Sara Bareilles and Fiancé 'Still Figuring Out’ Wedding Plans: ‘Should We Just Go to City Hall?’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Joe Tippett and Sara Bareilles.Photo:Gotham/GC ImagesSara Bareillesand her fiancé, actorJoe Tippett, aren’t rushing down the aisle.In an interview with PEOPLE, the singer-songwriter, 43, says she and Tippett, 41, are taking their time making decisions about their wedding.“There’s just so many questions,” she says. “The first step is: is it going to be big or small?”“We talk about it all the time,” she continues. “Should we just go to city hall and just do the thing?”Though the Brooklyn-based pair contemplate doing something simple, “there’s another part of me that is like, ‘but wouldn’t it be fun to just have a great party with our friends and family?’ ” continues Bareilles. “And so I don’t know, we’re still figuring it out.”One thing is certain: As Bareilles previously told PEOPLE,she won’t play her own popular music, like “Love Song,” at her wedding.For more on Bareilles and Tippett, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE.“I mostly hear my songs in Bed Bath & Beyond. So I’m going to do somebody else’s songs. I don’t need to hear mine!” she said in June.Joe Tippett and Sara Bareilles.Bruce Glikas/GettyWhile wedding thoughts are often on her mind, Bareilles is now focued is on the five-day theatrical run ofWaitress: The Musical. Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway hit, and in the fall of 2021, she played the lead role for several weeks.One of those performances was filmed for the special release.“I can’t believe we’re in the situation where we actually get to see this movie in theaters. It just feels like a total gift,” the “Brave” singer tells PEOPLE.The movie had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, which Bareilles said was “magic.”“It was just really so special. And I think the themes of this show are just resonating right now—it’s just the hope and the community. What is uplifting about this show resonates powerfully right now because the world is so hard and complicated,” she says.Based on the 2007 dramedy of the same name,Waitresstells the story of small town diner sever Jenna (Bareilles) who’s stuck in a loveless marriage with the overbearing Earl (Tippett). After learning she’s pregnant, she falls for her charming OBGYN (Drew Gehling).Charity Angel Dawson, Sara Bareilles and Caitlin Houlahan in ‘Waitress: The Musical’.Courtesy Bleecker StreetBareilles says she can’t wait to see it on the big screen: “I mean, that’s probably all I’m going to do for those five days is just run around in theaters and buy a bunch ofWaitresstickets. I’m very excited. This is just a thrill of a lifetime.”For Bareilles,Waitressis not only a professional highlight, but a personal one: She met Tippett while working on the musical.“We had this super darling meet-cute where Joe walks into our audition for our first out of townWaitressrun up in Cambridge, and I had a crush on him from the second I met him,” she says.Waitress: The Musicalis in movie theaters for five days beginning Dec. 7.

