Wedding Disasters – Two weddings, a robbery and a funeral w Bev Killick  

This week on Wedding Disasters, stand-up comedian Annie Louey chats with fellow comedian Bev Killick, about her own incredible wedding history. From her first wedding that cost just $500 in her flat, to her second made-for-tv wedding to the love of her life.

 

Episode Transcript

Annie: Welcome to Wedding Disasters presented by Wedsure.com.au Wedding Insurance. This is the podcast where I, Annie Louie, chat with comedians about weddings that didn’t quite go to plan. On today’s show, we have an actress and comedian who you may have seen in shows such as Kath & Kim, Preacher, and Surprise Wedding. It’s Bev Killick! Hello! Welcome. Do you like what I’m wearing?

Bev: I do! It’s very glamorous.

Annie: It is.

Bev: You suit glamour.

Annie: Oh, thank you. I think it’s for someone with a much bigger bust than me. It’s mostly air in here. I’m wearing a wedding dress for the people listening to the podcast and Bev is on the couch and I’ve been wanting to catch up with you, Bev. What have you, what have you been up to recently?

Bev: Recently, I’ve been on a few cruises, performing as a comedian.

Annie: Yeah, not just for fun, although you look like you might love a cruise generally.

Bev: Yeah, I do. The last one was an 80s cruise, which was so much fun.

Annie: Do you spend the whole time in 80s attire?

Bev: Yes.

Annie: Wow.

Bev: Yeah, and the passengers, they bring so many outfits. And you’ve got different kinds of costumes. 80s, like I, I chose, uh, power dressing 80s. So I had a lot of shoulder pads.

Annie: Yeah. Does that mean you perform on stage in your 80s gear while doing comedy?

Bev: Yes.

Annie: Wow. That’s so much fun.

Bev: Yeah. Which gives me an excuse to go op shopping even more.

Annie: Yeah. You love op shopping. Um, you gave me a little gift already, which was lovely, a little glow mesh mirror before we started the chat. Um, you, your house kind of looks like the set. What’s up with that?

Bev: I know. I’ve just, it’s um, I just say it’s arty. I’m not a hoarder. It’s art.

Annie: It’s high art. It’s haute couture.

Bev: Hoarding art. Ha art. Ha art.

Annie: Which kind of rhymes with shart. So, um, you’re a very fancy, classy lady, Bev. And I knew that you, yeah, you are. I mean, I look up to you. You are like the fairy godmother of the comedy scene. Because you’ve been around as long as I’ve been around. You’re very encouraging of women coming up and you run a Facebook group as well called Bloody Funny Women, which is awesome. It’s helped a lot of women.

Bev: Yeah.

Annie: You have helped so many people. And I remember you mentioned your own wedding. So you’ve been in the entertainment biz for like decades. I don’t want to age you. You can tell me how many years you’ve been doing

Bev: 25,

Annie: 25 happy comedy anniversary. Also happy anniversary. What are you celebrating this year?

Bev: Uh, my 20th wedding anniversary. I only realized in the taxi on the way over.

Annie: I love that.

Bev: To the studio.

Annie: So you’re having two giant milestones this year and you started comedy before you got married then.

Bev: Yes. So that’s how I met my husband. He was the lighting guy at the Espy. And um, I was only, only, uh, one year into doing comedy and he noticed me, I noticed him. I mean, he liked me before I liked him. I was just like, no, he’s a bit of a spunk. There’s no way he’s going to go for me. He’s six foot three. I’m five one. It’s just like, you know, but it was my son that brought us together.

Annie: Oh, how did that happen?

Bev: Because I couldn’t get a babysitter on Sundays. It was ridiculously difficult. Um, and I couldn’t afford one. So I used to bring him with me to the Espy. And Tony, that’s my husband, he would sort of set him up in a back room with a few toys and balloons and give him ice creams and things. And he’d come home and go, I really liked that man, mummy. I’d go, who? Tony. I loved the Tony.

Annie: So then you went on a couple of dates after that. How did it go?

Bev: Yeah, it took a while. Yeah, it took a while, but I gave him an ultimatum. I said, you have a 10 day window to go on a day where you, uh, can take me out on a day. And once that 10 days is up, it’s never, never going to happen again. So this is you.

