Email mistake leads to unlikely bachelor party bromance
It's not the online relationship typically associated with weddings: a misspelled name in an email gets a perfect stranger invited to ritual usually reserved for a man's closest friends, but this newly formed friendship may be just as lasting.
It's the kind of bromance born of the digital age, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller. New friends bonding over beers, basketball and shuffleboard in the city of brotherly love.
It all began in February, when groom-to-be Jeff Minetti emailed a group of friends about his upcoming bachelor party.
He meant to include buddy Jim DiGiulio -- that's DiGiulio with a "G" -- but when he typed a "J" instead, the email landed in Joey DiJulio's inbox in Seattle, more than 2,300 miles away.
"I ended up emailing the wrong guy and that's kind of how it all started," Minetti said.
Joey DiJulio recognized the mistake but found the friends' email chain entertaining. For weeks he stayed quiet.
When it came time to get a final head count for the party, he fessed up, writing: "I have no idea who any of you guys are, but I have been enjoying being a fly on the wall ... I thought it might be funny to just show up..."
Minetti and his friends agreed. They extended an invitation.
"One of my friends, he messages me right away and says, 'He's coming, he's coming,' and I think a lot us felt that way," Minetti said.
Even Minetti's fiancée Amy Lee was on board.
"I was all for it...Anything to make the night funnier. And it absolutely has 100 percent," Lee said.
DiJulio started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his trip from Seattle to Philadelphia. He received an overwhelming response.
"I was shocked that within 20 hours we had already funded the trip and money kept coming in and that's why I said, you know what? That's the opportunity to do something really great for Jeff and his future wife. So I said, let's continue to donate and help pay for some of their honeymoon," DiJulio said.
So far the crowd sourcing campaign has raised more than $8,000.
"I knew he'd raise the money easily to come... What I didn't know is that perfect strangers would come through like they did," Minetti said.
Both men hope the friendship will continue. DiJulio has also been officially invited to the couple's wedding in May. The bride and groom will spend their honeymoon in Italy.