I think I'm ready to talk about the Rehearsal Dinner now.

I think I am relaxed enough now to talk about the crazy rehearsal dinner. It was not pretty! First Kevin's parents show up between 30 and 45 mins. late. The father is wearing camo shorts and a t-shirt and the mother is wearing white jeans and a t-shirt. That's ok if you are going to a relaxed place but the restaurant they insisted everyone go to was not that type of restaurant. The rehearsal was over by the time they got to the house, which they called Kevin right at 6 when the rehearsal was suppose to start and told him to proceed without them. We all get in our cars and drive 50 mins to the restaurant. We get there and the father and mother don't come in the room where we are suppose to be, they tell us all to go and sit down. Jenny and Kevin sit at the head of the table, John and I sit to the right of Jenny, Megan and Ken sit next to us. Kevin told his Groomsmen and our minister to leave the space to his left for his parents. They finally come in the room and sit at the far end of the table, making sure to sit where there is no one nearby at all. Kevin tells them to move by him the father gets up and walks out. After much ado the mother sits next to Kevin and the father still is not there. Then the mother gets a cell phone call, which we all knew it was the father from the lobby of the restaurant. She gets up and leaves and then after 15 mins. of sitting there the mother comes back and asks Kevin to come to the lobby with them. Mind you it is now 8:15 and we are all wondering when this is going to be over. Kevin comes back and whispers something to Jenny. The something was his sister showed up and is going to join in the "happy" group. That is the sister that was told in no certain terms that she couldn't attend the rehearsal dinner or wedding. Jenny tells Kevin we are all leaving if Bridget comes in the room. The parents had been told ahead of time if Bridget or the other sister, Kristen showed up they would not be able to attend the wedding, so they knew this well in advance. Kevin had just reminded them of this fact a week before the rehearsal. Kevin tells his mother this again and she goes out and tells Bridget and the father. The father calls Kevin on his cell phone and tells him to come out in the lobby again. They are gone for another 15 mins. and then Kevin comes back in. He looks like he is going to be sick, tells Jenny and the rest of us that Bridget will not be coming to the dinner. The mother finally comes back in to the room, tells the minister to proceed with the blessing if she wants to bless this mess and that the father would not be coming back in the room!! Kevin and Jenny look like they are going to cry and get sick at the same time-poor things!! Tara, our minister says a blessing about peace and love and the mother is making faces the whole time. The mother then tells the restaurant event coordinator to start placing the items on the buffet and that we can go ahead and serve ourselves but she isn't eating since it is after 7:00 and she doesn't eat after 7!!! What the heck she set the time and place of the restaurant!! We are almost done "picking" at our food (we only picked at the food because we were all so upset we couldn't really eat) and the father walks back in and starts glaring at everyone He grabs some food and starts shoving it into his mouth and keeps order beer at an alarming rate! We found out later on he really wasn't in the lobby of the restaurant he was at the bar throwing back beer at an alarming rate also. We are all trying to get through the dinner so we could leave. Just when we all thought we could escape, Hiliary one of the bridesmaids proposes a toast to Jenny and Kevin. The mother would look up but did raise her glass, the father keeps eating like he never saw food before and was chewing so loudly with his mouth open, we all raise our glass and say cheers and best wishes. Well with that the father knocks over his beer and gets up and walks out!! For some reason he turns around and comes in and sits down again and keeps glaring at us like he is going to go "postal". He then gets up and goes out to the bar. I have to go to the ladies room at that point and have to pass the bar area. I was almost to the ladies room when the father jumps off his bar stool, cuts in front of me and flips me the bird and runs into the men's room!!!! I was furious by that point and ready to explode. I leave the ladies room and go back into the room we were in and tell John and Jenny that we are leaving. The father had come back in the room at that point. John and I stood up and said we had to go because we still had things to do for the wedding and my family was staying at the house. We thanked them for the evening just to keep peace and left with Hiliary and our minister because they had driven with us. Jenny, Kevin, Megan, Ken and the 2 groomsmen left right behind us. I cried all the way home. Our minister said she had never seen anything like that before and that she felt for all of us. She had been married in May and her mother behaved badly at her rehearsal and wedding because she didn't want to be in the same building with Tara's father because they were divorced. So she had some idea of what we were all going through. Jenny called me on my cell and told me she and Kevin were so sorry for subjecting us all to that but they had no idea it was going to play out like that. How would they know that! Well that ends the crazy, crazy story of the rehearsal dinner that we would all like to forget and will try very hard too!!