'Friends' Reunion -- Now We Know Why Jennifer's Stuck in Second Gear

Big night for the "Friends" chicks ... that didn't end well at all for Jennifer Aniston.

Jennifer joined Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow at Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood Wednesday night, where they broke bread, talked about old times and Jennifer's upcoming wedding.

The paparazzi got real excited ... too excited, and crowded Jennifer's chauffeur-driven Mercedes as it left the restaurant. You can feel the pain as her struggling driver scrapes a pole, and the damage is significant.

Courteney and Lisa made clean getaways driving themselves.