Latest / Call Her Tatty / Brides, Budgets & Big Opinions 💐 | Call Her Tatty ft. Josh Spiegel of BIRCH Event & Design

Transcript

Brides, Budgets & Big Opinions 💐 | Call Her Tatty ft. Josh Spiegel of BIRCH Event & Design · Call Her Tatty

0:00
Josh Spiegel of Birch.
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I'm so excited.
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Have you ever planned a wedding where you just felt deep down?
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This may not work.
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And then it didn't.
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No.
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I'm so scary.
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Look at this face.
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What's like a color you just really try to refrain from using because it just never looks good?
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Seeing people's joy.
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It's like a drug.
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You just want to feel that every day.
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Hi, everybody.
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Welcome to Color Tati.
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Today, I have a very special guest.
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he is in the production space he's a wedding planner a bar mitzvah planner corporate planner
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he just does everything and i want to welcome josh spiegel of birch hey josh thank you so much
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for being here today i'm so excited to be i have to correct you though even though we just started
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like 12 seconds ago but technically just designer you're just that's that's the title yeah we don't
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really plan i feel like you're a whole like production we are that that's what i think a
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lot of people don't know the difference between a like an event planner and an event designer
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and the designers work with a lot of planners like i'm not saying we've never planned anything
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but our business is really design okay um and we work with like a lot of planners which gives us a
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really cool angle because we know how many how so many people work that wasn't english but you know
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what i mean just making sure we're on the same page here we know how uh different types of people
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work and different styles of working and it gives us the opportunity to have a broader range which
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is really cool so uh yeah put that title you're josh spiegel but sometimes you're also josh
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birch yeah my alter ego your alter ego my alter ego is birch my kids think their last name is
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birch they're like they're like can we legally change our name to birch i'm like if i wasn't
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an only son i'd maybe think about it but um yeah no we're staying spiegel for for a while it's a
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That would be a very cool last name.
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Birch.
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Birch.
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Yeah, can you imagine Josh Birch?
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People do call me Josh B or JB or just Birch.
2:00
And a lot of people don't even know that I have a last name,
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which is kind of cool because it's like Madonna-esque.
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But like Birch.
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Where did the name Birch come from?
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I'm a commit quick kind of guy.
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So I saw a wallpaper.
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We were renaming the business about 13-ish years ago
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when I partnered with Caroline.
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And it was really cool.
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It was really fun, and we were trying to figure out a name.
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My name before then was, like, super pretentious.
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It was Josh and Co.
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Because I'm like, I thought I needed my name in the name of the business.
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Otherwise, people wouldn't, like, recognize me.
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They wouldn't, you know, know me.
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And then one day we were sitting, I think it was, like, 2 o'clock in the morning,
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and we're looking at the wallpaper in the office, and it was Birch wallpaper.
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And I'm like, why don't we just do Birch?
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And she goes, like, Tory Birch?
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I'm like, yeah, but with an I.
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Also, it's a tree.
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It kind of works.
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Flowers, trees, masculine, feminine vibes.
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and she's like okay and that's it it's just stuck oh birch period okay it's a cool name i'm happy
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with it honestly so you are an event designer event designer yeah event designer production
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company if you want to like list it out okay we can get into all the nitty-gritty we don't we
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don't have to it's okay it doesn't really matter how did you get into the design space when i know
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So you worked with your father, kind of.
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No, no, definitely.
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You worked with your father.
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Balloons, yeah.
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Balloons.
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Balloons, that was the start of it all.
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My dad, a balloon shop, turned into flower shop,
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turned into go to people's homes and do flowers for Shabbos,
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and then turned into people being annoyed about the process of making parties,
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turned into yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, figure it out, figure it out,
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fail forward, fail forward, fail forward.
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And now here we are.
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Was that something you wanted to do, like get into like a family business?
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No, I was, I, no.
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No, I didn't really think about much.
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I was just, I just graduated high school.
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So I was like, I needed to make money.
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And my dad's like, come work with me.
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And we shortly figured out that like we needed to do other things and just balloons for both of us.
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And yeah, flowers seemed like a very easy connection, flower and balloons.
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So that's how that happened.
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And then we just started rolling from there.
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19 years later I'm on your podcast how cool am I
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you're pretty cool I mean I'm not gonna lie I look at the events that you put on on Instagram
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I mean the ones I guess I can see yeah those are good ones and I'm just like holy like these are
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so over the top they're so unique thank you and I'm sure there are many people out there
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like myself who are so curious to know like all the little details that it takes to like
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create such magnificent events weddings bar mitzvahs parties and i guess the behind the scenes
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that yeah nobody talks about or like i guess we're just unaware i i try to i try very hard to show a
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lot of the behind the scenes minus like a few tears and a couple of curse words a lot of curse
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words um there's there's a lot behind the scenes i mean the reality is is this is that what we do
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is like opening night every night like we don't get a chance to mess it up and we have messed it
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up plenty of times but like that's not when you're at the stage that we're at right now
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and i would say even like you know way back when i think it was super important to get it right
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it's you can't repeat this day you can't repeat this momentous occasion you don't get married
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twice you don't have two bar mitzvahs it just doesn't happen so like if you don't get it right
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it's like live tv i mean that's kind of the way we look at it we look at it as opening night every
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night and though a lot of things go wrong a lot of things go wrong and they go wrong all the time
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how you catch the ball is like super important and what we look for like even with anyone who's
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working with us is what your integrity looks like how strong you are under pressure and how do you
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how do you move on when things start working you know running away from you and um seemingly like
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a little bit of a superpower.
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But there's a lot
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that you guys don't see.
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And I wish we were able
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to show more of it,
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but then I think
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it would panic people.
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That's the bigger problem.
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We would show more of it,
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but I think it would
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make people very nervous.
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Well, I will correct you
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on one thing.
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There are many people
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who have more than one wedding.
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This is true.
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So you could technically
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have like a bride
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and then see her again
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like 10 years later.
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We have.
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You've done double weddings
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for the same people.
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We've done double weddings
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for the same people.
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And how is that?
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I mean, it was totally cool,
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totally fun.
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I knew them already.
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I knew what we didn't want to do.
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so you're like okay we went straight into like the better the better I don't know if we could
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say things like that but honestly the the 2.0 version do you find that the repeat brides or
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grooms that you've worked with now that you worked with them on their first wedding and now you're
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going to the second wedding do they shift in their priorities in the wedding or is it like the same
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old like shebang I think it's really it's really a it's personal right some people value a good
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party.
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And some people are like, well, that wasn't the purpose or the essence of my first marriage
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or whatever it may be.
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And I think people who value a good party and memories, I mean, that
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memory doesn't go away.
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Your joy that you had that day doesn't go away.
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Your experience with
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your friends that day doesn't go away.
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Maybe the spouse went away.
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I don't know.
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Maybe.
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But sometimes that's a good thing.
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Yeah.
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I'm not here to judge.
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Yes, yes, no, no, whatever.
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But like, make another party.
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I'm down.
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Let's go.
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What's the craziest request a bride has ever had?
