Interview with Alex Part 1

A hose clamp instead of a diamond. A meet-cute that starts with “whose red Jeep is that?” And a wedding plan that works precisely because it’s not trying to be perfect. I’m joined by my longtime friend Alex Feldman for a hilarious, sweet, and surprisingly practical conversation about how her relationship with Mark takes off and how their wedding comes together with fall colors, country energy, and a venue that does a lot of the heavy lifting. 

We get into the stuff couples actually wrestle with during wedding planning: how to stay calm when you don’t care about a million tiny details, how to delegate without losing your mind, and why having one trusted person (hello, maid of honor) can save the whole process. We also talk real logistics like transportation plans, vendor reliability, what happens when your DJ falls through, and the panic of losing carefully organized music and guest list notes to a computer crash. If you’re hunting for wedding planning tips, this one is packed with usable ideas you can steal. 

We also go there on spicy choices like a kid-free wedding night (except for your own kids), plus meaningful “must-haves” like convincing a reluctant groom that dress blues belong in the spotlight. And because I’m an officiant, we end with the less-glamorous side of weddings: marriage license paperwork, out-of-state divorce documentation, and why the courthouse experience can be wildly hit or miss. If you laughed, cringed, or nodded along, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who’s planning, and leave a review. What’s the most unforgettable proposal you’ve ever heard?

Transcript

A Quick Context Check

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi, all. Just wanted to hop on before we dig into this episode as well as the episode that follows, which is my interview with Alex. These were recorded quite some time ago, and I have been remiss in getting them out. Thank you, Alex, for continuing to remind me. I just want to call in that they were from a time before I was pregnant, so don't be concerned with all the drinking. But also in a sad space, they were from a time before Alex's family experienced a significant loss. So just want to say our hearts are with you. We love you always.

Meet Alex And The Menagerie

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Welcome to the wedding wear with officiating by Amanda. Excited that there is a very special guest here with me today. I have Alex. And before I go and look up what wedding number she was, because we'll figure all that out. I just want to do a quick little cheers, a little chinchin. Cheers. And for those that don't hear it, Alex is a mom. We love this life. So very excited to have her today and some fun perspectives on her wedding and her planning process. And I was also really honored to get to have Alex read over a portion at my own wedding. So oh, we loved it. We had a great, great time. And since then, we've had many adventures that have involved many bottles of wine. And many dogs and pets. Alex lives with a menagerie. I'm not even kidding, a menagerie of animals. Okay, so what's it? Six dogs, six dogs, two baby goats, and 16 chickens. And husband, kids, cars. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All of that. Got it. Love it. So perfect. What? Well, I know I kind of did your own little intro, but forget that I said any of that. How are you? I'm doing really good. Are you nervous? A little bit, but I trust you. Oh, it's gonna be easy. And uh tell the fine people listening in who the heck you are in as much detail as you want. I am Alexandria Feldman, and I have two sons, and the second one we are currently in the process of adopting. Yeah, I know about my pets. My husband's a hardworking mechanic. Isn't that funny? It's like pets, kids, husband. Like I mean, to be fair, self, self came in after like pet, self, kids, husband. Oh my god, we love you, Mark. We love you.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Oh my god, that's so true.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Again, I mean, I think anyone will tell you, like, right, kids come first, like the key balance and together, that all comes in first, but yeah, in that order, Pets Kid Husband. Yeah, definitely let him let Mark know that when you chat in with him, get him all caught up on how this might be like Hubby, I love you, but uh, you know, Pets Kid Husband. Yep. Oh my goodness. And you were wow, can you believe it? Okay, so we are almost at wedding 250. You were number 72. What? Yeah, wow. Because again, we're we're you're three years now, man. Oh man. I I know it feels like yesterday the gosh darn time, but yeah. Wow, time flies. I know. We must be having fun. Or adopting more baby goats. Oh, they actually go get uh pregnant in a couple weeks. Nice! So then what are you doing with the next round of baby goats? I don't know. Depends on what my husband says. I mean, you weren't doing any more dogs, and then this one had, you know, that letter, and you're like, no, no, we're gonna give them all away, and then you got back or kept hovering. Uh-huh. Yeah. So we might um I might want to keep them, you know, and they're they're Dane mastiffs, right? Like the other great Dane masses, yeah. Yeah. Y'all. The Venus. Huge, huge friends, huge. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yup. Cheers. More wine for you. Yes, we need the wine. Can't hear the kids crying in the bag.

