Hire Your Bridesmaid with Professional Bridesmaid Jen Glantz

*This transcript was auto-generated*

Kim Gravel  0:03  
All right, everybody. It's podcast time right here with LOL with Kim Gravel. Zac,  it's gonna be a good one today. Are you ready for this one today?

Zac Miller  0:14  
I think I'm ready for this one. What? Why shouldn't I be ready, Kim? I'm a little concerned now. I'm feeling less ready.

Kim Gravel  0:20  
Well, this is full on chick and girls dreams, weddings, bridesmaids, all the great things that men do not get about what it's like to be a bride.

Zac Miller  0:35  
I feel like I get it sort of. I mean, I had a wedding. It was great. I loved my wedding.

Kim Gravel  0:47  
Well, I know. Can I just say weddings are big business. They're stressful. They're expensive. They can, you know, really cause a lot of emotional heartache. So, our next guest is really going to show us how to prevent all that and be helpful in that situation.

Zac Miller  1:06  
Can I just ask you first? Can you give us a little glimpse of what was your wedding to Travis was like? Can you paint us a picture?

Kim Gravel  1:14  
Oh, well, it was very cheap because you know, he's a cheap man. We had a small wedding in a very intimate log cabin type thing here. Everybody that was important to us was there. So for me, I was just like, let's, let's get it done, do what we got to do and get it done. You know, I'm type-A and he likes to experience the love affair of marriage, you know? And so we actually had a blast. It was a fun wedding. Everybody was there. But he showed up late to every single event we had. He was like 45 minutes late to the rehearsal. I thought, Lord, is this man going dump me right here at the altar?

Zac Miller  1:55  
Oh my gosh, our guest here is shaking her head aggressively with her mouth open.

Kim Gravel  2:00  
He did. He was late to the wedding. 

Zac Miller  2:04  
Travis seems like he is always on time. He's a numbers guy. Right?

Kim Gravel  2:08  
Yeah. But I don't know. I think he was trying to do a mind trick on me or something. Okay. It didn't work, though. But we've been married for over 20 years. 20 years and to two kids later, you know, he's still running late. So I guess it's just you know, a character flaw.

Zac Miller  2:27  
So we almost had a wedding nightmare story that ended up being fun. We got married in Northern California. My wife's from the Yosemite Valley area. And that year, Yosemite was having like a huge forest fire. We got married in August and there was a huge fire. Like one of the biggest ever. And that morning, there was smoke. We had a outdoor wedding out, you know, California summer it was like 105 degrees, outdoor wedding. And there was smoke everywhere. And then the wind shifted. And by like 11 o'clock, it was all gone. And it was just like the most beautiful day and it was perfect. And even the temperature dropped a little like it was gorgeous. But it was really scary for a minute. 

Kim Gravel  3:13  
You're gonna have a good marriage. A lot of problems at the wedding means a good healthy marriage.  I'm just telling you, our next guest knows exactly about weddings because that's the business she's in. Let's welcome in Jen Glantz! How are you girl?

Jen Glantz  3:30  
Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to talk about all things weddings, both the good and the not so good too.

Kim Gravel  3:37  
Well, I gotta tell you just looking at you right here via Zoom. You are just gorgeous. You're like a glowing bride yourself. Are you married?

Jen Glantz  3:43  
Yeah. You know, my husband and I also we got married on a street corner in the pandemic because we couldn't take it any longer. So we cancelled our 300 person wedding and we got married outside of the coffee shop we met at. Everyone watched over Zoom. It was so anticlimactic after it happened. I was like, "What is marriage? Is this it?"

Kim Gravel  4:05  
That means it's gonna be a healthy marriage. Let me give you a proper introduction. If you don't mind, everybody, this is Jen Glantz. She is a best selling author of three books. I love these. Always a Bridesmaid for Hire. All My Friends are Engaged. And Finally The Bride. You're the world's first company where you can hire your bridesmaids. Yes, you're a podcaster girl. You have got to dive in what what do you mean you can hire a bridesmaid?

You can literally pay me to come to your wedding. Pretend to know you from the fourth grade where the bridesmaid dress walk down the aisle give the maid of honor speech dance with your drunk uncles and then once the wedding ends never see me again.

That basically kind of sounds like a bridesmaid there. Yeah. Sounds like a bridesmaid anyway, you know?

