WESSED

I have decided that in 2009, I will write about my friends on the day of their birth. I did it for my mom last year and it was wildly popular (mostly among her circle of friends that read my blog). If you don't get written about, then I guess you need to be a better friend! Ha.

Today is Wes's birthday. When I first met Wes I was very skeptical of him. He had just begun dating Jennifer and unfortunately, my opinion of him had been formed from the grumblings of someone who a) had a crush on Jennifer and b) turned out to be not that great of a person himself. Reason No. 6,234: he stood me up as a date to a wedding that Jennifer and Wes were also attending.

Naturally, Wes stepped in valiantly as The Best Replacement Date Ever (TBRDE for short) and I recognized that he was not only a good guy, but we had a lot in common. I hate that I let someone else's petty mind cloud my own for a few months, but all was not lost.

Horrible picture but worth including - our first photo together/the weekend I realized Wes was not so bad!

Shortly after that wedding, Wes called my cell phone one afternoon. I was really surprised to hear from him. I was even more surprised when he told me why he was calling: he needed my help with asking Jennifer to marry him. Naturally I agreed to assist him and a few weeks later when I made the trip to Auburn for the LSU game, packed safely in my purse, wrapped in tin foil, stapled into the corner of a plastic bag, encased in duct tape, and wrapped again in tin foil, was Jennifer's beautiful engagement ring. The next day I slipped it to Wes while Jennifer was at the table (albeit with her head turned) and she was nonethewiser until a few weeks later, when they went to the beach, Wes asked, she said yes, and the rest is history.

Official re-enactment photo taken at Auburn v. Florida game, a few weeks into their engagement. Notice I am handing him the ring, and notice Jennifer is looking and pointing in two different directions.

In June 2007, I was honored not only to sing at their wedding, but serve as a bridesmaid. During their engagement and marriage, as I continued to get to know Jennifer, I grew to know Wes and am happy to count him them both as friends, individually and as a couple. I think that is a pretty sweet deal. And I think he counts me as a friend of his and not just some friend of Jennifer's who was grandfathered into his life by default, but you'd have to ask him to know for sure (though he did send me a birthday present all by himself).

Me and the happy couple, June 30, 2007.

Conclusion: I am a big Wes fan (forgiving the time he called my blog uninteresting). He's half as funny as I am, twice as sarcastic, has the hair and humor of Vince Vaughn, likes American Idol, some e-cards, wine, cats and taught me how to play Guitar Hero.

Happy Birthday Wes! Bet you think the blog is interesting now, huh? Unfortunately, I don't ship birthday presents like you do, so guess you'll have to make good on that plan to visit Nashville if you want it.