I'm going to keep talking about this until it's out of my system. (I can feel it waning a bit already).
Now I'm only focusing on the canon couples (couples that the show put together and not who the fans want to be together), more specifically the ones that got together in the end and stayed together (so not the couples that got together in the middle of the show, but then broke up). So the three big couples: Ross and Rachel, Monica and Chandler, and Phoebe and Mike. Technically R/R and M/C are the two main couples, but I'm including P/M. (And if we need to get even more technical, R/R are THE main couple of it all).
ROSS/RACHEL
These two. Everybody just loves this couple, which really, can you blame them? They are probably the most passionate couple on the show. I get tinglys when I watch like the scene in the restaurant after Ross finds out, or the "I got off the plane" scene. There's only two scenes in the entire show that make me bawl like a baby (out of sadness) and their breakup scene is one of them.
Ross has been obsessed with her since his high school years (which Rachel was aware of), but she just thought of him as Monica's geeky older brother. Ross tries several times to tell Rachel his feelings for her, but is derailed by her ex-fiance, and Paolo the Itallian man. Then Chandler accidentally reveals to Rachel that Ross has feelings for her while Ross is is China, and Rachel realizes she has romantic feelings for him as well so she decides to approach him. Unfortunately, while in China, Ross got into a committed relationship with an American woman of Chinese descent, Julie. After her attempts to reveal her feelings for him fail, Rachel decides to move on. While on a date with another man, she leaves a drunken message on his answering machine, telling him her feelings, which she later tries to stop, but Ross hears it anyway. On hearing this, Ross and Rachel kiss and he ends his relationship with Julie to be with Rachel. Things go very well until she finds a list of pros and cons he wrote in order to help him chose between her and Julie, and is deeply hurt, and as a result ends their relationship.
Later, Monica finds a box of high school memories, including a video of Monica and Rachel getting ready for their high school prom. In the video, Rachel's date is late and Ross, wearing his father's tuxedo, is about to surprise her by offering to be her date. Just as he is about to ask, her date arrives. Ross watches, heartbroken, as Rachel leaves. Touched by this unknown romantic gesture, Rachel forgives him and they resume dating. They remain together for around a year before Ross's jealousy of her colleague, Mark, and his obsessive behavior leads Rachel to suggest taking "a break". Ross assumes this means they have ended their relationship. Depressed, he gets drunk at a bar and ends up sleeping with another woman. Rachel finds out, and after a very long and bitter argument, she ends their relationship. From then on, the two have an on/off relationship. Usually, during the off-time, they remain good friends.
After a few years, Rachel is revealed to be pregnant and in the following days Ross is revealed to be the father. They have a girl, Emma, whom they partnered in raising.
After Rachel is fired from her job, she gets a job in Paris, devastating Ross. At her going-away party, she says goodbye to everyone except Ross. This upsets him and after he confronts her about it, Rachel tells him that saying goodbye would upset her too much as their history would make moving too hard for her. To give her a reason to stay, he kisses her and they sleep together. The next morning, Ross thinks they are back together and is stunned when she says "It was the perfect way to say goodbye". After moping throughout the day, thinking he's lost her, he chases her to the airport and admits he loves her and pleads for her to come back with him. Rachel still gets on the plane. When he returns home heartbroken, Ross finds a message on his answering machine and on playing it, he hears Rachel telling him she loves him too and what a mistake she's made and has to get off the plane. But she's interrupted by flight attendants when the line cuts off, leaving Ross wondering if she got off. Just then a voice speaks from behind him "I got off the plane". It's Rachel and Ross rushes to her. The two share a kiss, rekindling their relationship for good.
MONICA/CHANDLER
Everyone loves Ross and Rachel, they're the big selling couple of the show, but I really love this couple the most. Don't get me wrong, I adore Ross/Rachel, but there's just something about Monica/Chandler that I like a little more. While Ross/Rachel have all the drama and passion, Monica/Chandler have more of the sweetness and caring. Remember I said that there are only two scenes that make me bawl like a baby in the entire show? Well, the other one is when these two find out that they can't have a baby. Now I already dedicated an entire post to these two which you can read (here) if you desire. But I'm just going to give a brief overview here as well, since it's only fair.