Oh, for sure. I started this because all my friends got engaged. I was always a bridesmaid and then like distant friends would ask me to be a bridesmaid and I got the idea if I can do this for distant friends, why not do this for strangers? So, in the past seven years, I've honestly worked hundreds of weddings where people I don't know.

Okay, Jen, you let me just let me get some of the logistics out of the way here with this. So people call you up or hit your website or hip show, and they hire you to be their bridesmaid friend. Now, who pays for the bridesmaid dress because that is the I don't know if you know this act, but everybody, that's the most troublesome thing kind of bought his draft will be $300. Who buys the dress?

Okay, they buy the dress, but that also means they pick it out. So you can imagine some of the styles that I've had to wear over the years and I don't really have that much of a say in it. So yeah, they spend the money on it, of course, but I have to wear it in my closet in Brooklyn, New York is like filled with these dresses.

Do you remember that movie? What was that movie? ?

Zac Miller  6:04  
Can I just pause you for a second? I actually worked on that movie. I worked on it. It was early in my career. I was an art assistant. I would just help wrap all the props. So we would go to the church after the shoot and there'd be like 80 bouquets of flowers and we would put it on the truck. That was my job on 27 Dresses.

Kim Gravel  6:25  
I love that. You must have learned a lot though you must learn a lot about bridesmaid life and wedding live just through that that movie. 

You know, Jen, I know how you started this bridesmaid business. But tell me is it profitable? How much are you hired to be a BFF?

Okay, before the pandemic, I was working two to three weddings a weekend flying all over the country for people that don't know. Yeah. And like, I know, people hear this idea. And they're like, this is fun. I bet no one wants it. But the truth is, so many people need this service. And before I started this, there was nobody else in the wedding industry who offered this service.

But why do you think people need the service? Explain to us the logic behind it? Because most people are like, I'm going to have a third cousin once removed from my daddy's side, you know? What is  the draw from hiring your bridesmaids?

I think there's two main things. Number one is, believe it or not, a lot of people don't have any friends. I know that sounds like crazy. No, no, there's I get that just yeah, like there's a lot of people who like grow apart from their friends. So they don't really have any clothes, right or not girlfriends, they have not only one good one, or you know, two or three, but zactly. So like I have those people and then I have people who are like I have eight bridesmaids, but they are a hot mess. They are disaster, they're gonna ruin this celebration. We need a professional to go undercover to come in this bridal party and literally save the day. And so the thing I didn't mention that I think you're gonna love is that when they hire me, nobody else knows I'm hired. So they lie to the brides the bridesmaids. They lie to the person they're getting married to they lie to their family members. I am undercover and nobody else knows. 

Okay, do you ever have a backstory? Like do you in the bride get to oh my gosh, tell me some of your backstories because, to me, that's the most important thing and how, how does that happen? Like what is that conversation? 

I always have a backstory. Sometimes they pick it sometimes you pick it together. But the key is, it's a story that nobody at the wedding would be able to debunk. So you know, if I'm going to be your friend from high school, then nobody from the wedding should be at your high school. So things like that. I mean, I've been a friend from grad school, but the problem was the person getting married was like 45 and I was 23. So being as close just like didn't fit the persona. I've been like a friend from yoga class A friend from travel abroad a friend from all different things in the world. I often have a fake name so that people can't find me after the wedding. And sometimes I change the hair color temporarily. 

I'm obsessed with you! I have got so many ideas and plans for you. We need to connect after this. Okay, so how did this come to pass? Like, how did you say okay, I'm going to do this. Was Craigslist involved? That's quite scary to say.

You know, I was a poetry major in college. I have no business experience. And I got this idea. And I was like, Okay, what do you do with an idea? You put it on Craigslist. My mom was having a heart attack. I have like a Southern Mom. She was like, What are you doing? And it worked. I put the ad on Craigslist. I got 300 people in a weekend who emailed me to hire me. I built the website I designed the packages and I booked my first wedding for a bride named Ashley in Maple Grove, Minnesota. And that's how it began.

I love it. How much does it cost? Are you are you a cheap bridesmaid? Are you a high high dollar bridesmaid?

You know it depends because sometimes they want me on the bachelorette party or the bridal showers so everything's extra but I'd say starting point is around $2,500 and it goes up from there.

$2,500 and it goes up from there?!

Is that a lot or a little? I can't tell. I don't know what you think. Some people are like, "You're crazy." Some people are like, "That's a lot." I don't know.