How They Met Through Mom

SPEAKER_00 4:28

So how did you and Mark meet? And yeah, start with that because the next question here, I already know the meat cute with your engagement story. So you you tell me about how you guys met. Oh, that's a fun one. My mom and her wife were at the happy hour, bar and girl, having dinner.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

And Mark walked in and he was like, Whose red jeep is that? You know, we all know Mark loves his jeeps. And they said, Ours. Well, they all got talking, and my mom goes, Are you single? And I'm in his mind, he's like, Oh, I'm looking up with these two women tonight, I'm sure, you know. Because your mom's good looking like uh and she goes, Oh, well, because I have a daughter and she's single. And she shows him a picture, and then I guess the next thing I know, my mom is texting me telling me, Hey, I just met your future husband. And I'm like, Okay, mom. And she's like, How many drinks is you? Yeah, right. Come on, Betty. And I was like, Okay, awesome. And she's like, add this guy on Facebook.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

And at the time it was Mark McCanic. So I add him and he sends that wave hand, and I could not figure out for the life of me how to wave like back. So I sent Force Gump on the boat, you know, waving like real fast. And you didn't know he'd been a veteran at that point. So you're really mean, yeah. Very fitting. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

And then he sent back some bubble gump shrimp, and we talked here and there, and he's like, I'm getting my hair cut. Can I call you after? And I'm like, sure.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

And of course I'd call my mom, I'm freaking out. I'm like, he wants to call me on the phone. What do I do?

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Oh my gosh, she's like, answer. I was like, yeah, that makes sense, right? So then he ends up calling me, and he's walking into the winery on Main Street, and I hear country music playing, and I was like, Oh my gosh, I love country music. He's like, Oh, really? And he was like, I'm coming to get you right now. And I was like, Oh crap. Right. And I was sitting on my couch, drinking some wine, greasy hair, no makeup, watching some Grey's Anatomy, like, and I'm like, oh no. So I go and I brush my hair really fast, and I put jeans on, and I'm just like, okay, this is gonna as good as it gets.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Yeah, and he picked me up, and I think I fell in love when he stood up and asked me if I wanted to dance. Like, don't there's nobody dancing, and he's like, You want to dance? And I was like, uh, yes. He's good spontaneously. It was amazing. And he met my brother that night for the first time. And I mean, as you know, my brother was an amputee, right? And so we walked into Rudy's and my brother had his fake leg on the bar stool.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

And Mark instantly walks in and he whacks his leg off of the bar stool and goes, Get your foot off my barstool. And I was like freaking out, I was like, Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. Wrong thing to say to the wrong kid. And they just hugged each other and it was great. It was a great time. Yeah, yeah, that's that's the story.

The Hose Clamp Engagement

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Um I if you don't tell the story the right way with your engagement, I'll tell it for you. Okay, but why don't you tell the people your engagement? Why don't you tell them just how that man won your heart when he got down on one knee? Well, you know, here we are.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Rudy's again.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

You know, everything happens at Rudy's. A few years later, it wasn't super quick.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Um, probably like two years, I think. Yeah, yeah. And we're at Rudy's for my birthday. Natasha put like a little thing on and had friends over, and uh Mark got down on one knee and proposed to me with a uh hose clamp. Yep. Yes, a hose clamp by mechanic husband, and I absolutely loved it. It was great.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

He was like, She's not getting us off anytime soon, like exactly. And I mean it was cool because you could tighten it and loosen it, you know? And I woke when I didn't even need a screwdriver to do it. It was great. I remember you sending me a picture. And I'm like, I think I understand what this means, but like again, everyone's expecting a stone of come some kind of diamond. You know, just you had no context. It's uh like I knew it'd been your birthday, I knew it was Rudy, like I could pick up on the context you but I'm just there like what is that what? And then it's like, all right, well, I know Mark spent enough time out in that garage. You get to know it, but I'm like, okay, at some point I was like, oh, you know, that's great. Congratulations, you know, you know, because the stone at home, you're like, we'll keep this for a while. I like this. I'm like, cool, cool. They don't really have like a matching band set that goes with it, though. Leave it to Mark, though. He'd do a zip tie totally for example. He'd do a zip tie underneath yourself. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was great. I still actually have it attached to my purse. That was perfect.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

He actually needed a hose clamp when we went all roading the one day, and I said, I have one.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

No, no, I'm not. I'm not giving it up. You're never getting it back.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Exactly, exactly.