Annie: Why were you so strict about it?

Bev: I just wanted to get it over and done with. I was sick of it. I was sick of messing around. I was just nervous all the time. It was just awful. I knew that. You know, we were an item. I knew it. And so he did on the 10th day, at the 11th hour, I was filming down at the vineyard and he rocked up with his overnight bag.

Annie: Wow. So he was committed. He goes, this is not going to be a couple of hours. Like we are here. We’re going to go all the way.

Bev: And, um, he moved in.

Annie: First day?

Bev: First day.

Annie: Okay. That went from zero to a hundred very quickly.

Bev: I know.

Annie: And that was the 16th of January, 2000.

Bev: Oh, you remember exact dates.

Annie: Yep. We’ve been together ever since.

Bev: Oh, that’s adorable. So you had, you’ve been doing dating the traditional way or how did you first enter the market when you were?

Annie: When I was a young gal, yeah, what did you…

Bev: This is, you know, the 80s. Um, night clubbing and yeah, old school. Yeah, just being myself, out and about.

Annie: Yeah, so you were never expected to meet somebody at work?

Bev: No, not really. No, I’ve never really had a traditional job anyway. So I was, I was dating clowns and strip performers and hippies from hippie festivals.

Annie: And I’m friends with Tony as well. So I can verify he’s a, oh, he’s a fantastic soundie. He also works with all the best. So I feel like you’re a very quality couple. You bring me so many laughs. You actually got married on a TV show though.

Bev: Yes.

Annie: How is that possible?

Bev: I know, um, we’ve been together for four years. And there was just no sign of, of him wanting to get married. He’d been with a, with a woman for 13 years prior to me. No marriage, no, no engagement, nothing. For 13 years. And I’m just like, I just don’t want this to happen to me. I’ve been married before. But I just I just absolutely adored him and I just wanted him to be Abel’s stepfather as well. And I just wanted it to be all tied up in a nice bow. But it was just not going to happen.

Annie: So you were pushing him to…

Bev: I was kind of, I was pushing him. And it was like, what’s going on, buddy? Come on. Put a ring on it. And um, we had a bit of an argument and I was, I was going to Sydney, uh, to do some gigs anyway. We had a bit of an argument about it. So I took the friendship ring off and just went, I’m leaving this at home. I’m single for the weekend. Meanwhile, he’s looking after my son. So I made up with my best friend and. And I’m having a few beers and I was, I’m just getting a bit sloppy and I was just like, carrying on. Anyway, she went off to the loo, came back. And in that time I had opened up the newspaper and there was an ad in the paper. I kid you not. Does your man need a kick up the aisle? And in the time that she’s been in the toilet and come back, I have called the number on my brick mobile phone and given some, you know, to answer to a message machine. Yes, he does. I’m half sloshed. You know, yes, it does. It’s been four years. And then I’ve hung up, let it go. And my friend came back and she’s going, what are you up to? And I went, Oh, nothing. And I completely forgot about it. About two weeks later, I get back to Melbourne and the producers called me and said, we’re interested in interviewing you for Surprise Wedding. I’m like, what? I’d forgotten about it.

Annie: What did you know about the show before you went on?

Bev: Nothing.

Annie: You had no idea?

Bev: Absolutely nothing. I mean, reality TV wasn’t even a thing back then. You know, this is 2004.

Annie: Yeah, it was pre-Married at First Sight. All of that.

Bev: Yeah.

Annie: Did you think it was legitimate? How, how much did you think they would provide in this show?

Bev: Well, I’m on the phone, had an interview, and gave my story again. And they said, well, we’re very interested in meeting you. So we’re gonna fly you up to Sydney. So I flew up to Sydney. And, um, sitting down, this woman says, Bev, we just don’t know whether this is, you’re legit about this. Whether it’s just you wanting to be on TV. I said, what are you talking about? Of course it’s legit. I love him. Look, and I’ve got the photos in my wallet like this. And she said, no, it’s just that your agent has put you forward as the warmup person.

Annie: Oh,

Bev: And there’s my 10 by eight photo on her desk. And I went, well, I didn’t ask them to do that.

Annie: Yeah, so you, yeah, you could have filled multiple roles on this show, but you were most interested in the wedding part.