Monica and Chandler have known each other since high school/college because Chandler was roommates with Monica's older brother, Ross. After an incident involving revenge, seducing, and a missing toe, they became good friends. Years later, Chandler lived in the apartment across the hall from Monica's. They were friends for years, but all that changed one day when Ross got married in London. Being sad after a drunken guest had thought she was Ross's mother, Monica went to Chandler for comfort and they ended up sleeping together. They kept trying to steal little moments together, determined to stop it once they got back home, but never got a chance. However, they couldn't stay away from each other once they got home and continued to see one another. They hid their relationship from the others until Joey put two and two together after some hints and found out about it. Still, they didn't want anyone else to know, but Rachel and Phoebe soon found out and tricked the truth out of them.
Later, on their one year anniversary, they almost got married in Vegas, but decided against it when they saw Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumble out of the chapel. They realized it was too soon for them to get married, but decided to take their relationship to the next step. So Chandler moved in with Monica.
After nearly a year, Chandler decided to propose to Monica. And after several misunderstandings and their relationship almost disintegrating, they finally became engaged.
Chandler almost ran away from their wedding, but came back after some convincing from Ross. He ran away again after believing Monica was pregnant, but after coming across a baby's outfit in a gift shop, he realized that he wasn't afraid and actually wanted this future life with Monica, so he returned (as it turned out, Rachel was the one who was pregnant, not Monica). Soon, they were married.
After several months of marriage, they decided to try having a baby. And after several more months of failed attempts, they went to a clinic only to realize that they are infertile. So they decided to adopt. They were chosen by a pregnant girl named Erica who would let them adopt her baby after it was born. However, the surprise was during the birth when it was revealed that Erica was having twins. Only the doctor knew about it since Erica had always assumed the "two heart beats" were hers and the baby's. Even though they weren't prepared for two babies, Monica and Chandler decided to keep them, naming them Jack and Erica.
PHOEBE/MIKE
A very breezed over couple, but I really like them. They're really funny and sweet and completely compatible. Mike totally knows how to handle Phoebe, being the normal one in their relationship.
Phoebe and Joey were supposed to set each other up on blind dates, but Joey forgot his end of the deal and ended up telling Phoebe that her date's name was Mike (choosing a random name). Realizing he didn't know anyone named Mike, Joey went into the coffee house and just shouted out the name Mike, and a man sitting alone at a table responded. Joey recruited him to come on the double blind date and pretend to be his old friend from high school. The charade worked for a little bit until Phoebe began to grow suspicious and asked Mike how many sisters Joey had and Joey held up the wrong number of fingers behind Phoebe's back. Phoebe got so mad that she stormed out. Mike found her the next day at the coffee house and apologized for the night before and explained why he got roped into the date "because I was promised I would get a free dinner, which I didn't. And I was promised I would meet a pretty girl, which I did." They talked for a little bit, Phoebe still a bit skeptical, she even made him prove that he was a piano player by making him play without a piano right then and there, but eventually Mike asked her out. They went on a second date, which was equally bad thanks to Ross, who accidentally upset Phoebe before it even began, causing her to spend most of the night crying on Mike's shoulder. Ross then went to Mike's house and tried to explain to him that he had accidentally upset Phoebe, which set off a chain of riduculous events which eventually resulted in Mike deciding he still had feelings for Phoebe.
After several months of dating, they decided to move in together. As they were doing so, Phoebe brought up the idea of maybe getting married one day. However, after his messy divorce, Mike never wanted to get married again. Because of this, they broke up. Both were distraught, but tried to move on, Phoebe's former love of her life, David, came back into her life, but she was still stuck on Mike. When David asked Chandler why Phoebe broke up with Mike, Chandler mentioned marriage and David took it to mean that HE should propose. Monica and Chandler scrambled to fix the situation, ending up with Monica calling Mike and telling him to get his head in the game. Mike ended up coming down and proposing to Phoebe before David did. She turned him down, but said she would like to get married someday. And they got back together.