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that you were just like what is this girl that i could say out loud um
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oh i had a bride once that asked us and we didn't do this just putting it out there we did not do
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this we didn't because pita um but we did get a request to get like mini horses like these baby
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like i don't know what they're called little ponies but they weren't ponies or like micro
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horses micro horses maybe that's what it's called and she wanted us to like dye them a color or
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colors and then and then like shave their hair to like look like stars and and things and their logo
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and we spoke about it for a minute and then another minute and then we're like can we do this we can't
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do this it sounds like something like a lisa frank sticker book would have it probably would oh my
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god yeah like my little pony done personalized it's kind of crazy um we never did it we didn't
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do it but it was a very interesting request to say the least but um other than that most of our
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brides are within reason i want to say i didn't say that i mean we'd have plenty of brides but
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um they're definitely within reason okay so nothing like not like the ponies or nothing
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like crazy like i want to come down from like i don't know a parachute that says or like the rope
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getting married yes someone someone did have one time they wanted to do a really interesting
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entrance from the sky and i'm like i just think that like logistically that doesn't really work
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with a dress.
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Right, because you have to be
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like in a harness.
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Harness and whatnot.
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And then they're going to be
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like Chris Brown
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like swinging across the stadium.
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But I mean today right now
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with all the shows
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that are happening,
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I think everybody is,
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their cords are getting cut somewhere.
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I don't know if you see that
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like every single day
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on Instagram.
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Like Beyonce's horse
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or anything fell.
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Right, and like Katy Perry.
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Katy Perry's fell.
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I think Pink's fell at one point.
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I would be scared out of my mind.
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Not my thing.
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Keep me on the ground.
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The ground is pretty safe.
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I feel that way.
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Yeah.
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With weddings,
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you have to deal with
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not just one family.
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You got to deal with two families.
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Unless there's one family
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who's paying for the whole thing.
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Even then there's two families.
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So everyone has like their own opinions
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and flavors and tastes.
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How often are you a therapist?
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Well, I think how often am I a designer
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is probably the better question.
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No, a therapist
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because I'm sure you have to deal with people
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who are a little loco sometimes.
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Even if they're not,
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I think it's an emotional time.
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Of course.
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People are losing their mind no matter what.
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A lot of the time, I would say, we're playing in the middle,
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trying to be as strategic and smart as possible.
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It's an emotional day.
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Years and years and years ago, I messed up
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and said the wrong thing to the wrong person,
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and it opened up a lot of really bad things.
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And I realized in that moment that my job was beyond
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making a very pretty event for someone.
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I realized in that moment that my job is actually
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to get people to the wedding and not mess it up.
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so I started being very conscious
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about what I said but I do think that
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anyone who's in the industry of like
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being a therapist or you know
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some form of work like that
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I think this could be their calling
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at some point
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maybe there should be like an on-site therapist
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I feel like we are the on-site therapist
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or somebody who can just apply medication
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when needed
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we can't do that
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maybe you should bring a doctor
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I think the families that need that
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probably have that
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Right.
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I've seen some of that.
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Or maybe that's just like, I don't know.
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That's a good upsell.
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We should probably work on that.
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I think that's a great idea.
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Like imagine like handing Xannies to like a mother-in-law.
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I mean, I can imagine.
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I imagine that quite often.
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But we can't actually, you know.
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The legal stuff.
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I think PETA was bad.
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Right.
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I mean, whatever.
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I mean, maybe rolling joints at like a wedding.
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I feel like our guests, I think our guests do that enough.
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They don't need us for it.
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Oh, they don't need it.
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But it would be so cute with like a little like logo.
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They do that too.
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There's plenty of people who do that too.
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It's kind of crazy right now.
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There's a lot going on at weddings and events.
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When it comes to weddings, it's no secret you're not cheap.
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Okay.
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I guess not.
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Not now.
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I mean, you're in the luxury.
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It was a secret.
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It's no longer a secret.
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I mean, the productions, the weddings, the parties that you design.
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Yeah.
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They're something.
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They're spectacular.
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Thank you.
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And I don't think anyone for a second would think that those would be like considered,
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I'm not going to say normal, but like they're very high end.
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They are.
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Yeah.
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There's no question about that.
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So when people come to you and they say, okay, this is my budget and it's a budget you can
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work with.
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Most of the time it's a budget we can work with.
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People are scared, more scared than they should be.
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Shockingly.
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What?
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Scared to like?
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Call us and ask and just say, oh, this is my budget.
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People get very nervous about budgets.
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Really?
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Yeah.
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I don't understand.
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I mean, I do understand.
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And it's like, I've heard people who have a very nice sizable budget.
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They're like, oh, I was afraid to call you.
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And I'm like, I have a very strong theory in life where like,
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if you ask the question, you may move forward a little bit.
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And if you don't, then you kind of just stay in the same place.
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You're never really going backwards.
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So if you want something, why not ask for it?
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It's kind of like my theory.
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I'm a big asker.
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Maybe you're just very intimidating.
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I'm so scary.
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Look at this face.
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I'm going to get a lot of hate for this.
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when you do have these families that call you or couples that call you and they say this is
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our budget and it could be a million dollars okay that they have to spend which is a lot
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which it's a lot it's a lot to spend on a wedding a bar mitzvah something birthday party birthday
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party birthday parties are hot right now really people are celebrating yeah people are celebrating
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as they should life is for celebration it is so why not so i birthdays are kind of like a really
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hot thing for us this year sorry to like hijack your question no no i just but birthdays birthdays
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are like birthdays are everything i might have said birthday those more fun to plan than weddings
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i think birthdays are oh my gosh wow you're gonna have to like edit the birthday you should turn
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birthdays into a curse word and just like bleep it out on this show right now because i've said
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it so many damn times um they are they are the best parties because there's less emotion in them
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People are willing to let loose a little bit more.
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It's a much smaller crowd.
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So you're dealing with 20 to 100, maybe 150 people.
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It's a lot more personal.
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And it's much more selfish.
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Like, it's about you, things you love, you take into consideration nobody else.
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It's actually funny.
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I tell people all the time, like, you should spend more money on your bar and bar mitzvahs
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than you should on your weddings.
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I agree with that.
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I was just telling Zoli that because, I mean, less than life happens sometimes.
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And, like, your marriages don't always work out.
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but you'll never like regret a nice bar mitzvah and a bat mitzvah.
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And that's for the kid.
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And like the kid will remember that for the rest of their life.
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But so will you.
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And so will your other kids.
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And so will your families.
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And so will your parents.
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And so will your aunts and uncles.
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Like your family at your bar and bat mitzvahs are like they're yours.
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Just like a birthday party.
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It's the same idea.
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Right.
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You don't have to consult with anyone.
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You don't have to take anyone's emotions into consideration.
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You don't have to be like mindful.
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You can just do you.
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And I love doing me.
14:39
I totally agree with you on that.
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Yeah.
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I think you'll never regret making a bar mitzvah.
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You can regret making a wedding.
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But we're not going to push it that far.
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I'm just saying.
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I don't even think it's about that.
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There are people.
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Some people, yes, some marriages don't work out,
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but that's not the reason not to make a great party.