Bev: Yes! So my agent, who had no idea that I was even interested in being on there as a bride, had put me forward as the warm up person.

Annie: So you canned that, and tell me about the process of the show. Does every single person get a wedding?

Bev: Yes, but the way that they, um, the way that they sold it, the copy for it was four get hitched, one gets ditched.

Annie: Oh, so they want, they want that, you know, they want some drama, but it was awful. I mean that just, you know, cause one did get ditched on national television.

Bev: So they find out beforehand who might be, you know, on the rocks a bit and they legitimately break up. At the end of the process.

Annie: Yeah.

Bev: I can’t even imagine how you’d manufacture that because…

Annie: I know. I think they just, they just hope for the best in a way, like they’re not going to last. I mean. Tony and I have been together 20 years. Another couple have been together the same, another couple split up. I think they were together for about four, four or five years. And one couple didn’t make it to the, to the altar.

Bev: So this was like Love is Blind before that show was invented. Cause that show, they all go to the altar and they find out if it’s a yes or a no from the other person at the time.

Annie: Yeah. And this is over a season. You had the…

Bev: It was just one, one show, one night.

Annie: Oh, okay. It was a once off.

Bev: One off.

Annie: Oh. Yeah. Right.

Bev: So there was no season. There was no. Um, what’s gonna happen now, all that. The way that they ran it was, Tony thought that I was on a show called Rescue Me. So there was all this paper, copy, you know, that had Rescue Me written on it. So they had him involved as well, thinking that he was in on it, about this whole, um, how to fix me.

Annie: So it wasn’t a made up TV show that they had.

Bev: It was a made up TV show within a TV show. So he thinks that I’m going on a show and he’s had all this input where I need help. So I need help financially, according to him. And I need help with just being more disciplined in my life.

Annie: So in the process you got roasted.

Bev: Yeah. Yeah.

Annie: You have a lot of flaws, but in the end you still got married, which is fantastic.

Bev: Yeah. So he thinks he’s going to be on this show. And then he’s going to have this big reveal of what they’ve done to me. And, you know, they’ve, they’ve maybe changed my hair and they’ve sat me down with a financial advisor and I’m all, you know, but no, he’s, he’s the reveal was me in a wedding gown.

Annie: How did he react?

Bev: He was, well, the actual real reaction was, Oh darling, you look gorgeous. But they didn’t want that.

Annie: Oh, they didn’t want it.

Bev: No, they needed to up the drama, up the drama. They, they got him to do it again. And just went. What are you doing? But I’ve brought the gown with me.

Annie: Yes. I would love to see that. That’s amazing. Thank you for bringing it along.

Bev: There’s five women and we all go to Sydney for a week. So this is the gown.

Annie: Wow. It’s gold champagne.

Bev: And it’s, uh, Swarovski crystals and this has got gold through it. It’s a taffeta and it’s got gold thread through it. Look how shimmery it is.

Annie: It would still fly today. I think this is something you could…

Bev: It’s got a trail. That right will fix wedding disaster right here, right now. Um, I don’t know if you can see it well enough. But yeah, it’s got a trail at the back. Um, it’s all been, uh, corseted to my body.

Annie: Yeah. So it was custom made.

Bev: Yeah. Custom made. We had, uh, designers working on them.

Annie: Oh, so this is a custom design that you wanted.

Bev: So myself and another woman had this one designer. And, um, the others had different designers and when they sat me down and wanted to know what I wanted, I said, look, I don’t care. I’ll get married in a, in a raincoat. I don’t care, but they, because Tony has Greek heritage, they, they’ve made this sort of like a Greek goddess.

Annie: Oh, cause I was thinking, I love the gold and I like a non traditional wedding dress. So what made you choose that?

Bev: Um, I just, I didn’t want white. Um, sorry Annie, I know you’re wearing a white gown.

Annie: So offended.

Bev: No, I just, um, I also just wanted something to suit my skin tone. So they supplied everything. This was 8,000 and that was 2004.

Annie: Whoa.

Bev: Yeah. So I mean, I’ll probably never sell it, but it’s good to know that I’ve got that bit of buck.

Annie: Yeah. I mean you could always have it adjusted and you could even give it to your daughter.