Later, after many confusing, failed attempts, Mike eventually proposed to Phoebe. Originally, they planned on giving all the money for their wedding to charity, but Phoebe changed her mind when she realized how much the day meant to her (since she didn't have any graduation or sweet sixteen or any sort of big party in her life before) and that it was only going to come once, so she wanted it to be grand.
After Monica and Chandler brought home their babies, Mike and Phoebe decided that they wanted to have kids of their own.
I was going through some files on my computer and came across some stuff I did for my creative writing class this last semester at college. There were some short stories, some essays, and some poems. I thought, just for the heck of it, I'd share the poems I wrote on here. We only wrote three.
This one was just supposed to be about anything and it could be as long or as short as we wanted. it could rhyme or not. We were just supposed to write a poem. So I wrote about one of my passions. Saturday One O’Clock Can I wait for Saturday one o’clock this week? Every week I ask this, can my patience forgo? Once again it is looking bleak, As I whisper to myself, “No”. It’s all I ever think of all day and night Some might call me obsessed with it Who knows, they could be right I probably am, at least a little bit. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday The days do not go by fast Thursday, Friday, and finally Saturday The moment has come at last. I switch on the computer, all other thoughts departing, Because Doctor Who is finally starting.
We were supposed to write a sonnet for this one. Some people say that they are really easy to write. I heartily disagree. I had the toughest time with this. We could write about anything as long as it was in sonnet form. After scrapping many ideas, I chose to write about when I was in a play in high school. More Than the Leads Up and down the stage we walk As our cues come around And we speak our lines. And we get the most applause in the end. Even more than the leads. In our frilly dresses and bouncy feathers, Bright pink makeup And high buckled shoes. And we get the most applause in the end. Even more than the leads. The red curtain closes and opens Mrs. O.’s arms wave The colors of the music rise. And we get the most applause in the end. Even more than the leads. We hear the guitar strum And the piano plink Step, tap, beat in time. And we get the most applause in the end. Even more than the leads. As a group, we circle together “Amazing! Amazing!” we sing We raise our hands in the air. And we get the most applause in the end. Even more than the leads. We sing like the birds that we are We’re dainty, we’re fine We are vivacious. And we get the most applause in the end. Even more than the leads.
This one could not be any longer than... oh, I think he said 5 or 6 lines. Must have been since this one is 6 lines. And it had to present some sort of emotion. I chose the most emotional subject I had at the time, my epilepsy. (It wasn't so hard for me at that point. It's gotten worse over time. I just needed something to write about). Epilepsy Call everyone Tell them all about me. Tell them to pray. Every night I live in fear That another will come, But tonight I sleep.
Still indulging my Friends spree and my boredom. Just ignore me.
Another part of this show that I absolutely adore are the three boys. Oh. Em. Gee. They crack me up the hardest out of everything in this show! I mean, each of them individually are hilarious, but the three of them together (or at least two of them) are just comedic gold!
I cannot with these three. Meet...
JOEY TRIBBIANI
CHANDLER BING
And
ROSS GELLAR
JCR as I labeled them in the title. The boys of the show. All three of them are such good friends, but... they're guys so they usually have that kind of "macho" thing going on. Like, "we need to do something manly".
So they usually aren't very openly affectionate with each other (I guess is a good way to put it). However, they always manage to get themselves into such awkward, and/or seemingly gay situations. That's one way they get me to laugh. Another thing, they just get so immature when they're together. They turn into these goofy little kids and play games with each other. Also, they're boys! Like, "do you think it would be awesome if we could keep throwing this ball around for two hours?" or they invent dangerous games like Fireball, etc.
As I did before, I'm going to give just a brief background for each of them:
Joey is the oldest of eight children, with seven younger sisters. He eventually became an actor. He often struggles to find work, but eventually he lands a major role in a popular soap opera, Days of Our Lives as Dr. Drake Ramoray. He eventually gets himself fired when he ticks off the writers by telling a magazine that he writes many of his own lines for the show, and his character
gets dropped down an elevator shaft. He then goes back to his struggling career. He temporarily gets a lead role in a TV series as Mac in Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. but the show gets cancelled. Eventually, Dr. Drake Ramoray gets brought back with a new brain in Days of Our Lives. He is rather dim-witted and gullible, but big-hearted and caring. He is a major womanizer and the most physically powerful out of all his friends.
