Speaker 1: This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 2: Hi wife, Hello husband.
Speaker 1: We're married so many times, we are officially officially married,
Speaker 1: and we have the rings to prove it. I actually now,
Speaker 1: I think the thing I am most excited about is
Speaker 1: we get to be public about this because we did
Speaker 1: have the two weddings, and one of the things I
Speaker 1: didn't think about was that I wouldn't be able to
Speaker 1: wear my ring and really celebrate us in public until
Speaker 1: we had this second wedding. And so I'm excited to
Speaker 1: actually get to wear my ring. Something I'm looking forward
Speaker 1: to because I would wear it around the house and
Speaker 1: then I would have to take it off, leave it
Speaker 1: in our bedroom and then go out about the day.
Speaker 2: So everybody, we had two weddings. We want to make
Speaker 2: sure we spill all the details for you all today
Speaker 2: and share everything that we can with thank you over
Speaker 2: these next few episodes of the most dramatic podcast ever.
Speaker 2: And to clarify, yes, we had two weddings.
Speaker 1: Let's start there, and you're right, we have some dirt.
Speaker 1: We have some exciting things to talk about, some things
Speaker 1: that I think are going to shake up Bachelor Nation
Speaker 1: for sure, especially from our second wedding, and so yeah,
Speaker 1: we have so many details, so many great stories, so
Speaker 1: many things to dive into. We will break it up
Speaker 1: over several episodes. And we were excited to tell all
Speaker 1: right here, so.
Speaker 2: You were so okay, we're to begin. So we got
Speaker 2: married for the first time October fourteenth in Napa Valley, California,
Speaker 2: a place near and dear to our hearts. We got
Speaker 2: engaged there as well, And I just want to clarify
Speaker 2: what you explained about the ring, because you were so sweetly.
Speaker 2: We had this wedding in Napa and then we had
Speaker 2: another one in Austin, and in between the two weddings,
Speaker 2: we wanted to keep it private and just announced that
Speaker 2: we were married all together as one and kind of
Speaker 2: make both events feel really big. So yeah, you didn't
Speaker 2: wear your ring in between. But what was so cute
Speaker 2: was that you wanted to wear his rings so much
Speaker 2: that I bought him. I bought Chris this watch as
Speaker 2: a wedding gift, and he was wearing the watch all
Speaker 2: the time, saying, well, this is kind of like wearing
Speaker 2: my ring in between the two ways.
Speaker 1: It was my hidden way of wearing something representing us
Speaker 1: in public without making things public and yeah, the purpose.
Speaker 1: People are like, why'd you do two weddings, Well, because
Speaker 1: we wanted two different things. We wanted that intimate, very small,
Speaker 1: private affair with our family, and that was NAPA. Again,
Speaker 1: a very intentional wedding. Everything was intentional in that we
Speaker 1: were in a place that was special to us. Not
Speaker 1: only we got engaged there, but we've spent a lot
Speaker 1: of time there and it's just a place that we
Speaker 1: have found so many friends, we forged so many memories.
Speaker 1: So it was a no brainer to go back to NAPA.
Speaker 1: But that wasn't like the raging party that we wanted
Speaker 1: to have with all of our friends.
Speaker 2: You know what, Yes, there were any reasons, but a
Speaker 2: huge part of what we kept thinking, I have heard
Speaker 2: from so many people, I had this great wedding, but
Speaker 2: I didn't get to even see this person. I didn't
Speaker 2: get to say hi to this person. I didn't get
Speaker 2: to talk to this person. And so we really wanted
Speaker 2: to be able to spend important close time with the
Speaker 2: people who have been with us since the beginning of
Speaker 2: our relationship, our family, our closest friends. That was NAPA.
Speaker 2: Austin was a blowoutrage, rage party.
Speaker 1: It really was was, it was everything. I just want
Speaker 1: to put this into context for the listeners, because well,
Speaker 1: Lauren's voice, you mean I sound great. I probably sounds
Speaker 1: a little tired, maybe even a little hungover. Are you
Speaker 1: hungover a little bit? I was.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's seven pm at night on Sunday, November fifth.
Speaker 2: We are about twenty four hours after I'm just and
Speaker 2: you're just by the way all day.
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm hungover specifically because of you know,
Speaker 1: a few tequila shots that we did do I did
Speaker 1: several with Bachs or Nation friends last night. But this
Speaker 1: is the culmination of so much emotion stress because we
Speaker 1: wanted to pull this off and do it right and
Speaker 1: keep it secret and announce it the right way and
Speaker 1: save it for the podcast. So there's just I think
Speaker 1: my body is just finally relaxing.
Speaker 2: There's hungover, which is your nauseous, maybe you're vomiting. Oh yeah, no, no,
Speaker 2: you've a headache. And then there's like a type of
Speaker 2: hangover where you have an emotional hangover. Actually a friend
Speaker 2: of ours, my friend Jen, who came to both weddings.
Speaker 2: She's a real close maybe of mine. She had the
Speaker 2: perfect phrase, I thought, after NAPA, she told me. She
Speaker 2: was like, I'm so exhausted, and I think I figured
Speaker 2: out why. She said, it's a love hangover. She said
Speaker 2: NAPA was so full of so much love, and she
Speaker 2: said Austin was a there too. But you know we
Speaker 2: had toasts and speeches from the kids and my siblings
Speaker 2: and our moms and your dad and your brother and
Speaker 2: dear friends, and and you know we we had I
Speaker 2: loved our vows. I'll say it, but she said I
Speaker 2: left the events with a love hangover, where it was
Speaker 2: so much wonderful emotion that she said, my body feels
Speaker 2: exhausted from all the love.
Speaker 1: And we'll break both weddings down. We'll get into the
Speaker 1: nitty gritty and the details and the good, the bad,
Speaker 1: the ugly. But overall, if we were to paint with
Speaker 1: a broad brush, I would say NAPA for me was
Speaker 1: emotion level a fifteen out of one to ten. I mean,
Speaker 1: I cried seventy times.
Speaker 2: I cried so much.
Speaker 1: I cried like a baby. At NAPA.
Speaker 2: You cried, but babe, hold on, I need to take
Speaker 2: a minute. You cried way more than I thought you would.
Speaker 1: I really and you said that to me. I wasn't
Speaker 1: sure how to take it. Is that a bad thing?
Speaker 1: Like you're like.
Speaker 2: Oky, well, because you're just a very strong person. Like
Speaker 2: you're really not a big crier. I mean, I know
Speaker 2: sometimes you're like, oh, I'm a ball back, but you're
Speaker 2: only You're only a crier in like like sometimes things
Speaker 2: with the kids can make you cry. To be honest,
Speaker 2: you haven't really cried over you and I very much,
Speaker 2: and I would never. I know that our love is
Speaker 2: what it is, but I understand that parental love is
Speaker 2: so different. I have to tell you the truth, and
Speaker 2: I don't mean to dear up now saying this. I
Speaker 2: was a little scared you weren't going to cry. And
Speaker 2: I know that you love me, but I was a
Speaker 2: little scared. You're just not like you're emotional, but you're
Speaker 2: not the biggest crier.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I'm usually pretty even keeled in situation.