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I think you can make a great party,
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but no matter what you do,
15:00
you're still taking into consideration another side.
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And there's always a sensitivity to that.
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Whether one side's paying for it or not,
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it makes no difference.
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At the end of the day,
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they're still taking into consideration the comfort of the other people,
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as they should.
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And our job is to literally marry both people's aesthetics
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so that everyone feels comfortable and enjoying that event.
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When it's your party, do what you want.
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Nobody to consider.
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Now I have a follow-up question on this.
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If your mom doesn't like it, don't come.
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Just saying.
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Does that mean?
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I don't know.
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What's your follow-up question?
15:33
I'm excited.
15:33
Well, my original follow-up question from before we got into the birthdays.
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Okay.
15:40
Was have you ever had a time where someone just wanted to spend too much on something specific that just didn't make sense?
15:47
Always.
15:48
Always.
15:49
I think it's very interesting.
15:51
It's like I guess when building a house, it's kind of similar.
15:54
Like some parts of your house are worth more to you than others.
15:56
But imagine someone like really wanted to go ham on like – do people say ham anymore?
16:02
Yes, we say ham.
16:04
like getting a hate from my kids later they'd be like what'd you say that um on a kid's on a
16:09
basement like like a ladder growing up i don't know some tree house in the back of the house
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and they're obsessed with it because at that point in their life their kid is nine years old
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and they want them to have the best tree house this is a dumb example i don't even know why i
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went there but whatever i think you got you understand it just wants like a really nice
16:25
powder room that i could understand though because it's being used so much but like and but as a
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designer i would say hey don't put your money there if it's limited at any which it's always
16:34
limited there's no endless budgets better to spend it in a place that people appreciate but then i
16:40
have clients who say to me like i don't care like if you get it you get it if you don't you don't
16:43
and i think that's totally cool too like people will spend a thousand dollars on an irish linen
16:48
that you could that in some cases look like polyester and people are like you can get it for
16:53
15 bucks or 980 and people will choose a 980 because they know the value of the linen which
17:00
is kind of cool that they have that kind of confidence so it's like do i want to be them
17:05
do i not want to be them i want to be them i think i was like i don't even know that was
17:10
like one of those pick a pedal thing have you ever planned a wedding where you just felt deep down
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this may not work this is not gonna ever last like you just know it and then you called it
17:22
and then it didn't last no
17:29
how close does this thing zoom in on one's face to see if you're telling the truth
17:33
um listen yeah i mean i think there are some people just you know yes it's been there's been
17:40
some really trying times and it sucks but i'm who am i you know i mean i know you're not going to
17:48
agree with what i have to say but a pretty big attorney on instagram has a very short clip
17:58
we could pull it up what's the clip say are we gonna watch it's gonna be a little detrimental
18:03
to your business oh gosh maybe nobody pay attention that's cool one of the biggest
18:09
indicators of getting a divorce is how much money you spent on the wedding what the hell is that
18:15
$20,000 on their wedding were 46% more likely to get a divorce.
18:20
Where's this woman?
18:21
Like, where does she live?
18:22
Florida?
18:23
Maybe that's it.
18:24
Were 53% less likely to get a divorce.
18:28
Why?
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To all the bougie brides out there, this is a lesson.
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The amount of money that you spend on your wedding might be detrimental to your marriage.
18:36
Disagree with this?
18:37
I mean, like, how do we even, like...
18:39
Okay, let's hear your spiel.
18:41
Like, I don't even know how that, like, I guess there are stats for everything, right?
18:46
But, like, that's a little, like, that's going to, like, decide.
18:51
I just, I can't imagine that it really has anything to do with it.
18:54
Like, why does that matter?
18:55
Like, if you have a blowout wedding, does that mean that you have more chances?
18:58
That's weird.
18:59
I've done some really amazing weddings for amazing people who, and now I'm doing their kids' bar mitzvahs.
19:04
And, like, I've married off.
19:07
Did I marry off?
19:08
No, that's a complete lie.
19:09
I married off a kid whose varmints I did.
19:11
I did his backwards.
19:12
But the point is, is like, I know plenty of people who've done amazing events and they're
19:17
very happy.
19:17
And I, we should bring her on the show.
19:20
I think we should.
19:20
We should do this together.
19:22
Why do you yell at me?
19:24
In my face.
19:24
I'm just going to look at her like, are you done?
19:27
Karen?
19:28
What?
19:29
Is that her name?
19:30
No, her name is Denise.
19:31
I don't know if you're supposed to say her name.
19:32
It's okay.
19:33
We don't care.
19:34
It's public.
19:34
Oh yeah, that's true.
19:35
That makes sense.
19:36
It's funny because I feel like I would assume most of the weddings that you make, especially for the Jewish community, the parents are paying for it.
19:45
Not the actual kids.
19:47
The kids are not, correct.
19:48
So it's a party for the parents.
19:51
Yeah.
19:52
I mean, why not?
19:53
You're celebrating marrying off your kid.
19:54
My first wedding was definitely a party for my parents.
19:57
Was it fun?
19:58
It was beautiful.
19:59
It was fun.
20:00
That's great.
20:00
It was great.
20:02
Probably didn't end the way we all wanted it to end out.
20:05
but like that's just the actual wedding or like life.
20:08
No life.
20:08
Okay.
20:09
But the wedding was like,
20:10
the wedding was good.
20:11
Top notch.
20:12
I had a great party planner.
20:13
Unfortunately,
20:13
she is no longer with us.
20:15
man.
20:16
She was such a beautiful person and like so sweet.
20:21
But she was like,
20:23
so into it.
20:24
The only thing I was allowed to choose though was the,
20:27
the tablecloth linens.
20:29
And I wanted everything black and white because it was like the Kim Kardashian era of when she married Chris Humphries.