Chandler... see previous post (HERE) 8th paragraph down.
Ross is the oldest of two children with one younger sister. He attended college and became a paleontologist. He has had three divorces throughout his life, which are constantly a source of humor with his friends. He is the geekiest out of his friends, always
taking interest in long boring lectures, books, TV programs, etc. and he often makes his friends read/watch/participate in them much to their dismay. He is a magnet for bad luck. Out of the six friends, he gets into the worst situations the most. He can never catch a break, always in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Closely followed by Chandler).
Ross and Chandler met at college. They were roommates. They became close friends and started a band called "Way No Way" that never took off. Ross even brought Chandler home for Thanksgiving. They made pacts with each other about which girls they couldn't date because they didn't want to ruin their friendship. They made a firm pact that they would be friends forever. And they were.
Chandler met Joey while looking for a roommate after college. He originally did not pay much attention to him since he was the last applicant and had already made up his mind that he wanted someone else. However, there was a mixup (on account of Chandler's crazy neighbor telling the new roommate that HE was the new roommate) and Joey ended up moving in since he was the only other normal applicant. The two bonded over Bay Watch and beer. Soon they became inseparable. (Just a note, I love how they fight like a married couple).
Joey and Ross met through Chandler obviously. I believe it was in the bar below Chandler and Joey's apartment building before it was turned into a coffee house.
Here's what the girls have to say about them:
Alright, there are no more words. So, just because I like to, I'm going to put a bunch of clips of them together on here. You'll never get through them all!
You only have to go to 3:35
You can skip the parts with Ross and Mona
You only have to go to 3:17
You only have to go to 2:52
Now to top off, here's a little compilation of their endeavors:
In a previous post, I talked about OTPs. And in a post before that, I talked about how I was on a Friends spree. Well, I'm still on a Friends spree. Also in another previous post, I talked about what I wanted in my future marriage... this sort of ties into that as well, since the couple I will be discussing here sort of embodies almost everything I talked about there. So all these things come together to form this post.
Meet...
MONICA GELLAR
"Rules are fun! Rules help control the fun!"
and
CHANDLER BING
"I'm not so good with the advice. May I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"
Otherwise known as MONDLER. I will be telling their story because I am now a professional and because I am bored. Also because I absolutely adore everything about them. Yeah, so this is basically just for my own amusement. You don't have to read it. It is literally everything I have on them. It gets a bit lengthy.
I gave a bit of background and stuff in my OTP post, so there will be some repeats here.
First, just a brief history on each character.
Monica is the second of two children. She always felt that her parents loved her older brother, Ross, more than her. For her entire childhood and into her teenage years, she was obese. She lost all the weight in one year by the time she turned 18. She attended college and became a professional chef. She started out a poorly paid chef, constantly switching jobs for several years. She even started her own catering business. Eventually she was hired as a head chef and got paid very well, where she worked for a few years until offered an even better job at another restaurant of even higher quality and even better pay. She is an extreme neat freak, a perfectionist, and very, very competitive. All these qualities reach the point of obsession.
Chandler is an only child, son of an erotic novelist and a gay burlesque dancer. He had a very traumatizing childhood, all mostly related to his father's work, and yet somehow managed to turn out relatively normal. His worst experience was when his parents announced that they were getting divorced when he was 9 years old, over Thanksgiving dinner, making him puke. As a result, he refuses to celebrate the holiday. He once was addicted to cigarettes, but eventually managed to quit after years of rehab. However, he still finds it hard to resist them when he's around them. He attended college and once graduated, began temporary work doing "statistical analysis and data reconfiguration", which he then continued as a full-time job once he got promoted. He thoroughly loathed the job. Eventually he quit and got into advertising. He is a bit immature, very sarcastic, and a jokester, often using humor as a defense mechanism.
OK, now on with the both of them.