Planning Advice For Brides To Be

SPEAKER_00 9:32

Obviously, the audience we have for the podcast is a wide variety. We've got people who are married, people who work in the industry, people who are planning, people who just like to hear funny, funny stories about me not being able to wear a bra. For those of them that are like brides to be and in the stage of wedding planning, from the eagle view that you've got now, having been married a few years, what advice would you give them? Well, that's a tough one because you know, my best friend Allison, my maid of honor, she basically did everything for me.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

So basically, maybe the advice is find that best maid of honor and she'll just handle everything. I also wasn't picky.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

I'd, you know, didn't need a million things and didn't have the best ideas. And Allison was great because you know, you'd be presented with like one of two and you'd go, hmm, Allison. Yeah, exactly. And Allison would, I'm sure, you know, in the earlier stages, because I came in, you know, towards like, hey, let's rock and roll, let's get this together. Earlier on, when there were probably eight options, yeah, Allison probably came back and said, here's three. You know, like there had been a not you weren't involved, but it's a you're involved in like the middle coursing of the channeling. Gave me less options. Exactly. She took all the big, she gave you less. And then when push came to shove on littler things, you know, she knows what your mind is and what you're thinking. I mean you did a fantastic job working and running her wedding. Yeah. I love it. So outside of, you know, make sure that you got a bestie on board to kind of handle anything, you know, how did you handle kind of any of the stress, kind of bringing all the elements together or just wanting to make sure things got got done? Yeah, I mean, I guess you kind of find certain people to like be in charge of certain things, you know, like, you know, our best man, he was in charge of transportation, you know, figure out how we're getting home, how this is happening, like, you know, and figure out how you're gonna get Mark here and there and do all that, you know. And then, um, and then I mean, basically my mom was in charge of the family and like where people were going. And and the venue was amazing too. Like they really took control and had things like flowing very smoothly. Yeah. I think at the top of the year I've had a lot of people asked me to do like venue reviews, and I might start with the armory and just kind of do like a, hey, all right, like this type of setup, this type of space. You know, I know their bottom room can fit so many, their main floor. I mean, really the fact that you could have all things in this big, gigantic historic place, too, you know. 100%, you know, parking? All right, a little freaking difficult. The bathroom situation was rough. Yeah. Wish they had some on the upper level. Right, right. So I think that that will be one of the first ones I dive into. I do like a hey, all things in, good and different. Yeah, definitely.

Finding The Wedding Vibe

SPEAKER_00 12:34

What was your process for deciding on like a theme or a vibe for the wedding? Like, you know, were you really like, okay, I really want it casual, respectful, you know, known your husband's gonna be in his uh dress blues, you know, his gorgeous uniform. Well, he wasn't going to. No, I mean, no. For months.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

I'm glad you fought him on that. I did so bad. I was like, oh bless, you please, please, please. And then finally he caved. Because he looked classy as fuck. Right? Oh, I mean. If I could have had my dress blues at my own wedding, I would have dbe all the medals on the fine specimens.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

He worked hard, and I've told you, oh, I'm sure I told you one that I thought drunk there. So the only thing better than a man in um letters like Creek in my world. Man in letters is a man in uniform. And the only thing better than a man in letters and uniform is a man out of letters and uniforms. Yes. So we are we are great there. Oh I see. So yeah, how so obviously convincing Mark, yeah. Do the dress blues, you got married at the armory, married in like in November. So obviously, some very big ties into, you know, like service and fall colors in. Yep. Yeah. I mean, I just knew I wanted like the fall colors. I wanted simple, you know, like, you know, meow country.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Like, I wanted like country.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