That's a good question you asked me. I think it is. I'm just shocked that this is how I'm seeing it, Jen. I'm saying it's a lot. But I think it's worth every penny. I will tell you why. If you are wrangling any kind of people at this bridal party, and if you are setting the vibe and the tone, and you are an organizer of sorts, it would be worth every penny. Are you like the modern day wedding planner?

So I always say I don't actually plan the wedding. I'm not going to pick out your florals or organize your centerpieces. I am the people person. So I'm the one when the groom goes missing, I'm the one when you're having like a mental breakdown. I'm the one when the bridesmaid loses the dress. I'm the one when you spill Diet Coke on your dress like I'm the people problem solver. I'm the on call therapist. So I do all of that kind of stuff. And like truthfully, your friends are great people, but sometimes they don't know how to solve those problems. And that's why I'm so valuable, I think to a lot of people.

Oh, yeah. I'm like, can you do this in parenting too? Like, can we hire a second parent? Can we hire a sister wife. You don't say like Zach. I'm just I'm just thinking out the box here. I think we can branch out in many different areas. Have people approached you about doing a reality show? I think this is a great reality show idea. 

Jen Glantz  11:31  
I fully agree with you because I think it's stranger than fiction, this job, and like the cool part is every single wedding is so different, like some of the things I've seen, but I didn't know.

Kim Gravel  11:43  
I personally didn't know that cold feet was a real thing. So that's number one. I've worked so many weddings where like five minutes before they back out. And nobody talks about this. Like it's it's a plot of a movie, but truthfully, cold feet is completely real.

Okay, tell me what you have, one story that you could share? This is spilling the tea. 

Zac Miller  12:06  
That's wild. That's kind of scary.

Kim Gravel  12:10  
Okay, I worked a wedding in Staten Island, New York. And five minutes before the wedding, the bride grabs my arm pulls me in a room locks the door and says, "Jen, I hate the groom. I don't want to do."

Okay, alright, so bridesmaid to the rescue. What happens?

I mean, look, I'm a professional bridesmaid. But I'm not qualified for any of this. I mean, I'm not a counselor, right? I've never experienced this before. So I was like, my body went numb. And in my head, my job is not to get you married. My job is to support you. So I said to her, Look, I'll call us an Uber, we'll leave. We'll get pizza. It's all good. But before we do a runaway bride, you and the groom need to have a conversation. Well, I locked them in the room together, they talked it out, they decided to go through with the wedding. But they didn't sign the marriage license. They pretty much had like a fake type of wedding. But I see that a lot. I've been hired to end engagements. I've been hired to get people out of relationships. So that's like one big lesson learnt. Another huge lesson is like some people don't get married for love. I know that's bizarre, but some people don't. And here's the thing, I don't judge that at all. I just thought before this job that everyone has fairytale love. But some people get married for other reasons, whether it's financial reasons, child support, because they're, they just don't want to be alone anymore. And they confess that to me, because I have no stake in their life. So I hear a lot of things like that, too, that were shocking. And I think like, you know, third major thing I've learned on the job is that weddings are not the best moment of people's lives. They're the most intense, and people fall apart. And some people don't know how to handle those emotions, and nobody in their life wants to deal with it. So we're always taught that your wedding is like Disney Land. It's the best. But truthfully, for a lot of people, it's like the scariest moment of their life.

All right, this is Zac, I'm telling you. This is a brilliant business. I honestly want to say to you, Jen, bravo. Thank you. I would never think that people would, okay. Do you think this business to this bridesmaid for hire is really relevant? Okay. In this day and time with social media and the appearances of things that are so important.

Yeah, I think it's even more relevant because people are going extra extra mile to make their wedding look and feel a certain way. And they're feeling all different types of pressures. And a lot of people reach out to me because they not only don't have anyone in their life to help them with wedding stuff, but they don't have that support system. They don't have that vent system where they can just call someone and offload all their problems. I said this since day one, and this might be shocking, but I don't like weddings. I never liked weddings. I never planned a wedding of my own. I do this job because I love people and I love complicated situations. And that's what weddings are. You're good crisis manager. Yes. So I think people come to me because they're like, I feel so much pressure. Like, no one's being honest with me about this wedding situation. I mean, everything you read about wedding and wedding planning is like so like, it's tough because it's not a one size fits all. And I think we live in a day and age where people are stepping out of that. And there's no one to support that. 

Zac Miller  15:16  
I totally agree. I think that is so cool.

