating, complicated by whether to make the ceremony child‑free. The heart of the episode explores family dynamics, parenting struggles, and how to set boundaries without alienating loved ones. When family drama collides with wedding plans, the child‑free debate takes center stage. In this week’s episode, after a whirlwind August, it is the perfect time to revisit some of my favorite conversations. You will hear episode highlights with Salma, Ivette, Shawna the Mom, and Lauren Lowder of Burnt Out Teachers. But the real conversation of this episode is a new listener dilemma. Planning a pagan wedding in 2028 with unity circle seating, only to face the question of whether the ceremony should be child free. The twist? Concerns about a sibling’s kids who have a history of disrupting family gatherings. I dive into the messy tension between wanting everyone included and protecting the meaning of the day, sharing perspective on boundaries, communication, and how to celebrate without letting family drama steal the spotlight. Is wedding planning bringing out the worst in people, or simply revealing who they really are? My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live! Get the book!
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Child-Free Ceremony Drama – One bride faces backlash after considering a child-free ceremony because of her brother’s unruly kids.
Know Your Finances – A woman facing divorce realizes she barely knows anything about her household finances.
The Ex Gets Invited – A jealous stepmother invites her son’s ex to the engagement party and takes sabotage way too far.
Wedding Cake Sabotage – An engagement party cake features the ex-girlfriend’s name instead of the bride’s fiancé.
Toxic In-Laws Escalate – Controlling relatives move from parenting criticism to shocking accusations and an attempted child abduction.
Disowned Over A Seating Chart – A future mother-in-law threatens to cut off her son because she hates her wedding table.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
"Just be firm with your boundaries. If you ultimately decide no kids at the ceremony, no kids reception, stick to it and that's that.” - Christa Innis
”It's not because people don't like kids and not because they're worried about the kids, it's because the parents aren't going to take control over the kids.” - Christa Innis
“It always tell everybody you need a prenup. I don't care if you're just starting out.” - Salma
“I felt validated that she knew that there was a possibility that I would still leave that door open. that made me feel like kind of good about what I put out there.” - Salma
“ Do you not love your son? Don't you want it to be a good experience for him?” - Ivette Bracken
“She was kind of trying to be the bigger person and give her that benefit of the doubt and it totally backfired.” - Ivette Bracken
“It makes everything much more contentious. I can't fathom this.“ - Shawna Lander
“Why do they do that? It's not like she goes away, they have to still manage the child together.” - Shawna Lander
“Disowning your kid for where you're sitting at their wedding is psychotic, lady.” - Lauren Lowder
“If someone has no boundaries they will only continue to show that they have no boundaries the more you explain.” - Lauren Lowder
*This conversation is for entertainment and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please seek a licensed professional for your specific situation.
About the Guests
Salma Qaddourah She is an attorney in Indianapolis, focusing on family and divorce law. She has seen how quickly things can shift when communication is overlooked in the lead-up to a wedding. Her content comes across like advice from a big sister who wants the b
More from Here Comes the Drama with Christa Innis
Christa gets a little emotional as she talks about putting the podcast on pause and what she wants to focus on next. Before she signs off, she dives into some absolutely wild listener stories, including one bride whose wedding takes a very unfortunate turn and another relationship that ends in the strangest way. She also gets into a wedding where family boundaries are basically nonexistent, which has Christa especially heated. She wraps things up with some of your latest family confessions. Buckle up. It’s one last round of drama… for now. I’m pressing pause on the podcast to make room for book number two, more skits, YouTube, speaking gigs, and the projects that are currently stealing my heart (in the best way). Before I sign off, we’ll listen to some truly unhinged stories. There’s a bride who turns her white wedding dress into a crime scene, a boyfriend who uses September 11th footage to announce he needs a “break,” and a wedding that gets completely hijacked by the parents and in-laws. Plus, I read the latest family confessions. One last dose of drama before the podcast takes its pause. My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live! Get the book!