20:34
so like I just wanted everything like her yeah I did too and then I look back and I'm like good
20:39
thing I had another wedding after that and then I like changed the colors no because like I love
20:43
the whole black and white concept but it just felt like very like like 2012s like it was that vibe
20:51
and then everything started becoming very blush and very soft and romantic and then Taylor Swift
20:57
became a thing yes and then everything became enchanted and romantic I'm not a Swifty but I
21:03
can understand why some girls like the vibe people people like yeah people not just girls
21:10
yeah people like the my office are all swifties really yeah it's a good thing do you like that
21:14
or no i don't know i mean it doesn't really bother me so much we do a lot of like we're big
21:20
deep house people so our office is always like really high energy um but everyone's swifty
21:26
everyone's britney it's pretty has anyone ever asked to get taylor swift for their event
21:34
no no one that i've ever nobody has i think it's so far-fetched and nobody would even ask
21:39
really i just think it's too far away like like lady gaga yes right you know just everybody
21:45
justin bieber no maybe not now maybe back then i don't know i'm john legend yes elton john yes
21:51
you know the eagles shockingly yes okay um no offense to the eagle fans out there but like
21:59
come on
22:00
rappers
22:00
any rappers
22:01
oh yeah
22:02
lots of rappers
22:02
I feel like rappers
22:03
are like at bar mitzvahs
22:04
all the time
22:04
they are
22:05
50 Cent
22:05
I don't know
22:06
if I said that right
22:07
we've had Nelly
22:08
Neo
22:11
never had Usher
22:11
Usher's a big deal
22:12
well he's like in Vegas now
22:13
I did Usher's Met Gala
22:14
after party though
22:15
oh really
22:15
how was that
22:16
they didn't let me go
22:18
but it was
22:19
it was cool
22:21
it was cool to say
22:23
but it was
22:23
it was something
22:24
but we never had Usher
22:25
at a party ever
22:26
really
22:27
or anything
22:27
anybody else
22:28
they were a bunch of people some peeps for the bride who is trying to figure out
22:36
everything what her bridesmaids want what color they're gonna wear what color she wants to choose
22:42
for the wedding because i'm sure brides have like a color palette they want to choose everyone's
22:45
a color palette what's like a color you just really try to refrain from using because it
22:50
just never looks good like i don't like i don't like sterile colors i don't like like when you
22:56
take hot pink and mix it with white like that to me is like yeah it's a lot pink and white weddings
23:01
specifically can lean a little like pink pink or like blush pink pink i'm that pink blush works
23:08
because it's tonal it could be like nice and beautiful like a little off shade of your
23:13
bubble gum it is a it is bubble gum it's a good color it's like distress but this but this in a
23:19
wedding would be horrendous yeah yeah especially like if there's like any polyester like in this
23:24
color no no yeah fabrics matter at this point right i think pink is like one of the colored
23:29
pinks and lavenders are colors that i i tend to like need to figure out a balance on how to make
23:34
it feel cohesive and not like choppy i hear that yeah i just pissed off a lot of people well you
23:40
know what i think there are people out there who hire you for your eye and they want your opinion
23:47
and if i was spending a ton of money on a wedding or on a party and i was choosing something and
23:52
you would say, Kava, like, that's really not going to translate well.
23:56
I wouldn't say that.
23:56
I would appreciate that.
23:57
I wouldn't say that nicely.
23:58
I would be like, no.
23:59
I'm very firm with, like, when I'm really strong opinion on something,
24:02
I'm just like, no, we're not doing that.
24:05
And they're like, but I'm like, it's just not happening.
24:09
Not because I don't like you and not because I don't like your taste.
24:11
It just can't happen because it's just not right.
24:13
There's right and then there's not right.
24:15
There's correct and incorrect.
24:16
We have to go with correct.
24:18
What's the biggest mess up at a wedding that you knew about
24:21
but went unnoticed?
24:24
Ooh.
24:26
That's a question I should have prepared for.
24:29
That went unnoticed?
24:31
I guess I feel like everything goes noticed
24:33
so that like eats at me.
24:35
I don't know specifically about something that's,
24:36
oh, oh, not unnoticed.
24:38
This was one that went off,
24:39
like fireworks went off during the dad's speech,
24:40
but that was very noticed.
24:42
I don't know something that didn't go unnoticed.
24:45
Maybe that was on purpose.
24:47
It wasn't.
24:48
I remember everyone got really mad.
24:50
It wasn't my call, thankfully.
24:51
And the planner and I are very good friends.
24:53
We laugh about it all the time.
24:54
But that was not cute.
24:55
Not when you could only do fireworks once.
24:57
Right.
24:58
You can't stop them.
25:00
And everyone's in the tent and speeches are happening.
25:05
I don't know.
25:06
I feel like maybe during COVID, you know, there were probably a lot of things that didn't show up that should have shown up.
25:12
Or things that went wrong that people probably didn't notice because nobody cared then.
25:17
Everyone was just happy to be celebrating if they were able to celebrate.
25:21
Right.
25:22
So probably then I would assume more things went bad,
25:25
but I don't have anything specific in my head.
25:27
Were COVID weddings generally easier to deal with
25:29
because you knew you were dealing with a smaller crowd?
25:32
COVID was amazing.
25:33
I mean, COVID was not amazing for COVID.
25:40
Okay, let me take that back.
25:42
I want to clarify my statement.
25:44
COVID was not amazing.
25:46
COVID events, when we did them correctly,
25:49
because we did do them correctly,
25:50
There are a lot of laws to follow, which we did in all the states that allowed us to party.
25:54
We did party rightfully, just to clarify.
25:58
But they were easier and it was great because people were so happy to celebrate.
26:03
It's the same thing we felt in 2021 and even into 2022 with all the COVID weddings that were pushed.
26:09
People were just so happy to be together again that the nuances and the finicky details and the things that didn't matter as much just didn't matter as much.
26:17
And that felt, it gave us more creative freedom.
26:21
It gave us a little bit more life and a little bit more flexibility in designing when today everything is very, very specific, especially with AI and everything that's happening online.
26:30
And you being able to see people's weddings within seconds, we have to be very conscious of the way people see our proposals and what they expect based on that.
26:38
And there's a lot less room for creative design on site.
26:44
I hope I did that right.
26:45
I think I did okay.
26:46
I think that people's expectations probably just went through the roof after COVID.
26:53
Because it's like, okay, now we're back to normal life.
26:55
No, I think it was the opposite.
26:56
I think people's expectations were like, who cares?
26:59
We're just so happy to be dancing and touching each other.
27:01
Right, but now.
27:02
Oh, now it's like.
27:03
Now people are like, we expect this to be done this way, this to be done this way.
27:07
And we expect you to wear this at this party and look like this.
27:10
And make sure you follow this.
27:11
And by the way, I'm definitely pro that.
27:14
But there's a lot more specificity in the parties.
27:16
Right.
27:17
Well, what's interesting is the last time I saw you here in Miami,
27:20
you were planning some, like, last-minute wedding.
27:23
Was that the last time you saw me?
27:24
Yes.
27:25
And you were like, this is, like, the –
27:28
like, you had to plan this thing in, like –
27:30
Weeks.
27:31
Yeah, it was kind of crazy.
27:32
That was one of the largest weddings we've ever done
27:34
in the shortest amount of time –
27:35
in the shortest amount of time to set up.
27:37
I think it was 11 hours, and it was more flowers
27:39
than we've ever done at an event to date.
27:42
And it was crazy.
27:43
I mean, that was really batshit crazy.
27:45
I remember because we went for dinner.
27:47
And then you just, I think you left straight back to the venue.
27:51
We lived there.
27:52
We rented out another venue to build the wedding at that venue in order to bring everything over.
27:57
Because we, in 15 minute intervals, for the sake of time, in order to make sure the wedding was set.
28:02
It was chaotic in the best way.
28:04
It was the coolest thing I've ever done.
28:06
One of the coolest things I've ever done.
28:09
It was unbelievable.
28:10
It was really something, I was very proud of that.
28:12
How many weeks was it from the time you were hired?
28:14
I think it was less than five weeks.
28:15
Less than five weeks.
28:16
We've gotten that a little bit.
28:17
We did a wedding in south of France less than five weeks,
28:19
also for like 500 people.
28:20
We're very good at last-minute parties.
28:22
If you have a last-minute party, hit us up.
28:24
How do you get those done?
28:27
Well, why not?