Kim Gravel  15:19  
And what a new way to do it. Okay, so you go on your website and you just offer all these services? What is the craziest service you have ever offered? A bride and groom or bride?

I think some of the craziest services is the behind the scenes bridesmaid, but just in a different setting. I've worked some like bizarre weddings, where I feel sometimes, like I'm getting catfished. Here's the problem with this job, sometimes people hire me, and I can't necessarily verify their identity. And I show up in a state in the middle of nowhere, and I like meet the couple for the first time as their bridesmaid. So I remember a couple years ago, I worked for a gay couple from Australia who were getting married in Time Square, and they wouldn't, they wouldn't video chat with me, they wouldn't show me their social media. And I remember just standing there waiting to meet them thinking like, I'm gonna get catfished I like stood next to a New York City police officer. And finally, when they came out of the subway, they were legit. It was amazing. But that happens a lot where I get off an airplane and I don't know who I'm meeting. And that is scary. I'm irresponsible with that. But that happens so often.

Oh, well. Now as is your big sister or possibly mother, please be careful.

What is your favorite part about your job and your business? And what is the part that you wish would change a little?

I think the hardest part of the job is the fact that once the wedding is over, so is the relationship like a lot of people think this is like a hire a friend, and then you never see them. But the truth is like I genuinely do become friends with these people, I learn everything about their life. I know their most intimate details and secrets. I love people. So I formed this weird love for them. But then once the wedding ends, I get back on an airplane and I disappear, I can't maintain the friendship anymore. So that's the hard part is that you fall in love, and then you walk away. And I think the best part of this job is the chance to meet people and experience weddings all over the country. Like, before this job, I had never been to different types of cultural wedding weddings in different cities. And it's opened my eyes to so much to new traditions to different people. And that's sort of really cool. It's because a lot of these people who hire me, probably wouldn't be friends with them in the real life. With this job, I've made all these friends.

You're learning, you're growing and they are as well. It's bringing you together in the most amazing way, you know, on a very special day, hopefully for most. So you're going to branch out though you're starting to look for other professional bridesmaids to work in your company. What do you require? So if any girls are out there listening thinking they can be a professional bridesmaid. I want to do this, I want to get a hold of Jen, and I want to work in her company. What do you look for and what makes a great professional bridesmaid?

It's not what you think because it's not somebody who loves weddings, or has been a bridesmaid a bunch because that's that's great, but it's not necessary. I think number one, it's your ability to relate to all different types of personalities. Like if you have someone screaming at you, how are you going to deal with that? You have someone crying? How are you going to deal with that? So number one, being able to deal personalities, number two, being able to solve problems on the spot. So like crisis management, like can you do that? If I gave you a wedding dress and spilt ketchup and Diet Coke on it? Like how would you deal with that in the moment. And number three, some sort of humor and personality because a lot of times you're breaking the ice, you're dealing with nerves, you're dealing with emotions, and you have to sort of be the person who breaks that feeling. So that's what I'd really say like I think the best pre qualification for this job is a person who's done customer service or who has worked with people in difficult situations. That's what would make them super great.

You know what this reminds me of that whole like, you know, matchmaker type thing you know, we pay for a service to meet people in a world where you can meet people by paying for a service. 

Anyone who's ever been a bridesmaid before gets it because they're like, okay, it costs a ton of money. It's a ton of time I have to do all these things I don't really want to do like your friends are awesome human beings, but they're not always equipped to be the best bridesmaids.

Zac Miller  19:38  
Does that mean that when you're there, the other bridesmaids have a better time?

Kim Gravel  19:44  
Yeah, because I'm the one who's doing all of the dirty work and they can go to the open bar. Well, I'm the one taking the bride to the bathroom in her 50 pound dress and I'm the one dealing with the screaming mother of the bride and yeah, I think a lot of times the people who are the real friends can go off and live their best life? Well, I have to deal with the blood, sweat and tears. Literally.

Zac, this is brilliant. I don't know what to say exceptm Jen, you are on the cusp of something that is going to really revolutionize the wedding industry. What are your plans? 

Zac Miller  20:20  
Do you have competition now?

Kim Gravel  20:22  
Not really, you know, like a lot of people hear this idea. And they're like, Oh, I wish I had done that or start that. So we've actually had 100,000 people apply to work for us, which is like, crazy.

Yo, that's insane. You have had 100,000 people say they want to be professional bridesmaids.