Episode 89 of Here Comes the Drama features Kath Jones, whose groom called off their wedding SEVEN DAYS before the big day. Instead of canceling, Kath went ahead with the celebration in Tuscany, leaned on her village, and took her power back. Then, she and Christa unpack a WILD family drama involving a fourth and fifth wedding, an “evil stepmom,” financial drama, TEN uninvited Mormon missionaries, bridesmaid chaos, bachelorette expectations, and the kid-free wedding debate. Your fiancé calls off your wedding SEVEN DAYS before the big day. What do you do?! If you’re Kath Jones, you put on your white outfit, call your people, go to Tuscany, and HAVE THE PARTY ANYWAY. In this episode, we talked about the moment her six-and-a-half-year relationship came crashing down, how she leaned on her family and friends, and why she refused to let one person’s decision ruin an entire week she had been looking forward to. Then we spiral into one of the WILDEST family wedding stories involving an “evil stepmom,” multiple marriages, excluded children, financial drama, and TEN uninvited Mormon missionaries. Plus: bachelorette costs, bridesmaid expectations, kid-free weddings, and why your girlfriends might actually be your soulmates. My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live! Get the book!
Christa tackles some of the wedding rules and expectations that come up again and again, then takes on a guest list dilemma involving a bride’s family and her fiancé’s coworkers' guest invitations. She also reacts to a story about a maid of honor who wants to get married on the exact same date as her best friend. Christa then shares strong opinions about the friend’s request and the decision to end the friendship. How far would you go to protect your wedding date? Listen in as I take on rapid-fire wedding hot takes, from “shedding for the wedding” and the no-ring-no-bring rule to the expectations couples put on their wedding parties. Then into this week’s wedding dilemma: a bride whose fiancé wants to invite several coworkers she has never met, even though their guest list is already over budget and her family makes up most of it. The real drama starts in this week’s story submission, when a maid of honor decides she wants the exact same wedding date as her best friend and expects her to move her wedding back a year. I break down what happened between the two friends and why she thinks there may be more to the story than just a wedding date. Because apparently, there are only 365 days in the year. My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live! Get the book!
Episode 86 of Here Comes the Drama is a REPLAY featuring pop culture creator Saron Olkaba, and this one is PACKED with wedding hot takes, toxic in-laws, family drama, relationship red flags, and confessions that will have you screaming, “STOP THE TRAIN!” From boundary battles to a mother-in-law who takes things way too far, this episode is messy, unfiltered, and VERY dramatic. This is a REPLAY of one of our favorite episodes! What happens when a mother-in-law hijacks your wedding and makes it all about her? Absolute mayhem. This week on Here Comes the Drama, we dive into one of the most outrageous MIL meltdowns ever. From insisting on a 500-guest wedding to uninviting the bride from a wedding dinner, this story is a rollercoaster of entitlement, manipulation, and jaw-dropping audacity. Saron Olkaba, a pop culture commentator, reality TV aficionado, and queen of hot takes joins Christa for a brutally honest take on wedding chaos, pop culture madness, and why cash bars should be banned. They’re spilling all the drama—from surprise proposals gone horribly wrong to the great debate on whether kids should even be at weddings. Trust us, you don’t want to miss this one. If you love wedding scandals, unfiltered opinions, and stories that will make you gasp, this episode is for you! My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live! Get the book!
This week, I’m joined by returning guest Jen Glantz to talk about motherhood, marriage, social media boundaries, wedding cold feet, and what she’s learned from working hundreds of weddings. Then we dive into a wedding story with bridesmaids quitting, a drunken mother-in-law speech, family money drama, and a shocking secret that changes EVERYTHING. What starts with a pair of cowboy boots ends with a family secret you definitely won’t see coming. This week, I’m joined by returning guest Jen Glantz, founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, and we dive into one WILD wedding story. Cowboy boots. Bridesmaids quitting. A drunken mother-in-law speech. Accusations about money. And then, just when you think you understand the drama, a shocking family secret changes EVERYTHING. Because, spoiler alert, this wasn’t about the boots. We also talk about motherhood, social media boundaries, finding your village, and what 12 years of working as a professional bridesmaid has taught Jen about love, marriage, and those terrifying last-minute cold feet. What would you do if you said, “I don’t wanna do this,” right before walking down the aisle? My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live! Get the book!