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Well, last Tuesday through Saturday, I was in the Oklahoma City area for the wedding of one of my best friends. I've known him since fifth grade, and it was good to see him again. Here is my journal from that trip, I hope you all enjoy it!! (there may be typos, so apologizes in advance)
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Tuesday, Aug 12:

I woke up at 4 AM to leave for the trip!! MAN I was tired, but I made it. We got to the Eugene airport at 5, and I checked in and everything. Then, it was off to the security line. I had to take my shoes off, and I forgot to remove my belt, so it beeped when I went through. It went smooth other than that, though! I packed my belt in the carry-on after that little incident!

The plane left a little over an hour late (was supposed to leave at 6). This was because it was delayed getting in, and because there was a problem with the air conditioning, so they had to get it fixed before we left. Needless to say, I didn't get to catch the flight I was supposed to get on for Oklahoma City. I slept on the plane all the way to my connecting stop, Denver. Once I was there, I had to get another boarding pass and then hang out around there for a while. It was nice though. It gave me time to eat lunch and look around.

I got into Oklahoma City just a few hours later than planned. My friend's mom and her sister and brother-in-law picked me up. But, there was a little problem - my baggage had been lost!! So we filled out a report and they would call us when the baggage arrived. Aggravating, I tell you!

I stayed for a while at my friend's Aunt and Uncle's house until he got off work. They have TONS of dogs there!! I think there's eight in all. You can't go ANYWHERE in that house without being surrounded by canines. Once my friend got off work, me and he and his brother got into his Camaro (which was packed with stuff in the backseat when he got there!), and headed to his area of the city. We did a little errand, and then went to the apartment complex where he lives. I finally got to meet his then-fiancee. She's a VERY nice, sweet lady, constantly asking if you want anything to eat or drink. She's quite the charming person, that's for sure. We all played a card game and had dinner, and then me, my friend and his bro went to the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean." It was a good movie!! I enjoyed it immensely. It was late when the movie got out, so we headed home and, after a while, went to bed. The apartments aren't that big, so they slept on the floor and I slept on the couch. Not exactly welcoming accommodations, but at least it was a place to sleep.

Wednesday, Aug 13:

The previous night, the airline called and told us that my baggage was found and they'd deliver it to the aunt's house that night. Well, they didn't!! So we called them Wednesday morning and complained, and a couple hours later I finally got my luggage back!! I stayed at the aunt and uncle's house while my friend was at work, and then when he got off work I went with him and his fiancee on a few errands. First, we went to the courthouse downtown to get a blood test for them and a marriage license. Well, we first found ourselves in the wrong building, getting off on the fourth floor and taking the stairs to the next level when the elevators somehow didn't work on THAT floor! A quick cell phone call later, and we found the correct building. But they still couldn't get the blood test because she didn't have her I.D. with her, and they were about to close anyway. Sooo, after that adventure, we went to the tuxedo place to try on our tuxes. The tux place is run by an energetic little Vietnamese lady who's always offering to set up the single men with her sister!! As far as the tuxes, mine fit OK, but still needed a little work. So the work got done while other people tried theirs on, and we left with tuxes in hand.

In the evening, right after the tux adventure, a bunch of us headed to the church where they were getting married, and we started setting things up. Cleaning the front of the "worship area" for decorations; setting up the reception area, including all the tables and decorations. It was a LOT of work, and took us until 12:30. We weren't done yet, but we decided to head home anyway cause we were all tired and hungry. A long stop at the Taco Bell drive-thru followed, and after the eating, we all went to bed.

Thursday, Aug 14:

Thursday morning, we did more setup at the church - nothing too exciting. We came back to the apartment after a while, ate lunch, and then I stayed there and watched TV while my friend and his fiancee rushed to the marriage license place and all that. Shortly after they got back, we headed to the church again for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner! The rehearsal went well. There were many details to work out, and we pretty much did that. We ran through the ceremony a couple times, and then ate. During the rehearsal, I met my walking partner (the groomsmen were coupled up with bridesmaids for walking to the marriage area). Her name is Laura, and she's very pretty with long red hair and just a little taller than me.

We had pizza, pop and salad at the dinner, and then the men left for the bachelor party!! And I will not describe what happened, only it's not as bad as what you'd think. After the party, we headed back to the apartment. The guys played video games until 3 AM!! On the night before the wedding!! I went to bed a bit earlier than them, smartly.

Friday, Aug 15:

I still slept in though!! I woke up shortly before 1, showered and all that. Around 3, me and my friend headed out to the church to get ready. We put on the tuxes, and did whatever needed doing. After a while, we had the wedding pictures taken. Lots of posing and directions!! Then, people started coming in, so we seated them, and then it all began!! Some of the groomsmen escorted parents, grandparents, etc. to their seats as part of the ceremony. And then the couples started walking up to the front. It was very nice and semi-romantic to be in my tux and escorting a pretty girl down the aisle, I must admit.

Then the ceremony officially began. They gave the vows, did the ring, and then one of the bridesmaids sang a song while the bride and groom lit one candle from two, showing their joining as one. After that came the kiss, and the groomsmen had something special planned!! We all wrote out "scores" for the kiss on envelopes, and after the kiss we pulled them out and showed the audience. It got laughs, so that's good! Then we all walked back out, led by the Man and Wife. More pictures were taken after that, and then finally we went to the reception in the church's gym!! We all ate cake and other snacks, drank punch, and took LOTS of pictures. Some of the bridesmaids and groomsmen went to get stuff to decorate the groom's car, and they got back JUST in time for the garter and bouquet. Then we all went out to decorate the car while waiting for them to dress and come out to the car for their honeymoon. We blew bubbles at them as they came out, and then watched them ride off into the sunset as Husband and Wife. Ahhh what a great thing to see.

After all of that, I got a ride back to the apartment. I got out of that tux, and then just sat around watching TV until bedtime.

Saturday, Aug 16:

I got up at 7:30 to get to the airport. One of the groomsmen had to take me there, and I got there with plenty of time to spare. I rode in THREE airplanes: one to Denver, one to Portland, and a REALLY small one to Eugene. Everything went OK on the planes and in the airports, and I made it back home on schedule. Coming into Oregon on the plane, I realized just how beautiful my state really is. You notice that when you leave for a while and then come back. I spent the entire plane ride to Eugene admiring the beauty of the Willamette Valley. We even flew over my house! I recognized landmarks and figured out approximately where it is. We got into the airport on schedule, I met my mom, picked up my luggage, and then headed home!!

And that was my trip to Oklahoma!!