October 17, 2000

One year ago: These are the kinds of entries I do when I have nothing to say. This is why I no longer update every day.

So. The wedding of the year. Terry and Mary got engaged last December, and I feel like Mary's been planning this wedding ever since. That's not really true. There was the usual flurry of "book the church, book the reception hall" stuff right away, and then not much happened until earlier this summer. But I know that Mary put a lot of work into planning this wedding, so I was very excited to see it finally happen. And plus, there's the whole "two of my best friends who really love each other and belong together are getting married" part.

Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. As per usual, the Cliftons (Ter's family) were late for the rehearsal. No one was really surprised. They're really nice people, but they are always, always late. Always. They showed up and we started. One of the bridesmaids was also late, and she was supposed to walk down the aisle in front of me. She showed up JUST as I was about to call for a ghost runner, and walked up the aisle to people applauding her timing. In the past two weddings that I have been a part of, the priest did the whole vows and everything at the rehearsal, which seems to take the fun out of it. Terry and Mary did not have to do that, and I was glad. I'm sure they were too. I don't mean to make this all about me, but since it's from my perspective, I guess it has to be. Mary will e-mail me if I get something wrong, I'm sure.

After the rehearsal (which went very smoothly), we went to the rehearsal dinner. Jim and I didn't know where we were going, so we followed Mary's parents. Mary's dad is a speed demon. He is the cutest man (you'll see a picture of him in the next entry) and who knew he was a lead foot! So it was interesting to try to follow him. We made it to the place fine. Jim and I sat at a table with old friends. We started calling this group of friends "1.0". As opposed to the friends Terry and Stimp have made at work or through the band, who are known as "2.0". Not that the new friends are like, an advanced version. It's just a different group. I'm a 1.0, and the people we were seated with were largely 1.0 (except the significant others, who I guess would be 1.5 or something). Jim wasn't sure if he qualified as 1.0, but I told him if you have ever seen Ter's college band, "Brave Utensils" perform live, you're 1.0. So he qualifies.

We had a great time at dinner. So much fun. Randy was there (Terry's brother), and I just don't get to see him enough since he moved to Texas, and I really miss him. Also in attendance was our college friend Erik, who lives in London now. I sat next to him, and we were having the best time. He has an idea for a movie, and I probably shouldn't talk about it here so that someone doesn't steal the idea, but suffice to say that it involves an El Camino and Flo from Alice.

One of Terry's best friends, Chris, had made a video out of photographs of Mary and Terry through the years, with friends and family. So, he showed that after dinner, and it was really a wonderful way to end the dinner. Plus, the pictures were really funny. I always think we all haven't changed at all since the day we met, but we really have. Mostly for the better. After the dinner ended, a bunch of us went to the Holiday Inn (site of the reception and where a lot of people were staying) to hang out in the bar for a while. That was nice, and a lot more casual than the dinner. We reminisced about college, and Terry and his brothers reminisced about their childhood. It was a great way to spend the evening. Mary and Terry shared one last dance before they became husband and wife, so I took a picture, because I'm all about intruding on their private moment. I don't think they noticed.

Tomorrow -- the wedding!