How We Met-
We were introduced by a friend of John from high school in New Jersey. John Macready introduced John John to Liz and the entire Steve Filman Volleyball Class during the summer of 1998. Initially, they were platonic friends for several months. They began seeing each other behind closed doors from the volleyball group until John John recieved transfer orders to the Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico, Virginia.
The Engagement-
John had just returned from a field exercise at Camp Pendleton. They went on a picnic in Palos Verdes on a bluff overlooking the South Bay. We had made pot stickers and had cheese and crackers. John had mentioned that he picked up fortune cookies from Pick Up Stix. He read his fortune aloud, which wasn't suspicious. Liz read her fortune as it read, 'Liz, I love you more than anything in the world. Will you marry me?' How John John got the message in the fortune cookie is an epic in of itself. And the rest is history...
The Wedding Party-
Elizabeth's Attendants
Krista Scofield - Bridal Attendant/Friend of the Bride
Valerie (Butler) Mergil - Matron of Honor/Sister of the Bride
Carol (Butler) Serna - Bridal Attendant/Sister of the Bride
Karen Viechnicki - Bridal Attendant/Friend of the Bride
Special Comments
Valerie and Carol are Liz's sisters. Obviously they have been good friends for life. Karen is a dear friend of Liz's, as well as her roommate in Hermosa Beach. Krista is a close friend. Her husband Jeff Scofield is one of John's best friends & he is also a groomsmen.
John John's Attendants
Jeffrey Scofield - Groomsman/Friend of the Groom
James M. McGivney - Groomsman/Friend of the Groom
E. Omar Sanchez - Groomsman/Friend of the Groom
Jesse James E. Orille - Best Man/Brother of the Groom
Special Comments
Jeff, Jim and Omar have been very good friends of John since he has been in the Marine Corps. All of four of them were assigned in the same artillery battery at Camp Pendleton while they were Second Lieutenants. They deployed together with Battalion Landing Team 3/1 and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) in September 1996 to April 1997.