Neither Cory, nor Arielle, are from Eugene. They married the week after finals. This means most of their friends were out of town by the time the wedding date arrived....and yet it was fine. The essential element was their covenant with God and each other....and some friends to celebrate with. Arielle's family drove in from CA and flew from AK and TX. Cory's family drove from WA. Dear friends came from WA, DC and CA....it was, in other words, just right.
The reception - the stress of the "big show" is over and it's time to simply relax and enjoy each other and loved ones who have gathered. This we did.
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| Rebecca (Michael's sister) and Michael catch up |
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| Glad Mom G was up here to attend! |
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| Prof/Pastor Brooks and CoRielle |
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| Donna, Bre and Gpa Paul |
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| Pastor John and Francie |
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| Nadine, Sherri and Will |
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| Table of Gherkins and friends |
Arielle and Cory with Grandma Mary
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| Arielle and Lorri (my cousin) |
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| Bella is tuckered out |
Mom and Lorri manned the cookie tables and hot chocolate bar
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| Arielle and Grandma Jan |
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| Grandpa Paul, Arielle, Grandma Jan |
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| LOVED seeing these three together again |
Which shoes did you decide on? "Um, I may have gone barefoot."
Three generations of comfort-loving women
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| Gma Jan, Arielle, Me |
Ah - our newest couples! Thrilled to see how God brought Cory and Larissa to us!
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| Jared, Cory, Arielle, Larissa |
I knew there would come a point when they were ready to leave. Their goal was to be done by 4 p.m. and we had promised we'd all work towards that. I saw a few signs and asked them if they were ready to leave. They were. I talked with Sherri and Michael to determine proper etiquette. They turned down the music, I announced CoRielle would be cutting their cake and then leaving the reception.
First, Michael needed to introduce Mr. and Mrs. S to the crowd - a point that was skipped when they leapt from the platform after the kiss. ::snort::
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| The Dads |
They're off - at 3:25 p.m.! Yep - from start to driving off less than 1 1/2 hours - we did it. A sweet, simple, elegant and non-stressful marriage celebration. Praying God's richest blessings as this newly minted "family" begins its story!
The rest of us stayed and visited for a bit - then we cleaned up, deposited decorations, gifts and cards at CoRielle's apartment and marveled that we still had an evening ahead of us.
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| Love these two families! |