I mean, the plan was to originally get married in a barn, but you know, my mom, she was like, nah. But again, you picked a good venue for that because of all the hard wood that's in the and the brick, the brick and the hardwood. I mean, I've been in a lot of barns, and a lot of barns have not transformed well exactly into being hundred percent plumbing, event spaces, indoor heating, lighting. Some of them are real rough. Yeah. So the fact that you got to kind of have like the best of all the world. That's yeah, a hundred percent. And I loved how it was like they had a room upstairs to get ready. Yeah. And you could just go out on the balcony and just see everything. And I mean, and they and they did a lot for you. They did all the setup, you know. You just you brought down your centerpieces and your ideas, and they just ran away with it. Uh, Nick and I had a makeout session up in that bathroom upstairs and we get ready. Yeah, buddy. We had lots of funeral here, wasn't it? We certainly did. He still talks about it. Because we went because I was slightly intoxicated and we went on a 15-minute date over to the Salvation Army before they closed, and I bought leggings. Literally, like, you're like Because he could tell, like, she ain't doing well, and she's still here, she's gonna have another drink. We did that, you know, we did a little in the parking lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

I know you would. I know you would.

Must Haves And A Kid Free Night

SPEAKER_00 15:18

So outside of kind of fall vibes, wanting to capture in some of the rusticness, what were any must-haves that you had on your list? And were they were they worth in the end? Oh, and I will also say, yeah, having your husband in in his uniform. Oh, that was a must, and that was a fight. And it was worth it. It was totally was.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

And I mean, I don't know if I really have any like legit must-haves. Because I just kind of went with the flow of everything. I took advice from everybody, you know, and that's why we had a uh money gun.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Oh yeah.

unknown 15:53

I forgot, I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

My husband thought it was real. I'm like, I mean, love Alex, love Martin, but like, honey, ain't nobody. And he realized it a year later with our own wedding. He's like, Yeah, ain't nobody giving out everything real life hundreds at a wedding.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

I mean, and my my biggest must-have that did cause a little bit of controversy was like the no kids other than mine. Yeah, just in the fact of like, I wanted adults to just enjoy the night, you know, not worry about children and all that stuff. And you know, not that we don't love them, it's just we wanted a kid free night, you know. I mean, even my son got picked up later on. Yeah, yeah, and I mean just the color of the girls' dresses.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

I didn't even care if they like match style-wise. Right, you know, it's just like I don't know. I I was just fairly laid back, and again, I mean I'm sure Allison was more serious than I was. I'm sure she was, but she handled it. Yeah. Like, oh I should I should have asked you because I'm over here like, oh, like, you know, if Mark's available, I should have said, you know what, if Alison's available.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Oh yeah, it's like and I mean, I think the only other must-have was with you when I'm like short and sweet, because I don't like people staring at me.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Yeah. And you're like, oh, do you guys want to like exchange up? No, no, I do not.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Yeah, not the problem taking the whole time. I think I actually I actually had started having a panic attack getting my makeup done to the point they had to call Mark because I was freaking out so bad.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

I remember you when getting your makeup done, kind of saying, Well, so first I remember it here. Yeah. The day, like the the first day. And you're I don't know why I'm like this. It's not real. Like this isn't my wedding, and I'm over here going, but it is it is, and like you're allowed to have this. Like the number of couples that I marry with three legal minds in their living room, or over a Zoom. And again, they had totally told themselves, like, oh yeah, it's just for the paperwork, like it's not, it's nothing big. When I'm like, Do you take this person to be your husband to have into hold? They start crying. Yeah, and they're like, I wasn't expecting these emotions. I'm like, yes, but you're getting married. No, regardless of whatever the reasons are, like, you're getting married. These are the moments. And then again, I remember you, you know, getting your makeup done, going, Yeah, okay, okay, but like, Amanda, like tell tell me this is gonna be easy. Like, yeah, right. Tell me I'm already married. Tell me that it doesn't matter. Tell me that this is gonna be the easiest gosh and thing I've already done. You're gonna go the paperwork, right? Like, oh, I just saw the people, you know, like staring at you, like, what if I fall? Like, what I don't even know. I just did an episode. The bride went for very Pinterest picturesque candles lining the aisle, real candles. Absolutely beautiful as I walk down, beautiful as the groom walked down, beautiful as the bridesmaids. Bride comes out in a yeah, we dress. And immediately my head and heart are like, oh my god, oh my god, this is gonna be horrible. Oh my god. Like, and then it's like other stress-inducing weddings for me, like ones where you tell me you're getting married at the end of a dock. Well, I like to move out of the way, but there's nowhere for me to move. Or I did I did one up at Will Burton number two, which is up in the middle of like coal country, edge of a coal like quarry. I'm at the edge of the quarry. They rode up on dirt bikes. Oh and like quads. And I'm there like, nope, but I don't need to be. I told them I'm like, I'm not in the middle. I will be off to the side safely. Yeah, right. Because I carry crushes in my car. I'm such a freaking klutz. Doesn't matter how much I weigh, I am a clutch. And so the last episode I did was like all these like redding wedding, wedding red flags, and not couple related. Like just I'll look at the grass and you tell me the bride's walking out in stilettos. I'm like, cobblestones and old people. Oh no. You know. So, oh god. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The fact that oh my god. Again, you were thinking kind of like, what if I fall? I'm like, oh, yours? I didn't know you had a total green flag wedding, man. I didn't perceive any risks until we got to the reception. And you know, oh yeah, there totally was. I'm sure my uh mother-in-law saw some things wanted. My husband saw some things and went, Oh, I'm like, Yes, yes, I understand.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