Speaker 2: Which is something I love about you. You stay very strong.
Speaker 2: I'm a little more wacky, and so you're very centered
Speaker 2: for me. But I was I think I I think
Speaker 2: I would have been hurt if you hadn't cried at all.
Speaker 2: I thought, Okay, he's gonna cry a little bit, But
Speaker 2: you cried during the vows and NAPA oh, probably five times.
Speaker 1: I could not get through the vowel in Napa Valley,
Speaker 1: I just and again we'll get to the details of it,
Speaker 1: but again I would say Napa on a scale of one,
Speaker 1: it's an emotion wise was a fifteen because I did.
Speaker 1: I cried. I started crying in the morning. And again,
Speaker 1: I don't want to reveal everything about Napa, but there
Speaker 1: were just so many things that triggered me during the
Speaker 1: day in such a beautiful way. Because it's all about family,
Speaker 1: and that's the one thing that you gives. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about it, okay.
Speaker 2: So why did you cry so many times?
Speaker 1: Because the things that trigger me are family. That's what
Speaker 1: always gets to my heart. You are family. Now you
Speaker 1: have been family, but now your family is mine. So
Speaker 1: your mom gave me a gift. This is where it
Speaker 1: all started. Your mom. We I was doing pretty good.
Speaker 1: I went to breakfast, I went to work out with
Speaker 1: my buddy Chip. We got our we got our workout
Speaker 1: in it's our tradition. We went back to the room
Speaker 1: and your mom had left me a gift. And I
Speaker 1: didn't quite understand exactly what the gift was because I
Speaker 1: didn't dive into it. But I could see on our
Speaker 1: bed table that she had left a picture of you
Speaker 1: and your father, and so the a picture of you
Speaker 1: and your dad, your late father for those that don't know.
Speaker 1: And so I write there I just said, I'm not
Speaker 1: ready for this yet, because I knew what was in
Speaker 1: that letter, and I just thought it was a picture
Speaker 1: in a letter. I didn't know that there was a
Speaker 1: gift in there. I didn't see that. I waited for
Speaker 1: you to leave. You left, I think around noon or
Speaker 1: something to go get ready, and I had the room
Speaker 1: to myself. So we actually, by the way, spoiler alert,
Speaker 1: we saw each other the day the morning of our wedding. Yes,
Speaker 1: we also decided that we stayed together the night before
Speaker 1: our wedding.
Speaker 2: This was a big debate and it's funny, do you
Speaker 2: in looking back. So Chris was saying we should spend
Speaker 2: the night apart the night before our wedding in this
Speaker 2: very traditional way, which is sweet. But I said, look,
Speaker 2: we have this special three day weekend that we've planned
Speaker 2: in Napa with our best friends, with our family. I
Speaker 2: want every minute with you. I want to be together
Speaker 2: every minute. I want to wake up with you on
Speaker 2: the morning of our wedding like a kid on Christmas
Speaker 2: morning and I won and we spent the night together.
Speaker 2: Are you glad or looking back, do you wish we hadn't?
Speaker 1: No, I don't even know why I was going through
Speaker 1: the motions of getting a different rooms. I think somebody
Speaker 1: had given me the advice to stay apart that night.
Speaker 1: It would make me, I guess, long for you or
Speaker 1: get excited. I didn't need that.
Speaker 2: Well, you know what made me long for you the
Speaker 2: fact that, let's really tell it all, the week of
Speaker 2: our wedding, and I think twenty four hours into marriage
Speaker 2: should get some kind of wife award the week of
Speaker 2: our wedding, Chris Harrison says to me, Babe, I have
Speaker 2: an opportunity.
Speaker 1: Okay, No, I didn't announce this the week of our wedding.
Speaker 1: I announced this many months before, but it was going
Speaker 1: to take place the week it would be.
Speaker 2: I have an opportunity the week of our wedding, a
Speaker 2: couple days before. In fact, I can go to Pebble
Speaker 2: Beach and play golf and hang out with Tiger Woods,
Speaker 2: and I would like to do that. It means we're
Speaker 2: no longer going to travel and nap it together for
Speaker 2: the wedding. I'll meet you there and I'll meet you
Speaker 2: there on Thursday. And I said, Babe, absolutely go hang
Speaker 2: with your real husband as Tiger.
Speaker 1: Okay, so revision is history, and I will get back
Speaker 1: to what made me cry about you.
Speaker 2: Can I get a wife award?
Speaker 1: No, because, oh my god, I mean, can I just
Speaker 1: tell the real story of how way because it's actually
Speaker 1: very complimentary first fight, because you'll agree this is how
Speaker 1: it went, and this is very complimentary of the kind
Speaker 1: of woman you are and why I love you. I
Speaker 1: got invited to this event that I play in every
Speaker 1: year with Tiger and a few other PGA guys and
Speaker 1: some of my very close friends that I have known
Speaker 1: for about twenty years, and I got this call to
Speaker 1: go and I turned it down. I said no, And
Speaker 1: you heard about this and you said what was that?
Speaker 1: And I said, oh, that was a deal to go
Speaker 1: play at Pebble Beach And you go, well, Babey, aren't
Speaker 1: you going? And I said, well, it's it's our wedding week.
Speaker 1: Zero chance I'm going on our wedding week. There's no
Speaker 1: way I'm going because it's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. No, And
Speaker 1: so I just I said, don't Eve worry about it.
Speaker 1: I've turned it down, and you said, Babe, I know
Speaker 1: you love these people, and I know you love this event.
Speaker 1: You love to go do it, and you know I
Speaker 1: love Pebble Beach. Go do this. And it took a
Speaker 1: little time because I said, this is a really bad idea.
Speaker 1: It's not going to end well. But you are the
Speaker 1: one that actually pushed me and said, no, no, go
Speaker 1: do that. My mom and sister are going to come in.
Speaker 1: You go, and that's we will meet up in Napa.
Speaker 2: You know what. You're right, and I stam corrected and
Speaker 2: I don't know why. This is why I witness testimonies
Speaker 2: unreliable in court. I really didn't remember it that way,
Speaker 2: but you're completely right. It was like that, and I
Speaker 2: should have told it that way because we actually both
Speaker 2: look and sound like better people in the correct version.
Speaker 1: And if people will go back to my social media,
Speaker 1: there was this bit I did with Max Homa, who
Speaker 1: just came off the Ryder cup one of the golfers,
Speaker 1: and I announced on that Instagram post that video, I said,
Speaker 1: if you make this shot, you will officiate my wedding.
Speaker 1: What people didn't realize is that wedding was in two
Speaker 1: days and so Max and Tiger, and all those people
Speaker 1: knew about my wedding coming up. So that made that
Speaker 1: video even better if you go back and watch it
Speaker 1: that it was two days later he would have come
Speaker 1: to our wedding. Takes were actually kind of the stakes
Speaker 1: were high. But so I drove over Wednesday night of
Speaker 1: our wedding, and I got there a day a night
Speaker 1: ahead of you, which was actually really good because I
Speaker 1: did some shopping. I got some things for our room,
Speaker 1: I got some things for you. I was able to
Speaker 1: kind of lay the groundwork and get things together. Being
Speaker 1: the organizer, I like details done.