28:28
No, but how?
28:29
If you have like, let's say you have four weeks to prepare this
28:32
extravagant over-the-top where you know you're going to have to import
28:35
flowers from this country and get these types of –
28:38
Flexibility.
28:39
Sticking whatever.
28:40
you just can't get everything so you have to decide
28:43
be decisive and move on it's like a bris
28:45
I mean bris is
28:46
8 days right
28:48
I mean we all know what's going to happen it's going to get cut
28:50
whether you like it or not well they don't know if they're having a boy
28:53
I don't think they're worried about whether it's getting cut
28:55
no not really I just did a big
28:57
bris the other day and there was
28:59
they had no idea
28:59
and like
29:03
yeah we had to do this crazy turnover
29:05
between two weddings at a
29:07
venue and it was not normal
29:08
was so cool and validating when it was done, but stress is hell going through it.
29:12
But I think when
29:14
you have a yes attitude, you could just like do stuff.
29:16
And then you're like, as long as you're
29:17
communicating expectation management is like the most important thing.
29:21
And like, you're going back
29:22
to your client being like, I would love to do this, but I can't do this.
29:25
It gives us that, you
29:26
know?
29:26
Well, wouldn't you also need like a yes budget?
29:29
Not always.
29:29
To get like certain things
29:30
done.
29:30
Yes more budget, meaning you have to be more flexible in those situations or the client has to
29:36
be very decisive up front, tell you what they're spending up front,
29:38
which a lot of people don't like to do.
29:40
Right.
29:40
And then we just have to manage internally.
29:43
And if we mess up, that's on us.
29:45
Have you ever walked out on a wedding?
29:48
No.
29:48
I don't think so.
29:50
I wanted to.
29:51
I dreamt of it.
29:52
But I have not to date.
29:55
Listen, at the end of the day, like every performer, right,
29:58
this is their job.
30:00
And we love what we do for a reason.
30:02
We do what we do for a reason.
30:04
and we're not responsible for our situation.
30:07
We're responsible for the way that we handle it.
30:10
So I think that's a good life lesson.
30:13
There you go.
30:13
Now your show's inspiring.
30:16
It wasn't meant to inspire, but if it is, great.
30:20
I'm just saying, like, it is a good life lesson.
30:21
Like, if you respond to a situation well, then that's on you.
30:27
If you don't, then that's also on you.
30:28
So I think in our world, like, we have to walk away at the end of the day
30:31
holding our head up high.
30:32
We know that we're not the sum of one event, so we can't allow ourselves to act a certain way.
30:38
Just like a server at a restaurant, just like a hotelier at a fancy hotel.
30:43
You can't respond just because someone's terrible to you or yelling at you or makes you feel small or whatever it may be.
30:50
You signed up, you said yes, you're a big boy, put your big boy pants on and go do the job.
30:55
Will you ever turn down a job?
30:58
Period?
30:59
if no if if like someone comes to you says i want you to do this party but these seem like
31:07
almost impossible to work with yeah i've walked away from projects because of people's reputation
31:13
actually like people don't realize the industry's small if you made parties before people know
31:18
and how you act how you act to your to your team how you act to your planners how you act to the
31:22
venues like it carries on beyond you and it just gets heard about not that people are gossiping
31:28
that's not what anyone's doing but like when your name comes up you're interviewing a bunch of
31:32
people so people are asking around and if you're not kind then there's a good chance that people
31:36
are might turn you down and we have done that before not often but we have i mean we get abused
31:44
sometimes i'm sure it's emotional it's emotional for people people are stressed yeah i mean like
31:50
i i can't imagine being under that much stress plus you have like a team of people so many people
31:57
So many people.
31:58
So many people.
31:59
And it's like you need all those hands on deck.
32:02
And we need them to buy into the client too.
32:04
They need to love the process also.
32:06
They love what they do.
32:07
If they didn't love what they do, they couldn't do it.
32:09
So like it's a lot.
32:12
But it's so fun.
32:13
And then look at the results.
32:14
There are very few jobs, I would say, very few careers, very few opportunities
32:18
where you get to see something through fruition like really quickly.
32:23
So it's a year, six months, five weeks, eight days, whatever it may be.
32:27
And you get to see it.
32:27
There's a start, there's a middle, and there's an end.
32:30
And you get to reap the benefits of it.
32:31
Not like when you build a house and it takes five years.
32:34
You're getting this out pretty quickly from your mind.
32:36
And the whole idea is to be creative and close to trend or at least current enough to be cool and relevant.
32:44
So, I mean, we get to have so much fun.
32:46
We're so lucky.
32:48
So you design weddings, obviously, in the Jewish world.
32:50
You do weddings in the non-Jewish world.
32:52
You have so many different…
32:54
Kosher, non-kosher.
32:55
Yeah, you have so many different types of clients, but I'm sure you've done other weddings where they have other traditions, other ceremonies.
33:04
And like, I don't know.
33:06
So cool.
33:07
Can you walk into, let's say, like an Indian wedding and know exactly what's going to happen?
33:11
Oh, yeah.
33:11
Now, yes.
33:12
100%.
33:13
It took me a minute, but I got there.
33:14
I think in general, the multicultural ceremonies are very interesting to be a part of and to watch.
33:22
it's like it's literally watching like i guess the way people probably look at us right like
33:27
our traditions from years and years and years come to life in like such a short amount of time i think
33:32
it's so it's so inspiring it's so interesting it's so it's so deep i'm like hells yeah the crazy part
33:39
is that most of the time at these parties people like come over to me even at like hindu ceremonies
33:43
they'll be like oh rabbi what are you doing here i'm like what like why would there be a rabbi at
33:49
this party like tell me why there would be a rabbi at this party both sides are hindu like
33:53
what are you talking about and they're like well why are you here i'm like well someone had to
33:57
decorate the cake so that's what brought me i've been to one wedding where the girl she was chinese
34:07
she converted but her family was you know still i don't know i don't even know what religion they
34:13
were practicing but they did a lot of Chinese traditional dances tea ceremonies tea ceremony
34:20
she wore a red dress yeah and I found it like so interesting it was totally foreign to like the
34:25
Jewish yeah it is it's very interesting but I think in general it's like that across the board
34:30
like if you're Chinese and you grew up you know in Asia anywhere and that was your tradition
34:34
and you come to the western world and you just start seeing people stand up there and say vows
34:39
I love you, I love you, and kiss the bride.
34:41
Like, that's also weird.
34:41
Right.
34:42
It's so cool that there are so many different traditions
34:46
and, you know, beautiful ceremonies out there.
34:50
Honestly, I've been very fortunate to see a lot,
34:52
and I'm always like, teach me.
34:55
Teach me your ways.
34:57
When it comes to designing stages, chuppahs, mechitzas,
35:02
how do you integrate what's trendy with, like, halacha?
35:06
and like you i'm sure i love the halacha questions only because i'm sure there's going to be some
35:12
really from father who's going to be like you can have what you want but the machita has to be this
35:18
thick and this high and the chuppah has to be like this and then i don't want the girls and the boys
35:24
dancing together and then like you want to make sure the machita is not going to get moved after
35:28
the first dance you even got the tone down you like got the whole thing going i get it i like it
35:33
I like it.
