Here Comes the Drama with Christa Innis

Book Launch Day + A Wedding Party Meltdown You Won’t Believe

• Christa Innis • Season 1 • Episode 21

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My new book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story is live! 

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What happens when a bride hates planning her own wedding, but demands a Vegas blowout and expects everyone else to make it magical?

In this episode, I share my biggest milestone yet: the official launch of my debut book Here Comes the Drama: A Ferris and Sloan Story, plus a jaw-dropping listener-submitted story that defines the word “ungrateful.”

I also break down wedding hot takes, the importance of boundaries, and why saying “no” is sometimes the most loving thing you can do—for others and yourself. Oh, and did we mention the bride cried in the club bathroom three separate times?

Listen to me read a new Ferris & Sloan excerpt, tackle controversial wedding traditions, and respond to one of the wildest bridal party betrayals I’ve ever received.

Join me on Patreon and get bonus content every month! 

Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments

  • The Book Is Officially Out – After months of teasing, I’m announcing my book launch and revealing what inspired me to turn viral confessions into a physical page-turner.
  • The Vegas Bachelorette Breakdown – I relive one of the most unforgettable submissions about a bride who ended up crying in the club, and what it revealed about modern wedding expectations.
  • Why I Wrote This Book – This isn’t just tea. It’s a time capsule of the emotional chaos, family dynamics, and societal pressure that weddings bring out in people.
  • The Confession Selection Process – I explain how I chose which stories made it into the book, and why some were just too wild (or too heartbreaking) to publish.
  • From Podcast to Print – How Here Comes the Drama evolved from mic to manuscript—and how my audience helped shape every chapter.
  • Wedding Culture Needs a Wake-Up Call – I reflect on how the wedding industry has normalized unrealistic standards, and what we can do about it.
  • The Stories That Stayed With Me – I share the one story I almost couldn’t include—and why it haunts me in the best way.
  • Advice for the Brides Who Feel the Pressure – A personal reminder for anyone planning a wedding: you’re allowed to say no.

Join the Drama with Christa Innis:

Got Wedding Drama? We Want to Hear It!

Your stories make Here Comes the Drama what it is! Share your unforgettable wedding tales, hilarious mishaps, or unbelievable moments with us. Whether it’s a wild confession or a story worth a skit, we can’t wait to hear it.

Submit your story today: Story Submission Form

Follow us on social media for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming episodes. Your stories inspire the drama, the laughs, and the lessons we love to share!

A Team Dklutr Production

Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Christa Innis: Hi guys. Welcome back to another exciting episode of Here Comes The Drama. It is officially launch day of my brand new book. Here comes the Drama of Ferris and Sloan story, I'm so excited to share more with you guys and have you officially read the book. starting off, I just wanna say thank you to everyone that has pre-ordered the book already.

If you've got an ebook, it will be automatically sent to your device. Um, but today is the official. Sale launch of the printed book, I wanna get to that in a second. First things first, I wanna read a podcast review and just thank you guys for listening. This is from Debbie, 1, 2, 1, 3. It says, 

Absolutely love the podcast. I have enjoyed your skits and cannot wait for more Ferris and Sloan. I had to do a Ferris and Sloan review one because this is all about Ferris and Sloan. Now, kind of like the pre-launch episode, we're gonna do things a little bit differently, but of course I'm going to end on a very juicy, crazy story.

I've not read it yet, but it's one of those long ones with lots of crazy detail. So we will get into that one. But first things first, let's talk a little bit more about the book. I'm not gonna do a crazy deep dive because we've done tons of q and As, but of course I'm always here to answer more questions.

 I'm so excited. I can't believe this day is finally here. I'm recording this a little bit earlier, so of course it still feels very surreal for me. if you're watching the video, you'll see this is my printed proof. I. Of course at the time this comes out, I'll have my actual copy, but it's so exciting to see.

