Paul and Tara Dorwin--October 11, 2008

Saturday was the wedding of Paul Dorwin and Tara Stewart. We all headed down to Durand for the festivities on Saturday morning. The weather was beautiful on Saturday--a perfect day for a wedding!

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Paul and Tara (well, we all know it was really Tara!) chose fall colors for their wedding--the flowers were beautiful! ~~~

The wedding was held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Durand...

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The new Mr. and Mrs. Dorwin~~~

Tara's mom, Lori Ann, was remembered in a special way at the alter...
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Of course, I had to take the opportunity to grab some photos!

Here are the Dorwins--Chad, Nicole, Carter, and Bradley, that is! ~~~

Autumn was looking pretty in her bridesmaid dress--she was the honorary maid-of-honor for her mom. Look closely--she was missing her front teeth for her sweet smiles!

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Auntie Connie and Uncle Al were there to celebrate the day. Olivia stuck close to her Grandma Connie after the ceremony. Cory was in the wedding party and stood up for Paul as a groomsman.~~~

Tara's little niece, Riley, and her nephew, Jarrod--the flower girl and the ring bearer--they looked so cute!

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At the Durand Rod and Gun Club, the reception was in full-swing. Tara's dad, Mitch, grew hundreds of gourds, squash, and pumpkins to decorate the tables with...~~~

A kiss for a memory... Tara and Paul would kiss only if someone came forward and shared a memory of the couple. I wanted to share about how when Paul was little, I continually made him say "Dirty Birdie" over and over again--he had a bit of a problem saying his "r" sound, and it came out something like "Dwerty Bwerdy"! It was so cute! I didn't want to let everyone know how mean I was to him, though, so I didn't tell the story...

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Two little girl cousins found each other and played together for the rest of the day! Olivia (4) and Allie (3) had a blast together at the reception. When it was time to leave, they both loaded their carseats into Grandma Pat's car, and Grandma Pat and Grandpa Denny took the girls (with Abby) to visit Great-Grandma. The girls argued, however, about Great-Grandma's name... Olivia insisted they were going to see "Grandma Peep", and Allie was adamant they were going to see "Grandma Bonnie"!

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Abby and Allie had fun together--they played all day at the wedding, and Abby and Allie had "picnics" at Grandma Pat's house until bedtime. Abby did a great job of watching Allie!

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Spending time with family is part of the fun of a wedding day...

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Mom and Grandma Lila--both looking smashing for the big day!~~~
Here is a picture of the "master gardner" himself, Tara's dad, Mitch! Sorry--I am not sure who the lady is with him... He and I were discussing the "wedding gourds" (see pic below), and this gal came up and posed for a picture for me, but I forgot to ask her name! If anyone can fill me in, leave me a comment, and I will caption the picture accordingly!

UPDATE: Nicole has filled in the blanks for me... the unknown gal in the picture is Jody Darr, neighbor of the Dorwin's--she lives in the house Bill grew up in (Grandma Ann's house)--thanks, Nicole!~~~

Everyone enjoyed the dancing that followed the reception...

Here is Paul and his new "daughter" dancing together.~~~

Tara with her newly acquired "son"--doesn't Evan look handsome!

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Of course, a Dorwin family gathering just wouldn't be complete if I didn't get a picture of Paige! She was showing off her new talent for me...~~~

LaNita and Grandma Lila

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As I mentioned earlier, Tara's dad, Mitch, grew all of the pumpkins, squash, and gourds that were used to decorate for the day. Some of the decorations were a bit unusual...Kind of reminded me of the Albino Chickens and their wedding outfits!!!

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Everyone had fun with the produce--and we were thrilled when Tara announced that all of the guests were free to take some home to decorate our own houses.

Some of us had more fun with the gourds than others!

Carter and Grandpa Ken... ~~~

The Squirrel

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Three generations of Dorwins

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LaNita's friend, Deb, drove up from Illinois(?) for the day to celebrate the wedding. Sheri and Sheila--I guess you went to Arrowhead with Deb back in the day... It was a fun day in Durand!

Congratulations, Tara and Paul!!!!