Chandler became roommates with Monica's older brother, Ross, at college. The two of them became such good friends over the course of the year that Ross brought Chandler home with him for Thanksgiving (since
Chandler didn't want to go back to his own home). This is where Chandler and Monica first met. Monica seemed excited to meet him while he was not so impressed by her, but was still polite. He was even the one that suggested she become a chef after she asked him how he liked the macaroni and cheese she made for him. However, Monica's enthusiasm was soon pulled out from under her when she overheard him talking to Ross: "I don't want to be stuck here all night with your fat sister." The comment hit Monica hard. She even refused to eat the rest of her mother's pies.
The next year, Ross brought Chandler home for Thanksgiving again. This time, while Chandler was expecting the same fat girl in a sweater to appear, a thin, beautiful girl appeared in a black dress. He was
struck dumb and could not keep his eyes off her, which was exactly her intent. She had worked all that year to lose all that weight so she could get him back for calling her fat. However, she still wasn't satisfied. She confided in her friend, Rachel on how she could further humiliate him. Rachel suggested throwing him out in the yard, naked in front of the neighbors. And the way to get him naked was to make him think she wanted to sleep with him. Monica liked the idea. When she was alone with Chandler, she tried to make her "intent" known to him, but in the process ended up dropping a knife and accidentally cutting off his pinky toe.
I think that was revenge enough. They sat on friendlier terms afterwards.
A few years later, after Monica graduated college, she moved into her grandmother's old apartment. On a tip from Monica, Chandler moved into the apartment across the hall from hers. The two became closer friends because of this arrangement.
Chandler would always be the one to console Monica whenever she was feeling depressed about not having a boyfriend -"Is this why I don't have a boyfriend?" -"No. You don't have a boyfriend because... I don't know why you don't have a boyfriend. You should have a boyfriend." or -"My mother's right. I'm never going to get married." -"You know, that is... Who wouldn't want you?"
There are a couple times when Chandler offers to be her backup. When Ross's first wife, Carol, is giving birth and Monica is upset because she really wants a baby, Chandler suggests: "When we're 40 and neither of us are married, what do you say you and I get together and have one?" However, Monica gets offended at the insinuation that she won't be married when she's 40 and doesn't answer. Another time, when Monica is feeling down, right after she broke
up with one of her boyfriends, about how she'll probably never find anyone again, Chandler jokes that if worst comes to worst he'll be her boyfriend. Despite it being a joke, he gets offended when Monica laughs a little too hard at it and tries to prove to her that he can be "boyfriend material".
They never seriously considered getting together though. For example, Monica straight up tells him: "I think you're great. I think you're sweet and you're smart. And I love you... But you will always be the guy that peed on me." (Referring to when she was stung by a jellyfish and the only way to ease the pain was to pee on it, but she couldn't do it, so Chandler had to.)
Then they are attending Ross's wedding to Emily in London. Chandler is one of the best men (there are two) and gives a humiliating speech at the rehearsal dinner. Monica tries to console him afterwards. It's at this moment that a drunken man comes up to them and tells them that he thinks Ross is a wonderful young man. Then he looks at Monica and comments, "You must have been a teenager when you had him.". This completely ruins Monica's night. Already her mother had been giving her a hard time that she'll probably never get married. Monica begins drinking excessively while Chandler tries to comfort her.
Eventually Monica gets very drunk and Chandler has to walk her back to her hotel room. He returns to his own and begins to get ready for bed when there's suddenly a knock on the door. It's Monica. She comes in and seems to casually ask where Joey is (Chandler's roommate), but he's off with one of the bridesmaids. Chandler continues to console Monica by telling her she was "the most beautiful woman in the room
tonight". At this moment, Monica suddenly pounces on him and kisses him passionately. When they finally pull apart, Chandler is dumbfounded and confused. Monica tells him that she wants to do this if he will and that her head is clear enough to know what she wants. Chandler simply agrees and they continue to kiss. Monica points out that it doesn't feel weird kissing a close friend, to which Chandler agrees. They eventually progress to under the covers and wake up in bed together the next morning.