We're still making some changes, to it as I record this, but you guys will have the finalized version. I'm gonna read a small segment in it for you guys today too. I'm gonna leave off. Where I did on that last pre-launch episode. just to give you a little more teaser, most of you guys, if you got part one in your email, you might have already read this part, but I'll add a little, extra while I read here.

So leaving off in part one, where the mom, Kate and Jenny were off basically, and she's trying to talk her up to kind of get her back into the room with Ferris and Sloan. She just found out they're going on vacation, so here we go. Great. Jenny gives her a swift thumbs up and gestures for her mother to follow her back into the living room where the others are.

Jenny is the first to step back into her parents' living room where she spots her brother Ferris at the fridge, grabbing two beers, one for their dad, Ted, and one for himself. The room is warm with the scent of Thanksgiving, leftovers, the muffled hum of conversation drifts into the dining room.

You need more wine babe. Ferris calls out over his shoulder. His voice casual but affectionate. short, faintly golden hair with brown undertones is slightly tussled. A few strands falling into his face as he reaches for the fridge. Slowness curled up on the couch, legs crossed, swirling the last bit of red wine in her glass.

Her long, almost black hair drapes over one shoulder catching the warm glow of Christmas lights. She's wearing a soft knit sweater Dress. In deep burgundy, paired with thick socks, comfortable yet casually stylish in a way that always seems natural to her. She looks over at him with a small knowing. Smile, Noah, he.

No, I still have some left. Thanks, Sloan. Smirks and turns. Just as she notices Jenny walking back in. Oh hey, is everything okay? Her eyes flicker between Jenny and Kate searching for any signs of what just happened. She knew Kate was upset about the trip, but sometimes it was easier to pretend she doesn't notice than to invite more drama.

Yeah, sorry about that. Jenny says quickly, my mom thought she ate something bad. Her voice is light, but there's a flicker of something else beneath it before Sloan can press Jenny shifts gears. So anyway, tell us more about your trip. Where are you guys going?

She walks right up to Sloan and sits down at the chair across from her. Kate reenters the room lingering near the doorway. Arms crossed disd, practically radiating off of her. We're going to Santa Monica. Sloan replies quietly combing her hair behind her ear. I've never been before. Ferris knows I hate the snow, so he planned for a warm vacation to get us outta here.

It was all his idea, so he'll have more of the details. She looks over at Ferris now seated next to her on the couch, Ferris hands his dad a beer, then takes a sip of his own and leans back. Yeah, I mean, I don't have too much planned yet, But I thought we'd escape the dreaded Milwaukee winter and soak up some sun for once.

He nodded towards the window where a thick clumps of snow swirl in the wind before reaching over and gently grabbing Sloan's hand. 

 Sloan glances down at their intertwined fingers, a soft smile forming as warmth blooms in her chest. But even in the comfort of this moment, she can feel Kate's disapproval lingering like a heavy cloud that refuses to pass.

That sounds amazing. Jenny jumps in quickly. What do you think, mom? Doesn't that sound fun? Her voice is too chipper. Eyes flicking towards Kate with the hope that a simple question might smooth over the crack in the room. Ted shifts slightly in his chair, his gaze fixed on his wife.

He raises his eyebrows just enough to signal, go easy, try to be happy, but it's clear he's bracing himself. 

Christina Innis 2: after almost 30 years of marriage, he knows her moods, her tells he knows exactly where this could be headed. When Kate answers, yeah, it sounds great. With a snap of sarcasm. Ted Exhales just barely for a split second, 

 

Christa Innis: it seems like that might have been the end of it, but then he catches the sudden shift of her expression. She gasps his shoulders stiffen. Here it comes. Maybe we should all go. Her somber mood instantly flips to excitement making her way to the front of the room. Sloan Tenses.

Every instinct screams at her to shut the idea down, but she hesitates. It's not her place. Kate has always been dismissive of her. Why would this moment be any different? 

Okay, so one of the top questions you guys ask me is with the audiobook coming, if I'm going to be the voice of the audio book. I've talked about this before, but if you can hear my reading while I read it, that is probably why I'm not doing the audio book.