Speaker 2: I'll sing your praises because I do remember this accurately. Yes.
Speaker 2: So I ended up flying in with my mom and
Speaker 2: my sister who came and stayed in Austin with me
Speaker 2: while Chris was in Pebble Beach, and it was fun
Speaker 2: because we kind of had a little girls a week beforehand.
Speaker 2: And then what Chris did before we got there was
Speaker 2: he got me flowers. He got me a candle, a
Speaker 2: Marlow scented candle. What a perfect I mean, I love
Speaker 2: a candle and we're low for NAPA. And he got
Speaker 2: my mom flowers and my sister flowers and wrote them
Speaker 2: notes that were in their hotel rooms and wrote me
Speaker 2: a note and while you were gone in Pebble Beach,
Speaker 2: you all. So he left me a note for every
Speaker 2: day that he was gone, and I had a letter
Speaker 2: to open from him for every single day of our
Speaker 2: wedding week leading up to our wedding, and then I
Speaker 2: ended up opening the final letter on the day of Wow,
Speaker 2: I'm really glad we're doing this podcast because now this
Speaker 2: is a good record, because I was wishing I had
Speaker 2: like journaled because I'm worried I'm gonna forget everything. So
Speaker 2: this is good because.
Speaker 1: It did go by. It went That's one thing about
Speaker 1: That's one thing about NAPA that was I knew it
Speaker 1: was so good because it went by so fast. And
Speaker 1: I even thought, in my wisdom and experience, slow this down,
Speaker 1: breathe it all in, take it all in, and it's
Speaker 1: it's impossible. And obviously those who have been married and
Speaker 1: had these moments, everybody knows the same.
Speaker 2: Somebody. I think there's got to be a name for
Speaker 2: the phenomena that happens to your body. Obviously, we're having
Speaker 2: a lot of wine, and obviously I was just forgetting
Speaker 2: to eat because I was talking to people in stress. So, look,
Speaker 2: was that a little tipsy at our wedding events in Napa, Sure,
Speaker 2: but not to the point of something else was happening
Speaker 2: to my body. It's an out of body I don't
Speaker 2: know if you're on an adrenaline high, if your emotions
Speaker 2: are high, but you feel almost like it's a blur,
Speaker 2: you're watching it all happen from above or something. It's
Speaker 2: kind of surreal.
Speaker 1: And we had set originally to have a Saturday wedding,
Speaker 1: so a Friday night kind of get together, a pre
Speaker 1: wedding party. I guess it wasn't. It wasn't a rehearsal dinner.
Speaker 1: It was this amazing thing. And then that we had
Speaker 1: set up at this vineyard, and then Friday, and then
Speaker 1: that was Friday, then we're gonna have Saturday. Well, we
Speaker 1: all love each other so much, and there was this
Speaker 1: great group of people, a very small group. There's only
Speaker 1: forty people at this particular wedding. Forty what what was
Speaker 1: the final number?
Speaker 2: I think we had forty three or forty five people
Speaker 2: including us at our wedding in Napa. Yeah, And so,
Speaker 2: like you said, Friday, we did a welcome wine party.
Speaker 1: But before we got to that Thursday became a thing. Yes,
Speaker 1: well we had not planned on, but this was what.
Speaker 2: We'd hoped for exactly, I really look. I guess Napa
Speaker 2: was a destination wedding, even though a lot of our
Speaker 2: friends live in California. But we really wanted everybody to
Speaker 2: be fully present for the entire weekend. It wasn't a
Speaker 2: thing of like, oh, we can't make Friday, but what
Speaker 2: will be there Saturday. No, we wanted everyone there the
Speaker 2: whole weekend. It was a destination wedding and I wanted
Speaker 2: everybody to enjoy Napa. We had lots of great events,
Speaker 2: but like, go do a tasting on your own if
Speaker 2: you want. Though, people gotta be careful about coming in
Speaker 2: hot to Napa. It's like Vegas, Okay, you can't as
Speaker 2: professionals in Napa. I would say, if you're going do
Speaker 2: two wine tastings a day, go to dinner. You can't
Speaker 2: do more than that, or you are on the floor,
Speaker 2: which should happen to some people on Thursday. So people
Speaker 2: got excited. They started coming in on Thursday. Before we
Speaker 2: knew it, thirty something people were already going to be
Speaker 2: there on Thursday, So we had it a Thursday night dinner,
Speaker 2: which was great and where people also got a little drunk.
Speaker 2: Everyone's so excited and you get there and then you
Speaker 2: do a tasting and you've been drinking all day. And
Speaker 2: I think that was good because people sort of got
Speaker 2: it together and then didn't end up getting super drunk
Speaker 2: on Friday and Saturday.
Speaker 1: And so Thursday night ended up being kind of this
Speaker 1: beautiful I called a family meal where we just everyone
Speaker 1: mixed and matched and no seating chart and we just
Speaker 1: had this room to ourselves at this great.
Speaker 2: We literally the week of grabbed a private room at
Speaker 2: comp Lined. By the way, you haven't been an amazing
Speaker 2: restaurant downtown Napa so yummy.
Speaker 1: And by the way, we should say from the beginning
Speaker 1: we stayed at the Archer Hotel in downtown Napa.
Speaker 2: My new favorite hotel in Napa. I'm so glad we
Speaker 2: found it. We only ever discovered it because we were
Speaker 2: looking for a place with a rooftop view in Napa
Speaker 2: and a friend of ours, Catherine Reynolds of roy Winery,
Speaker 2: where we at her wedding dinner, which was amazing, she
Speaker 2: told us about the Archer and gosh, if you're in Napa,
Speaker 2: I mean they've got this rooftop. They have music, live
Speaker 2: music there every Sunday for brunch. The rooms are gorgeous
Speaker 2: and it's so conveniently located to everything, and so that
Speaker 2: was another fun part. Every wanted everybody to stay at
Speaker 2: the same hotel. Everybody stayed at the Archer. They put
Speaker 2: us all on the same floor. I felt like I
Speaker 2: was in a strority again. We were walking on the halls,
Speaker 2: like knocking on each other's doors, hanging out. It was
Speaker 2: the experience that I wanted.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love the Archer and I like downtown Napa.
Speaker 1: There's so many great resorts there and I've stayed at resorts. Well,
Speaker 1: you and I have stayed at resorts around and it's
Speaker 1: fun to be out in the countryside. And there's something
Speaker 1: about being in downtown because you're buying Model Bakery, which
Speaker 1: is famous for their English muffins, and you know, gots Burgers,
Speaker 1: and you can go to I think Monday Bakery, and
Speaker 1: there's tasting rooms and so being in the city is
Speaker 1: just cool because it's such a walkable little downtown. It's
Speaker 1: really cute. So the Archer is it's newly renovated, beautiful,
Speaker 1: beautiful hotel, and then.