The next day, they feel more awkward around each other. They agree that it was a stupid thing they did, but then they agree that Chandler is coming over that night. However, as they think about it through the day, they think maybe it's not the best idea since it will probably spoil their friendship. They agree that it was a crazy
impulse because they were in London. Then they agree that they can keep doing it as long as they're in London, but will stop when they get home. However, they never get a chance before they fly home.
Once home, they both stick to the rule they made. However, they confess to each other that that night meant a lot to the other person. Monica, because she was going through a really tough time, and Chandler, because she's really hot ("Is that OK?"). Then Chandler leaves, leaving Monica obviously regretting the rule. She almost goes after him, but then thinks the better of it. However, Chandler suddenly comes back in and says "I'm still on London time, does that count?". Monica says it does and they fall into each other's arms.
And their relationship officially begins. Monica went to him, just wanting something to get her mind off her depression, not expecting to fall in love with him, but did. Chandler agreed to her wishes like hey an attractive woman wants a one night stand with me, why not? also not expecting to fall in love with her, but did.
For several months, they kept their relationship a secret from everyone else, their reason being that they were both so bad at relationships, but theirs was going really well. So they guessed that it was because it was a secret. However, gradually everyone began to find out. They would sneak around, telling their friends that they were going to do laundry or something. At one point Chandler jokes "Laundry? Is that my new nickname?".
Their first weekend away together went down the toilet because they fought the entire time. It was their first real fight as a couple to which Chandler took to mean their relationship was over. But Monica explained that it was all part of being in a relationship. "You deal with it and you move on. It's nothing to freak out about." And they made up. It wasn't their last fight though. Another time, Chandler actually proposes to Monica as an apology. She makes him see sense though and they make up (without getting married).
Chandler first tells Monica he loves her on Thanksgiving while she was trying to get him to forgive her after he found out why he lost his pinky toe. However, he said it by mistake. It sort of just popped out and he
immediately tried to take it back. He says it for real after everyone finds out about their relationship and are trying to get them to admit it. Phoebe (Monica's old roommate) is seducing Chandler, trying to get him to crack. She eventually succeeds when he blurts out "I'm in love with Monica!". He holds true to it this time and she comes out of hiding. They approach one another and tell each other that they love each other.
Their relationship continues to progress. They move out of the "hands-all-over-each-other-all-the-time" phase as pointed out by Phoebe, to which Monica freaks out over, but Chandler points out that he likes that they still like to be around each other despite being out of that phase. That doesn't happen very often for him.
On their one year anniversary as a couple, they go to Las Vegas to visit Joey (who is working there). On a roll of the dice, they decide to get married there, claiming "I've never loved anyone as much as I love you". They almost go through with it, but then they see Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumble out of the chapel and are suddenly hit over the head with reality that they are moving too fast.
When they get home, Chandler suggests that he move in with her to which Monica enthusiastically agrees. After many ups and downs and compromises, they eventually do move in together.
Their relationship stays strong and healthy during the entire year of their living together.
Then one day, Monica goes with Phoebe and Rachel to a beautiful museum and finds out that weddings are held there, but there's a two year long waiting list. They suggest that Monica put her name down just in case
she gets engaged in two years and if she's not, she doesn't have to use it. Monica decides to do it. Then while Chandler is sitting at home, there's a phone call that he lets go to voicemail from the museum for Monica telling her that there was a cancellation and that she can move "the Bing-Gellar wedding" up if she desires. Chandler panics and suddenly picks up. When Monica gets back, Chandler leaves telling her "next time ask or at least wait for me to ask". Then she hears the message along with Chandler's panicked interruption and freaks out herself. She searches for him, but to no avail and simply waits for him to return, which he eventually does. She apologizes profusely and tells him that it didn't mean anything and that she wasn't trying to pressure him. He eventually calms down and tells her "you know I'm just not ready". She leaves to tell everyone that she found him since they had all been worried. As soon as she's gone, Chandler confides in Phoebe that he had gone to the museum to check it out since he's planning on proposing to Monica.
Phoebe helps Chandler pick out a ring (which they temporarily lose). Chandler sets up the perfect date for him to propose to Monica, but it gets interrupted by Monica's ex-boyfriend, whom she almost married (but broke up with because he didn't want to have kids), Richard.