35:34
I actually was at a wedding once where the,
35:37
this is the craziest situation,
35:38
like out of a movie.
35:40
I'm standing up.
35:40
It was such a beautiful wedding.
35:42
It was a modern Orthodox wedding.
35:43
We did a Makhita because the kids just came back from Israel.
35:46
Super religious boy and girl.
35:48
Like we don't want to dance on each other's head.
35:49
Fine.
35:50
Families never had a Makhita at a party before in their life.
35:53
And I get up there and I'm like,
35:55
I'm watching it from above.
35:56
And it was beautiful.
35:57
It was beautiful to watch the boys dance with the boys.
35:58
It was beautiful to watch it go.
35:59
So labor dick.
36:00
It was so happening.
36:01
And I was really enjoying it.
36:03
Another wedding was coming up where I was doing for another person in the same community,
36:08
and both sides were at the wedding.
36:10
And one side was super modern, and one side was super yeshivish.
36:14
And they came over to me at the wedding, and they're like,
36:16
first the bride's mother came over to me at the wedding.
36:19
And she literally had a movie.
36:20
She looks at me.
36:21
She goes, Josh, if you put a mechita at my wedding, you're not getting paid.
36:24
And walks away.
36:27
She's like, do you see this?
36:28
I don't want this.
36:29
Put a mechita at my wedding, you're not getting paid.
36:31
Walks away.
36:31
I'm like, okay.
36:33
Two seconds later, I'm not even excited.
36:35
I think they planned this.
36:36
The groom's father comes over to me at the same wedding,
36:39
at the same moment, literally 20 seconds later,
36:41
not even 20 seconds later, and he goes,
36:42
Josh, you see how beautiful this is?
36:44
He goes, if there's not a mechita the entire time at my wedding,
36:46
you're not getting paid, and walks away.
36:49
And I literally just remember saying to myself,
36:51
this is such a beautiful conflict to have.
36:52
Like, it's so interesting.
36:54
In the end, we did a mechita that moved.
36:57
It never moved, but it was capable of moving.
36:59
So I won, and I got paid.
37:02
but I think people don't understand
37:04
is that if you don't want a mechitza
37:05
just go around the mechitza then there's no mechitza
37:08
people do that but the problem is
37:09
then the side's so small and when you're
37:11
a party crowd and you're used to not having
37:13
a mechitza it's taking up the whole dance floor
37:15
it feels crowded
37:16
you know what could be a really interesting concept?
37:19
a four way mechitza?
37:20
like a three way, like you have mixed
37:23
men's, women's, like a T
37:25
I would go with like a
37:28
peace symbol
37:29
right so you have so you have the the opening is like by the band like by the by the band
37:35
right everyone dance mixed there and then you have a tale boys girls honestly maybe we just
37:40
started something new i think that would be really we'll call it the khava oh god
37:46
the peace sign that is actually a very good not pat the approved um i uh i think it's actually
37:52
a great idea because i know everyone's happy i know it just takes up too much room and nobody
37:56
has room in their venues for in a religious wedding when there's 900 people there where's
38:00
their space for i mean i guess if you're getting married like in a hall yeah you don't really have
38:05
a lot of space anywhere really in a 500 600 person wedding in new york have you ever done weddings in
38:11
in those like halls where it's like one-stop shop yeah how how does that work because i feel like
38:16
it's a factory it is it's cool i i mean it was at my beginning days i mean i think my wedding
38:22
my biggest highest ticket wedding at the time was like 1500 bucks wow you heard it you heard it here
38:27
first and it was fake flowers and i reused them all the time those were fake flowers they used
38:32
no back in the day yeah that's what we did because that was like in borough park that's like was
38:36
everything it was silk flowers on rotation right because they had a wedding four different styles
38:41
choose which one i did that for a minute it was cool i had lavender and white and burgundy and
38:46
gold it was interesting we we grew up quite the colors it was talk about colors i don't like okay
38:53
let's get some juicy questions okay let's do it let's do it okay did you ever find out a family
38:58
secret by accident yeah yeah a lot a lot a lot of times we're in a lot of very we're in like spaces
39:08
where people get very comfortable very quick a little too comfortable i don't know if it's too
39:12
because the truth is,
39:13
it's like everything we hear,
39:15
like we have to be very smart about.
39:17
Like we don't go home and gossip about.
39:18
We can't do that.
39:19
Right.
39:20
Because then our reputation would be ruined
39:22
and it wouldn't be,
39:23
it's a very personal time
39:25
and we're in a lot of personal space.
39:27
So we hear a lot of personal things.
39:28
Right.
39:29
You're not going to ask me to share anything, are you?
39:31
No.
39:32
Okay, just joking.
39:32
I'm not going to ask you to share anything.
39:33
I mean, you could,
39:34
but that's when I would go like,
39:35
can't do that.
39:36
Well, have you ever made a wedding
39:40
where the feds showed up and took somebody?
39:43
Ooh.
39:45
I kind of feel like I should say yes to that question.
39:48
I feel like I should say yes to that question.
39:50
I don't remember specifically, but there is a good chance that happened.
39:54
I want to say probably.
39:56
I don't know about the feds.
39:57
Could it just be the cops?
39:58
I mean, the cops, I don't know, people acting out.
40:02
We've had cops for sure.
40:03
I don't know that we've had feds.
40:04
We might have had feds.
40:06
Feds know where to go.
40:08
Yeah, I don't think we've had feds.
40:09
I don't know.
40:10
Because they'll track you.
40:11
We've done a lot of events.
40:14
Like a lot.
40:15
I don't know.
40:16
Okay.
40:16
We're going to do a little rapid fire.
40:18
Go for it.
40:19
What's the most overrated wedding trend?
40:23
What's not the most overrated wedding trend?
40:25
Everything that's a trend is an overrated wedding trend.
40:27
Current, right now.
40:28
Ooh.
40:30
Draping tables.
40:31
I'm over it.
40:32
Draping tables.
40:32
Yeah, it's very in right now.
40:34
Get fabric and just zhuzh it up over the tables.
40:35
It's not for me.
40:36
I'm over it.
40:38
I'm like unfamiliar.
40:39
I'll show you everything.
40:40
okay we'll show you everything but i think that's overrated right now what's the craziest or most
40:45
unconventional venue you've ever made a party at oh um i guess cool fortress top of india
40:55
a fortress that was very cool how did you get there it was very difficult it was a very steep
41:00
very very scary ride up to the top of that was there like electricity no we had we had i don't
41:06
remember how many i don't know a hundred thousand candles i don't remember the number to light up
41:11
the menu and we brought in like toilets and like i don't know what happened toilets i don't remember
41:16
the toilet like you know there was a porta potty no there was there was a toilet but it was far
41:20
it was like at the very beginning of the entrance of the fortress so you had to go all the way back
41:24
if you needed to use the restroom so how long did it take you to get up the mountain i think it was
41:28
35 minutes on a on a bus holy yeah it was it was intense but cool what's your favorite flower to
41:35
work with?