Yes. And I can't hire all of them. So I get a lot of emails from very angry people. But I don't have enough weddings for that. But I do want to empower people. You know, like, when I first started this idea, everyone called me crazy. Every single Buddy was like, This is crazy. She's crazy. But the truth is, most people have a crazy idea in them. But they're so scared to start it. So if anything like all these people reaching out to me, yeah, they want to work this job. But they also want to do something cool with their life. So I want to just empower them to be like, hey, what, what do you want to do? That's a little crazy. Just go go do it. And don't worry about who's judging you on the backend? Because they're always going to judge you.

Well this is great. I think you do need a TV show, Zac, we need to. I've got an idea.

Zac Miller  21:23  
I think it could be a great TV show. And that's what we talked about  with Jen when we talked on the phone initially about TV shows and stuff.  I think this could be a good thing for men. And like, that doesn't seem obvious, but I think men have so much trouble in those moments supporting each other. And I also think that men have a lot of trouble making really close male friends. Later in life. It's so hard, right?

Kim Gravel  21:49  
Oh, my God, you are completely on to something. And men don't always admit it. So clearly, they don't always ask for it so much as maybe a female would. But you're right. I mean, this is a tough time for a guy as well. And people think like, oh, you're a groomsman you just go party in Vegas. But there's a lot more to it. There's a lot more to marriage, there's a lot more to this wedding celebration. So you're spot on with that? 

It seems like you're in a tight spot, you're kind of that sounding board, that counselor, and you have kind of also launched a podcast from this business. Tell us about the podcast.

I launched a podcast called You're Not Getting Any Younger, which helps people disrupt their life and do interesting things, because again, I was a poetry major as  I mentioned, I'm supposed to do nothing with my life, according to a degree from college, you know. So I had no business experience, no background in any of this. I've done it all myself. I've never hired anyone to help me with this business. And a lot of what I've done, I want to help teach other people to do something that they want to do, too. So I tried to empower people with that. And after I got married, which was like last year at this point, I realized there's another whole issue with marriage, which is that no one really teaches you like what happens after you get married. So a lot of the education I'm trying to put out there now is about the first years of marriage, because there's so many challenges and changes that happen that nobody prepares you for or talks about. So that's sort of been like what's next for me personally, and also for part of bridesmaid for hire is just helping people out with being a newlywed.

Let me ask you something. How, what gave you the courage? I love your podcast, you're not getting I love that title. And I love what you're doing on it. What gave you that courage to step out and do that crazy idea and walk through it? So it became, you know, a real business? What made you do that?

I don't know why. But I have this sense of urgency inside of me that is both a blessing and a curse that life is going to end. Like whatever it ends. I don't know fast. It's going really fast. And I know this urgency to not think too much about the things that I do. So if I have an idea, I just do it or I try it or to put it out there. Yeah. And I just I live with this intense urgency and it's a blessing and a curse because I can't relax. I can't chill out. I'm like, go, go, go. But I just feel this urgency that I don't want to regret my life. I don't want to waste my life. And I certainly don't want to question the things that I find cool or interesting just because other people think they're weird.

How do you like being an entrepreneur? How do you like being a business owner and being in business for yourself?

It's tough.  I was doing Bridesmaid for Hire while working full time and I got laid off from my job after a year of doing both. And after I got laid off. I said I never want to go back and work for somebody else. So six years later, it's a hustle. It's a true hustle. Nobody brings you income, nobody pays your bills, you have to really work. And I think that's that's great. And that's for a certain kind of person like I am, but it's tough. It's really, really tough. I mean, I work my husband also has like a little bit of an entrepreneurial Gene in Him and He loves that spirit. So it's great to have a partner who supports some cares about that. But it is definitely lonely at times, you have to be your own decision maker. So there's a definitely a downside to it. But I couldn't go back to a job. I'm hireable at this point.

No, it's great. But again, for a lot of guys, and not excluding Zac, but a lot of guys don't understand the pressure women feel about the wedding. There's so much pressure to look good to have your guests have a good time. But Jen, what would you say to those brides and even grooms out there listening? Or even mothers of the bride's grandmother's of the brides all people involved in the wedding? What would you say the most important thing during that time is?

