So, if you remember, I got married last year. I never really went in for the wedding stuff, but I do like reading wedding announcements. You've got to think about the hesitation in the moment when the bride or mother-of-the-bride hits "send" or drops the letter in the box. Is this really going to happen? Am I really, really sure? And then off it goes, with the hopes that it gets published.

And some of them do. But it seems that many of them have weird grammar issues that strike me as incorrect. "The couple have planned a June wedding" and "the couple reside in Lombard" being examples. Doesn't this seem incorrect? Because "couple" is a singular verb describing more than one person. So it would be similar to "team" and if you said "the team play at 3 p.m." it would be wrong. Right? Or am I crazy? Is it a strange style-thing that they do at the Tribune? Because they should stop as it makes me second-guess my grammar knowledge.

Anyway.

Jennifer Budrow, David Diamond

Published January 26, 2006

Howard and Judy Budrow of Homewood have announced the engagement of their daughter Jennifer Anne to David Richard Diamond, son of Kenneth and Esther Diamond of Mequon, Wis.

The future bride received a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Tampa. She is an account manager at Sir Speedy Printing.

The future groom received a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a bond trader at the Chicago Board of Trade.

The couple have planned a Sept. 3 wedding at Embassy Suites Hotel O'Hare in Rosemont. They will reside in Chicago.

As they watched their daughter's boyfriend pull the car out of the driveway, Judy turned to Howard and said, "How, would you invest our money with a bond trader named David Diamond?" Howard laughed and waved to the car.

"Then why are we investing our daughter with him?" she said and turned to go inside and clear the table. Judy realized that if Jenn married David, like it seemed she was going to, that her initials (because she probably would change her name, unlike their other daughter, the lawyer) would be JAD. And not JAB. And Judy had always liked that she had given her daughter a name that was also a verb. The better to fight through life. Not that she'd have to fight that hard. Or maybe just fight in a different way. Jenn was very, very pretty.

Deanna DeLuco, Daniel Killackey

Published January 26, 2006

Deanna DeLuco and Daniel Killackey were married Sept. 24 in Wheaton. Deanna is the daughter of Jerry and Gloria DeLuco of Wheaton. Daniel is the son of Frank and Janet Killackey of Jacksonville, Fla.

The bride received a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Iowa. She is an account supervisor at JSH&A Public Relations.

The groom received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Western Illinois University. He is a loan specialist at New Castle Home Loans.

The couple reside in Lombard.

Danny got the call at 3 p.m. Deanna had called him when he was out to lunch and left a message that she was going to go home sick. And when his cell rang later that afternoon, even though he was in a staff meeting, he took the call. In the hallway, they told him about the car accident.

On the way to the hospital, he thought about the announcement in the paper that morning, how they'd finally gotten around to it after four months. And he remembered how they hadn't even told her parents about the baby yet.

Elizabeth Bodner, Michael Lufrano

Published January 19, 2006

Harriet Resnick of Milwaukee has announced the engagement of her daughter Elizabeth Jeanmarie Bodner to Michael Richard Lufrano, son of Ned and Joan Lufrano of Chicago. Elizabeth is also the daughter of the late Marvin Resnick and Lawrence Bodner.

The future bride received a bachelor's degree in history and journalism and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is associate director, department of obstetrics and gynecology, at the University of Chicago.

The future groom received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from Harvard University. He is vice president of community affairs and general counsel for the Chicago Cubs and an adjunct faculty member at John Marshall Law School.

The couple have planned a Feb. 19 wedding at the Newberry Library in Chicago. They will reside in Chicago.

Catherine read this announcement three times over her morning coffee in the staff cafeteria. Then she read it aloud to her co-worker Kenneth. "I don't get it. So was Harriet Resnick married to Marvin Resnick who left her for Lawrence Bodner? And then Marvin and Lawrence raised the daughter together and changed her last name? Wow. That's kind of scandalous."

Kenneth took the paper from her and read the item. He rolled his eyes and laughed. "No, Catherine. It's way easier than that. Harriet Resnick was first married to Lawrence Bodner, with whom she had the daughter. Then they divorced, and Harriet married Marvin Resnick. Both men, father and step-father, helped raise the daughter."

Catherine looked over at the article again. "Oh! Oh, my gosh! That's just not as interesting!"