41:36
Ooh.
41:37
Um, today, I mean, I love peonies.
41:40
Peonies is always my favorite flower.
41:41
It's just
41:41
what it is.
41:43
Yeah.
41:44
I'm going to ask you a question, but you can just decline to answer.
41:47
What's the
41:48
worst venue to work out of?
41:50
Oh yeah.
41:50
Definitely declining that question.
41:52
Well, what about a type?
41:55
Could it be a personal home or something?
41:57
No, I love homes.
41:58
Um,
42:01
I would say
42:02
like
42:03
I would say
42:03
probably like
42:04
iconic
42:05
like really cool
42:06
like museums for example
42:07
you don't like working
42:08
I love them
42:09
but they're so hard to work in
42:10
why they have rules
42:11
tight timelines
42:13
very
42:14
very strict rules
42:15
but at the end of the day
42:16
once the event comes out
42:17
like it's
42:18
those are the pictures
42:18
that people die for
42:20
yeah
42:20
so on that side
42:21
I love it
42:21
but it's always very stressful
42:23
right
42:23
but I'm down for it
42:24
who has better taste
42:25
Ashkenazim or Sephardim
42:29
depends what your taste is
42:32
believe it or not
42:33
I don't know
42:34
I think like some
42:35
well who throws
42:35
a better party
42:37
Sephardic
42:37
weddings
42:38
are usually crazier
42:40
but like
42:41
but that's because
42:41
they're usually mixed
42:42
dancing
42:42
there's mixed dancing
42:43
and like I feel like
42:44
at Ashkenaz
42:44
most of the time
42:45
it's not
42:45
so that creates
42:46
a little bit of
42:47
a hold back situation
42:48
also Ashkenaz
42:49
is way more formal
42:50
really
42:51
there's a sit down
42:51
there's a whole thing
42:52
there's like you know
42:53
get up
42:54
sit down
42:54
get up
42:55
sit down
42:55
no Sephardic people
42:56
you like get married
42:56
and you just dance the whole night.
42:58
You want to eat?
42:58
Like, be that guy.
42:59
Sit on the side and party.
43:01
Everyone else is just partying the whole time
43:02
and just drinking.
43:02
So it's like just a different vibe.
43:05
That wasn't really a fair answer,
43:07
but you guys got it.
43:08
What's one thing no one should ever do at a wedding,
43:12
but people still do it?
43:14
Get wasted?
43:15
Is that fair?
43:18
Sorry.
43:19
That was a good one,
43:19
but it's a real one.
43:22
You're thinking like trend-wise?
43:23
No.
43:25
I was hoping you weren't going to say that
43:27
What were you hoping I was going to say?
43:30
Maybe I'll concur or not
43:31
I mean I would say maybe like hard drugs
43:33
But drinking is probably
43:35
Like in the same category
43:35
Hard drugs is definitely showing up quite a bit
43:38
But I would say don't get crazy
43:40
People are doing like LSD and Molly at weddings
43:43
Yeah and all other things
43:45
It's a wild party
43:47
Until 6, 7 o'clock in the morning
43:48
It's so fun
43:49
Sure it's more fun that way actually
43:52
Oh as a bystander you're watching
43:53
Being a singer is hilarious.
43:54
It's amazing.
43:55
I love it.
43:55
No, I'm saying being the person on Mushrooms.
43:57
Oh, I don't know.
43:57
I can't speak to that.
43:58
Oh, my God.
43:58
Can you imagine with all of your lights and a performer?
44:01
I'm sure they're having the best time.
44:03
Oh, my God.
44:03
With a disco ball.
44:03
I've never experienced.
44:06
That's a good time.
44:06
I'm happy to say, I guess.
44:07
Okay.
44:09
What ruins more weddings?
44:11
Gown fails or makeup fails?
44:13
Oh, my God.
44:14
For sure.
44:15
Oh, that's a good question, actually.
44:17
I felt so confident in my answer for a second, but then I'm like, I've seen some pretty bad
44:20
gowns and I've seen some pretty bad makeup.
44:24
is it equal could be it could be because someone could get the gown right in the face wrong
44:30
no no so mad and so mean all right let's just clarify one thing for our viewers because
44:36
i've been to countless weddings and a lot of people put on the imitation black tie and then
44:44
you show up and it's not black tie can you explain what black tie is in the real world
44:51
yes in the real world not what people assume it is but like what is black tie is a black tie
44:56
formal affair so like you could either wear a black tie or you could wear a black bow tie
45:00
it's a dressy affair usually tuxedo tuxedo shoes for a man and gowns for women so that's a black
45:07
tie affair in the in the kosher world i think it's misused a lot because most people go to so
45:13
many weddings that they don't want to wear a tuxedo every day and so already become a little
45:17
common so what you find is like the close family and friends are all wearing tuxedos and that black
45:21
tie situation was meant for them right and then everyone else just wears whatever they decide they
45:26
want but it should be like i mean i guess i understand if you're at the age where you're
45:33
going to wedding after wedding after wedding like if you're not one of the best men or or you know
45:38
any of the bridesmaids or close family relative i guess it makes sense not to go all out i just hate
45:43
I like one thing I hate.
45:45
It's like such a pet peeve of mine is when you go to a wedding and the bride's dress just doesn't match the venue.
45:54
Or like you go to like a crazy fancy big wedding where it's just over the top.
45:59
And then the bride is wearing like a slip dress.
46:03
Sometimes slip dress is chic.
46:05
But it doesn't stand out and it doesn't fit like the room.
46:08
It doesn't fit the ambiance.
46:10
I feel like that's important.
46:11
Listen, I'm a big fan of it.
46:12
I kind of make a joke with my clients all the time.
46:14
I'm like, I'm going to set a gorgeous stage.
46:15
Make sure you show up wearing the right thing.
46:17
Like, don't ruin my party.
46:19
But it is the thing that's most personal to her.
46:22
Right.
46:23
So if she feels the best in it, I guess that should be enough, right?
46:26
For us?
46:27
I don't know.
46:28
Maybe like in the photos.
46:29
Maybe that's too politically correct.
46:30
No, maybe in the photos you'll be like, oh, like what was I thinking?
46:32
Like sometimes people need direction.
46:34
I think so also.
46:35
It depends on, a lot of people in our community specifically do not hire stylists.
46:38
I know.
46:39
It's a problem.
46:39
They just go.
46:40
They get whatever they get at the stores.
46:42
most of our... No, they'll hire a shopper.
46:44
They won't hire a stylist.
46:45
Correct.
46:46
And unlike most of our high-end
46:49
non-kosher events,
46:50
and some of our high-end kosher events,
46:52
they hire a stylist.
46:53
So everything
46:54
sort of tells the same story, and I'm
46:56
so for that.
46:57
I think it makes such a difference
46:58
to the guest's experience.
46:58
I think it's so much
46:59
prettier.
47:00
Photos are better.
47:02
But it's not for everybody.
47:04
Some people feel like they're very confident in their taste.
47:07
What's the
47:08
one thing you wish people
47:10
understood about what you really do?
47:16
Let me think about that.