I feel like I overthink every little thing. So even with like edits and stuff, I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm not like a voice actor. It's so much easier for me to like talk. About something then read off something and I just put so much pressure on myself. by this time I might have more updates on the audiobook, so if you guys are waiting for that, that will be coming out soon.

I will be sharing updates on the audiobook and email as well. But I hope you guys enjoyed that little segment. like I said, if you already, um, read part one because you downloaded it, you've already read that, but it's kind of fun just to hear it in a voice as well. so like I said, if you already pre-ordered the ebook that has been sent to you already, and then you can order the print books today.

And I just ask if you guys. Wanna share any kind of update. if you enjoy the book, share what you're doing while you read the book, share, a picture of it on your counter, share a video of you opening it up from the mail, whatever that looks like. I would love to see you guys reading the book, posting about it.

then of course, tag me and I would love to reshare it to my page, just the more people that can see the book it would really help me and help the book. So, very excited for it. And of course, if you love the book, please leave a review. That helps so many more people, um, hear about it as well. I know that was all about Ferris and Sloan.

I'm just so excited for the launch, but, Let's dive into the crazy drama that is this week. So first things first, I'm going to get into some hot takes that you guys sent me The first one says, people should always know that this spouse comes first. The rest can go to hell.

Okay? So I wouldn't say that. So, Dramatically, I guess. essentially, I agree. I feel like once you choose a spouse and a partner and you are on the same page, they should be your priority. especially, you know, when it comes to planning a wedding or planning an event or relationship boundaries.

Figure them out with your partner first. Then you can allow in other opinions and other people. Otherwise it gets very misconstrued. It gets overwhelming to listen to all these opinions and it's like, oh, do I listen to my partner or my mom or whatever? You really need to put your partner before everybody.

this says cost of the ring doesn't matter. It's the memories attached to it that make it feel special. I a hundred percent agree. I feel like there used to be, and people will probably say this is still a thing, but it used to be, A certain percentage of your rent or your income and they would tell you like you have to spend that on an engagement ring.

And I say throw that out the door. I don't think that should be a thing anymore. I think it's really about what's important for the partner. I've seen people do just a very simple ring. I've with no jewels on it. I've seen people do just a rubber ring. I've seen people do a huge diamond on it.

I've seen people do a sapphire or other kind of jewels on it. I think it's really important to listen to yourself because you're gonna be the one wearing it, and I think so many times we get caught up in what everyone else says you have to wear or have to spend, and that none of that, no matter what anyone says, none of that dictates or says anything about your relationship.

It doesn't only you guys know what makes sense. I feel like it's just so easy to get caught up and that's, that goes for anything when it comes to wedding planning. So, ultimately, I don't think it matters. Don't go broke and don't, go into debt for a wedding ring, essentially. this person says, do they really need bachelor, bachelorette weekends?

I think it's a waste of money. Okay. So here's my thing, when it comes to how you spend your money, everyone views things differently, right? So I might buy this shirt and someone might see that and be like, that's a waste of money. I might upgrade my car. And someone might think that's a waste of money.

I might hear someone got new tires and I'm like, that's a waste of money, So it's like everyone's gonna have their own viewpoints when it comes to bachelorette bachelor parties, Do. Some of them go very over the top, of course. But would I wanna be on one of those trips? Absolutely. If I could.

 be a part of it. Yeah, I would wanna go to it. Are they always needed? No. But if that's something you value and you're like, you know what, I wanna really fun trip away with my best guy friends or my best girlfriends, whoever. More power to you. Do it.

Go ahead. Now, where I feel like it might be too much is when you pressure bridesmaids and groomsmen to go on a trip they might not be able to afford. That's where it gets a little murky. I don't think that should be a thing. There should never be pressure. If you want it, allow people to say no. we all value different things.

For myself and for my closest group of friends, we were all in each other's weddings. So for us it was like a girl's trip away. So I would never look at that as a waste of money. 'cause I'm on vacation with some of my very best friends. So to me it was worth it, well worth it. Now, if someone were to invite me where maybe I didn't really know the group of friends.