So what about when Brie tackled or the other girl tackled Brie for the flowers?

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Yeah, oh my gosh, yeah, yeah. And then somebody's shoe went flying. Was that my shoe? I don't know. There was a shoe that went flying at some point, and I either went to get it or there's a picture of me getting it back. I can't remember what the sequence of events went that night. But yeah, exactly in that realm. Oh man.

Hard Calls And Vendor Curveballs

SPEAKER_00 20:44

What would you say was the hardest decision you had to make during the wedding planning process? Like budget, date, venue, bridal party, vendors, guest list.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

I would say, oh, the guest list was tough for sure. But the vendors were difficult too, especially like it was literally like a month before the wedding, and the person I was gonna have music did it.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Bridal. Like Mansel.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

I remember that. Freaking out, and then somebody gave me Matt.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Yeah, and he was a a music teacher in school, you know. I used to babysit for him and his wife. Oh, yes, yes, so I show up and I'm like, uh, what are you doing here? He's like, I'm DJing this. What are you doing? Now he DJ'd my sweet 16. Oh my gosh, what a coincidence. Back in the day, and I babysat for him and his wife because they did marching band too. They were our marching band instructors in high school. I'm like, what are you like? Hi Matt. What are you doing here? I can't even tell you who told me about him at this point. I think I remember seeing maybe Allison had a post like on a searching, like uh one of the Lehigh Valley, like searching for pages that was like the references. Now, I I wouldn't have ever thought to recommend it, but I'm like, oh yeah, like I know Matt does that. It just it's not his prime. Exactly. And it's he's in the industry, there's people who are Kind of your first books, and the people who are better just because of their own scheduling and their own lives, they're better as backups. Oh like I have another officiant in my network who's down in Reading. She doesn't want to be booked in advance. Like she won't talk to anybody who's not looking to get married in two weeks or less. Oh, really? Now she's like a I got a call the other day of yo, the baby's due in a week and we just picked up our marriage license. Can we get married? I'm calling Arlene. I'm calling Arlene. I'm going, Arlene, here's the situation, here's the deal. You can set pretty much the date and you can pretty much set the time because they just want to get married and they're eager. And she's like, sold, great, good. Or she'll go, sorry, not not this month, not my schedule. Yeah. Versus there's others like myself who I'm like, no, I I want to know my schedule. Yeah, no, I can't do last month. Right. Exactly. No.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Well, other than that, I think the only other hard part was my computer crashed.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

And I had my music list like every detailed out. I had everybody guest listed. So the things you planned, not the things Allison planned. Exactly. And I literally I lost it all. I couldn't get it back. We gotta t we gotta tag her in this, be like, yo, Allison.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

You next.

Why Amanda Officiates Their Wedding

SPEAKER_00 23:20

Amy. I know how you found me. And we'll use found kind of lightly because there's a whole story there. But well, I'll fill them in. Alex and I have known each other since elementary school. Cheerleading. Yep. Oh you're telling everyone else. No, no, I was a cheerleader. Alex just stood on the sidelines in the uniform with her hair in the berettes and the ponytails. She wore the same bloomers as all the rest of us, and she wasn't a cheerleader. No, no, heaven forbid.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Damn it.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

