The last family wedding we attended was last summer (Jacky and Kyle), and this fall another cousin, Ryan, married Kasey in their hometown of New London, WI.
My Dad is an only child but he has three first cousins on the Arness side, all of whom still reside in the tri-state (ND, MN, WI) area with their families (they reciprocally call my Dad one of only two first cousins!). I have been lucky in my lifetime to spend a lot of time in Minnesota on my grandparents' farm in Fisher as a child and with this side of my family over the years, particularly when I attended medical school in Minnesota. Allison (the youngest of three kids of Duane, my great-uncle) has three kids, who are about a half-generation younger than me since Duane and my Grandfather (Alton) were twelve years apart. She has always been so warm and welcoming towards me, despite not living geographically close for most of our lives, and I spent many a weekend during medical school at her home in New London with her, Peter, and her lovely children Natalie, Ryan, and Brayden (then kids, now in their twenties!).
We arrived into town late on Thursday after a red-eye flight from California through Chicago to Appleton. We met up with my parents, who had driven from Virginia over a few days (making a road trip out of it including seeing Detroit) and also Amy/Richard, who drove from Fargo (about 10 hours).
My mom had on a sweater that she had also given me (and which I'd packed), so I put it on for dinner which we enjoyed at the Waters Supper Club on the Wolf River.
On Friday eve, we met up with other family at Allison/Peter's home in New London for pizza as the main participants of the service did their rehearsing.
Brad, Ellie, Julia, Ty, Dyno, LeAnn, mom/dad, Heather
me, Kelvin, Marilyn, Jacky, Dad, Mom, Amy, Richard
Ryan and Kasey have known each other since preschool (!) and started dating before their sophomore year in high school. They have been together
ten years already and are really the cutest couple!
The ceremony was at their hometown church, Trinity Lutheran, and featured some lovely music including a recording of the "Lord's Prayer" sung by Ryan's late Grandfather (and my Great-Uncle) Duane.
The evening reception was held at Stubborn Brothers' Brewery in Shawano.
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Allison (the mother of the groom) was radiant and stunning in her long black sparkly gown!
First cousins
Amy and Kelvin talked a lot, over their shared enjoyment of Mules.
The Happy Groom!
Although my small town in CA is over 2,200 miles away from New London, WI, the midwest feels more like "home" to me than many other places I've lived! The familiarity of seeing family (even if we only see each other every few years or more!) always makes me feel so happy and loved. I really wish we lived closer to some of these wonderful people, as they truly are some of the kindest and most generous souls I've ever known (Ryan, the groom, even personally texted me the morning after his wedding to thank us for making the trip out!). What a gift is for them to grow up to have so many close relatives within driving distance and to be able to see one another for many more occasions than just special events like weddings (something which I have missed out on in my life and which I’m hoping will be a bit different for my kids). Although the kids missed this trip, Kelvin really enjoyed getting to know some of my cousins more and had a great time in Wisconsin! I'm sure we'll be back in not too long, for some other reason to celebrate (with hope, not a funeral)!