Bev: Yeah, exactly.

Annie: She’s young now, but maybe in the future.

Bev: Yeah, I was reading a fact that weddings according to wedding wonderland these days cost 62,000 on average including the honeymoon. That’s how much you saved by going on reality TV.

Annie: Mine was free and we got a honeymoon.

Bev: Oh, where did you go?

Annie: Vanuatu.

Bev: Vanuatu. How long did you get to go for?

Annie: Eight days.

Bev: That is solid. That’s worth it alone. Even if you broke up, I’d be like, I’ll take the holiday. Thanks.

Annie: Yeah.

Bev: And I thought I was never going to go back to Vanuatu next minute. You know, I’m working on cruises. I’m there. I’ve been back maybe 20 times.

Annie: Yeah, is it still special for you?

Bev: It’s still special, but um, um, we, we stayed in really nice, very, very glamorous over water, you know, lagoon type stuff. Yeah, it was, it was pretty awesome.

Annie: Oh, you have to do something special for your 20th anniversary. Yeah. Do you have anything in mind yet?

Bev: No, I thought we might, maybe we could go to trivia night.

Annie: Yeah.

Bev: Steak night.

Annie: We could do trivia about you and Tony, perhaps.

Bev: Hey, that’s a good idea. Yeah.

Annie: Yes.

Bev: Cause that’s a great idea.

Annie: That’s like how hens parties like to run sometimes. Now they don’t want to get trashed. They want to do something classy, like do trivia. And often their friends will organize a few questions about the couple. So yeah.

Bev: Nice one. But it was, um, it was pretty funny. One of the little, one of the disasters that happened on the show. We were extremely tired and we had a hen’s night the night before. Sonja Kruger was one of the hosts.

Annie: Get out.

Bev: So it was Sonja Kruger and Grant Denyer and it was one, it was their, one of their first positions on Channel 7.

Annie: Wow.

Bev: So Sonja was virtually unknown at this stage. Anyway, so we had a hen’s night with her and we drank heavily and we were, I was so hung over. And I think I had about two hours sleep. This is before the actual day of filming. Incredibly tired. Anyway, Tony eventually did say yes, of course. And he said, uh, Darl, you know how I feel about marriage? I just can’t do it. Not without my best man and my, my gorgeous son. They, they’d flown him up and surprised me. So he, he comes on, holds our hands together and says, please marry my mummy.

Annie: That is gold. From a TV producer perspective as well, you’re like, Oh my God, the ratings are going to go through the roof.

Bev: Yeah, they loved it. They loved it. The audience went, Oh! Anyway, so we were all coming down at the end, down the staircase, all the brides. I was second, then Nola was in front of me. Nola was a little bit of a bogue, but from Gold Coast. Nola, she married Jason. And she had this kind of pewter colored, very sexy gown. It was like, there was nothing much to it, but she had this really long pewter colored veil. Anyway. So I’m standing behind her ready to come down the stairs as we’re parading our gowns to the audience. This is at Star City.

Annie: Oh, of course. Yeah, the casino.

Bev: So she’s trailing down the stairs, but I’d accidentally stepped on her veil, which was really ridiculously long. So she’s halfway down the stairs before she’s realized that I’ve stepped on it, and her whole head is just shot back like that. It was, it was like, ugh, like that. But, instead of just going, oh whoopsie, she went, who stepped on me fucking veil! Someone stepped on me fucking veil! So we had to cut it and do it again.

Annie: Yeah, that would be amazing, the bloopers reel on that.

Bev: Oh, funny!

Annie: Is today’s episode of wedding disasters breaking you out in a cold sweat? You can’t control someone stepping on your veil, but you can give yourself peace of mind with Wedsure wedding insurance. Visit wedsure.com.au for more information. Did anything go wrong when you went down and you had your…

Bev: No, I was okay. I was okay. That was, that was a real moment though, but Frankie as well, um, I mean, she was the one that the husband said no, the groom, no, can’t do this. So that was really, really awkward. So can you imagine four of us have got a yes and there’s Frankie who had the most beautiful gown. She just wanted to get married since the day she was born, I think. So it was that real sort of, you know, classic sort of 18th century kind of puffed out gown and he just said, no, can’t marry you.