Speaker 2: Big takeaway for me, I would say, if you're having
Speaker 2: a destination wedding, it's helpful for everybody to stay somewhere
Speaker 2: that has walkability, because then you know, and people are drinking,
Speaker 2: you don't want them like renting a car, and so
Speaker 2: everybody could walk and grab a coffee and we didn't
Speaker 2: have to worry about everyone renting cars on top of
Speaker 2: getting hotel rooms.
Speaker 1: And so Friday, you and I kind of hung out
Speaker 1: because people were arriving. Most of the guests that were
Speaker 1: there went off and did tastings and enjoyed Napa Valley.
Speaker 1: My family, the kids came in from college and they
Speaker 1: arrived with my mom. My dad arrived on Friday as well,
Speaker 1: and so we kind of hung around the hotel until
Speaker 1: late afternoon when we headed off to our Friday event,
Speaker 1: which was it one of our favorite wineries in the
Speaker 1: world and just a beautiful tasting room at La Quoya.
Speaker 2: Yes, now there was a forty minute shuttle ride to Laquoya. Yeah,
Speaker 2: did people get to tips here?
Speaker 1: Well, we decided to break up the buses.
Speaker 2: Was this weird? I in retrospect? Okay, here's my idea.
Speaker 2: So we, of course people are drinking, we want to
Speaker 2: shuttle them all around, so we had two shuttles and
Speaker 2: though tell the la Quoya was going to be the
Speaker 2: longer one of the weekend, forty minutes. So I'm like,
Speaker 2: we gotta have some champagne and tequila on the buses.
Speaker 2: And I thought, you know'd be fun. It's to a
Speaker 2: babes bus and a boys bus. Everybody's going to be
Speaker 2: with their a couple all weekend. Let's split up girls
Speaker 2: and boys. So we had a girl's bus and a
Speaker 2: boy's bus. It was sort of like a really really
Speaker 2: quick bachelor and bachelorette.
Speaker 1: Party it was. And our bus we had great tequila
Speaker 1: and it was pretty chill, had a little music going.
Speaker 1: Your bus was not chill, no.
Speaker 2: Which I thought the boys would have turned it up more.
Speaker 2: Yeah know, your mom decided she was the bar tendress
Speaker 2: of the bus, the bus tendress, which I loved, and
Speaker 2: she was I don't know if she was violating transportation rules,
Speaker 2: but she was walking up and down the aisle of
Speaker 2: the bus, pouring the gals champagne throughout the bus ride.
Speaker 2: At one point she did take the bus driver's microphone.
Speaker 2: I don't know if that was a violation either, but
Speaker 2: shout out to Mariabeth Harrison for making a party happen
Speaker 2: on the bus. It was a party bus and became.
Speaker 1: A flight attendant, just walking up and down the aisle, serving.
Speaker 2: Drinks, absolutely telling us to buckle our seatbelts and hold
Speaker 2: on tight.
Speaker 1: She's she's a bad woman.
Speaker 2: There's zeals in Napa. It was a bit windy. I
Speaker 2: was worried at some points, but we were ready to
Speaker 2: catch her.
Speaker 1: I can see his mom going down the day before that.
Speaker 2: I don't want that to happen. But so, what was
Speaker 2: happening on your bus? We never even talked about this.
Speaker 1: It was so quiet.
Speaker 2: I mean it was quiet.
Speaker 1: To say it, it was chill. It was like everybody because
Speaker 1: the guys were just there was lot a lot of people.
Speaker 1: The guys didn't know each other, and so it was
Speaker 1: a lot of just getting to know each other, talking
Speaker 1: a few tequila.
Speaker 2: Wait, you're saying the guys had the deep conmos.
Speaker 1: No deep deep. We were talking sports. We're talking golf.
Speaker 2: Of course, it's never deep. Guys getting to know each
Speaker 2: other means so what football team teams? That's guys getting
Speaker 2: to know each other. Women give us forty minutes on
Speaker 2: a bus, you will walk off crying. You know each
Speaker 2: other's how many breakups you've had, you know, like the
Speaker 2: names of each other's siblings. Okay, got it? That?
Speaker 1: Like today, And I'm going to flash forward to today
Speaker 1: because we had a brunch today post wedding, and our
Speaker 1: dear friend Sage Steele was here at the brunch along
Speaker 1: with one of your sorority sisters. And we look over
Speaker 1: in the kitchen. They're both bawling. They've only been talking
Speaker 1: for five minutes and they're bawling. That is the difference
Speaker 1: between them, the women's bus and the boys bus, who
Speaker 1: they just know. I root for the cowboys and I
Speaker 1: like to play golf. So we get to La Koya
Speaker 1: and they have rolled out the red carpet. It is
Speaker 1: decked out, It is beautify It's perfect weather. We got
Speaker 1: so blessed with the weather.
Speaker 2: And there was a heat wave in Napa the weekend
Speaker 2: before our wedding. Our wedding weekend was perfect. It was
Speaker 2: like crisp and seventy and sunny. So we were just
Speaker 2: so blessed. I do like to think I sometimes think
Speaker 2: that my dad is kind of watching over me with
Speaker 2: those moments. I really feel like because in Austin. We
Speaker 2: had the weekend before torrential down four and thirty five
Speaker 2: degrees and then we just sad. The wedding in Austin.
Speaker 2: It was seventy and sunny and beautiful.
Speaker 1: Gary's looking up for it.
Speaker 2: I think he's part in the clouds for us. So
Speaker 2: Laquoia Winery on Friday, and oh my dreams came true
Speaker 2: because right as I entered, I was handed I'm gonna
Speaker 2: be a little bougie, a caviar bite, a caviar bite,
Speaker 2: and like a little what was it? It was in
Speaker 2: a pastry. It was so good. The food was so amazing. Look,
Speaker 2: there was one thing. I'll be honest, I don't know
Speaker 2: if I'm a bride on a budget. My dress is
Speaker 2: not that expensive. My dress was pretty. You don't even
Speaker 2: know how much it was.
Speaker 1: Can I guess five thousand dollars?
Speaker 2: Dress was like fourteen hundred dollars.
Speaker 1: You're dress as fourteen hundred dollars, not fourteen thousand. It
Speaker 1: was fourteen hundred, which is still a lot of money.
Speaker 1: I'm not like negating that.
Speaker 2: It's just it was.
Speaker 1: And by the way, that dress, we'll talk about it.
Speaker 1: But man, that dress, Okay, that woman in the dress.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Well, yeah, I mean, I'm not saying fourteen
Speaker 2: hundred dollars is a small amount of money. In fact,
Speaker 2: that's part of why waiting. But that's part of why
Speaker 2: I wanted to wear the dress twice. I'm a Midwestern gal.
Speaker 2: You've got to get your bang for your buck. Okay,
Speaker 2: I love the dress. We spent some money on it,
Speaker 2: Let's wear it twice. So, but I do want to
Speaker 2: spend money on food, on wine, on like the experience
Speaker 2: in the room and the space, and if you ever
Speaker 2: get the chance to go to NAPA. We are giving
Speaker 2: some recommendations on this podcast. Lacoia Winery. This it's stunning.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So they're tied in with Cardinal as well, same
Speaker 1: wine maker as Cardinal, this guy Chris Carpenter, who's a genius.