I think it's important to forget what anyone has told you about a wedding. You know, we're taught to have all these traditions and these timelines. But the thing is like you don't actually need any of that to get married. And this was sort of shocking for me, marriage is simply signing on the dotted line of a legal document. That is literally all you need to be married, everything else is extra. So add in only what you want. If you don't want to wear white wear gold, wear pink wear black, if you don't want to walk down an aisle don't if you don't want to have a steak and chicken dinner because you like other kinds of food do that. I remember like when I tried to get married before the pandemic, all I wanted was pizza and every single caterer was like you can't have pizza. That's so like, that's so not, you know, informal. It's like horrible. And I was like, Wait a second, that's what I want. I don't want a steak in the fish. So if you're getting married, everyone's gonna try to tell you what not to do. And I think you need to really decide what you care about and what you want.

I love it. I love it.  I absolutely could talk to you for five or six hours because I'm sure you've got story after story. Before we close out here, I want you to give me one story, your favorite heartwarming story where being a bridesmaid for hire made a difference in that wedding.

Well, I'd say this is partially heartwarming and partially gross.

You gotta have both, they go hand in hand. 

I was working a wedding for a couple who got married in Las Vegas, they had a surprise party, they invited all their friends there for like a bachelorette party. And then they ended up getting married. And it was in a field outside of Las Vegas. And it was beautiful. It was like gorgeous sunset animals roaming in the free. And right before the bride walked down the aisle, I noticed that there was animal droppings all down the aisle and if she was going to walk down at her dress was going to become disgusting and black. So right before the wedding started, it was my job to figure that situation out. And I was clearing the aisle with my bare hands pushing animal droppings away, just so she could walk down the aisle. And she This was probably four years ago, at least twice a year, she still messages me to be like Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you because you know, these dresses are like $5,000. And I saved the day with that. So that was just a beautiful story in my mind of like why I was so valuable to this wonderful person.

So basically, when you hire Jen as your bridesmaid, she will really deal with all of your shit.

Yeah, literate, literally, nothing's off limits, and I will deal with it all.

And I just had to say it because that's exactly what you do. Other than that. That's how you end it right there.

Zac Miller  28:35  
Except I'm gonna hop in with one of my Zac Attacks. All right, Jen, Zac Attack is a segment that Kim has no pre knowledge of. Kim has no idea what I'm gonna do. 

Kim Gravel  28:47  
I don't know how you're gonna top Jen's last story though.

Zac Miller  28:49  
Yeah, I'm not sure how either honestly, like, I'm looking at my Zac Attack questions, and I'm just like, wow, Jen's life is way more wild than any of this stuff. But hey, here we are. So we like to play little games with our guests. Jen, what I want to do with you, I spent a little bit of time just Googling wedding disasters. And what I would love to know from you and from Kim, of course, what do you do in these different scenarios? So I have a few hypotheticals for you. All right. And we want to know what the expert says about these hypotheticals. Okay. I can't wait. So what do you do if the best man never shows up? And he's got all the rings? 

Kim Gravel  29:36  
This happens. That's actually very common, so I carry a survival kit with me. It's a fanny pack and I have fake rings from Amazon because this happens all the time. But if you didn't have fake rings on you, I would grab a ring from someone in the audience like a guest and just use that.

You have fake rings from Amazon.

Yes, our people forget the rings like you wouldn't imagine and there's not time to go run back and get it so that's like one of the items I carry on me.

Oh my gosh, that is so amazing. Okay, I'm learning so much.

Zac Miller  30:09  
Here's the thing. I'm like looking up what I think are like worst case scenarios and just like that happens all the time.

All right take diamond ring. What I love is you have to think about it. It's like doesn't no one really see the ring that well. It's like far away like a ring.

Kim Gravel  30:33  
Yes, Zac, you and I are in production. We, you know, we've done this a long time. But you have to think about it. Like some of these people they've never been. I mean, that's like their stage. These guys and these gals have never been performers, so to speak. And that time is you know, you're you're on stage or in front of people. You're speaking you're talking you're, you know, in the spotlight. They're uncomfortable with that. 

Oh, yeah. And then because they're so uncomfortable. That's how everything goes wrong. That's how they forget the rings. That's how they trip down the aisle. People passed out up there like, you know, just like fainted. That kind of stuff honestly happens because you're so right. This for some people. This is like the biggest spotlight moment of their life.

Yeah, I love it. Alright, so yes.

Zac Miller  31:16  
So you took away my thunder, Jen. Because my next question is, what do you do when the groom is so nervous? He vomits at the altar? Because I saw a video of that and it wasn't pretty.