I only knew one person or it was to a place I wouldn't really wanna go. I would just say no. so again, we all have our own kind of preferences with that. okay. This other one says

overly detailed dress codes with color schemes are unnecessary. yes and no. So I was talking to someone on the podcast recently about this, It's kind of helpful to know sometimes now where they get very specific, like, everyone needs to wear a garden dress wearing only these three colors.

Yeah. Like, we don't need to go out and spend more money. if I am going to a wedding, I'm usually gonna look in my closet and find something that already worn, but maybe fits the weather or the kind of location we're going to. so let's not ask people to spend more money. However, some people find it very useful if you're giving them kind of.

A very basic. Idea of what to wear. we are all different. We are all different from what we look for. I think it can be helpful ' cause I'm that person googling the location. I'm trying to check out the weather, what other people are wearing there and other pictures like I am that person.

I think probably way too much about it. do I buy a new dress for every wedding? Absolutely not. Most of the time I will find a dress I have or borrow one from a friend. But that being said, I love a good detail to help me along the way. Okay, guys, into the story that you guys are all patiently or not so patiently waiting for.

I know it's the favorite part. This is a long one, so that's why I wanna get into it. All names have been changed, of course, and different story things have been moved around to, disguise the person. Right? and I forgot to mention this before, but my voice is scratchy. so this is after pre-launch weekend.

I randomly lost my voice. I don't know if I was talking too much, probably.so it was completely gone for a few days. There. It's slowly coming back, so I'm definitely gonna nurse it after this.

All right. Here's this week's story submission. This story spans the course of a couple years. Here we go, the Bride Pearl, her fiance, Greg, myself, Amy, my fiance, Steven Pearl's brother Lars and his fiance Sadie, are all the main players in this drama. Okay. I'm already picturing this as a very detailed story, so here we go.

Pearl and Greg were engaged to be married, I was asked to be one of her bridesmaids. Their engagement was especially long because Pearl was working abroad in Japan for two years. Trying to plan anything with her was a nightmare. She didn't want to be involved in the process at all. Wait, so the bride didn't want to be involved in the process.

 So at that point, I know I'm jumping the gun, but at that point, why are you doing a big wedding? You don't need a wedding party. You don't need to do this big wedding. If you don't wanna be involved in planning your own wedding, either hire a wedding planner or Don't do it. You don't have to do that.

Craziness. she even admitted that she would've preferred a simple courthouse wedding, but reluctantly agreed to have a ceremony for Greg's sake. So her fiance, once Pearl finally returned home, we had about six months until the wedding, so we kicked into planning mode. The only part she really cared about was the bachelorette party.

She's a big partier. She wanted a big, elaborate weekend in Vegas. Four nights in a hotel, a show every night, a club crawl and a spa day. Okay. So we were kind of just talking about bachelor, bachelorette parties. Right? How they can be over the top. Again, if I was going all my best friends and I wanted to do this, I would go along for it, obviously to support and celebrate my best friend.

But I always find it interesting when they want. The top of the top, all the things like four shows in Vegas, four nights in a hotel, a club crawl, and a spot. Eight. That is expensive. I mean, I haven't been to Vegas in years, but just quickly add things up. Depending on the weekend, I mean, you're looking at a few thousand dollars, right?

depending on what everything looks like. Here we go. The issue, the budget, no one she invited had even half the amount of money needed for that kind of trip, and she expected everyone toto cover her costs in full. The maid of honor, Connie did her best to plan something we could all afford, but after weeks of being shut down on every compromise, she passed the baton to another bridesmaid.

So her maid of honor is essentially like, Hey, look, this isn't gonna work out. Like. No one can afford it. Let's try this. And she's like, Nope, you're not doing a good job. Let's have another bridesmaid planet. Like what? The final Bachelorette weekend still included a hotel in Vegas, paid for by Pearl's ant a drag brunch a bar crawl in downtown Vegas.