Joe Tippett and Sara Bareilles.Photo:Gotham/GC Images

Gotham/GC Images

Sara Bareillesand her fiancé, actorJoe Tippett, aren’t rushing down the aisle.In an interview with PEOPLE, the singer-songwriter, 43, says she and Tippett, 41, are taking their time making decisions about their wedding.“There’s just so many questions,” she says. “The first step is: is it going to be big or small?”“We talk about it all the time,” she continues. “Should we just go to city hall and just do the thing?”Though the Brooklyn-based pair contemplate doing something simple, “there’s another part of me that is like, ‘but wouldn’t it be fun to just have a great party with our friends and family?’ ” continues Bareilles. “And so I don’t know, we’re still figuring it out.”One thing is certain: As Bareilles previously told PEOPLE,she won’t play her own popular music, like “Love Song,” at her wedding.For more on Bareilles and Tippett, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE.“I mostly hear my songs in Bed Bath & Beyond. So I’m going to do somebody else’s songs. I don’t need to hear mine!” she said in June.Joe Tippett and Sara Bareilles.Bruce Glikas/GettyWhile wedding thoughts are often on her mind, Bareilles is now focued is on the five-day theatrical run ofWaitress: The Musical. Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway hit, and in the fall of 2021, she played the lead role for several weeks.One of those performances was filmed for the special release.“I can’t believe we’re in the situation where we actually get to see this movie in theaters. It just feels like a total gift,” the “Brave” singer tells PEOPLE.The movie had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, which Bareilles said was “magic.”“It was just really so special. And I think the themes of this show are just resonating right now—it’s just the hope and the community. What is uplifting about this show resonates powerfully right now because the world is so hard and complicated,” she says.Based on the 2007 dramedy of the same name,Waitresstells the story of small town diner sever Jenna (Bareilles) who’s stuck in a loveless marriage with the overbearing Earl (Tippett). After learning she’s pregnant, she falls for her charming OBGYN (Drew Gehling).Charity Angel Dawson, Sara Bareilles and Caitlin Houlahan in ‘Waitress: The Musical’.Courtesy Bleecker StreetBareilles says she can’t wait to see it on the big screen: “I mean, that’s probably all I’m going to do for those five days is just run around in theaters and buy a bunch ofWaitresstickets. I’m very excited. This is just a thrill of a lifetime.”For Bareilles,Waitressis not only a professional highlight, but a personal one: She met Tippett while working on the musical.“We had this super darling meet-cute where Joe walks into our audition for our first out of townWaitressrun up in Cambridge, and I had a crush on him from the second I met him,” she says.Waitress: The Musicalis in movie theaters for five days beginning Dec. 7.

Sara Bareillesand her fiancé, actorJoe Tippett, aren’t rushing down the aisle.

In an interview with PEOPLE, the singer-songwriter, 43, says she and Tippett, 41, are taking their time making decisions about their wedding.

“There’s just so many questions,” she says. “The first step is: is it going to be big or small?”

“We talk about it all the time,” she continues. “Should we just go to city hall and just do the thing?”

Though the Brooklyn-based pair contemplate doing something simple, “there’s another part of me that is like, ‘but wouldn’t it be fun to just have a great party with our friends and family?’ ” continues Bareilles. “And so I don’t know, we’re still figuring it out.”

One thing is certain: As Bareilles previously told PEOPLE,she won’t play her own popular music, like “Love Song,” at her wedding.

For more on Bareilles and Tippett, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE.

“I mostly hear my songs in Bed Bath & Beyond. So I’m going to do somebody else’s songs. I don’t need to hear mine!” she said in June.

Joe Tippett and Sara Bareilles.Bruce Glikas/Getty

While wedding thoughts are often on her mind, Bareilles is now focued is on the five-day theatrical run ofWaitress: The Musical. Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway hit, and in the fall of 2021, she played the lead role for several weeks.

One of those performances was filmed for the special release.

“I can’t believe we’re in the situation where we actually get to see this movie in theaters. It just feels like a total gift,” the “Brave” singer tells PEOPLE.

The movie had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, which Bareilles said was “magic.”

“It was just really so special. And I think the themes of this show are just resonating right now—it’s just the hope and the community. What is uplifting about this show resonates powerfully right now because the world is so hard and complicated,” she says.

Based on the 2007 dramedy of the same name,Waitresstells the story of small town diner sever Jenna (Bareilles) who’s stuck in a loveless marriage with the overbearing Earl (Tippett). After learning she’s pregnant, she falls for her charming OBGYN (Drew Gehling).

Charity Angel Dawson, Sara Bareilles and Caitlin Houlahan in ‘Waitress: The Musical’.Courtesy Bleecker Street

Courtesy Bleecker Street

Bareilles says she can’t wait to see it on the big screen: “I mean, that’s probably all I’m going to do for those five days is just run around in theaters and buy a bunch ofWaitresstickets. I’m very excited. This is just a thrill of a lifetime.”

For Bareilles,Waitressis not only a professional highlight, but a personal one: She met Tippett while working on the musical.

“We had this super darling meet-cute where Joe walks into our audition for our first out of townWaitressrun up in Cambridge, and I had a crush on him from the second I met him,” she says.

Waitress: The Musicalis in movie theaters for five days beginning Dec. 7.

source: people.com