47:17
What do I wish people really understood about what we really do?
47:20
I think because of social media,
47:24
like it's so noisy out there with pretty things.
47:27
I think they forget the energy and effort that goes into thinking and
47:32
curating an experience that people feel and not just see.
47:36
So I think that's very big for us.
47:38
We sit there, we really think about it.
47:39
We're trying to find unique moments.
47:41
We're trying to find the things that you, as you walk through it,
47:44
it kind of just makes you feel like you're wanted there.
47:48
It's like a more intimate feeling,
47:49
even though you could be in a mass party of 600, 700 people,
47:52
but it feels a little bit more intentional.
47:54
I think that thought is not what we get credit for.
47:56
I think we get credit a lot for the wow, which is super cool,
48:00
but there's a lot of wow moments that you just feel.
48:05
And I don't think we get, not we,
48:07
but I think the industry in general doesn't get enough credit for it.
48:11
deep deep no if you had to design your wedding all over again oh my god what would you do
48:19
i am torn or this i want to do i want to do another wedding so badly if anyone wants to
48:24
sponsor it it's a go fund me page for my next wedding with my same wife um we're celebrating
48:32
20 years in march god willing yeah which is kind of crazy um so maybe we should do something you
48:38
You should renew your vows.
48:40
We didn't have vows the first time.
48:41
I know.
48:42
It's not a thing by us.
48:43
No, it's not.
48:44
We should have vows.
48:45
Like we should now, now that we've been in it for 20 years, I think now is the time to
48:48
like really dig deep and make promises to each other.
48:52
Well, now I feel like you've hit the 20 year mark.
48:54
Like now you should throw a big party because it's like, look, it wouldn't be a waste.
48:58
We just, we were married for 20 years.
49:00
You had kids.
49:01
Like you deserve it.
49:03
I think we do.
49:04
My wife would kill me because she doesn't like attention, but, and she would never,
49:08
she would never she'd be like let's do the bathroom over like that's her thing she'd be
49:11
like let's not waste it on this if i had to do my wedding all over again i would be very specific
49:15
first of all i'd do a destination event no question hands down i would want to take away the closest
49:20
people to me that i feel would have the best time with me and go celebrate with them over the course
49:25
of a week somewhere um i would start in some country and end in some other country i would
49:32
bring on all my friends now in the industry to like collaborate and do cool things and i would
49:36
give people, my friends and family, the experiences that I get to have all the time when I get to
49:43
travel the world and do these things for incredible people and experience these conferences that we
49:48
do and go to.
49:49
I would want to do that.
49:52
I would want to do an experience and blow out parties,
49:55
don't get me wrong, but like in cool places.
49:59
What's your favorite destination?
50:02
i'm an italy guy italy guy like i love italy so much but like then sometimes i'm like maybe
50:07
south of france is nicer but i i love i think i would either be in sicily or
50:14
can't like one or the other i love can yeah it's so nice love it me too so i'd be like between those
50:20
two yeah both by the water but like all the eden rock you can't be basic like that i wouldn't be
50:25
not that it's basic but like i feel like every few months i see another wedding there it's a
50:29
very big popular wedding.
50:30
I think there's another big
50:31
wedding coming up in a couple of days
50:34
that nobody knows about
50:35
that probably I should not say.
50:38
But there, so you'll see it pop up
50:39
again.
50:42
If you weren't doing this,
50:45
what would you be doing?
50:50
I guess I have to say
50:51
therapy.
50:54
That's what I would be doing.
50:55
I feel like
50:55
I'd do it anyway.
50:56
I'd probably be a therapist.
50:58
Sit on a couch, talk to people about their
50:59
situation.
51:00
I feel like you would still do something in design.
51:02
I don't know.
51:03
I think it, I think the
51:05
creativity happened by happenstance.
51:07
I don't think I ever thought of myself as being creative.
51:09
I'm a
51:09
good listener and that's why I do great work.
51:12
Not because I'm like sitting at home and being like,
51:14
I want to come up with the next light bulb.
51:18
I think that your creativity really does shine
51:22
through in your work.
51:23
And even today when I was looking through your stories and you were
51:27
planning an engagement party yeah and like the whole setup like there's like literal blueprints
51:33
just for like where the tables are going where this is going to be and there's going to be a
51:37
wall here and we need that i think it's so it's so interesting to see like the behind the scenes
51:45
it's like the most exterior layer of the behind the scenes and even that is just like so critical
51:50
and the amount of time and like energy that you put into your work like you can definitely see
51:56
it because like you're like the end product is just like always fabulous and it's about how crazy
52:03
it is to get there yeah it's crazy to get there and it's like but thank you i i really i really
52:09
wish people like who hire you but like really just like understand for just like a moment
52:17
what what we're doing what what goes into it i think i think one day there'll probably be some
52:21
show somewhere.
52:22
I think Netflix
52:23
should do a show.
52:24
There was a conversation
52:26
a while ago about that.
52:27
Like a Selling Sunset vibe
52:29
for the wedding industry.
52:31
There used to be a show like that.
52:33
There was a few
52:33
but they weren't really about
52:36
the making of the wedding.
52:37
It was about the wedding itself.
52:38
Correct.
52:39
I think there's more about, especially
52:41
in our office.
52:44
Oh my god.
52:44
The personalities
52:45
alone would keep us
52:48
keep everyone quite entertained.
52:49
But the craziness
52:51
behind the scenes is something unlike anything you've ever imagined.
52:56
Project Runway.
52:56
You ever see Project Runway?
52:57
Of course.
52:58
They filmed it in my school.
52:59
So you know like in Project Runway how everyone's freaking out the whole time because you have
53:02
a 45-minute deadline?
53:03
That's literally our life all day, every day.
53:04
Wow.
53:05
Intense and amazing.
53:06
I'm sure it's intense.
53:07
I'm sure it's crazy, but it's all worth it.
53:09
Yeah.
53:10
And I think probably the biggest reward for yourself is seeing like everyone just happy
53:14
with like-
53:15
Oh my God, validate.
53:15
The end product and like just everyone just happy and like they go home and they're just
53:21
Living as a phantom of an event, in the shadows of an event, and seeing people's joy, and living in something that you've had in your head is like, there's nothing like it.
53:31
It's like a drug.
53:32
It's like you just want to feel that every day, that sense of validation and joy that you've given to people.
53:37
And that's what's going to keep you going.
53:39
I hope so.
53:40
I hope so.
53:41
I plan on it.
53:42
Okay.
53:42
Well, Josh, it's been such a pleasure having you on Caller Tati tonight.
53:46
The pleasure is all mine.
53:47
Thank you.
53:48
And I got to either make a party or go to one of your parties.
53:52
You can come to any of our parties.
53:54
Come crash a party.
53:54
I'll serve drinks.
53:55
You don't even have to.
53:56
Just coming out.
53:57
People like a good party and people like people who like a good party.
53:59
So just come on out.
54:01
All right.
54:01
We'll have a good time.
54:02
Thank you so much for coming on.
54:03
You're welcome.
54:04
And we'll see you next time, guys.
54:06
Bye.