We did our best with what we had, and it ended up being a fun weekend. Except Pearl Pouted the entire time she cried in the bar bathroom. Not once, not twice, but three times. Now, obviously we don't know why she's crying. My guess is it wasn't to her standard maybe. But here's the thing. If there's someone that wants this extra grand thing that no one can afford, she's never gonna be happy.

You need to find happiness with those around you If I were with my best friends, just having a sleepover at someone's house, that would be fun to me. I don't need all these grand things. so this sounds like this person just wanted this huge thing, kept comparing herself. I. On the wedding day, Pearl and Greg were completely standoffish with the bridal party, even though we had bent over backward to accommodate them.

She skipped the original dress rehearsal, then rescheduled for a day when most people weren't available, only to get mad when half of us couldn't come. Oh my gosh. Wait, so this is for the dress rehearsal. Wait, so we're talking about the rehearsal before the wedding. I'm so confused. Okay. On the day of the wedding, we were told for the first time that we'd be decorating the venue.

Oh gosh. With only four hours left before the ceremony and needing to get dressed and take photos. So literally the day after, she's like, by the way, I need you guys to decorate this whole place for me. here's the decorations, have fun. And they're like, wait. We still have to get ready and get all this stuff together.

 this is definitely a type B or C bride as you wanna call it. She didn't wanna do the planning herself, so she left it up to everybody else, and that's just not fair. Like I said from the beginning, if you are a bride or groom and you do not wanna plan anything, either get a day of coordinator, wedding planner, or don't have a big wedding.

Because at the end of the day, it's not fair to your bridal party or wedding party to do this for you. They're not the ones getting married. They can be there helping and support you, but do not put this on them. Connie and I ended up doing shots in the bridal suite just to cope with the chaos.

Despite all of that, the ceremony went smoothly and guests seemed to have a great time. But afterward, Pearl and Greg told us that we ruined their wedding. What That sparked a long, drawn out, falling out. So they're putting all the pressure on their wedding party to make it this amazing wedding when literally it's their wedding.

You cannot blame the wedding party for doing that. ' cause as the bride and groom, it is your day. It's your job to organize everything or find someone that will organize it, not your wedding party. And if that fails, that's on you. 

Christina Innis 2: Two months later, Steven and I got engaged. Most of our friends were thrilled for us except Pearl.

She was visibly jealous and made comments like, why is everyone so excited for them? No one was that excited for us, 

Christa Innis: which wasn't true. 

Christina Innis 2: And 

Christa Innis: Why is everyone helping with their wedding when no one helped us? Also not true. So she's doing that victim mentality. She's thinking her wedding sucked, so you know what?

Everyone's out to get me. When in reality they all were helping. But she literally said she didn't want anything to do with the planning the wedding. So she's putting it all on her friends for how her wedding day turned out. 

 

Christina Innis 2: Things escalated when she found out. We had invited Pamela, someone she had unresolved issues with. Pamela is a close friend of Steven's. I had several conversations with Pearl about it and even offered to make some accommodations, like seating them on opposite sides of the room or ensuring that she was surrounded by friends.

I even offered to uninvite them. She refused to tell me what she needed. So ultimately nothing changed. So that's the thing. It's like it's hard when you have two friends that don't get along. However, you can't dictate who someone else invites their wedding, so you can choose yourself like, Hey, I'm not gonna go, but you can't get mad that they're still friends with someone.

Obviously, there's always complicated and different reasons for things, but it's not your place to tell them who to invite. One night at a Bar Pearl 

Christa Innis: Completely drunk, cornered me and interrogated me about why Pamela was invited 

Christina Innis 2: and why I hadn't made her a bridesmaid. Even though I asked Connie, I got away that night, but the next day we had a five hour text conversation.

Five hours. Oh my gosh. I don't think I'd have a five hour text conversation with anybody. That sounds exhausting. Why? Oh my gosh. I finally set a boundary and said I wouldn't talk about it anymore. Pearl and Greg pulled their R Rs VP. I thought that would be the end of it. Can you imagine? That is crazy. So they're just mad about their own wedding day, not being what they wanted.