You were for a little bit. Until what, fourth, fourth grade? Fourth. Before JTL. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, I I was gonna go for GTL number of my knees. And then, yeah, that was not fun. All the fun stuff. Yeah. So we've known each other for a very, very long while, and she's always been a huge supporter, huge advocate, huge, you know, cheerleader, if you will. Yeah. Even behind behind the sidelines. So and Amanda's always been the nicest human I've ever known. Oh, stop. A few years previously, Alex was involved in planning a wedding for one of our friends, and one of our friends needed an official. You need to talk to Amanda. And so that kind of started in the adult world, us as adults getting reconnected and reconfigured. I know, but the high school people, you don't really think of like others in the same way where you'd be like, oh, let me refer you to somebody. Like if we're like, ooh, I'm gonna keep that best secret that's in my back pocket. But as adults, we're like, who do you know? Exactly. The whole network again, how you found a new DJ the last night. Who do you know? So Alex was like, I even think you did that booking on behalf of your friend and saying, like, cool, this is what they're looking for. I'm booking you. Yeah. I'm like, cool, solid soul. Yeah. But just because you booked me for someone else's wedding didn't mean you had to use me for yours. So I was. I know, but were there any other factors that led you to decide to use me as your officiant? There was no question about it. You were gonna be the person that married me no matter what. I I think Mark would agree too. Like not to toot my own horn, but I think I I think I won your husband over.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Of course you did. And especially the night you came over and we were talking about it all, we had the best time on what we were gonna do. Mark was rolling. We all were, oh my god, we were all laughing so freaking hard. We had a great time. And he said that if the Jeep died, that our marriage was over.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Yep. I remember that.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

The things that we put in our wedding fake vows.

SPEAKER_00 25:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

It's hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

We recorded some of that too on my phone. Did we? I think we did. Oh shit. You could totally have that. I gotta, I gotta start that. I gotta send that back over. I gotta send that your way. You deserve to have those memories.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

I love it.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

Because I I if it's not on this phone, it's gonna be on the old phone. Oh my gosh, you have to find it. I'm going I was literally I'm going down memory lane. And it's I think it's me just talking, like, okay, you talked with Alex, and Alex said, and you're in the background being like, and don't forget this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

And remember, I don't want it to be long.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

And it was probably about a good six months before he even like proposed. Like, but it was just like you, you guys knew. Like if you know, you know. Yep. Were there any other deciding factors that you had outside of, you know, I won you over, I won Mark over. You you drove a hard bargain, though, I will say. It was another night you got me drunk here. And it's not a standard practice anymore that I do consults in person for this exact reason. And that was drunk in Alex's living room, you know, going, hey, I know we talked like informally before, but I want to make it official, official. And she's like, listen, here's what I can, here's what I, Alex, can bring to the table of I will make sure that you have this going on. You get the drinks, you get the dancing, you bring the Nick, you do this. Facts, $200. And I'm like, sure. And I left and I went, I did not put that all through the price calculator. I'm gonna have to explain this ROI to like, oh my gosh, it was hysteric, hysterical. You black. You though, you though, you were, yeah. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

No, there was no way in this whole entire universe I was using anyone else but you. I'm very honored. And anyone ever did somebody I'm recommending you. No, hands down, that's it. No other recommendations.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

Oh, no, nobody else. Especially now that I'm in the side of the woods, it's very easy to I'm so happy you're back. Just 45 minutes up the road. Pretty straight shot. Pretty straight shot. Yeah. No, this person's going through the park. It's the one freaking park. I know, right? So we kind of already hit on this last one here that I have of who helped you most during the planning process. Alison. And you highly recommended everyone get like a person in their corner. Yeah. A cheerleader, which Allison was. So she wasn't. Anyone else you want to give an honorable mention to in the planning process and in the support realm? My mom.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Yeah. Yeah. Shout out to Becky. Yeah, Betty. Oh, it was weird saying her name. I mean you. I mean how many times did I text you questions and everything?

SPEAKER_00 28:31

I mean, and then the site, the website, uh Oh, like the knot.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Yeah, the knot, because you know, they give you a lot of sensitivity. Uh all the tips, yeah. I don't think I would have been able to keep track of people coming and all that stuff if it wasn't for the website. Not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_00 28:47

No. I mean, I love I always love when I always love when a couple kind of throws me something new, unique, different, curveball, if you will.