Speaker 1: And this is up on Spring Mountain, so it's a
Speaker 1: bit of a drive up there, back into the valley
Speaker 1: and then back up on Spring Mountain. But man, it
Speaker 1: is at elevation on the mountain. It is so stunning,
Speaker 1: so beautiful the architecture, but the views, and it is
Speaker 1: some of the best wine in the valley as well.
Speaker 2: And so we had multiple somaliers doing what we wanted
Speaker 2: to do is also make it like a tasting experience,
Speaker 2: so they were doing pourings and tastings with people. I
Speaker 2: would call this a welcome wine party. We didn't want
Speaker 2: to be two traditional guys. We didn't do any type
Speaker 2: of rehearsal really, and we did a welcome wine party.
Speaker 2: Have some taste. It was all past apps. We had, oh,
Speaker 2: some crispy fries made in duck fat.
Speaker 1: Heck, yeah, duck fat makes anything better. And just I
Speaker 1: think the difference is we curated and again everything was intentional.
Speaker 1: We curated the wine and the food and the music
Speaker 1: and the scene that was Napa and that rolled over
Speaker 1: into the next night as well, that was not Austin.
Speaker 1: Austin was like rip roaring, bootscoot and let's have a
Speaker 1: blast shooting tequila. And we should say, very different crowds
Speaker 1: and different people attended both because in Napa very close
Speaker 1: friends and family of both of ours. As far as
Speaker 1: the bachelor world goes, there was just.
Speaker 2: One, well he's a lot backed into the strong body.
Speaker 1: It was Andrew Firestone.
Speaker 2: Andrew Firestone m Seed our Friday night welcome wine party.
Speaker 2: That's the man's happy place, isn't it is Andrew Firestone
Speaker 2: happier than when he's em seeing something.
Speaker 1: When he's holding a microphone in a public forum, that
Speaker 1: is that is his superpowers.
Speaker 2: You know what subtle difference. You're a host, you're a tvo.
Speaker 2: So I'm not saying you can't m see an event,
Speaker 2: but Andrew like is an emsy And when I say that,
Speaker 2: I mean the man lays it all on the table.
Speaker 2: And when I say that, I mean he literally while
Speaker 2: he was emceeing this event, jumped on the table full
Speaker 2: body slid down the table at one point. So we
Speaker 2: just really wanted Napa to feel like, first of all,
Speaker 2: every single person who was there we've both known for years.
Speaker 2: They are intimate, close friends of ours. And then we wanted,
Speaker 2: you know, people to kind of feel really part of everything.
Speaker 2: So we said, Andrew, can you emcy Friday night? And
Speaker 2: what he did was he brought up different people who
Speaker 2: we'd asked to give toasts, your brother, my brother, a
Speaker 2: really good friend's chip and list who did a dual
Speaker 2: couple's toast. My dad spoke, and then Andrew was the
Speaker 2: last person to speak, and he printed out the lyrics
Speaker 2: to my all time favorite song I Want to Dance
Speaker 2: with Somebody by Whitney Houston, and after giving a wonderful
Speaker 2: he led the crowd in a group sing of I
Speaker 2: want to answer Somebody, and he slid it did a
Speaker 2: penguin belly side across it.
Speaker 1: He was a team effort because his beautiful wife and
Speaker 1: dear friend, Evanna, as Andrew was speaking, kind of gave
Speaker 1: the she was.
Speaker 2: His Vanna, she was his Evanna White.
Speaker 1: And Evanna kind of went around the room handing out something.
Speaker 1: We didn't know what it was. And when Andrew kind
Speaker 1: of started going into the lyrics of the song in
Speaker 1: his speech, it took us a minute to catch on
Speaker 1: to what he was doing. And then we got into
Speaker 1: the chorus and everybody jumped in and the whole room
Speaker 1: was singing.
Speaker 2: I think what was so funny about it? And clever
Speaker 2: is he introduced it trying to mess with us and
Speaker 2: not be too obvious. He said, and now we're reading
Speaker 2: by the late great W. Houston's that's miss Whitney Houston.
Speaker 2: So he was amazing, and and Andrew was the only
Speaker 2: bachelor alum at NAPA. And by the way, it doesn't
Speaker 2: mean I mean we love That's why all of the
Speaker 2: wonderful people were in Austin. We'll get to that. But Andrew,
Speaker 2: I think, is someone who you like, we're just very
Speaker 2: close to you and I with both him and Havanna,
Speaker 2: he's very near and dear.
Speaker 1: He's been one of my best friends throughout this whole thing,
Speaker 1: and we've become very close. But what I love even
Speaker 1: more is that you have become close to him and Evanna.
Speaker 1: And yeah, I've been friends with him for over a decade.
Speaker 1: That's how long ago we did that. Gosh, probably two pictures.
Speaker 2: You guys have of like, you know, when their kids
Speaker 2: are little, you're like sending you're helping change their diapers.
Speaker 1: I was at the and it was really cool because
Speaker 1: I was at their wedding when he got well. I
Speaker 1: was at their engagement party actually when they came back
Speaker 1: from Pismo Beach, and then I was at their wedding
Speaker 1: as well, up at Losa Livos and Santy Naz and
Speaker 1: so to have him there was really special. And spoiler alert,
Speaker 1: we knew as well the Firestones could not make the
Speaker 1: Austin party, so I'm glad that they were able to
Speaker 1: make nap.
Speaker 2: Up because I ask you an intimate question please, as
Speaker 2: we're talking about like men the way men ways men
Speaker 2: get closer than the ways women get closer. I kind
Speaker 2: of feel like all my best friends of me naked,
Speaker 2: maybe in part because we lived in a sorority house,
Speaker 2: but I don't know, like women change in front of
Speaker 2: each other, I don't know what we change front of
Speaker 2: each Other's no big deal. Have you ever seen Andrew
Speaker 2: Firestone naked?
Speaker 1: I've seen him in his underwear. I've seen most of
Speaker 1: the guys in their boxers or briefs or whatever from
Speaker 1: the show. Well, from the show, especially back in the day,
Speaker 1: we didn't like really it was so on a budget
Speaker 1: and on the fly and cheap. I guess we could
Speaker 1: say that when we were at the original Bachelor house,
Speaker 1: there was one real master bedroom and primary closet, and
Speaker 1: all of our clothes were in that one primary closet,
Speaker 1: and so we would just get dressed, so you know,
Speaker 1: like the makeup chair was there, so we'd each take
Speaker 1: a turn and makeup and then we'd get dressed. And
Speaker 1: so not a big deal that we've all kind of
Speaker 1: been in our boxers. So but no, I don't think
Speaker 1: I'm trying to think if I've really I mean, this
Speaker 1: sounds weird, but if I've been naked with any of
Speaker 1: the Bachelor's and I don't think so, but I think
Speaker 1: I've probably been in our boxer briefs with everyone.
