Wedding Crashers

With most of my friends either eloping, getting married abroad, or opting for civil weddings and springing their newly married status on us with wedding announcements or souvenirs like condoms and Jiffy Lube, it was a refreshing change for me when our good friends, Jackie and Brian, went the more conventional route with a pamamanhikan and traditional Chinese engagement party (ting hun).

We were happy to receive the invitations, but needless to say, I did not know what to expect. 

Apparently neither did Barbie, with whom I hitched a ride to Jackie and Brian's ting hun. 

So there we were, literally Dumb and Dumber, standing outside Gloria Maris in Greenhills not knowing where to go.

We saw a couple of well-dressed women going in and Barbie decided that they must be heading for Jackie and Brian's. 

"Aren't we underdressed for this thing?" I hissed. After all, the women were all wearing evening gowns. My misgivings grew as we entered a big hall where everyone it seemed, except us, was wearing fairly formal attire. 

Costume crisis notwithstanding, I marched up to the reception table and gave the woman our names so we could find out which table we were seated. To our surprise, our names were not on the list.

"Liselle and Barbie? Sorry, I can't find your names," the woman told us. "Bride or groom?"

"Uh, bride I guess," I said, finding it strange that Jackie would already be called a bride and the engagement party had not even begun. 

So the woman scans down the list and looks at us disapprovingly (or maybe it was because I was wearing pants and everyone else seemed to be dressed formally). "No, I can't find your names".

"We're former co-workers of hers," Barbie snaps (she was never one for patience). "Look under S.C.Johnson (the name of the company where Barbie, Jackie and I were all co-workers)."

"Sy Johnson?" the woman scans her list "Ah, here it is. Johnson Sy?"

Barbie was about to look at the list, when I grasped what had happened. 

We weren't at Jackie and Brian's ting hun. We were at some other couple's wedding reception where there was a guest named Johnson Sy. 

And we were about to meet him, it seemed, as the woman was leading us to his table.

I quickly mumbled something about a mistake and pulled Barbie along with me. 

We finally found our way to Jackie and Brian's, laughing at our mistake. It was one for the books.

When Jackie and Brian finally get married in December, I may just look up Johnson Sy.

You know, for old times' sake.

(Note: Jackie, this one's for you!)