Paperwork Headaches And Courthouse Stories

SPEAKER_00 28:56

So I don't know how involved I had been with divorce decrees or locating divorce decrees until Mark calls me and says, Oh, that's right. How do I get in touch with Hawaii? And I'm like, oh my god, I forgot about that. That's so true. Dude. Oh, that was such a process. Yeah. And I had little to no experience because most of the time, by the time I know, by the time I say, Hey, you need to go get your license, they read on the website and they already have all their pieces together. And they they weren't in a similar situation where, you know, divorces across other states, or they're all more Jersey, New York, like they're more local. And not everyone travels the world the way your husband did.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Oh my gosh, dude, I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

Yeah. So I sat there and I like to be the girl with all the answers, as you know. Oh. So he's sitting there going, let me get back to you on that. And you were like, but we we need this, we need the state. I go, listen. As soon as we can, we will. And you even had me on like standby. I was like, no. As soon as he finds it, I will give him 48 hours to get to the courthouse. I will then give the license three days. I can be at your house by the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Yes, oh my god, I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

And the guy at the courthouse was so mean. They're yeah, they're they're not very hit or miss.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Different counties are very walking, you're so happy, you're about to get married, and they just want to be nasty. Like, I'm sorry, did you go through something? Maybe you need a different job.

SPEAKER_00 30:27

It's like the guy at the Milford Post Office. I hate him. I hate him with a passion. Mad eye, Moody. He's in some sort of accident. He's got a fake eye, but still like, doesn't mean you get to be mean to people. Well when I do the courthouse weddings, I know not fully, but I know some of the hoops that they have to jump through to get their paperwork filled out because they can't appear together in person. They can't. Yeah. He's in jail. I did a uh a wedding at an ice detention facility. Yeah. What? Wild. Pike County Correctional is housing ice ice detainees. What? Uh-huh. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

So what they got married in the detention center?

SPEAKER_00 31:12

Mm-hmm. Chief when I went in shackled. He was shackled. Normally, normally when I go into the prison and they're in like normal visitation, they don't have battles, but they brought him from the prison out to the little administrative office, which is where they're doing all the ice documents and meetings with the lawyers and everything. Yep. But picture Donald Trump handing stand right there. You know, the you know, the one that looks like his mocked shot like a Yeah. Not not like his first presidential picture, the newer one where he's like, the newer what? I got I married him under that. And oh my god. And we they st I don't know if it's enough to keep I have no clue how I was so they were trying to keep them in. Oh and I I don't know. I don't know, but again, I know the hoops that have to be jumped through to get a license to get the visitation to get. And when you were going through all those hoops, the last thing you need is someone at the county or at the facility, not being on 100%. Now, I'm not saying you don't have to be like the cheery customer support person, but you're in a correctional facility. I understand you get taken advantage of day by day, and you can't trust a single person. 100% but there's a difference between hi, how can I direct your call to what the hell do you want? Yeah, 100%. There's a difference. You don't have to be the hi, thank you for calling. This is a handle. Like no, but you say you always are right letting you know. Right. But you just if you're ever not, I know something seriously wrong. Yeah, right. Or like my head's just on 15 other. Yeah, my husband will be like, eat good. I'm like, mm-hmm, I'm good. He like he's one of the rare people that gets to see like just the the man it all. Yeah. Which I love. Um, so we love that.

Part Two Tease And Wrap Up

SPEAKER_00 33:05

We have gone over a lot of the stuff in the planning of your wedding, and I'm so excited. But as we know with all of my interview episodes, they run dramatically long. So everybody, tune in next week. We will be continuing to hear all about Alex and Mark's special, special day. In the meantime, we're gonna do our normal thing and pour more wine. Yes. Check on the kids, check on the dogs. We must. We must. Okay. Make sure the goats haven't, you know, reproduced themselves. And we'll be back with you next time. Bye.

Subscribe And How To Reach Us

SPEAKER_00 33:44

Thank you for listening to The Wedding Wear with Officiating by Manda. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and found some inspiration or insight for your own special day. This podcast is hosted on Bus Route and can be found on all major platforms. If you haven't already, please subscribe, like, comment, and share to help us reach even more listeners who might laugh a little at the wedding wear. For the links referenced in the show, visit Linktree at OfficiatingByAmanda. You can also follow the business on Facebook, Weddingwire, and the knot to stay up to date on everything going on. If you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast, just send an email to the WeddingWare Podcast at gmail.com. And if you're ready to inquire about officiating services for your own big day, you can reach me at officiatingbyamanda at gmail.com. Thank you so much for tuning in, and until next time, this has been Amanda.