Annie: Oh gosh.

Bev: And they’d only been together for six months or something.

Annie: Yeah, but that’s real, that’s real life. Like people really didn’t, I know it was before we had agendas with reality tv. So yeah, she really had no idea. Oh man.

Bev: So that was heartbreaking. And we’re all sort of celebrating afterwards and, and carrying on. And she’s sitting there with a counselor, oh no. You know, and it was just awful. And they’re sort of trying to shepherd us out of the studio. It was like, once we got married, it was like done, we’re done with you now. See ya. And we’re like, Oh my God, this is awful. Little Abel had just went, mommy, I’m going to go and I’m going to go and hang with Frankie. And we went, okay, darling. And he just looked after her and they even got him a seat next to her on the flight home.

Annie: Oh, do you stay in touch now? Do you know that where these people are? Where are they at?

Bev: Yeah. We’ve, we’ve remained friends. Frankie is happily married now. Two boys lives in Norway.

Annie: Oh wow. That’s a good turn. Yeah. Okay. Great. Living your best.

Bev: Yep. And every year the anniversary comes around again, she’s like best, best thing ever. It took her a while though to get over it, but can you imagine? No. Awful.

Annie: I’m so glad then it all worked out because for everyone else. They’re still happily married and you’ve still got the artifacts from it. Did you get anything else? Do they do…

Bev: Well, this is, this is the, um, this is the sad part of the story. We had crystal earrings. I had a crystal little, uh, like a tiny tiara, um, beautiful shoes, like silk shoes, unbelievable gifts. Um, they provided a wedding bands as well.

Annie: Oh, you still wear them the same one? Wow.

Bev: Still got it. And then, and then the engagement ring, um, well, this is where it got weird. About four weeks before I’m due to go on this show that Tony thinks is about me being rescued, he wanted to have a birthday party for me. And I went, that’s unusual. Cause he’s never really wants to celebrate birthdays. It’s just weird like that. I went, yep. Okay. And he goes, let’s have a curry night. You love a curry night? I went, sure. So he invited all these people and like, this is really nice. And then he gets down on one knee and pops open this jewelry box and he’s put a little music box thing in the jewelry box that’s playing Here Comes The Bride, opens it and says, will you marry me?

Annie: Before the wedding?

Bev: Before the wedding, and I’m like, Oh, for fuck’s sake, that was my answer because he’d taken four years. I’m just like, Oh, you’re kidding. And then that’s it. I can’t go on this show. Right. Because it’s about you asking them. Right. So I’m like, Oh no, what am I going to do? Oh, well, I’ll just have to marry him and forego the surprise wedding idea. And then I rang the producers the next day. And I said, this is what’s happened, and they went, oh no, because we really love you, and we really want you to be a part of it. Okay, I’m going to ask you a question, Bev. How long do you reckon he’s going to take to actually marry you? And I went, probably another four years. And she said, okay, we’re still doing it then.

Annie: Yeah. Cause it takes a long time to organize a wedding. It takes like a, at least a year most of the time.

Bev: Exactly.

Annie: Yeah. And you distracted him enough with the fake TV show idea.

Bev: Yeah. So he was still going to be surprised.

Annie: Did you have any regrets from this whole experience at all or would you do the same thing again?

Bev: No regrets. The night that it was going on television, my, my stepfather was. in the throes of, he was about to pass away and we knew it. He’d been very unwell for a long time. He sat there and had a tiny little beer and said congratulations. So he got to see us marry on surprise wedding, even though it wasn’t kind of, it wasn’t legal. It was still, yes. He got to see us get married.

Annie: Cause it sounds like you didn’t have any guests. It wasn’t a studio audience or anything like that.

Bev: There was a studio audience, yeah, we got married like, uh, there was a celebrant. In the studio, but it wasn’t legal because you have to have a marriage license. But Pa got to see us on television and in some way get married. So he had a little beer and toasted, you know, and we were really frightened that he was not going to make it to see it on TV, but he did. But the next morning he passed away.

Annie: What?

