It's A Mistake Anyone Can Make, We Guess

David Best sent his friend, David Barclay, an email in early 2007 in which he mentioned his wedding date of July 6.

Barclay thougth it a bit odd to have a wedding on a Friday, but went ahead and prepared for the event. Even though he hadn't received a wedding invitation, he went ahead and booked his flight from Toronto, Canada, to Cardiff, in Wales, nonetheless, according to Agence France-Presse.

He then flew more than 3400 miles only to discover he was a tad bit early -- by, you may have already guessed, a whole year.

"I booked my ticket, paid $1175 to fly into Cardiff, got the old suit cleaned, the goatee trimmed, the head shaved -- I was going to be the belle of the ball," Barclay told BBC Radio.

"I called his mum up and she didn't mention it at all. I didn't get an invitation, it was just on an email and I mentioned it to a friend we're both friends with and he didn't know what I was talking about," he said.

Only when he called Best after he arrived did things start to make sense.

"I called his mum to find his number and then I called him up and I said, 'When and where is this wedding? It's in a couple of days and I'd just like to know where I'm going.'

"He said to me, 'Mate, it's not this year, it's next year. 2008 not 2007'."

"All these things came together and I thought, 'Oh no, you berk.' I'm a year early and my mates are loving it, aren't they?"

Barclay said he was told simply "July 6th" and he "assumed it was this year because if you tell the guy July 6, they're going to think it's this year."

So, he blamed his girlfriend who "usually takes care of that kind of things," he said.

"At least it has assured me a mention in the speech next year, I reckon. Same time next year -- I'll be there."

FMI: www.weddings.com