Chandler becomes worried that Monica suspects that a proposal is coming so he tries to throw her off course by telling her that he thinks marriage is a stupid idea. However, at this time Richard tells Monica that he is still in love with her and that he regrets letting her go. That now he wants to marry her and have kids with her. She initially turns him down, but after Chandler begins messing with her, she gets upset and goes to Richard. Joey finds out about what Richard said and tells Chandler. Chandler decides he's just going to propose the next time he sees her, whether it's a surprise or not and goes out to find her. He goes to Richard's apartment and finds out that Monica was there right before him. Richard tells him that she went to go think things over and that apparently he is willing to offer her things that Chandler is not. Chandler gets upset and says that he is willing to offer her those things. He gets more upset saying that Richard had his chance, but he blew it and now it was his chance and he didn't want to mess it up. He then shows Richard the ring and says he was going to propose. Richard relents and tells him to go after her.
Chandler goes back to their apartment, but Joey tells him that Monica left with a bag, crying because they wanted different things. Chandler goes into the apartment, distraught that he ruined everything. However, he comes in to a candlelit room with Monica standing in the middle. "You wanted it to be a surprise" she says. She kneels down and begins to propose to him, but can't finish it because she begins to cry too much, so Chandler kneels down with her and says he'll do it. However, he starts to get a little choked up as well, but he pushes through it. Finally, he pulls out the ring and asks the question. She says yes.
Now they begin wedding preparations. Chandler mostly stays out of the way because of Monica's controlling, perfectionist personality.
Monica realizes her parents spent her wedding fund on a beach house several years ago and that they have no money for the wedding. However, Chandler reveals that he has some money saved. At first he puts his foot down when Monica wants to use all of it on the wedding while he had saved it for the future, but then relents saying he wants to make her happy. But she changes her mind when she realizes what his vision of the future was: with children, a house, a pet, a neighborhood where their children could play, etc.
They can't find a good minister to perform the ceremony, so they agree to let Joey do it. While writing what he's going to say, Joey asks what exactly happened in London so he can tell the story properly. After telling the story, Phoebe tells Monica to tell everyone who she "originally wanted to hook up with that night". Surprised, Chandler presses her to tell. Monica reveals that when she went to his room that night, she was actually looking for Joey. Chandler gets upset and tells Joey he can't perform the ceremony anymore. However, Joey finds him later and points out how perfect the two of them are for each other.
Chandler stays surprisingly calm throughout their engagement, as Monica points out, nothing freaking him out (as he is a commitment-phobe) until the night before their wedding when he hears the answering machine refer to them as "the Bings". On the day of the wedding, Ross finds a note from Chandler reading simply: "Tell Monica I'm sorry". Ross and Phoebe go out on a desperate search for Chandler while Rachel keeps Monica distracted. They eventually find him at his office. He tells them of his fear of becoming the Bings because the Bings have horrible marriages. Ross eventually talks him into coming back with them.
Monica remains blissfully unaware of the entire incident until they are at the altar and Joey makes a remark about the groom taking off again. She says her vows, but then ends it "unless you don't want to". Chandler comes up with his vows on the spot, telling her that he thought that this was going to be the hardest thing he would ever have to do until he saw her walking down the aisle.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Now into married life... (This is where we start to see the awesome "what I want in a future relationship" stuff.)
They go on their honeymoon to somewhere in the Bahamas.
They are very compatible. Although they have very different personalities, they complement each other very well. They're like a little crime-fighting team (without the crime-fighting part). Like when they hire a maid and Monica is convinced that she is stealing her clothes so they team up to try and figure out if she is or not. Or when all the friends pool together their lottery tickets, but Monica buys 20 extra ones for her and Chandler which the others discover, they tell Chandler to tell Monica that it's wrong to have those tickets and that they'll disown them as friends if they win with any of the extra tickets. Chandler agrees that it's wrong, but he sides with Monica "screw you! The tickets are ours!". Or when Chandler is supposedly away in Tulsa, but secretly comes back to be with Monica, but doesn't tell Joey. But Joey hears a man's voice in the apartment and thinks Monica is cheating. So he calls Chandler "back" and goes in with a bat and starts hitting something. When Chandler asks Monica what Joey is hitting, Monica gleefully tells him that she set up some pillows to look like a man under the covers and they fist bump.