Bev: And it was about an hour before, and he was really not looking very good. And mum had called the ambulance and then she called us as well and she said, Darlings, you need to come straight away. Don’t, don’t waste any time. Just come right now. It was an hour and a bit to travel. So we just shoved whatever we could in the car and just tried to get there in time. But we didn’t make it anyway, so we’re at my mom’s place and we’re all just devastated and we’re still in our pajamas. And, um, we get a, Tony gets a phone call from the police. We’d been broken into what I’d been living there for 13 years. Never a problem. This isn’t, yeah, we’d been broken into all my wedding jewelry was missing, gone my wedding shoes and they took anything of value. Our friend that was staying with us, Felix, who is a writer playwright, um, they’d taken his laptop, which had his thesis. Of Beowulf from translating it from middle English to old English or something. Years and years and years of work. Gone. They also took Abel’s Xbox that he won at a, in a talent contest. And they basically, uh, booted our door in and just took whatever they could.

Annie: So you had this huge high and immediately it all came crashing down.

Bev: Immediately a low.

Annie: Did you ever recover any of that stuff?

Bev: No. None of it recovered.

Annie: Oh, man. I think they left maybe one tiny jewel.

Bev: Lucky you still, you had your ring on you.

Annie: Yeah, uh, yeah, of course. I left.

Bev: So you had a wedding and then shortly after a funeral.

Annie: Yes. Someone found out, Jeff Alice, who is the head of Austereo at that time, right? His wife was watching, Janine Alice, of Boost Juice fame.

Bev: Oh yeah, I know her.

Annie: Janine was watching, and she calls Jeff in going, Jeff, you’ve got to come and check out this woman. She’s absolutely gorgeous, she’s exactly who you need. on air. She’s so down to earth, full of stories, wonderful. So he’s coming to the lounge room and watch Surprise Wedding and just going, Oh, yes, I’ll get her in for an interview. So that very day that Pa had died, he’s called.

Bev: This is an extreme rollercoaster of ups and downs I’m on the edge of my seat because at the same time it’s that yin and yang concept, right?

Annie: It’s bizarre. Oh, there’s always so he’s called me and he said Bev I would love to take you out for lunch and just get to know you My my wife just loves you already. Can we please do this? And I just went my father just died And can we give it a couple of days?

Bev: What do you mean I want to do commercial radio right now we’re gonna Capitalise on this opportunity.

Annie: Unbelievable. So I met him at the Steak House and we had lunch together and um, he put me on Breakfast Radio.

Bev: Amazing.

Annie: So I finally got there on Breakfast Radio and um…

Bev: I hated it. I absolutely hated it.

Annie: How long did you do that for?

Bev: About a week.

Annie: Oh wow. Yeah, cause I’m thinking, oh I don’t really remember you mentioning this.

Bev: No, I really didn’t like it. But it’s, I found out I was pregnant.

Annie: Ah, there you go. But it set you off on a, a decent career. Like you’ve had so many encounters that have added to your story bank. Like I love your stories, Bev. This is why I wanted you on the show. Thank you for sharing. I’ve got one from the internet now. This is off Reddit. I want to pick your brains about how you would treat this situation if you do anything differently. So I went to a wedding where the bride and groom bought the wedding package on Groupon, which is fine. Why spend a fortune for one day, but I guess the venue thought they could cut some corners. So they stuck us in a room that smelled so strongly of cat urine. Some people immediately left. The only drinks were those from a vending machine. It was next to an airport, so every time a plane took off the ceremony had to be paused because you couldn’t hear anything. And the day after the event, every single one of us had food poisoning.

Bev: Oh, no. Now that’s highly memorable though.

Annie: It is memorable. So if you were to give someone advice who’s gone through this, what would you say?

Bev: Uh, yeah. Groupon, probably not a good idea. Jeez. Advice on that. What to do.

Annie: Probably do comedy. Because that was really funny. Like, why does it… It’s a A venue that serves food and drink, well I mean it was from a vending machine, but why have you got cat urine? Why is there cat piss at the venue? You know, I’m really confused.

Bev: Oh cats, Tomcats. Like from the street might get in. Yeah, basically, um, my advice is get your cat neutered. Cause that’s what…

Annie: Are you a cat person?

Bev: I’m, I’m more of a dog person now.

Annie: Yeah.

Bev: But cat urine, there is nothing worse than that smell.

