Wichita Weekend

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On Wednesday, Greg and I headed down to Kansas City to see his parents, and by Saturday we were in Wichita for the wedding of his brother Andrew (yes, we're putting his poor parents through two weddings in four weeks). It was a great trip, actually. Kansas is a more interesting state than I would have imagined. On the drive from KC to Wichita we passed through the Flint Hills region, the largest remaining chunk of tallgrass prairie in the United States. It was amazing to see, miles and miles of gently rolling green hills with grass waving in the wind and placid cows roaming the countryside.

One lonely tree

On Saturday after the rehearsal I had some time to myself to sit beside the pool and read Paul Theroux's The Happy Isles of Oceania. It was great to take a dip in the pool, lay out in the sun and read, occasionally closing my eyes to imagine I was in the paradise the book describes. I don't think it's possible for me to be more excited for our trip to Hawaii next month. I realized that it's been a few years since I've been on a real vacation.

Can you tell I got an iphone last week?

The wedding, on Sunday, was at the lovely Botanica, full of meandering paths and fountains and flowers.


Greg was a groomsman, which meant he had to be unhooked from his electronic devices for the bulk of the day. He still brought his ipad, though. Of course.

It was a lovely wedding, and I was really glad I got to attend. Not only did I meet many of Greg's family members for the first time, but I haven't been to a wedding in about five years. Here I am planning one and I had no real idea of the guest experience. It was nice to sit back and soak in the happiness without any of the stress.


I actually learned some things from this wedding (which, I must add, went very smoothly). The main thing I learned was that things move more quickly than you think they will. The bride and groom had sent out a schedule to wedding party members in advance, which was very detailed, but the ceremony and reception events didn't take as long as they had allowed for. It was a good reminder that it doesn't actually take that long for people to eat, to cut a cake, or to make a toast.




A few other things I learned: most people didn't even take the favors with them, and at the end of the day they were just lying around. It confirmed my decision not to have favors. Their low-key flowers and decorations were perfect - they didn't need huge, elaborate centerpieces. It really confirmed for me that what matters is the people coming together to celebrate with the couple.


I also realized that I need to practice wearing my high heels for the week before the wedding. I wore medium heels all day and my feet were killing me after a few hours. And, most of all, I realized how tired I was going to be. Greg and I were there to help set up in the morning - around nine-thirty - and we stayed until the last photos were done in a nearby city park, around four o'clock. I was exhausted - I can only imagine how the bride and groom felt! Greg and I had been planning to hold a party the evening after our wedding, but I realized that neither of us was going to have the energy to do it.






All in all, it was a great weekend, and it was wonderful to see Andrew and Ariel so happy. But it made me realize (gulp) that in four weeks, I have to do it all over again - this time as the bride.