They still tick each other off all the time. And they deal with it like best friends do. Taking jabs at each other until they finally make up. One of the best moments is when Chandler comes back from his job in Tulsa and Monica wants to try and have a baby, but he had recently been smoking and doesn't want her to smell it on him. However, she does and gets extremely upset. He gets upset that she is coming down so hard on him, so he pulls a cigarette out and smokes it right in front of her. She is so angry at him, but she says they're going to put the fight on hold and go make a baby. He agrees, but then thinks the better of it because he doesn't think he can "make love" while they're fighting. So Monica agrees and apologizes for coming down so hard on him for the smoking. They "make-up" and then Chandler agrees to do his part. However, when they're finished, Monica reveals that she's still super mad at him and that she only pretended to forgive him because he said he wouldn't help her if they were fighting. Chandler: "I feel so used". So then the rest of the night, they continue taking jabs at each other about smoking and manipulating until they finally make up.
Chandler is eventually transferred to Tulsa, Oklahoma (as mentioned above) and Monica almost goes with him, saying she cannot be 4 days a week without him, until she gets a great job offer in New York (where they currently live) and decides to stay. However, after being forced to stay in Tulsa for Christmas, Chandler quits his job and returns home.
After almost a year of marriage, while bored while waiting for Rachel to have a baby, Monica decides to freak out Chandler. She tells him that she thinks they should try to have a baby. After a pause, he agrees, completely throwing her off guard. She asks him again and he tells her that he had been thinking about it and thinks that they're ready. She freaks out, turning the tables. Later, she asks him again. They start to discuss the idea and decide that they are ready to start trying.
They try several times for over a year. Finally after several failed attempts, they go to a fertility clinic to make sure everything is alright. Chandler gets the phone call from the clinic with the test results while he is home alone. He reveals the news to Monica when she gets home, which she immediately knows is bad because of his tone. Apparently there's a problem with not just one, but both of them. His sperm have low motility and her uterus is an inhospitable environment. Seriously the worst moment in Friends history EVER!
So they consider their options. Monica doesn't want to do surrogacy because she has dreamt her entire life of carrying a baby and thinks seeing someone else do it would be too hard for her. They briefly consider a sperm donor, but then Monica says that she doesn't care if the guy is the most perfect man in the world, if he isn't Chandler, she doesn't care. So it leaves them with adoption.
A few weeks after filling out papers, they get a call from the adoption agency telling them that a pregnant woman in Ohio wants to give them her baby. They go to Ohio, only to discover that the files got mixed up and the girl, Erica, thinks that they are a doctor and a reverend. They go along with the charade for a bit until they realize that Erica deserves to know who she is really giving her baby to. At first, Erica was really upset that they lied and wasn't going to even consider giving her baby to them, but then Chandler chased after her and told her about how amazing his wife is and how bad they wanted a baby. Erica eventually agrees to let them have the baby.
Now that they are going to be parents, they begin to consider some other things. Rachel and Phoebe catch Chandler driving out to a house outside the city with a woman and, after confiding with Joey and Ross,
think he is cheating. And when they confront him and Monica about it, they are told that the woman was his and Monica's realtor and that they are thinking of buying the house. They eventually get a call and are told that they got the house.
Erica comes to visit them and while visiting, goes into labor. They accompany her to the hospital and coach her through birth. She gives birth to a baby boy. Then the doctor says "the other one will be along in a minute", completely shocking everybody. Apparently Erica is having twins, but didn't know because she thought the two heartbeats the doctors were always talking about were hers and the baby's. Monica and Chandler decide to take both the babies. Erica then gives birth to a baby girl.
They name the boy Jack after Monica's father, and the girl Erica after her birth mother.
So they take the babies home and soon after, move to the new house where they begin a new chapter of their life.
