Just Got Back from Another Wedding

Sometime around my mid-20's to late 20's, a lot of my friends were getting married. Then, things slowed down, and everyone started to have babies. Now, this year, things are picking up again with those who haven't gotten hitched yet.

This time, it was my friend, Tanner's wedding. I don't know if I thought Tanner was ever going to get married. He and our friend, Kim, had sort of a bet going on who was going to get married first. I had said Kim. Kim had said Tanner. And Tanner had said me, I believe. I almost got married first, but I broke up my engagement. Then, Kim almost got married last year, but then it didn't happen. Now, Tanner has gone through with it. So, what should Kim win?

A Texas wedding in August almost seems like a sure way to slowly commit suicide, to me. But there we were. In 90 degree plus humidity, landing in Austin Friday evening and driving to the rehearsal dinner Tanner's parents had planned and invited us to. As soon as we walked in, a woman said, "Katy Chen," like she had known me forever. I couldn't quite place her, until she introduced herself to Anthony as Mrs. Brannon. Mrs. Brannon...I couldn't quite remember...until halfway through the 2nd course, I seemed to recall she was a teacher at Lamar, my old high school. She asked me about my current career in the entertainment industry, and asked me if I knew this girl who worked at Dr. Phil. No, I said, but I probably know someone who knows her. It was a lovely rehearsal dinner, full of speeches about Tanner's warmth and "resourcefulness." And of course, welcoming Naddy to the Sandlin family. And the best part, it was all indoors, in air-conditioning.

The next day, we made our way to the wedding. It was in Pflugerville, Texas. A small town just north of Austin. They were getting married in a place called, The Plantation House. We pulled up, a bit late. But nothing had started yet. No usher to greet us. Instead, we had to walk around on the grass to find an empty seat, ourselves. When we finally sat down, the mid-August Texas heat and humidity hit us like swarms of mosquitoes and other vermin caught in honey and spider webs. My hair had fallen at this point, and my makeup was starting to melt under that not-too-sweet Texas sun. I decided to just pull back my hair into a low ponytail and start worrying that my deodorant and anti-perspirant were not going to hold up in this heat. Finally, the ceremony began when that famous Enya song came on. Tanner looked happy and aware of everything. Naddy looked beautiful. And both a Muslim and a Methodist started the wedding proceedings. Afterwards, everyone scattered like ants at a picnic, trying to find shade underneath a tree or under the tent or in the main "plantation" house. Was I the only one feeling a bit uncomfortable that this place was called a plantation house, and those serving us the food were African American? No one seemed perturbed, but then again, it could be that heat, again. Hard to think about history and the world-at-large when the mugginess makes it hard to breathe. I think everyone was really dumbfounded that we weren't going to have the reception in the house, with air-conditioning. Instead, we found ourselves going through a buffet line on the porch of the house and getting seated underneath a tent on the grounds, next to the ceremony site. A lot of people left right after the cake was served, before the first dance (around 8:30)! Anthony and I hung out until it was pretty much just the wedding party, Tanner's parents, and Naddy's family left (around 10:30). We would've stayed longer, but it seemed like we were imposing, at a certain point. So we left, and after changing into more comfy clothes, we drove into downtown Austin and had a couple of beers at an Irish pub.