Kim Gravel  31:27  
I never had vomit, but I have had people passing out and that's the kind of thing where, you know, the show doesn't go on. You have to temporarily pause it for a second. And you know, like, I think the thing is like you just you you deal with what you can so I would temporarily remove the groom make sure he's okay, clean up the aisle and let the show go on eventually, but those things happen. I've had fainting bridesmaids, I've had fainting parents, fainting grooms and brides.

Can I say something? Can I say something? I have to ask you. Were you a bridesmaid for hire when everybody started dancing down the aisles because I thought that was the coolest thing. 

Jen Glantz  32:05  
I'm rolling my eyes. I have to like learn all that stuff. I should charge extra for that. I mean, these are all things I have to like, really invest time in

Zac Miller  32:30  
What do you do when someone spills red wine all over the bride?

Kim Gravel  32:36  
Yeah, I mean, there's not much you can do with red wine. In my survival kit, I have things that can get out like stains and things like that. But you know, a big scene like that, you got to just keep going with it, it's gonna happen. Like, here's the thing, a lot of people don't realize that their dresses are going to get destroyed. So think about that your dress is going to get destroyed, the bottom of it is going to be black by the end of the wedding. And if someone spilled something on you, you know, you got to go with it. Maybe you have like a backup dress or something in the back that you're gonna change in later and you do that, but that stuff definitely happens. And that's the other thing is like, people who think their wedding is gonna be perfect and nothing's gonna go wrong. Things are gonna go wrong, that you can't always fix so if you get red wine all over your dress, you own it, you rock it, you make it the coolest thing in the world, and then you pay your photographer to photoshop it after the wedding ends.

Bam. Okay, photoshop.

Zac Miller  33:30  
I have two more for you. So, Jen, does this happen in real life that the ceremony is going on, and then the ex boyfriend shows up, interrupts the wedding, and tries to convince the bride not to go through with it. Is that something that happens in the movies? Or is that happened in real life?

Kim Gravel  33:47  
I've had people not interrupt a ceremony but come to the wedding uninvited, or show up and cause a scene like I had a wedding once where right before it started the bride notice that his ex girlfriend walked in. And that started like a whole chaotic fight. So it wasn't like she said, I object but the bride saw her walk in so that happens where like there's often there is often people who show up at the wedding who were not invited. And you know, in those situations that either causes some sort of friction between the couple you I usually have to remove the people. Sometimes people warn me ahead of time, like hey, Aunt Sally's not invited, but she's likely going to show up. So look for her at the valet and get her to go back home. So, you know, those things do happen. If someone's gonna object in your wedding. You know, you probably you're gonna just probably have someone kick them out and then still go on with it. But those things could happen. It totally could happen. Should you be stressed about it happening? No. But if it does happen, just sort of realize like, there's obviously something going on in this relationship and whether or not you want to deal with it then or the next day. I

Gosh, you know, if that's what people have to deal with this stuff, you have no clue of what marriage is gonna be.

Amen to that.

You know, it's a marathon. When he objected their own wedding. Like, I'm not marrying you. God bless.

Zac Miller  35:13  
Okay, last one last ones. I love it. I'm gonna share my screen for this one. What would you do in this situation, Jen, and I'll share this GIF in the show notes and on our website, so check out our website lolkim.com to take a look at this GIF.

Kim Gravel  35:36  
I'm afraid, Zac.

Zac Miller  35:38  
The wedding party is all on a dock. They're going to take a beautiful photo. God, listen, then this happens. What do you do when the dock breaks? And the whole wedding party falls in the water?

Kim Gravel  35:50  
What would you guys do? I should throw this back to you. 

I'm gonna say what I would do is I would just use every man for a woman for herself at that point. I mean, you know, swim to shore baby. I mean, it really is that point. Honey, you just got blessed. We're getting there the best way we can. It's got a bunch of boats and have a water wedding. 

Zac Miller  36:13  
There you go. Strap on some floaties.

Kim Gravel  36:17  
Oh, my God. I mean, but like, these things, not like that happens. But rain storms, people getting soaking wet. I mean, the last wedding I just worked. I had to blow dry the bride's dress for 45 minutes because it was soaking wet from being outside. Like, you know, these things sort of just happen and you just have to decide what you're gonna do about it in the moment. You know, like, if everyone fell into the ocean or the or the lake? Well, you're gonna do what you gotta do.

Zac, I think she's worth worth a lot more than $2,500.