Speaker 2: I think that that much like having sex, that that
Speaker 2: just instantly increases your intimacy level with someone if you
Speaker 2: just are in the room when they're changing or see
Speaker 2: them change like all of a sudden, like we're really close. Now,
Speaker 2: that's what happened to Ben Higgins and I, which made
Speaker 2: it into his wedding toast to us in Austin, which
Speaker 2: we will get into. But anyway, it instantly uh bonds.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I get Yeah, I guess, well, because you're
Speaker 1: so vulnerable, right when you're truly stripped down, you're also
Speaker 1: stripped down emotionally, and it's like you're.
Speaker 2: Not That's exactly why you just nailed it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's why the naked shows do so well, because
Speaker 1: what are you hiding?
Speaker 2: Oh you mean like Naked It Free? Yeah, all those shows,
Speaker 2: Naked and Best Friends. Okay, So Andrew Firestone m Seed
Speaker 2: absolutely crushed it. We had our I mean, like you know,
Speaker 2: I love when your friends and family can bring their
Speaker 2: talents to the table. My brother's speech was so amazing.
Speaker 2: My little brother John. He made us laugh, you made
Speaker 2: us cry. And then we had our dear friend Nadine Levitt.
Speaker 2: She is a world class opera singer and she had
Speaker 2: actually started the evening with an opera rendition, which I
Speaker 2: think really set the tone. I recommend music using music
Speaker 2: to help set the tone at the beginning, middle, and end.
Speaker 1: Because everyone can quiet down, settle in, and Nadine did
Speaker 1: such a beautiful job. And the acoustics in the place,
Speaker 1: the opera, it just it brings tears to your eyes.
Speaker 2: So there's nothing like a song, no matter what you
Speaker 2: could say. It's kind of like why American Idol always
Speaker 2: worked so well because you get instantly emotional from music.
Speaker 2: So we're all making small talk and chatting and getting
Speaker 2: to know each other Friday, and then she comes up
Speaker 2: and sings, and it instantly set this beautiful emotional tone
Speaker 2: for the night. The speeches were amazing, and then you
Speaker 2: know Andrew ending the night on a high by jumping
Speaker 2: on the.
Speaker 1: Tape, and there was just the whole party was just
Speaker 1: a way for everyone to start to get to know
Speaker 1: each other, have some great wines, good food. It did
Speaker 1: turn into a bit of a dance party. We cranked
Speaker 1: up the music.
Speaker 2: I forgot about that. We were dancing around the charcuterie board.
Speaker 1: We did dance around the charcuterie board. It just turned
Speaker 1: into a and I guess wow, I was about to say,
Speaker 1: yours our brother in law.
Speaker 2: My sister's husband. He's both of our brother in.
Speaker 1: Law laws, singular brother laws. So Andrew kind of became
Speaker 1: a DJ. Started playing the bangers, and we started dancing.
Speaker 1: Had an absolute blast until they kicked us out. That
Speaker 1: was really a theme for everything is we got kicked
Speaker 1: out of every place. And I don't mean in a
Speaker 1: bad way. It was just you guys have to go.
Speaker 2: We're shutting it down.
Speaker 1: We are closing this joint. And so we close the
Speaker 1: joint again.
Speaker 2: Let people do their thing. Andrew, he is so good.
Speaker 2: He's the director of Vibe. He's so good at creating
Speaker 2: really good playlists. He brings dance moves. So he went
Speaker 2: in the back of Laquoya Winery found their like control room.
Speaker 2: We was in there with their security cameras taking over
Speaker 2: their sound system. I'm shocked they didn't kick us out sooner,
Speaker 2: to be honest, but luckily there are friends and we
Speaker 2: know them. Can we talk about one thing quickly before
Speaker 2: our outfits. Oh yeah, Friday night, Yeah, you looked so handsome,
Speaker 2: thank you.
Speaker 1: I wore a Billy Reed jacket that I bought. We
Speaker 1: bought together when we were in Monterey together previously hosting
Speaker 1: an event for the AIM Gala, and we saw this
Speaker 1: jacket and we just both said, that's the one. So
Speaker 1: I wore this beautiful Billy Reed kind of jacket vest
Speaker 1: and you know what, I just.
Speaker 2: Realized my dress I wore Friday night we also bought together.
Speaker 2: That's right, because we just went. I listen to you, guys,
Speaker 2: I planned a lot, but I was also I didn't
Speaker 2: have a wedding planner at all. We didn't have a
Speaker 2: wedding planner at all, not for NAPA, not for Austin.
Speaker 2: You're looking at your wedding planners right here, Chris Arison
Speaker 2: and Lauren Zema, and listen. I come from a place
Speaker 2: of grateful privilege, like right now, I wouldn't say I
Speaker 2: have Like when I was full time at entertainment tonight,
Speaker 2: I don't think I could have done this work. Was
Speaker 2: just too demand it. But it's been really fun to
Speaker 2: over the past I don't know, a little less than
Speaker 2: a year spend time on all this and get to
Speaker 2: do it together. And part of that was a lot
Speaker 2: of planning, and part of it was a little, you know,
Speaker 2: fly by the seat of your pants kind of stuff.
Speaker 2: I'm a bit of a procrastinator, and I don't know.
Speaker 2: I went and bought a bunch of dresses and we're online,
Speaker 2: shopped and returned and I hadn't found anything. And the
Speaker 2: week before I still didn't have a Friday night dress.
Speaker 2: And you said, Babe, let's just go shopping. We went
Speaker 2: to our favorite little boutique store in Austin Estilo where
Speaker 2: we always find stuff, and sure enough, walked in and
Speaker 2: got two white dresses and you.
Speaker 1: Tried one on and it was I knew when you
Speaker 1: walked out there was actually another woman trying things on
Speaker 1: next to you. She stopped, The store owner stopped, and
Speaker 1: I stopped, and we're like, that's it, ballgame, that's the dress.
Speaker 2: One thing I love so much about you is that
Speaker 2: your years of television have made you pretty stylish. And
Speaker 2: I love like we genuinely go shopping together and you
Speaker 2: are into it and you will give me yes as
Speaker 2: or nos. And he also knows it looks good in
Speaker 2: photos and stuff so you'll tell me that stuff. And
Speaker 2: it was really fun and I just realized that I
Speaker 2: love that. Friday night we both wore stuff that we
Speaker 2: picked out together, and Saturday we both wore things that
Speaker 2: we picked out on our own.
Speaker 1: So cool because obviously I had no idea. I'd never
Speaker 1: seen your dress and I.
Speaker 2: Wanted to make sure I didn't see your suit, and.
Speaker 1: My suit was something very special to me. There is
Speaker 1: a store, a men's It's one of my favorite words, habitasherie,
Speaker 1: a true habitasherie, and it's old school.
Speaker 2: I think you need to find it is a.
Speaker 1: Men's clothing shop and when. But there's a difference between
Speaker 1: like they have men's clothes and a habitasherie like they
Speaker 1: that is when they you go get a suit, you
Speaker 1: have a suit made, and the service there is second
Speaker 1: to none. They truly this isn't clear.
Speaker 2: I've made him explain it to me more. I think
Speaker 2: a habitasherie how I would describe it as like it's custom.
Speaker 2: They might even offer you a drink while you're there.
