The Buzz - BuzzWorthy Radio

BuzzWorthy Radio: Diann Valentine!

Diann Valentine, the host of Mark Burnnett's "Wedding Day," will be making an appearance on BWR!

Valentine is world renowned as the go-to wedding and event
planner who takes classic traditions and gives them a modern and unique
flare that sets her events apart from anyone else in her industry. The
incredibly sought-after and admired Valentine is the creative genius that
created the jaw dropping, gorgeous weddings of such celebrities as Usher,
Toni Braxton, Kelis, Nas, Lela Rochon, Boyz II Men crooner Shawn Stockman,
Chante Moore, Gary Sheffield, LaShawn Daniels, NBA players Jimmy Jackson and
Eric Williams and film director Antoine Fuqua. And guests turned big fans
include Vivica A. Fox, Rob Schneider, Angela Bassett, Terry McMillan, Star
Jones.

Duration:: 16m
Broadcast on:: 24 Jun 2009
Audio Format:: other

Lock told radio. Come get you live in this buzzworthy radio where you can get the latest buzz on all your favorite shows and stars. Buzzworthy is a smart now! You are not listening to buzz, radio, but it has to go. This is Blake Lewis, you are listening to buzz, radio. Buzz, buzz, what is it? What is it? Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to a new edition of Buzzworthy Radio. I am your host, Mabel Jaylee, coming to you live right now. It is 7 p.m. Eastern Time, 4 p.m. Pacific Coast Time on this Wednesday. June 24, 2009. We are going to be joined by 1st up Diane Valentine, the host of Mark Burnett's wedding day, which is on TNT. It was originally on Tuesday, but now it's going to be on Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on TNT. Check your local listings or what station and what time it will be on in your area. So she'll be joining us very, very shortly. But also, I want to make note of the fact that we are going to be on again at 8 o'clock, P.M. Eastern Time, 5 p.m. Pacific, where we're going to be joined by Jennifer Corbin, who's going to be in the new HBO/Cinemax Show lingerie. We're going to be talking to her about that role. She plays the role of Lacey Summers. So we're going to be getting into a little conversation about that as well. A couple of tidbits I want to give you on the soap world right now. The word has it that Melody Thomas Scott, who plays the role of Nicki Newman on CBSV Times The Young and The Restless, has re-signed with the show, but only on her terms. What exactly were those terms? I have absolutely no idea, but I do know that her pay cut isn't as big as what Lionel wanted her to take. So most likely, we're going to be expecting some major, major cuts pretty soon, probably. You can expect also just, and we'll probably be a little bit PO'd by this, but that's the nature of the business. But aside from that, let's get on with it. Our guest today for our first part of our show is Ms. Diane Valentine. How are you, dear? I am fabulous. How are you? I'm doing very wonderful. Thank you so much for coming on to the show today. Thank you for having me. So let's get on into the conversation about this show that's on TNT called Wedding Day that you are hosting, which is produced by Mark Burnett. Let's talk about this, shall we? Of course, of course. Love is something I always say is contagious. And the one thing about Wedding Day is that it is contagious. We travel around the country and we find deserving couples that, for one reason or another, there are circumstances that are preventing them from having the wedding of their dreams. So we show up, and in four days, we supersize it and make it bigger and better than anything they could have ever imagined. Wow. Okay. So that's one of the things I didn't know about. You actually find the people in order to coordinate their wedding day and instead of them coming to you. Right. Well, there is a casting process. So, you know, brides and grooms around the country, they write in and kind of share their stories with others. And we're not looking for couples that simply can't afford a great wedding. I think almost every American is in that box right about now, but we look for, you know, why, what is preventing you from having that great wedding? Is it medical issues? Is it, you know, extenuating circumstances? Are you an avid community service worker and, you know, and you will work on a limited salary or you volunteer all of your time? So we look into do good things for good people. Okay. That's great. And one of the things also beside you hosting the show, you actually are a wedding planner. You plan some weddings for celebrities, am I right? That's correct. We have a full service production company in Los Angeles, and we design and produce weddings all over the country and have worked for some pretty famous people over the years. Are you, are you able to tell us what was your favorite wedding that you have prepared if you can pick anything? Oh, let's see. I have to say, there is always a little bit of me in every client that I've worked with, but one that remains a favorite is Sean Stockman, who's one of the, one of the members of the