Annie: Oh, it’s ammonia, isn’t it?

Bev: Yeah. And it seeps into everything.

Annie: Yeah.

Bev: Oh, that’s so, that’s kind of sad. Isn’t it?

Annie: Yeah. But vending machine as well. Like, that’s bizarre. You have to, this is probably, I don’t know what timeframe this is, but imagine that you can’t get a drink if you didn’t bring a coin.

Bev: Does it take credit? No.

Annie: Yeah. No. Okay. Well, you’re not going to be able to stay. You have to go somewhere else and BYO. Drinks.

Bev: Yeah. I think some, some venues should just not be wedding venues at all. You know…

Annie: I know that doesn’t even sound like a Groupon deal. I mean, you’ve seen some pretty bad venues though in your time. Every comedian has seen some horrors. What’s the worst that you’ve seen?

Bev: Oh, when they, they think that they’re supplying you, uh, with a microphone and you know, uh, an amp or some sound and it’s just, you know, in the ceiling. The, the, like, like a voiceover kind of sound coming down through the ceiling. And it’s like, I need to sing. I need to do this. And it just sounds like number 63, your chicken’s ready. It just sounds like that. Or there’s a sticky carpet or just, yeah.

Annie: Uh, nightclub venues, clearly, but they want to make some money and do some comedy there. And yeah, the first time I did Adelaide fringe, it was a nightclub venue and I had to get kicked out because the DJ was coming every Saturday, Friday, Saturday, and they had holes in the wall that looked like somebody had shot it with a shotgun. It was Adelaide.

Bev: It’s Adelaide.

Annie: Yeah. It was down on the Hindley Street district. And I said, can you do something about that? And they just went to the, toilet. Brought out one of those folding screen doors that they had in there and they just set that up and they’re like, yeah, you go fixed. It’s like great.

Bev: Funny, funny what we put up with.

Annie: Yeah, to make a buck. Yeah, yeah. That’s how we, we got to get through…

Bev: And it’s all those, those gigs that make us, you know, because when we do get the good ones…

Annie: Yeah. You’re so grateful. You can’t, you can’t have the highs without the lows. My final question for you is you’ve seen the wedding industry change so much now. What do you think about this and how is it evolving?

Bev: I think it is ridiculous. The amount that people will spend on a wedding when that is a deposit on a house.

Annie: It is. Well, part wage would deposit on a house. Yeah. Much more.

Bev: Yeah. I, I find it, the whole concept really ridiculous. Like my, my first wedding, uh, I think it cost me $500.

Annie: Oh, wow. Did you cater that to the people as well?

Bev: That was catering everything. The whole bit.

Annie: How? That’s like, not even enough for two people’s food.

Bev: Um, my mum made my wedding dress. My brother, uh, played the wedding music on his harmonica, he comes the bride, he gave me away. Friends, um, helped with, uh, flowers and stuff. We just got flowers and we, we’re arty people, so we just put it all together. And I got married in our flat. It was all too easy. And then where I was working in the gypsy bar on Brunswick street, they supplied the reception.

Annie: Incredible. There’s a Facebook group called, uh, Weddings Under 15K. I think if you went on there, people would eat up all of your little hot tips.

Bev: Yeah. Yeah. 500 is all it took. And I even, um, the material that I used to my wedding gown, I think it was 4.99 a meter.

Annie: So when you got this dress for 8,000, you hit the jackpot.

Bev: I know.

Annie: Incredible.

Bev: But like I said, I don’t, it doesn’t matter what you get married in. You know, it really doesn’t matter. I’m like my, my parents, um, got married in a room in the church. There were no guests or anything. You just get married in a church hall and it’s just like going to Las Vegas and getting married, you know, there’s no guests. You just sign, sign, sign here. You’re married. But that, that was the way that I wanted to go. But then this came along…

Annie: And you couldn’t pass up that opportunity. You’re a superstar, Bev. Thank you so much for joining me again and can’t wait to see you around at the comedy clubs.

Bev: Yeah, for sure.

Annie: Thank you so much for joining me on Wedding Disasters presented by Wedsure.com.au Wedding Insurance. I’ve been your host, Annie Louie. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, follow Wedsure on social media, and visit wedsure.com.au to find out more.

 

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