Speaker 2: It's kind of an experience. It's like what Julia Roberts
Speaker 2: wanted and pretty woman, but they wouldn't let.
Speaker 1: Her shop big mistake each So I go to Kin'sman
Speaker 1: Shop in Dallas, Texas. And this shop has been in
Speaker 1: my family for decades, almost a century. It was owned
Speaker 1: by my uncle Ken and it's now run by my
Speaker 1: cousin Corey. And if you ever go to Kin'sman Shop,
Speaker 1: asked for Corey greatest service in the world. So I
Speaker 1: brought my brother, your brother, my son Josh, who was
Speaker 1: my best man, and we had suits made. We all
Speaker 1: had our own suits made. We picked the color and
Speaker 1: the fabric and then the inlay and what was monogrammed
Speaker 1: on our inside coats, and we made shirts as well
Speaker 1: with everything. Everything to a tea was handmade. And it
Speaker 1: was a phenomenal experience. It brought us all closer together.
Speaker 1: It turned into a kind of my bachelor party. We
Speaker 1: ended up going to a Texas Ranger game that night,
Speaker 1: just the boys, and it was such a great experience.
Speaker 1: So that was my suit from kinsman Shop, custom made
Speaker 1: suit that fit like butter. I love that suit. Black, beautiful,
Speaker 1: and I went very It wasn't a tux, but it
Speaker 1: was a beautiful black cut suit with a black tie,
Speaker 1: so it looked like black tie.
Speaker 2: You looked so handsome. I just wanted you in a
Speaker 2: black suit. I know you kind of thought about gray,
Speaker 2: but I did.
Speaker 1: Kind of tell you about it.
Speaker 2: Well, you're just so classic in a black suit.
Speaker 1: I was going to go. I was thinking between dark
Speaker 1: dark gray, and when I got there, I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is a no brainer. But the boys all, I
Speaker 1: guess my grooms men I would call them, although we
Speaker 1: didn't have people stand next to us. We'll talk about that.
Speaker 1: But my grooms men all had gray suits, and they
Speaker 1: got the same ties, matching suits, matching ties.
Speaker 2: So gosh, I feel like we're like running through the
Speaker 2: logistics and you just made me think of something and
Speaker 2: I want to just pause and take a moment. Everything
Speaker 2: about both of these weddings was perfect.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I feel so grateful. I feel so lucky. I am overjoyed.
Speaker 2: The day after our wedding and NAPA, I probably cried
Speaker 2: six more times just out of sheer joy. At one point,
Speaker 2: I was showering because we're gonna go to a morning
Speaker 2: after the wedding brunch and I'm crying and Chris comes in.
Speaker 2: He's like, what's wrong. I'm like, I'm just happy.
Speaker 1: We were getting dressed and crying, heaving in the shower
Speaker 1: and I run it. I was like, oh my god, babe,
Speaker 1: what's wrong. What's wrong? You're like, I'm just so happy,
Speaker 1: which is great. And I mean, honestly, as I sit
Speaker 1: here now and I look at you, I and my ring,
Speaker 1: I feel on my finger and I am I am
Speaker 1: so happy to be your husband. I'm so excited to
Speaker 1: be married. I'm so hopefully we're not just dragging this
Speaker 1: on because I love talking about I love reliving this.
Speaker 1: We've talked about it a million times, and that's that's
Speaker 1: how I know this is great because we have so
Speaker 1: only great memories from every event. And that morning, Saturday morning,
Speaker 1: was our wedding day. What did you do in the morning?
Speaker 1: Because I got up and I went to work out
Speaker 1: with my boys. We went to the gym, got a
Speaker 1: little sweat on. What did you do?
Speaker 2: Well, I need everything get takes women getting ready takes
Speaker 2: a lot longer, so I kind of just woke up,
Speaker 2: got coffee and went.
Speaker 1: To go get ready.
Speaker 2: I would have loved to get a work out in well.
Speaker 2: I mean, look, we didn't have bridesmaids and groomsmen in
Speaker 2: the way of like yeah that they stood up there
Speaker 2: and we both like, like my mom got makeup and hair,
Speaker 2: and my sister did, and and you know, Taylor did,
Speaker 2: and so we needed to get everybody ready, and they did.
Speaker 2: You know, my sister and Taylor and your brother and
Speaker 2: Josh did walk down the aisle with us. So so
Speaker 2: you know, you're just getting ready, is what we were doing.
Speaker 2: And I probably at that point I was a little Okay,
Speaker 2: let's let's we haven't talked about this. Yeah, I'm glad
Speaker 2: you brought that up, So let's set the scene. It
Speaker 2: is our wedding day. And I will say that now
Speaker 2: that both events are done, and they were both so magical,
Speaker 2: and I wouldn't have changed a thing. They were different,
Speaker 2: and each was exactly what we wanted it to be
Speaker 2: and had planned it to be, so I couldn't be happier.
Speaker 2: But I do think NAPA is to me, our anniversary
Speaker 2: is when we got married.
Speaker 1: October fourteenth will be I think the anniversary.
Speaker 2: NAPA was so much more. Austin was emotional because we
Speaker 2: were with a lot of people we know in love,
Speaker 2: but NAPA was emotional because it was with our very
Speaker 2: closest people, I think, and also it was the first time,
Speaker 2: and so that's what made me think of it, because
Speaker 2: we haven't talked about this when you said how would
Speaker 2: you do that morning? How nervous were you that morning
Speaker 2: or what was going through your mind in the morning
Speaker 2: of so.
Speaker 1: At peace with everything. Everything had come off so well,
Speaker 1: and again you and I had a fingerprint on everything
Speaker 1: that was happening, from the gift bags to the hotel.
Speaker 2: To the way we are going to go a big
Speaker 2: announcement career change. We're going into wedding planning.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 2: It's called let the Journey Begin, Wedding Planners Incorporated. And
Speaker 2: we're here to start your journey.
Speaker 1: By the way, good idea.
Speaker 2: Write that down.
Speaker 1: Yeah, write that down, somebody write that down. I was
Speaker 1: so at peace, and there was something I really wanted
Speaker 1: to have happened that day, which was be around the
Speaker 1: people I love. You know, you and I were going
Speaker 1: to separate. You were going to the wedding site to
Speaker 1: get ready. I was kind of left to my own devices,
Speaker 1: and so I went to work out with my boys,
Speaker 1: and then we got done, got showered up, and I
Speaker 1: grabbed the kids, Josh and Taylor and my mom and
Speaker 1: we walked down to Model Bakery, one of our favorite
Speaker 1: places there, and Napa to get the famous English muff
Speaker 1: and breakfast, and so we walked down there and it
Speaker 1: turned out your Theta sisters were there for Missoo, your
Speaker 1: sorority sisters, and a few other of our wedding guests
Speaker 1: were there, and so we ended up like like twenty
Speaker 1: of us just sitting around having this breakfast again impromptu
Speaker 1: because it's such a small town, one of the things
Speaker 1: I love about Napa. And then on the way back,
Speaker 1: because it was kind of late in the morning, football
Speaker 1: had started, and so everybody had gathered at one of
Speaker 1: the local saloons. And yes it was called a saloon.