And because they can't take the responsibility themselves that you know what? They let it slip through their fingers. They're gonna blame everybody else. Okay, she says Wrong. Over the next four months, Pearl and Greg excluded Steven and me from events, harassed our mutual friends and gave people ultimatums.

If they attended our wedding, they'd no longer be friends. Can you imagine? Oh my gosh. 

Christa Innis: So it's like just what I said, how you can only control yourself. You can't control someone else has at their wedding or where other people want to go. So these just sound like very nasty people to me. The group was exhausted by their drama.

Our entire friend group was split. I was convinced Pearl would show up uninvited to my wedding and just cause a scene, but thankfully she didn't. After our wedding, Lars and Sadie got engaged. Everyone in the group got an invite except Steven and me. Whoa. I expected that. Considering Lars is Pearl's brother.

Okay. What I didn't expect. Was for Pearl and Greg to privately message people asking them not to attend Sadie's wedding because they were uncomfortable. Wait, 

 oh my gosh. So they asked people to not attend the wedding. oh my gosh. These people are just miserable. Pearl also made herself the unofficial wedding planner. Wait. Someone that didn't wanna plan her own wedding was complaining about things and pushing it off on her wedding party. Wants to be the unofficial wedding planner.

Okay. And started making decisions without consulting the couple, for example, she changed the rehearsal dinner from the Mexican restaurant. Lars and City loved to an Italian place just because it offered free wine. No, no, no, no, no, no. The kicker, the reception the next day was also serving Italian food.

 but I'm also wondering how do you let someone just change everything? I'm not saying it's them like their fault, but like when I was planning different things, no one could just call a restaurant, the restaurant and be like. Okay. Random person I haven't talked to before, like they'd be like, oh, is this the brighter groom?

No. Okay, then sorry, you can't change it. Plus the Brighter groom is the one that's like putting together RSVPs or invites to, the rehearsal dinner or texting people. So that's very interesting that they just kinda like let her make all these changes. She also planned a huge expensive bachelorette weekend when Sadie had just wanted a nice dinner and a video game night.

While we weren't invited to the wedding itself, Steven and I were invited to the after party. I chose not to go. I had no doubt Pearl would cause a scene. She says, so maybe take some creative license and show what would've happened if I had gone. Thanks again. I left out a bunch of little details, but feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Oh my gosh. It never ceases to amaze me when people just. Can't take accountability themselves. From the beginning, it sounds like this girl wanted nothing to do with her wedding, and instead of hiring someone to help her, she decided to put it all on her wedding party. Now I've seen a lot of weddings and I've been a part of a lot of weddings where the wedding party.

Helps put everything together, but that's been like known from the beginning and it's a team effort, right? You can't just be like bride putting your feet up and expecting everyone to do everything around you. You have to be very clear with communication, and it sounds like this girl from the beginning was just unhappy and just wanted to complain about things, so that's terrible.

Oh my gosh. That was a crazy story. All right guys. Well thanks for hanging out with me today as a reminder. My new book and ignore this, this is my proof right here if you guys are watching the video, but. My new book. Here comes The Drama. A Fair and Slum story is out today. if you guys wanna look exactly different places you can find it.

Go to krista ennis.com/book. We'll also have all the links in the show notes as well, so you can check it out. and of course, don't forget to tag me at Party Planning by Krista videos, pictures. I wanna see what you're doing when you read the book. I wanna see you opening up the package. I wanna see you holding the book in front of your face, whatever that looks like.

Tag me and I will be sharing it, um, on my page as well. and of course, leave a review as it helps so many people see the book, hear about the book. and I'm just so excited for you guys to read it. I just, I'm nervous, excited. It's like putting a baby out into the world.

I've worked so hard at it and I'm just so excited for you guys to read it. All right guys. That's all I have for this week. Um, thanks for tuning in. Bye now.

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