group Boys to Men. And for him and his fiance, it was all about a great party. And so a great party evolved into me designing and creating a fish tank dance floor for them. A fish tank dance floor? Absolutely. Pretty spectacular. And there was, it was never empty all night, put it that way. Okay. All right. Wow. I've never heard of a fish tank dance floor. That's kind of cool. I definitely have to take a look at that. That's kind of imaginative. That's the word I want to use. I like that. It was very creative. They wanted a great party. And so I had to come up with an element that would ensure that people would not want to leave the dance floor. And they were so mesmerized by the fact that they were real fish swimming in there. That's what they did. They partied all night. Oh, great. Great. Now, one of the things also I have heard is that you are publishing a book if you haven't already. I have, I have published a book. I'm an author. The book is called Weddings Valentine Style. And it features some of my non-traditional approaches to wedding as well as some of the wonderful brides and grooms that I've worked with. The cover of my book features a back shot of Khalifa in her famous green and gold wedding dress. There's also photos in there from Tony Braxton's wedding, Lila Rashon's wedding, Major League Baseball, Gary Sheffield, and a few other notable. Right. Right. Exactly. And really designed to give the everyday bride some inspiration for her when she's planning her own dream day. Okay. And that's the perfect, perfect segue into my next question is that since you are a wedding planner and you have your business, what are some of the key elements that everybody has to keep in mind when they are indeed planning their wedding? Yeah. Very good question. Biggest mistake most people make almost all the time. If fall in love, get engaged, start planning the wedding and don't create a budget. And before you know it, they're stressed out. And that term, bride, Dilla starts to creep in. So before you do anything, always create a budget. A second big advice for couples is never sacrifice quality for quantity. You can have a much nicer wedding for 50 people in your backyard that is chic and fabulous, like an afternoon Sunday brunch than you can for 200 people at the local banquet hall. So the key is to help people spend their money wisely and help them spend it creatively as well. I'm sorry about that. I just got hit with a storm and disconnected me off the phone line. No worries. I thought, oh my goodness, he hates weddings. Where did it go? I hate wedding. No, I don't hate weddings. No, no, no. It's just the East Coast weather is awfully bad right now. I hadn't had a single day of sunny weather in the last several days. I probably had a good hint of it. One day last week, everything else is severely bad weather. And it's just like hitting out the drop my signal. I was like, oh, hey, but I'm back now. I'm back now. So that's good. I was trying. It would be fair of me to tell you that right now it's about 82 degrees of Los Angeles. I've been hearing it all day. I've been hearing it all day. I'm like, can you send some of that over here on the East Coast, please? I would appreciate it, you know, begging. But I can't have my way sometimes. I have to get over that. That's fine. That's fine. But I don't know if you heard when I cut off. I did segue into the question that what are some of the key elements that people should think about when they are planning their dream wedding? Like, what are the views and don'ts? Yes, absolutely. One of the things I always tell people is never sacrifice quality for quantity. And what I mean by that is you can have a much, if you have a limited budget or any kind of budget, you can have a much nicer backyard wedding Sunday brunch that's chic and fabulous for 50 people better than you can do a banquet hall for 250 people. So, you know, our tendency when we get engaged and start planning a wedding is that we want so many people there and we tend to sacrifice the quality of the event just for the numbers. So, I think long and hard about that guest list. And would you say that, all right, this is one of those things that I hopefully am going to put this right because, I mean, this is one of those issues where it's like, you know, you're in the time that we're in right now, it's about time, bad recession and everything. Now is the time where they need to think about, even though that when they want to plan that dream, that's big, that gorgeous, the love she was wedding, they think they got to go all out spending the bottom dollar in order to make it the best that it can be. They don't have to do that with this, do they? They don't have to worry about that kind of dollar figure. They can still have the best wedding that they can have with the least amount of money that they can spend with it, right? Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, that's a good point because I think in these economic times and the state in which the world is in, you know, everyone is certainly conscious about spending dollars. But, you know, I would have to say, if any time at all in the world, now is the time that we need to celebrate. Now is the time for a good party. To make us all just feel better about our situations. And there are so many ways that you can be wise about spending your money, even something as simple as getting married and having your reception all in the same location. You know, it eliminates the transportation costs. It also allows you to negotiate a much better package deal if everything is going to be in one location. But don't sacrifice the party. I mean, I need a good party. Are you having one this weekend? You're asking me, and generally, I am not having one. I need to, you know, I need to laugh a little bit more. I should have a party. That's a nice thing. Just playing a party. That's all you need. Simple. It can be simple. You'd be amazed how many great parties that I have thrown together with thanks of Whole Foods and a great bottle of champagne. And a few good friends. That's all you need. The quality of me. Now, there is a, I was informed that the day changed for the show. It's now on Thursday. It's now on TNT. Is that right? That is true. Wedding Day has been moved to Thursday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on TNT. Of course, check your local listings. You can tune in. Wedding Day is truly, truly a magical show because it's not just about giving these couples an enormously expensive, opulent wedding. But it's about helping them get a new start on life. And what I mean by that, for example, our next couple who premieres tomorrow night. Our groom dropped out of school, dropped out of college. His fiance was pregnant. And they found out that their unborn daughter had a bad kidney. And so she was going to need a kidney transplant. So he dropped out of college so that he could get a second job. And of course, you know, the admiral thing and take care of his family. Well, one of the surprises that we give him is a four-year scholarship so that he can go back to school and further his education. And so that he can get his family the best possible life as available to him. Oh, that's so sweet. I like stories like that. That's great. And that's what Wedding Day is about. So it's not just about a big party. But it's like, how do we give these couples a fresh start? Or if they have some bad breaks in life, how do we make it a little bit easier for them? You're basically, this show is about the extreme makeover home edition in a wedding planning type form. You're changing people's lives, I think. That is true. It's a very, very good comparison, very good comparison. A wedding is so important because it's not just a woman wants to have a party and be a bride for a day. But it's really about the combining of these two families. And we involve both sets of the families. We also involve a lot of members from the community that happen to know the couple's first-hand, know their stories, know their experiences. So it's a very much one big family coming together to make these wedding dreams come true. Absolutely. That's absolutely great. It's a really great show. It's a feel-good show. I warn you, you will need a box of tissue next to the television. I would not be disappointed by something that Mark Burnett does. No. This is going to be a very good show. If he's under the helm, that's an absolutely fantastic show. But don't take my word for it. You guys got to watch. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I have one last question for you. Are you in love? I am in love, but I have not made the first move. Okay, but you're in love. All you got to do is keep spreading it because I'm telling you, it's contagious. Watch when you watch tomorrow night. You'll see you. All right. I'll take that information and strive. If my precious is listening right now, she's probably blushing. Good for her. Good for her. All right. Thank you again. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much again for coming on. Have a great day. Bye bye. All right, you guys. That was our first installment of Buzz Will Be Radio. Short little 15 minutes spot. We're going to have another 15 minutes spot on at 8 p.m. Eastern time Buzz. She's going to be joining us at 8 15. The first 15 minutes of the show at 8 o'clock. We're going to be discussing some of the things that is going on right now in the soap world. I actually have a time to watch soap this entire week because of my work schedule. So I will actually have a 4-1-1 report coming out on the Buzz Will Be Radio site this weekend. So make sure you guys tune into that and also get a lowdown of what is happening on your favorite shows this week in our 15 minutes spot from 8 to 8 15 on our next show. So make sure you guys stop on back in to hear the latest going on in your favorite deep time job. We'll be back in about an hour, less than an hour, probably about 45 minutes. We're going to be back on air with a brand new installment of Buzz Will Be Radio. We'll see you guys in 45. We'll be right back.