Zac Miller  36:47  
You're telling me I think she'd be great in production. Honestly, if you want a job as like a production manager...

Kim Gravel  36:53  
It's crazy. I I thrive in chaos. So I bring the calm because I love chaos. And if I'm in a calm situation, I bring the chaos and that's what I think makes me good at this job is like I enter these chaotic situations and I'm like, Okay, what are we going to do? Like we have to just keep on going. So I think that's like a big superpower of this job is just being able to thrive in chaos and not letting it trip you up.

Well, and that's also being a multitasking woman too. So bravo business babe. Yes. Amen. So we close out every episode Jen with rapid fire questions, so I don't want you to think about it. I just want the first thing that comes to your mind. What makes the best bride somebody who just goes with the flow? Oh, like that? What does every good bridesmaid need in her bag?

Phone charger?

Phone? Right? Right. Wow. You're a hero.

What is the most memorable thing you've ever seen in a wedding?

I would say speeches by parents because they open up in a way that maybe naturally they don't every other day.

Oh, that's wonderful. What are the upcoming trends to look for in weddings?

Smaller gatherings, people doing non traditional things so not really white dresses, people having different types of food, whether food trucks or specialty type of caterers and people going less on the flowers and doing other types of centerpieces that have more personality.

Okay, everybody, there you go. There's your list. Okay, who is the most important mother of the bride? Or mother of the groom? Mother the bride? Why? Because I'm gonna be the mother of the groom because I have two boys. So I guess I'll be back seating it.

I just think the mother of the bride has more emotion in the wedding because it's almost like a second wedding for them and it's their daughters. So oftentimes the mother of the bride is the one who causes more problems or has more like opinions. The mother of the groom's usually super chill, go with the flow shows up does the thing. They're the fun one. 

Absolutely. I'm the mother of the groom for sure. I'm absolute fun. What is the best book you've read lately?

Oh my god, I just read a book called Skip the Line by James Altucher. And it's all about just getting ahead in life without having experience. So you don't need degrees. You don't need years of experience. It's about getting ahead.

Can I just say Jen, isn't that the truth? I mean, I'm all for higher education. Let me get don't get me wrong. My kids are going to college. Okay. So I don't want my kids to listen to this and I won't watch. You go into school crazy. But there's just something about I think it's after the pandemic. I totally agree with you. There is so many different ways to learn. Yeah, there's so many different things to do in this world. Like look at you your professional bridesmaid. It's amazing. Okay, what is your favorite food?

Pizza!

Me too. I'm starving and I am on no carbs. Who's your celebrity crush?

Jake Gyllenhaal.

He's a cutie. Right.

I have loved him forever. Yes. I don't know why. But yeah.

What's your favorite old school TV show?

I know this is sort of sad and relevant but Full House.

It's so good. And I love the reboot too. What's your favorite TV show right now?

Jen Glantz  40:06  
Oh my god! The Sopranos! I think it is the most beautiful show I've ever seen. It's so well written.

Zac Miller  40:29  
I'm in a Homeland kick. I just want to get through that. 

Kim Gravel  40:33  
Good night because you're missing Yellowstone people. It made me want to go buy a ranch in Montana. Okay, last question. What is your favorite thing about what you do?

Getting to connect with people and strangers. I often like strangers more than my own friends and I can feel like I can open up to them and they open up to me. I love being the bearer of secrets. And I just know so many secrets about people and I'll hold on to them forever.

Oh, you'll take it to the grave to the grave. Yep. All right. Jen, will you come back?

I would love to this was so much fun. I really appreciate you guys having me on. It's just this was a blast.

Okay, listen. And also, can you make sure you do everything you can to get your message and get this on the small screen. I and so you got to babe. I'm trying to I'm trying. Well, maybe Zac and I can help because we experienced that. But we're doing it. We're doing it because it's so telling Jack you're amazing. Thank you.

Jen Glantz  41:30  
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you guys. I really appreciate it.

Kim Gravel  41:35  
I just want to thank Jen for being on the show. Y'all go follow her everywhere on her social media professional bridesmaid. Amazing. Strong boss and I absolutely love her. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. You can find her on Spotify. We love you. We thank you so much for all your support. And keep listening and remember live out loud love out loud and laugh out loud. Love y'all. Bye.

LOL with Kim Gravel was produced and edited by Zac Miller at Uncommon Audio. Theme music by Taco Pella. Head to lolkim.com for more information and to join our mailing list. Thanks for listening!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai