The Ceremony
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church
1321 N Stratford Ln
Wichita, Kansas 67206
One o’clock in the afternoon
Directions
Our Story
Long before we met, Will spent a summer as a counselor at Camp Tekakwitha, where one of his campers was Charlotte. Years later, the first time Will met Elyse’s family, Charlotte recognized him right away as “Mister Will.” He had no idea he had already met his future sister-in-law. Freshman year at Benedictine, mutual friends introduced us, and Will asked Elyse to dinner at Maria’s, a Mexican restaurant in Atchison. It wasn’t his finest work, but it earned him a second date, and every one after that.
Will first told Elyse he loved her over a game of Hearts, still our favorite card game, and her roommate walked in seconds later. Not long after, the fall of our sophomore year, Elyse left to study abroad in Florence, Italy, carrying a letter from Will for every day she would be away. The distance brought its own challenges, but it ultimately made us stronger.
Will has spent every year since making up for that first date, whether it’s tracking down a new Kansas City restaurant for us to try or planning a double date to a Chiefs game, where we sat right up against Taylor Swift’s box and got to meet her. Some of our favorite nights are the quiet ones, spent at Holy Hour together. Then he proposed in the Forest of Friendship in Atchison, and we brought it full circle, celebrating at a Mexican restaurant in town with a margarita to share.
William & Elyse