Speaker 2: You know, as much as I wanted every moment with
Speaker 2: all of our friends of the family, that we again,
Speaker 2: I'm okay that I missed the football go on.
Speaker 1: So like Michigan was playing, and of course the man
Speaker 1: who officiated our wedding was a big Michigan fan. TCU
Speaker 1: was playing, so Josh and I and Taylor we wanted
Speaker 1: to see TCU play, and so we all just hung out,
Speaker 1: had a little bite and then they stayed there and
Speaker 1: enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. And that's when I
Speaker 1: headed off to go get ready to head to the
Speaker 1: wedding site as well.
Speaker 2: So you were at peace.
Speaker 1: Yeah, really, we're you know the I got it back
Speaker 1: up though, because this whole thing came full circle to
Speaker 1: why I was so emotional. I had not looked at
Speaker 1: the gift. I left at lunch and I went back
Speaker 1: to our room. You had left by now, and so
Speaker 1: I'm now alone, really for the first time in the day,
Speaker 1: and it kind of starts hitting me. And I walk
Speaker 1: in our bedroom at the hotel and there's the gift
Speaker 1: that you left me. There's the picture of your dad,
Speaker 1: and so I'm like, okay, here we go. I grabbed
Speaker 1: the letter and when I realized that the picture was
Speaker 1: not holding up on its own, it was leaning against
Speaker 1: a jewelry box, and so I didn't look in the
Speaker 1: jewelry box and I sit down on the bed. I
Speaker 1: open the letter, and your mom explains to me that
Speaker 1: in this box, oh god, I'm not going to get
Speaker 1: through this, h Okay. In this box are a pair
Speaker 1: of cuff links and they are your father's and she
Speaker 1: has never given anything of your dad's to anybody else before,
Speaker 1: and she gave me a pair of well, your brother
Speaker 1: John has some stuff but outside the family, and so
Speaker 1: she gave me a pair of your dad's cuff links.
Speaker 1: Didn't ask me to wear them, just she wanted me
Speaker 1: to have them and said she loved me. Now you
Speaker 1: see why I didn't make it through my valves and NAPA.
Speaker 1: And she was excited that we were going to spend
Speaker 1: our life together. And she loved the way that I
Speaker 1: loved you. And so I am bawling like a baby,
Speaker 1: sitting by myself in bed, losing it just and now
Speaker 1: I'm done. And I think that was the impetus for
Speaker 1: being done for the day. I am now an emotional
Speaker 1: basket case. I'm at the tipping point now the rest
Speaker 1: of the afternoon. So your mom just gets me. So
Speaker 1: I shower and I get ready. But your dad's cuff
Speaker 1: links were very much just it hit me. It hit
Speaker 1: me that I have expanded my family. I love your mom,
Speaker 1: I love your brother, I love your sister. I love
Speaker 1: the people in their lives. Your sister's husband and your
Speaker 1: brother has an amazing girlfriend, Casey. So it just hit
Speaker 1: me like I'm family and you're my family. And so
Speaker 1: I got ready and I.
Speaker 2: Think, I, well, what it just means so much to
Speaker 2: me to say that, because you know I have in
Speaker 2: the past, I've I've never been in a relationship where
Speaker 2: someone I mean, obviously it's the the reason why I
Speaker 2: married you, but I just want to spotlight the simple
Speaker 2: fact that you respect and cherish the meaning of becoming family.
Speaker 2: And I love the way you put it that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: we're married and our husband and wife, but like you,
Speaker 2: I said this in my vows that you love your
Speaker 2: family as you love my family as your own, and
Speaker 2: I feel the same way. And I feel like we're
Speaker 2: really on equal footing about that. And I didn't have
Speaker 2: that before, and it should have been more of a
Speaker 2: red flag for me before. I think I was in
Speaker 2: relationships before where I thought, oh, this will come in time.
Speaker 2: In time, they'll grow to love and appreciate my family.
Speaker 2: It takes time. But you've always respected my family, and
Speaker 2: I can see how much you are are grateful that
Speaker 2: my mom like that. My mom gave you that, and
Speaker 2: it is a big deal. My mom had never given anyone.
Speaker 2: I have some of my dad stuff, my sister and
Speaker 2: my brother, no one else had ever gotten anything.
Speaker 1: Well, I guess I buried the lead too. So Louren
Speaker 1: and I are big letter writers. We like to leave
Speaker 1: each other's notes we like to write letters. I had
Speaker 1: written letters to her all week, and then we wrote
Speaker 1: letters which I didn't know, but she wrote letters to
Speaker 1: my kids, Josh and Taylor, our kids, Josh and Taylor,
Speaker 1: and gave them to Josh and Tay the day of
Speaker 1: our wedding. I had done the same for your mom, Donna,
Speaker 1: your brother John, and your sister Christina, and so I
Speaker 1: delivered letters to their rooms and slid them under the
Speaker 1: door the day of the wedding because I just wanted
Speaker 1: to say thank you and just show my appreciation for
Speaker 1: being welcomed into your family, and just let them know
Speaker 1: how excited I am to love you, how excited I
Speaker 1: am to be a part of this family. And so
Speaker 1: that's how we also started the day, was exchanging letters
Speaker 1: with our loved ones, and then we gave each other letters.
Speaker 1: I didn't give you yours yet, but you left mine,
Speaker 1: and so after I read your mom's letter. This may
Speaker 1: have been a mistake, but after I read your mom's letter,
Speaker 1: I then opened your letter because you left me a
Speaker 1: note when you left to go get ready, and now
Speaker 1: that I was back from lunch, your letter was sitting
Speaker 1: on the bed, so I went straight from your mom's letter,
Speaker 1: and I said, well, I'm already bawling, I might as
Speaker 1: well just keep going. And so then I opened your letter.
Speaker 1: There were other letters that we left each other, but you, yeah,
Speaker 1: you left one letter in my suit bag, and I,
Speaker 1: you know, like, how there. You know, we traveled, and
Speaker 1: so I put my suit in a little suit bag,
Speaker 1: a little cloth thing that you zip up, garment bag
Speaker 1: if you will, and I pulled it off and I
Speaker 1: just threw it on the closet floor and I did
Speaker 1: not realize that you had left a letter in there.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't until that day when I'm like, you know,
Speaker 1: I guess I'm not going to get dressed here. I'll
Speaker 1: get dressed at the wedding site. So you know, I'm
Speaker 1: going to put everything back in the garment bag. And
Speaker 1: so I picked it up and I'm like, this feels
Speaker 1: a little heavy, it's weird. And I reached in there.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my god, there's your letter was
Speaker 1: in there. I would have missed it.
Speaker 2: Well, that was fate because I was trying to surprise
Speaker 2: you with it, and I just assumed you would be
Speaker 2: taking the suit house, so, okay, learn more about suits.
Speaker 1: So then it was time to head to the wedding
Speaker 1: and we'll pick that up in the next episode. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening. Follow us on Instagram at the most dramatic
Speaker 1: pod ever, and make sure to write us a review
Speaker 1: and leave us five stars. I'll talk to you next time.